We started back home on Wednesday, Saigon time. It was a late flight, so we spent the day making the rounds to our regular haunts and saying goodbye. Many of our friends met us at the airport to see us off, just like in the days when a plane trip was a big deal.Except for a small tribute that I had to pay at Vietnamese customs to let some of my souvenirs through, we had an uneventful journey from Saigon to Tokyo to Washington, D.C. to Hartford. We had the same experience as on the way over of excellent, friendly service from the Japanese airline and security personnel and appalling rudeness and cynicism from the U.S. airline and T.S.A. employees.
Despite starting out at bedtime and traveling for 30 hours, I had my usual trouble sleeping on the plane and arrived home a zombie. I made a quick inspection of the house (all OK) and slept for 12 hours straight in a glorious absence of construction and motorbike noise. Now I just have jetlag and culture shock to get over, and if you happen to see me in the next few weeks, I hope you'll forgive me any weird muttering or outbursts.
-Robert
