Let the journey begin

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I felt good to be going back to Vietnam. Hard to believe my first visit since being there in 68/69/70 during the time of the war was in 2012 - and since this is my 10th visit! Sad to be going back without Kathie - but she will come over mid August with a small group we have that will commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan - where we will visit the memorial at the site of there the battle took place and 18 Diggers lost their life. I had to come earlier because we have arranged to rent a 2-bedroom house from end of July until 17 Oct. This would be our attempt at "living" in Vietnam - a chance to see how we handle the heat, the food, the atmosphere - with the idea that if it's manageable and enjoyable - we would do it again next year for 3 months. So day one started with Kathie taking me to Varsity Lakes Station to take the Airport Link train to Brisbane Airport. I was travelling with 4 bags - not because I had so many clothes - but because 1 small bag was filled with various daily pills and insulin supply for my diabete 2. Another bag filled with various health supplements for my Vietnamese friends who cannot obtain them in Vietnam. it's strange - you can get most prescription drugs from the small pharmacies you see everywhere - without a prescription and for a fraction of the price that is paid in Australia. But try to get supplements like fish oil, glucosamine, Royal Jelly etc - and they are expensive or hard to find!!! I wasn't worried about getting it out of Australia - only getting it into Vietnam.

Checking-in with Singapore Air at Brisbane Airport - the agent made sure I was in a row of 4 seats with only 1 other person at the other end - meaning we would both have 2 seats each. This is good for an 8-hour flight to Singapore. I had it when someone is next to me - unless it;s Kathie 😊. Being a Gold Elite member has it's advantages - and a visit to the Kris Flyer SQ Lounge is one of them. What a surprise that SQ now has a new lounge at BNE Airport. I was surprised and pleased in May when I went to Vietnam with Thai Airways - and got to enjoy the new Air New Zealand/Star Alliance Lounge (which Thai uses). The New SQ lounge is as good as the Air NZ one - but I believe Air NZ has a better range of food. Anyways - I did not go hungry or thirsty.

It was nice to have only the 2 of us in the 4-seat row. It was even better then that other person went for a wander after take-off - then camceback and collected all her belongings and move toward the back of the plane. Did I have BO?? Nah....she found an empty row at the back of the plane and took that - which meant I had a full row to myself - and this would be used to stretch out for a sleep during the flight.

Arrival in Singapore at 04.55am and connecting flight at 09.45 means I had almost 5 hours to check e-mails and enjoy the SQ lounges in Terminal 3 and 2. Both these lounges need upgrading and change of menu. They have been serving the same food assortment for at least7-8 years. C'mon SQ - time for a change!!

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