Flat Stanley is Checking In!

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Hi Mrs. Stein and Kids,

Flat Stanley here! I am looking forward to reporting to about my latest adventure. On Friday, October 13th, 2006 I headed to Vietnam with Steve Tucker’s uncle Arlyn. We are having quite a wonderful time, but it has been a very long journey.

We got up early on Friday morning. Arlyn made certain that I was comfortable and protected in a book that he was carrying. He said I made a good bookmark, but I have to tell you, I have read that entire book now and it was boring. It was a safe place to sleep though.

We had to fly from Tulsa, Oklahoma to Atlanta which took about 2 hours and 600 miles. We then got on board a Korean Airlines 747 Jet for a long flight to Seoul, South Korea. See my picture in front of the jet? We were in that jet for about 16 hours and 7000 miles!

Once we got to Korea, we had to wait about 4 hours for another flight that took us to Hanoi, Vietnam. That flight took about 4 hours and about 1600 miles. So all together it took us about 30 hours and 9200 miles to get to Hanoi, Vietnam.

I hope you have a globe that you can share with the students Mrs. Stein, because I would like for them to see that I am on the other side of the world. Now if you look at Tulsa and where I am now, you might assume that we flew straight across the Pacific, but you know what? We didn’t! The shortest route is over the North Pole and that is what we did. We flew across Canada, over Alaska, over the Bering Strait, over Russia, and South to Seoul, Korea. From Seoul we flew over China to Hanoi. It was quite a trip. The plane had good food and movies to entertain us, but Arlyn didn’t take me out of the book, so I slept most of the way.

One other interesting thing, on the flight we crossed over the International Date Line. You can see the International Date Line on the globe. You see the world has 24 time zones and the International Date Line is where a new day is started. We crossed the date line on Friday and it automatically became Saturday. Speaking of time, here in Hanoi we are exactly 12 hours ahead of you. If you get out of school at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, we are fast asleep because it is 3:00 AM on Wednesday here in Hanoi.

This time difference causes a problem for Arlyn and me though. It is called “Jet Lag”. Even though the time is different here, it takes a while for our brains and bodies to understand it. It is hard to go to sleep at night and sometimes its hard to stay awake during the day.

Well it is 11:45 Hanoi Time, and you will be going to lunch soon- but I need to get to bed. If you have any questions about Vietnam just ask Mrs. Stein to send them my way and I will try to answer them.

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Photos

Flat Stanley & Pagoda
Flat Stanley visits an old Pagoda at Hoan Kiem Lake

Flat Stanley & the 747
Flat Stanley in front of the 747 that took us from Atlanta to Seoul, Korea

Flat Stanley & the MS. Thi
Flat Stanley and Ms Thi

Flat Stanley at the Hilton
Flat Stanle in front of the Hilton Hanoi Opera House where we are staying

Comments

[Angie (Steven's Mom)]

Great BLOG!!!
Arlyn-- This is awesome! Thank you so much I know that the class is going to love this! And just in time for report cards! You have a great time and stay safe. Hey, maybe flat stanley can shake hands with Presidient Bush! Wouldn't that be a hoot! If he can't it sure would be cool to at least get a picture of you with the president. Also, It would be nice to get a picture of you for the kids to see too. Thanks again Arlyn, I knew this would be great, and it is.

[Flat Stanley s Travel Blog]

Thanks Angie!
It's my pleasure. I hope Steve and his classmates enjoy this. We'll see what we can do about the President and Flat Stanley. No Promises, but we'll give it a try. Arlyn