Vietnam 2003

(Soc Trang)

We were fortunate to be invited to join our friend Kim as she visited her family in Soc Trang, Vietnam. Kim and her husband Peter, their friends Blair and Steve, and Tim and I experienced Vietnamese hospitality at its best. The combination of our generous hosts and the best traveling companions made this a week that will remain as one of the highlights of our travels. What more can we say than if three Southwest Airlines staffers and a journalist invite you to join them on a journey, don't think twice. Pack your bags and hang on to your hat!

( Peter, Kim, Jane, Blair, Hai, Steve)

Flying in from Bangkok, California, Texas and Maryland, we rendezvoused in Saigon at the Hotel Continental.

We spent two days exploring Ho Chi Minh City and getting acclimated. From drinks at the rooftop bar at the famous Rex Hotel

to rickshaw rides through town

to a night time stroll (complete with CA wine) through Saigon,,

we saw it all.

But then it was time for what we had all come for, Soc Trang. Kim's family hired a van and driver to take us to Soc Trang - a 6 hour drive south into the delta. (No flights there yet, but with Steve's new job we are expecting that he will be negotiating a Southwest hub very soon!) What we didn't realize is that the van would originate in Soc Trang, drive to Saigon to pick us up and then immediately turn around and drive back to Soc Trang. We were shaking our heads at the 12 hour round trip for the driver until we learned that Nghia and Giang, Kim's cousins, were so eager to see her that they had also made the drive from Soc Trang to be able to spend every moment with her. Hai, Kim's cousin who works in Saigon, took off work so that he could join us as our translator.

(Kim and Hai checking our route on the map)

The van ride set the tone for our week - hugs and loving looks as Kim and her cousins reconnected,

(Kim, Nghia, a friend of Kim's mother)

beautiful countryside complete with a ferry boat crossing that would not be found in the U.S. and which Steve and Blair would not voluntarily take again,

morning/afternoon/evening beer,

(Peter and Giang)

unusual snacks (if you are brave, ask about our favorite driving snack that is also our pick for the name of a punk rock group - moist bag of pork) and frequent moments of uncontrollable laughter. Hai gave us names that he could remember: Blair became Tony Tony (Tony Blair), Steve became James (James Bond), Tim became Jane and Jane became Tim. There's no way to explain this (other than citing experiments with rats in small places for long periods of time), but I can guarantee that there are six people who will break down laughing when you say Tony Tony.

We quickly became very well acquainted. In the 'it's a small world category' we found out that Steve went to college a few blocks from where Jane grew up and Blair and Jane went to the same university. Branching out, we learned about Vietnamese pop culture as we watched a CVD of the Ms. Vietnam beauty pageant. Somehow (Steve was sitting in the front seat next to the controls!) the CVD kept repeating the swimsuit contest - with all of the contestants wearing a red swimsuit with the name of the sponsor emblazoned across their chest. We agreed that Ponds has rewritten the book on product placement.

This was Kim's third visit to Soc Trang since leaving Vietnam as a small child and a cause for celebration by the extended family. Once we were in Soc Trang, the family reunion that was to last for three days began in earnest. It's a bit hard to describe, but imagine a town that is not on the tourist route, where the town center is a square filled with bicycles and motorcycles...

transporting everything from grandma to geese...

invaded by 6 enthusiastic Americans carrying armfuls of Southwest Airlines swag and purple balloons. We found that as much as we were staring, we were often the objects being stared at - and always with a warm welcoming smile.

Kim's family was incredible. They thought of everything. They made reservations for us at the top hotel in town (where Steve is proud to show that he made his bed)

and rounded up motorcycles and "a carriage" for our sightseeing parades.

The family restaurant was the center of our activities. We couldn't have picked a better place. The food was excellent and with a menu of over 240 items, we were kept busy tasting dish after dish.

(Blair, Nghia, Peter, Cuong, Hai, Jane, Tim, Kim, Giang)

Every meal turned into a 2 hour feast often with delicacies we had never before experienced. Eel,

turtle, frog legs, squid, crab,

prawns still kicking from the tanks,

and birds (known to Chau as the best toy in town - bird in a bag - only reluctantly giving them up so that they could appear on the dinner table)

we ate our way through the animal kingdom. Even if we didn't know what it was, we could always rely upon Steve or Blair to find the head and gave our food a name!

Of course there was no way to keep Tim out of the kitchen.

When we weren't eating, we were sharing our stories,

(Tim and Uncle Sam comparing their number of grandchildren.)

making new friends,

taking photographs,

and giving gifts from home.

( SWA pens)

(SWA airplanes)

(SWA t-shirt!)

There were so many people to meet, from the patriarch of the family, the ever charming Uncle Sam (aka Frank Sinatra) to the youngest of grandchildren,

(Uncle Sam)

(Hai and Uncle Sam)

(Chau, Uncle Sam, Kim, Dat)

It was quite the experience. Many thanks to all of the wonderful people of Soc Trang who opened their homes and hearts and to Peter and Kim for allowing us to be a part of their family.

I figured out how a moist bag of pork, Tony Tony and a bag of birds equal a great time. Here is my winning entry!

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