Day #1 - January 24, 2025 - Said farewell to my brother and his family, took Lyft to Atl International Airport. Immediately after clearing TSA, I heard from Gail Rouen. We rendezvoused at the Delta Sky Lounge to spend a few hours before take off. Our flight departed on time, destination Seoul, South Korea. I really didn't sleep much, but I did watch several movies. After 15 hours and 30 minutes, we landed at Inchon Airport, and walked forever to our next gate!
We departed shortly after 8:00 AM, and breakfast was served - a horrendous smelling fish! I opted to have orange juice and coffee, then fell asleep until we landed, five hours later, in Hanoi, Vietnam. Due to the time zone changes, as well as crossing the International Date Line, we totally lost Christmas Day, thus we landed on December 26, 2025 to total chaos in the Hanoi Customs, which took over one hour to clear. Luckily, Viking was waiting for us to take us to the lovely Pan Pacific Hotel. I noticed a tremendous "fog-like" cloud coverage which turned out was actually smog.
We checked in to our hotel, but needed to wait until the 3 PM check-in. Meanwhile, Michaelene appeared in the lobby, so I introduced her and Gail. Our traveling team was now complete. I unpacked, rested, and sipped a little of my Pho soup before falling into a deep, blissful sleep.
Day #2 - December 27, 2025 - Hanoi
Good morning, Vietnam!! As I scrolled through the pictures, it was amazing the amount of places we visited in one day in our Tour Group 2A. Beginning with our electric car ride through the French Quarter, Hanoi Hilton, a Confucius Temple, and ending with a fabulous dinner at a French restaurant, it was constant sensory overload.
Day #3, December 28, 2025 - Hanoi - Siem Reap, Cambodia
We began our morning by visiting a store that focuses on hiring the disabled adult children of Viet Nam vets to make a variety of items including hand stitched paintings which were incredibly intricate and beautiful.
Next, we toured Vietnam's National Museum of Ethnology, a fascinating venue featuring the the country's 54 ethnic groups.
Then, we were off to the airport to fly to Siem Reap, Cambodia. The Hanoi Airport was so festive!
We were supposed to have time for lunch in the airport, but our flight was delayed leaving Hanoi, so we only had time for a picnic lunch of Pringles and Coke!
After a one hour ride to our next destination, we arrived at the gorgeous Sofitel and an amazing greeting of traditional Cambodian music and dancing.
We quickly dumped all our travel gear into our gorgeous room, 209, and returned to an amazing buffet and charming show.
Day #4 - December, 29, 2025 Siem Reap, Cambodia
Only a short 10 kilometers from our hotel is Angkor Wat, the world's largest religious complex, a stunning 12-century Khmer temple. The grounds are beautiful, which we enjoyed exploring with our guide.
The morning was going great UNTIL we were left behind. Our guide gave us bad directions on returning to the bus. We walked, and we walked, and we walked for over 45 minutes when finally a sweet Tuk Tuk driver approached us to see if we were looking for our tour guide. We simultaneously screamed, "Yes" and he explained that the tour guide was still looking for us inside Angkor Wat. He suggested that we should take a Tuk Tuk back to the resort. All I kept thinking was that we were told NOT to get into a Tuk Tuk without assistance from Viking or Sofitel. Oh well, desperate times call for desperate measures, so Gail and I climbed into our first of many Tuk Tuk rides!
