Day 0: Handling a 20+ Hour Flight to Vietnam

People often dread long flights, I love it.

I love being at airports.

From the process of checking in, finding our flight terminal to watching hundreds of people anticipating their next adventure, I’m in love with the energy.

To save time, we checked in online and spent the night before at La Quinta Inn and Suites. It was great for us as we had a nice breakfast and a free shuttle to the airport early next morning.

The day before is always stressful with all the last minute packing for the trip. Not to mention, I have an innate fear of missing the flight and end up with a Home Alone situation.

We’re fairly used to traveling, but traveling with family is new.

Everyone, kids and adults alike, are excited for the flight. The difference this trip and our typical backpacking trip is evident. We have 8 people on this trip, and we have whopping 13 luggages, most weighting over 45 pounds!

Fortunately, it’s not because we each over pack to have tons of clothes. See, when Vietnamese immigrants (Việt kiều) return to Vietnam, it is customary to bring back gifts. Ours, prepared by my parents for the last few months), contain new clothes, USA branded shampoo/conditioners, chocolate bars, and various medications.

We were at our gate 3 hours early, which gave us time to explore the airport and relax a before the long haul flight.

Korean Air, well known for its good customer service and professionalism, makes us feel instantly at ease. Our vegetarian meals and seat changes were dealt with in a very friendly manner.

If there’s anything I’m sure of about an international flight, is that it’s bound to have a ton of in-flight services. I watched some brand new released movie titles such as Birth of the Dragon, Wonder Woman, and Megan Leavey. This gives me a chance to get my thoughts together and ready myself for Vietnamese food.

Looking out the window while flying over the arctic regions of Canada is one of the coolest sights. There were miles on miles of uninhabited ice. If we look really hard, there would be specks of towns in the distance. This is something we would never see otherwise. The sun in the sky is so beautiful and the treacherous icy slopes.

Do you have any quirks while traveling long haul flights?