Kazakhstanding Tall: Spring Break 2018 - Vietnam

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Spring Break 2018 - Vietnam - Part I

Our annual spring break trip has become one of our favorite traditions in Kazakhstan. After a long, cold winter it is always nice to get somewhere warm. Last year we did a long driving tour of India. It was educational and we are glad we went, but we missed the beach vacations of Thailand and Sri Lanka, so this year Yulia booked our vacation in Nha Trang, Vietnam.

Our flight left Astana at 9:00 a.m on Saturday March 17. It was an Air Astana flight to Almaty with a connection from there directly to Ho Chi Minh City. We decided that we would take the bus, so we woke up early and left for the bus stop at 6:15. We can go through the school all heated and with no problem, so we all dressed quite light - sweaters and jackets for the girls, and a sweatshirt for me. We waited at the front until our bus app on the phone told us that the bus was on its way.

It was cold outside. Minus 21 degrees Celsius. We figured we'd be okay because we'd only be outside for 2-3 minutes. Wrong! The busses showing on our app were traveling on the route - in fact the one we were waiting for buzzed right past us on its way to start the route from the airport. That meant that we had to spend about fifteen minutes waiting in the cold. We had some complaints from the girls, but we told them that now they know how people who can't afford warm clothes feel when it's cold outside and that they should be grateful.

Waiting in the cold for our bus.

The bus came and it was plenty warm (one of the oddities of Kazakhstan is that the temperature inside busses in the winter is about 100 degrees Fahrenheit). We arrived at the airport right at 7:00 a.m. We were able to check in and wait for our plane with no problem. Our plane was a Boeing 757 that was equipped with entertainment devices, so the girls were very happy.

The flight to Almaty was fairly quick (when your shortest flight is normally 3.5 hours and typically 6.5 hours or more, 1.5 hour flights are easy!) and we were able to get through passport control and security and checked in for our flight without any problems.

Waiting in Astana for the day of travel to begin.

One of the most fun things is that we were on the same plane on the flight from Almaty to Vietnam as we were earlier - and sat in the exact same seats! The flight to Vietnam was about 6.5 hours long. We had a good time. The best part was that we had clear skies and were able to see the views as we flew over Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Thailand. The Tien Shen mountains and their valleys were the most impressive sight of all.

We landed in Ho Chi Minh and didn't have much problem getting through passport control and contacting our hotel to come pick us up. The pick up was quick - the hotel was literally right outside the airport - within walking distance. Once we were checked in, we went down the street and found a little restaurant (a chain by its looks) that served traditional Vietnamese food.

Dinner in Ho Chi Minh (Saigan).

Sunday morning we woke up and packed and headed to the airport. Once there we checked in. We ate Pho at a little restaurant while we waited for our plane - and we fell in love with it. Our flight to the Cam Ranh airport was quick - about 45 minutes. Our ride was waiting for us and we enjoyed the views as we drove down the coast to Na Trang.

View from hotel in Ho Chi Minh. Trees with Jack Fruit.

Pho in the airport in Ho Chi Minh

Once we were in our apartment, we all changed into swimming suits and walked across the street to the beach where the kids and I all swam for about an hour. Once we had swum enough, we came home, showered, and went out to find dinner. We found a little place up the street where we ate. The food was good, but more expensive than we expected and not as good as the price we paid for it.