Vietnam Ailrines to HCMC

Today I had the pleasure of flying with Vietnam Airlines from Sydney, Australia, to Ho Ch Minh City, Vietnam.

The flight was due to leave at 10.15am, but its departure was delayed by a few minutes. This did not matter, as the A330 plane caught up time during its flight and it managed to arrive earlier than the scheduled arrival time of 4.15pm.

I arrived at Sydney Airport two hours before departure to find a long queue of people before me. This did not matter, as the line moved quickly and I was soon checked in by the pleasant staff person. I went through the departure gate, filled in the departure form, and proceeded through the screening process. Nothing beeped, so I want through without being double checked.

After a short wait in the departure lounge, I boarded the plane and found my seat in row 9. The seat was comfortable, with a pillow and rug provided. Sitting next to me was a nice young Vietnamese man, returning to his hometown in HCMC during a break from his university studies in Sydney. Time went quickly as we chatted with each other.

Earphones plugged into the socket so that I could choose from the many options on the entertainment system. I chose to watch some new release movies to pass the time. A range of games to play and music to listen to were also available.

The cabin crew gave served friendly professional service throughout the flight. They first served drinks and nuts, followed by lunch. The lunch menu was quite impressive, with a choice of satisfying Vietnamese or Western main courses. The menu included:

• Entree - vegetable salad with prawn
• Main – Beef goulash, mashed potato, or Stir-fried Chicken in Hoisin sauce, steamed rice and bread and butter
• Sweet – Strawberry cheese cake

The lights were then dimmed and windows covered so that people could sleep if they wanted to. The lights came on again so that refreshments could be served. These included:

• Grilled fish and potato, or Stir fried vermicelli noodles with pork mince
• Bread roll and butter
• Fresh fruits

Assorted instant noodles were available upon request throughout the flight.

The flight was smooth with only a few moments of air turbulence, with a smooth landing at the Noi Bai International Airport in HCMC. A shuttle bus picked us up next to the plane on the tarmac and took us to the main terminal building. It did not take long to go through customs and collect my bag.

I was met at the airport terminal exit by ITE HCMC 2014 friendly volunteers who escorted me to where a taxi took a group of ITE delegates to our hotel accommodation in HCMC. It was good to be in Vietnam!