Our trip from Vietnam back to the USA was not very straightforward. Due to booking the cheapest tickets, we ended up with three flights and an overnight in China. All of our flights went smoothly and we didn’t encounter any delays, but the times during and after our flights left a little to be desired.
We checked out of our hostel in Saigon and took an Uber to the airport. After spending the last of our dong on some souvenirs and snacks, we boarded a Jetstar Pacific flight to Hong Kong. The approach to Hong Kong was the most exciting I have ever seen: we flew over the water, seeing the junk boats dotting the harbor, and finally touched down on the runway that started at the edge of the land. It was memorable and I would love to return to explore Hong Kong one day! After a dinner at a fast food Chinese restaurant, we boarded our second flight to take us from Hong Kong to Beijing.
Clear skies allowed us to catch glimpses of the Arctic and icebergs as we flew from Beijing to Chicago.
At nearly midnight, we hadn’t made any hotel reservations and had planned on spending the night at the airport before our morning flight back to the USA. When we exited our plane, a girl was waiting at the gate with our names on a sign (along with a few others). She didn’t speak any English, so we stood with her not sure what we needed to do. Once the small group was gathered, she led us to immigration where we got stamped into China. Still not knowing what we were doing, we blindly followed her outside the airport to a van where she motioned us to get in. Another Chinese man was standing outside, so we tried to ask him what was happening. He didn’t know much English but said “hotel” so we went ahead and go in the van, figuring that if it was a mistake, we could just return to the airport to spend the night like previously planned. We drove a few miles away and were deposited at a hotel, waiting behind a tour bus that had just let its passengers off. We finally got checked into a room and were pleased to have a bed on which to rest, since we had to be awake in about six hours to go back to the airport. Still not knowing what happened, the best that we can figure is that the airline arranged a hotel room for us since we had an overnight layover; we didn’t end up having to pay for anything while we were there.
We lucked out with a stay at this hotel for 6 hours in Beijing, even if we didn’t realize what was happening at the time!
The next morning, we returned to the airport and treated ourselves to a Starbucks drink before our ~13 hour flight to Chicago. The flight was long, but smooth. Luckily, Hainan Airlines had a great selection of tv shows and movies to keep us entertained! Upon arrival in Chicago, we waited by the baggage carrousel for an hour and finally realized that neither of our backpacks had arrived. We filled out forms so they would know where to deliver our bags and took the El rail train to my sister’s apartment. Needless to say, we were exhausted after two full days of traveling! Rhonda generously took us out to the Boiler Room for pizza and Three Floyds beer (heaven!!) before we crashed for the night.
Although the food selection was nonexistent (they gave us a menu to make our decisions for meals, then told us they were out of 2 of the 3 options), the entertainment selection was plentiful and distracting.
We spent another day in Chicago, relaxing with Rhonda and Heather and eating Mexican food before taking the Amtrak train to Flight, MI. My parent’s picked us up in Flint and drove us to their home in Bay City, where we would spend the next few weeks recovering and gearing up for the next part of our adventures. We did eventually get our bags returned, four days after landing in the USA. Lesson learned – always carry your toothbrush and a spare pair of underwear!
Despite the lack of options, the meals on our flight were filling and fairly tasty.