Casey Space

Travelling, finding shelter, getting around.

It takes a long time to get from Boise, Idaho to Hanoi, Vietnam.

When we did our basement renovation, we opted to prime and paint everything ourselves to save the money for riding Business Class on our big flight. We were advised that immigration can take 1 -4 hours after landing, so I wanted to be well rested because I pictured being questioned in a windowless room for hours.

The price difference between flying from Boise to Hanoi compared to flying from Seattle to Hanoi was enormous. So, we booked a separate flight from Boise to Seattle the night before, booked a hotel, and then made the big trek.

Door to door, it was about 42 hours of travelling. The splurge on laydown seats was extremely beneficial for Josh who was stiff and sore from the car accident a week before.

What’s In The Bag?

We packed 4 large checked suitcases, 2 large backpacks for carry-ons, and 2 smaller backpacks.

Our business class flight allowed 70lb checked bags, but our little Seattle flight allowed only 50lbs. So, we made two 50 lb bags and two 80 lb bags.

Alaska Airlines was woefully understaffed at the counter. We were next in line, but we waited 20 minutes, before a frustrated femme fellow came out of the back. He looked slight in build, but he hucked our 80 lb bags with so much force and rage. He could not have thrown our bags in a more damaging way with basically one hand, it was incredible to watch.

Contents of Bags:

• Summer wardrobe, footwear, swimwear
• Teacher supplies
• A gift from Idaho for the school secretary who helped make all this possible
• Fitness wear and home workout accessories (2 yoga mats, TRX, resistance bands, push up handles, jump rope, stretching strap)
• Water filter containers and Camelback
• 2 pairs of roller skates and protective gear
• Prescribed antibiotics for tummy troubles, salves and various pills, at-home Covid test, toiletries, and a little bit of make-up
• 1 hammock
• All knitting needles
• 3 laptops, 2 Kindles
• A medium and small yoga wheel for back stretching

Contents of Boxes to be Shipped:

• Several rain jackets and one puffy coat
• Fancy hair products and the rest of my make-up
• Wellies rain boots, hiking boots and high heels
• Sentimental To-Go coffee cup from Sisters, Oregon and Treefort drinking cups
• A large yoga wheel for back stretching

In hindsight, we should have just added the boxes to our luggage an paid for the extra for bringing them with us. I underestimated how much it would cost to ship the boxes…basically it’s cheaper if I just go get them myself and bring them back.

Landing

Josh’s work put us up in the Hyatt Residency on the west side of town, near the school. It was great to have a nice place to land.

Immigration only took a few minutes, plus about 20 minutes line waiting time. The secretary at Josh’s school has been amazing with helping us have all the correct documents and papers.

The first thing we did in the airport was get some cash in Vietnamese Dong and bought SIM cards for our phones. Our new mobile plans are $6 a month!

What we didn’t do is get a customs card before we left the secure area of the airport. This was a big mistake as this is needed for bringing in package shipments and if you don’t have it, it adds hundreds of dollars to your shipping bill.

Josh’s school principal picked us up and we drove into Hanoi, about 45 minute ride. We got to bed at 1am and got up around 6am to get ready for our appointment to go look for an apartment.