tl: "hi, hi, hi.. ehh.. it cost actually 38,000 dong not 35,000 - you have 3000?"
oh. this lady is trying to rip us off. we dont owe 3000.
tl: "you have?"
we are boarding our plane. .. why didnt you tell us earlier? oh, right. you are a-
tl: "you have?"
damn. this nasty-
tl: "you have?"
b: "shit, hold on. heres 5000."

the lady walked back to her counter slowly, as the plane finalized boarding. she just looked at us. there was no way we could get the money back, and she knew it. the lady had our 23 cents. forever.

becca and i were getting ready to board our flight from Hanoi to Nha Trang. we had originially planned to take the"reunification express" train from Hanoi to Nha Trang - but the timing got fucked up. the schedule said that the train left at 8:30 PM and arrived at 2:30PM. 18 hours on the train, in a sleeper berth - no problem.
actually, vietnamese trains aren't so fast
actually.. it was a 42 hour trip ..( 24+18 = .. ).

b:"actually, lets get plane tickets."

so we got two, and were now ready to board our state-of-the-art Vietnam Airlines twin prop Soviet flying machine. its becca and i, and a few sweaty viet businessmen and party officials. oh, and this young russian woman with thick ankles, bright pink toenail polish and a bright pink tube dress. she was, presumably, ordered online by the balding but sporting vietnamese man she was standing next to.
(many vietnamese party cadres speak russian, im told).
she rolled her eyes at me when i smiled at her as we boarded the plane.

i watched the giant propellers begin to slowly spin outside my window. the propellers were bent at impossible angles. this was a little alarming, until i realized that the window was so badly scratched on the outside that everything i saw had that look.

we began to cruise down the runway, and the entire plane began to shake. my tray came loose and bounced around in front of me. becca was smiling at her book.

"wehcomt Vietnam Erlin fly two oh fi fi nahstop too Nha Trang. plee fastent seebell. tang yo. "