A Wandering Soul Returns Home


Friday
30 MAY 2008

We had breakfast, then Phan Thanh Hao, the journalist who's newspaper published the story that originally put us in contact with the Hoang family, sent her driver to take us to her rehabilitation center.



Stayed at mountain home of Wayne’s writer friend Nguyen Qui Duc. After the emotional and physical chaos of the last two weeks, it was truly a blessing.





This bee wine had bee bodies and some remnants of honey and tasted great.



I nearly freaked out when I saw this toy soldier rifleman sitting on the low table in Duc's home. It is the Vietnamese equivalent of the American WWII soldier, even to the same kneeling position, that I found in a remote farm field while walking my dog the day after I first published my Vietnam website page on Dam. This is just one of the most amazing and strange coincidences I noticed throughout the visit.






Saturday
31 MAY 2008
Early the second day, Wayne, Duc, and I took a walk to the falls on the trail above the Tam Dao Hill Resort.











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Finally the time came to leave. I wish I could have visited more with the Hoang family. Perhaps I will get to come back again in the near future. I really like them. I felt quite at home eating and talking with them after the funeral. I think I have a second family now. What an amazing people the Vietnamese are. If this is how Buddhists live their lives, maybe I should look at it more closely.

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Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City – Duration 2 Hours


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Saturday
31 MAY 2008 11:55 PM Depart Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam

Sunday
1 JUN 2008 7:45 PM Arrive Tokyo Narita Airport, Japan

Ho Chi Minh City to Narita – Duration 5 Hours 50 Minutes

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11:10 AM Departs Tokyo Narita Airport, Japan
Cross International Date Line
10:40 AM Arrive Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.

Narita to Dulles – Duration 12 Hours 30 Minutes

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4:00 PM Depart Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C.
5:19 PM Arrive Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, North Carolina

Dulles to Charlotte – Duration 1 Hour 19 Minutes

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5:50 PM Depart Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, North Carolina
6:44 PM Arrive Ashville Regional Airport, North Carolina




Charlotte to Ashville – Duration 54 Minutes



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Total Flight time from Ashville Regional Airport, North Carolina to Hanoi, Vietnam – 23 Hours 51 Minutes

Total Flight time from Hanoi, Vietnam to Ashville Regional Airport, North Carolina – 22 Hours 33 Minutes

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Distances

Hanoi to Tha Giang 50 miles
Home to Narita 6,817 miles
An Khe to Pleiku 43 miles
Narita to Saigon 2,724 miles
Saigon to Hanoi 700 miles
Hanoi to Quy Nhon 548 miles
Quy Nhon to Pleiku 83 miles
Pleiku to Dak To 48 miles
Dak To to Kontum 25 miles
Kontum to Pleiku 25 miles

Personal thanks to Wayne Karlin, Jessica Phillips, and Doug Reese for making this trip possible. Without their emotional support, I would never have had the courage to face the past so directly. I would also like to praise the Hoang family for their forgiveness and compassion. These are truly people to be admired. Their love even extends to their former enemies.

One Final Note...

I will never forget Dam's eyes. On my death bed, I suspect my last thought will be of Dam. I look forward to seeing him on the other side of death. We have so much catching up to do...

This link is to Peter Matthews return to Vietnam for a similar reconcillation.


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