Chào Bạn Vietnam!

And we are back on the road, for the Chuseok holidays. This time we are headed to Hanoi and Siem Reap. And this is going to be an exciting trip for many, many reasons. The first, we are flying Vietnam Airlines (maiden flight on board this carrier - ✓), we are flying a new aircraft, the Airbus A350 XWB (✓✓) and surprise, surprise, we just got upgraded to business class(✓✓✓) - what more could we ask for?

Now coming to the trip itself, we land in Hanoi this evening. We will spend three days in Hanoi and on Wednesday, we will leave for Siem Reap via Ho Chi Minh City where we would spend four days and visit the great Hindu temple, the Angkor Wat. 

Appreciating the curves of this beauty and it is quite evident that I do not have any time to do any other Plane Spotting. I had always loved the blue and golden-lotus livery of Vietnam Airlines, the four-star rating enticed me and the deployment of the Airbus A350 XWB made it a must travel...

Our flight today is onboard VN-A887 - this is the 15th Airbus A350 to be built and had its maiden flight on July 31, 2015...

The Airbus A350 XWB is a completely new design, radically different from other Airbus models in the market. The aircraft is built from composite materials making it lighter with improved aerodynamics and avionics. The design incorporates blended wingtips. And for the spotter, one distinctive feature of the A350 is that it has black windshields...

Catching up on news from Vietnam...

Wow! Korean Air's Boeing 747-8i - I wish to fly on this beauty soon...

Takeoff was smooth and I hardly felt a thing. Once we were airborne, we stretched ourselves on the flatbed relaxing and getting ready for the surprises that Hanoi has to offer!

Approach into Hanoi's Noi Ban airport and I spot Dien Bien Phu on the flight map - this town had a mention in Billy Joel's We Didn't Start the Fire...

Our route...

A short video from shortly after take-off and before landing...

Landed...

Xin cám ơn, Vietnam Airlines...

Nothing much to spot around here...

And here we are in Hanoi. It appears Vietnam has one of simplest visa-regimes. You can apply for a visa online but have to get a sticker affixed at the airport for payment of a fee in US Dollars. That's indeed simple...

And it is time to say Chào Bạn Vietnam or Hello Vietnam!