There is so much waiting involved in travel. So much time spent standing in queues or sitting in waiting areas.

And that’s after the journey begins. It doesn’t contemplate the weeks and months spent in anticipation.

But that time is behind us now. Now we are in the waiting area in international departures. Waiting for our plane to pull up to the gate, for our group (far down the priority list) to queue up to board.

It looks like a full plane for this first leg of our journey to Vietnam. We’ll be changing planes in Hong Kong — a popular destination in its own right, and an important hub for travel to Asia.

And then, of course, there is the flight itself, which is another kind of waiting. About 14 hours to HK, and a much shorter flight to Hanoi. I hope we can sleep.

If the airport is like a strange combination of bus terminal, military checkpoint, and shopping mall, the jets themselves are little more than airborne motor coaches. Modern commercial airlines are cramped, making flying, for me, something to be endured rather than enjoyed.

And endure it we have. As I sit outside the departure gate in the Hong Kong airport, waiting to be boarded for the two hour flight to Hanoi, the bulk of the flying, in this direction at least, is behind us. We managed, against all odds, to grab a few hours of interrupted sleep, and don’t feel too much the worse for wear. Nothing a shower and some coffee won’t cure.

More later, after I’ve begun to experience Vietnam.