Heide's passport came back from the Vietnamese Embassy in short order with the multi-entry visa added.  It went out on a Friday and came back the next.  That's pretty good considering I used the less expensive option at FedEx.  If you are going to jump over to other countries from Vietnam and then back again, you need the multi-entry visa. We intend to visit Laos and Thailand.  I want Heide to see the Mekong River in the Savannakhet, Laos area.  It is remote by our standards, but I believe Savannaket is actually considered a large city in Laos.  I think it has a population of around 120,000.  Mukdahan, Thailand across the Mekong is an interesting place.  It does not fit the stereotype of Thailand put forward in the tourist media.  It is rather backwoods in a way.  Vietnam is one of those places it is best to get the visas before arrival.  Laos on the other hand, you can get a visa at the border.  Thailand does not require U.S. citizens to get a visa at all.  
   Our tickets were purchased last year for the upcoming August trip for Korean Air.  They do a nice job.  And last year due to a lay over, I got to spend a day touring around Seoul.  There is a regional bus company terminal right down the street from our house here in our Southern  Wisconsin town.  They run several trips to Chicago O'hare daily and back again.  Unless there is a major malfunction, it is easier to get to Saigon from our house than to travel to Boulder Junction up North in Wisconsin from here.