Rambo: First Blood Part I

Thursday, 28 September 2006.

0500 hours: Waken from a brief sleep and hastily prepare for the coming mission.
0555hours: The rest of the team and myself board the bus that will take us to Hong Kong International Airport where our jet awaits, courtesy of Cathay Pacific.
0700 hours: We arrive at the airport and proceed through security smoothly.
0735 hours: Breakfast before departure.
0815 hours: I contact Kat, our correspondent back at Base Pepperdine and she gives me our mission:
Run a recconaissance in Saigon City, Vietnam, gathering information on any remaining military activity and report back on 2 October 2006.

0825 hours: I brief the team on the mission after we board the plane.
0855 hours: Takeoff!
1015 hours (local time): We land in Saigon, aka Ho Chi Minh City, amidst a torrent of rain. After passing through customs, we are met by our local contact, Viet, aka the best tour guide in the world.

The remainder of the day is spent touring Ho Chi Minh City and familiarizing ourselves with the landscape, local customs, and places of interest. In other words we checked into our hotel, ate lunch, and walked through a bazillion museums and a former presidential palace.

After feasting on three dishes that night, we call it a night earlier than usual, around 11, in preparation for the first day of our mission. It will begin at 0630 hours with an early morning run...