Vietnam 2006 - On to Hanoi

It was very bittersweet checking out of the Royal Duxton. I loved, loved Saigon and was sad to leave. However Hanoi was our last step before going home and I was ready to take Gracie home. We had a very eventful ride to the airport. Traffic is always crazy and I was always expecting a wreck. The right of way belongs to the person who is most aggressive. On the ride to the airport a young woman on a motorbike wiped out and landed on the curb. The van carrying the other half of our group was directly behind her and slammed on their brakes in an effort to avoid hitting her. In a chain reaction our van rear ended the van with the rest of our group. The young woman hit her ribs on curb and was obviously in pain. We were all ok and we waited on a new van for the rest of our group. Once it arrived and they switched vans we made our way to the airport.

Grace did not sleep on this flight. She was a very good girl and did not fuss. We arrived in Hanoi after a short flight and made our way to our hotel. When we arrived we found out that they did not have cribs for us because they had several adopting families staying in the hotel and they were using the cribs. Quoc contacted the hotel and they went out the next day and purchased cribs. Quoc was fantastic. The other families adopting were from all over. We met another group from the US. They were using an agency I was unfamiliar with and were having lots of problems. Their babies were sick, very sick. And they were also very young. I am not quite sure how they got babies so young. Their agency had told them nothing. The didn't know they needed a physical before the interview, etc. I felt really bad for them. It made me feel better and better about my agency who had made this experience so easy.

Unlike in Saigon, our hotel's location left something to be desired. We were staying in the plumbing district so we didn't have the freedom of wandering about, we had to plan our outings. The weather in Hanoi was fantastic. It was funny because everyone was bundled up and we were enjoying the 70 degree weather. It was like spring here in the south. Our second interview went off without a hitch and we hoped to get the visas the next day and head home early. However the travel agent didn't give alot of hope for coming home the day we got the visa. We'd have to wait until the next day.

One outing we planned was to see the water puppet show. I had the tickets for Justin, Kelly, Lucy and myself. I was going to meet them outside the theatre. Terri didn't want to go so she was going to stay at the hotel with Grace. When I got ready to leave I had their tickets but could not find mine. It was one of those crazy things. You lay something down and it is right there in front of you somewhere but you can't find it. I headed out to take them their tickets. When I arrived they said that Terri and Grace were on the way with my ticket. Strange thing is, when Terri arrived I was kind of over going to the show. So I skipped the show and Terri and I did our thing - shopped. That was the most beautiful area and I wish I had spent more time there. The lake was directly across from the puppet theatre and it was just beautiful.

The visas were ready the next day and we were ready to go home! We had all our stuff packed just in case he could get us out that day. However it looked like we would be spending one more night in Hanoi. Justin and Lucy came up to our room that night to get some sinus medication. They were flying out that night. I was glad for them, but it was sad separating Grace and Lucy. We had joked all along that they kept looking at each other like "you're still here so I'm ok." The next day we were heading home too.