12. December 2008 by Mark.

Thursday was rough, and the mild sore throat I woke up with should have been a warning.

The morning was spent packing to get ready to fly to Hanoi. As I had a bit of extra time, I walked to the famous Ben Thanh indoor market, to do a bit of shopping. Walking there, I thought how nice it was to get out without carrying my camera for a change. Go figure. Whom should I see in the market but Anthony Bourdain. Evidently, he is doing his third show in Vietnam and may actually move here for a year. Anyway, I talked to his location manager for a bit and then introduced myself and Troy. At least I had my cell phone so I do have one picture. However it will have to wait until I’m home because I do not know how to transfer it to my computer.

At the airport, I finally had a chance to get online for a bit. Here’s a picture of me in the business class lounge, eating leftover pizza and updating this blog, for you, my readers (assuming there are any):

By the picture, you might think Troy would be the ultimate traveling companion. Not so much. From the time of boarding until 30 minutes into the flight, Troy whined and cried and thrashed and clawed. I will understand if Vietnam Airlines creates a policy banning infants (or Troy) from business class. Thankfully, my seatmate was most patient and helpful, and even would have provided us a ride into town in his company car had I been traveling alone (he is the general manager of Vietnam’s latex export company).

By the way, Vietnam Airlines flies 777’s from Saigon to Hanoi. They sure like big planes.

In Hanoi, we’re staying at the Horison hotel, which is a bit away from the tourist center. It’s quite nice.

I decided to wander the area to get some dinner. Troy fell asleep in the carrier as I walked through what I would call the “working class” neighborhood. This means there were restaurants selling “Bia Hoi” (cheap local draft beer) and “Thit Cho” (dog meat). For the first time I actually saw some puppy already cooked up and ready for take out. I moved on and got my dinner as take out from a decent looking place called “Saigon Deli”.

Back at the hotel, I fed Troy and myself more or less simultaneously. Here’s the scene:

It was at this point that Troy melted down again, seemingly inconsolable, clawing at his ears, and kicking his legs. Thinking it might be an ear infection, I gave him some ibuprofin. I also looked up the number for the medical clinic and prepared to e-mail my doctors at home. With a good bit of work and my back in significant pain, I got Troy to sleep. I was too exhausted to contact any doctors so went to bed right after that.

Posted in Hanoi, Food, Saigon | 1 Comment »

12. December 2008 by Mark.

Wednesday was a day off, so I took a day trip to the Mekong river delta. I had visions of Troy’s sensitive skin flaring into a horrible heat rash, but he was actually a real trooper all day long - pretty much stripped to his diaper most of the time. He behaved well on the 2 hour (each way) bus ride and won the affection of a good number of people in the travel group.

I can’t say Troy will remember the many boat rides, seeing the snakes, visiting the honey farm, visiting the coconut candy factory, listening to local music, or the lunch of prawn curry and elephant ear fish. He probably won’t remember the woman who offered me her daughter’s hand in marriage and then, rebuffed, offered to sell me her granddaughter. I’m sure there was something lost in translation but the latter offer was a bit creepy. All in all, it was a worthwhile day, setting me back $15 plus the cost of lunch.

Here’s Troy awake:

… and asleep in his dorky-looking dad’s arms (he spent about half the time doing this)

Back in Saigon, I got a pizza for dinner and ate at the hotel.  I also attempted to give Troy a bath.  He HATES baths and shrieked the entire time, even though (or perhaps because) I got in the tub with him.

Posted in Tourist, Saigon | No Comments »

12. December 2008 by Mark.

Well, when we last left off, Troy had woken up from his nap and my blog was still about 4 days behind. Let’s hope I can wrap things up tonight.

After the medical exam, we got visa pictures for the babies and then were free until Thursday, when we were to fly to Hanoi. I went back to the hotel for nap for Troy. He has a strange affinity for terry towels, which he likes to use for comfort when he sleeps. Fortunately, the Duxton hotel had plenty.

In the afternoon I hung out with Victor and Jamie, a couple from my group who adopted a daughter. We walked around, shopping and checking out potential restaurants for dinner. We finally took a break at the rooftop bar of the Rex hotel, one of the great rooftop bars of the world…

For dinner, we went to “Blue Ginger” which I believe was popular with a number of adoptive parents from my agency.  The food was very good but in retrospect, it was a bit much for the kids to sit through the 6 or 7 course menu we ordered.  It did not help that I got turned around and led us in the exact opposite direction on the way home.

Posted in Tourist, Saigon, Travel | No Comments »

10. December 2008 by Mark.

I’ll try to catch you up on the Saigon leg of the trip all in one post. I’ll publish it in bits but keep coming back because I may add to it as Troy permits.

On Monday we flew from Da Nang to Saigon. Before leaving the hotel, Troy and I took a walk on the beach, taking advantage of a break in the weather. Troy loves the Ergo carrier and easily falls asleep in it (as long as I’m moving). Here’s a picture of Troy after the walk. I had hoped to make baby footprints in the sand on the beach but Troy had conked out too quickly.

This was Troy’s first flight, again on an enormous China Airlines A300 jet. Here is Troy sitting in his own Business Class seat (he did not have his own ticked but the seat was free):

Saigon was hot, of course. This time, we stayed at the Duxton, a very nice hotel in the downtown area. The night we arrived, I just wandered around a bit and had a Banh Mi (”Saigon Sub”) sandwich of BBQ pork.

The next morning was the medical checkup, required as part of the visa documentation. Our guide took us to the hospital, where they were put through some pretty basic checks - a quick look and some measurements. I was disappointed that they were unable or unwilling to check Troy’s ears, which have concerned me since he seem to pull at them as if he is in pain (typically a sign of an ear infection). The doctor was impressed by how much Troy has attached to me, as judged by Troy’s response when I handed him off for measurements. Here’s Troy getting weighed most unhappily:

Well, Troy is up (and cranky) so here’s hoping I’ll finish the updates later…

Posted in Milestones, Saigon | 1 Comment »

10. December 2008 by Mark.

Sorry, everyone, for the silence. No worries. All is well, despite a few difficult moments (precipitated by teething and mourning for nannies, both of which seem to be mostly over with for this round). I’ll work on a longer post but wanted to get this out there.

I’m in the Saigon airport business class lounge, by the way, munching on leftover cold pizza from last night.  Troy is sitting next to me eating some sort of shrimp rice cracker.

Posted in Saigon | 1 Comment »

3. December 2008 by Mark.

Sure enough, I soon met my traveling companions, Kari and Kyle, from Oklahoma, and Victor and Jamie, from San Francisco. Kari and Kyle had had a rushed connection in San Francisco and there was some concern the luggage would not make it.

Our flight to Ho Chi Minh city was pretty uneventful. The best part was realizing that we were flying right over Troy’s orphanage. I took a picture of the map from the plane (click to see full-sized)

I also wrote some blog posts on the plane that were lost when my computer’s battery died. Sorry…I’ll try to recreate them tomorrow.

Anyway, after a scary bit where it seemed 4 of my travel companions’ bags were missing, the luggage was located and we were off to Saigon. We’re staying tonight at the Park Royal, which is a nice hotel far from the city center and near the airport. This choice because we need to head back to the airport in the morning to fly to Danang…

One thing we learned today was that the Minister of Justice will be attending a conference on Friday and thus our G&R has been moved to Sunday. We’ll therefore visit the orphanage tomorrow and Friday but not have full custody until Sunday. I hope this makes the adjustment easier for Troy because it will be stretched out in a way, but we’ll see.

I spent the afternoon and evening roaming the city with Victor and Jamie (Kyle and Kari were beat after their 4 flights in a row). My first meal was some awesome Pho (pretty much the national dish), at Pho 2000 a legendary place that Bill Clinton visited.

I also took care of some things I needed/wanted to do before T-Day. I got a Vietnamese phone SIM card, a haircut, and a massage, among other things. I’m somewhat jealous of the other couples who can simply hand their baby to their partner and get a massage or take a break every so often. I won’t have that luxury - but, I’ll get lots of one on one time with Troy instead.

In case you’re wondering, news from the home front is that Evan is doing swimmingly without me. He’s in good hands.

There is much more to say but the jet lag is hitting me hard. It’s off to bed.

Posted in Saigon, Travel | No Comments »