Pics are in the gallery. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've put up some more pics in the gallery.  Nathaniel's settling in nicely though both he and Isaac are sick with a cold.

 

We got invited out for lunch last weekend to meet a delegation of government officials from Viet Nam in town to meet with our provincial government.  Very interesting and well spoken people.  Funny thing was we ended up meeting at a Vietnamese restaurant called Indochine (and it was good food).  I thought they'd be more interested in something different, but hey, who am I.

 

Here are some pics from that meeting.

 

 

So, we're all home.  Isaac and Nathaniel seem to be suffering the worst from the jetlag though Isaac didn't show anything at first.  Sharon and I are not suffering from "our own" jetlag... put it that way.  Nathaniel is getting used to having his own room, though on top of the jetlag, he now has a cold and an ear infection and got his first doctors prescription.

 

I'll update you all on the return shortly.  Have to go get Sharon's car fixed.  Seems having it sit around for 3 weeks caused all sorts of problems...

5:22 PM Tuesday: 

 

Isaac and I are now packed and ready to leave tomorrow morning at 7:30 AM or 6:30 PM Toronto time. 

 

Yannick left for Singapore yesterday and was apparently at the High Commission all day waiting for the documents though we're still not sure at this time who's documents they were able to process.  We'll know tonight once he gets back, but we're prepared to have Sharon wait until they arrive which should be by Thursday.

 

If we get any new info, I'll update this entry, otherwise, I'll be heading home first thing tomorrow.

 

5:54 PM Tuesday: 

 

Well, the visa's are here.  We're meeting in 5 minutes as a group to get them.  Since the Cathay Pacific Office here is now closed, we tried to email the TDH Travel Agent to see if we can change Sharon's flight to tomorrow, but got a return saying he was on vacation.   We'll try to call his office tonight, or I may try to go to the airport.

 

Chances are slim that there's a seat but we'll try.  She's willing to sit in any single seat available.   If not, we should be able to get something out Thurdays.

 

Further updates coming.

 

10:24 PM Tuesday:

 

Well, Dorinda did it.  We'll be all coming home together.  Next post will be from there.

Last night we went for dinner at Jaspas, an Australian "Fusion" restaurant.  Sharon had the Filet Mignon and I had the ribeye.  Both were great with fresh grilled vegetables and wasabi mashed potatoes.  The appetizers were their garlic bread and the shrimp and vegetable wontons with red curry sauce.  It's at the bottom end of Dong Khoi and easy to find if you're looking for it and the staff and very fluent in English.

 

We toured around Dong Khoi after to see what the night was like there, and it was still very busy.  We walked over to the Rex and then down towards Ben Tanh Market, stopping off at a silk store that Sharon went back to today to buy some clothes. 

 

Today, we went for a swim and then I took Isaac with me to get our seats for the ride home.  We then stopped off for some New Zealand ice cream, and then popped into the PwC office here so I could get my email for the flight back.

 

Tonight we made dinner here, just plain old spaghetti, but we needed the rest.

 

Early to bed tonight, and then packing tomorrow for the flight back on Wednesday.

Well, Grandma and Grandpa got to the airport and home the other day, and we've moved over into a smaller 2 bedroom unit in the same hotel.  It's on the ground floor and seems to actually be a lot cozier with a nice view of the pool.

 

Nathaniel's doing well and Isaac enjoys playing with him, though we have to keep an eye on his gentleness since he doesn't quite understand it yet. 

 

For those who are coming out here to adopt, finding an inexpensive baby stroller downtown in almost next to impossible.  Some are running 6,000,000 VND !   We found a series of toy stores on Hai Bai Trung at Dien Bien Phu.  There are about 6 stores, and Sharon bartered a price of about $30 USD for a folding stroller and toy.

 

We also took a trip around to see some more sites including a trip to Cholon (Chinatown) and the Binh Tay market there which was hot, crowded, and smelly.

 

Temperature then and today is apparently 114 degrees with the humidity, 96 - 98 without.

 

We did a trek back to the medical clinic here (If you need help, go to the "Family Medical Practice" at the Diamond Plaza, 34 Le Duan St, District 1, HCMC) to get Nathaniel checked up.  He's developed a little bit of a cold, and we want to try to nip it before he flies out.  I also stopped in because I had another allergic reaction.  I spoke to the doctor, and she said it's definitely because I touched something and not what I ate.  It can't be the sunscreen since a reaction would've been all over, and same with soap.  I started to doubt the Tea Tree oil because I avoided where Lorna used it, until Sharon told me that the clothes that Nathaniel was wearing the night before, Lorna had washed in Teatree Oil...  strike 2 for teatree oil.  So, we're throwing those clothes and some others out.

 

We've met some other folk's coming in for adoption from an agency in the US, and TDH expects another 7 coming in today and tomorrow so Loan will be busy with us and them.

 

I've only got 2 more days here so I'll be trying to get out later today and to the office on Monday.

 

Other than that, nothing to add.

Okay, so  it's 10:18PM Thursday night here, 11:18 AM back in Toronto and I'm sitting here typing the latest news as Isaac lies passed out on the sofa next to me.  Everyone else is asleep in bed since Ray and Lorna are leaving HCMC tomorrow for home on the 10:35 AM flight.

 

So, I'm sitting here wondering... "Who the hell is even reading this crap?"  Well, if you are, drop me a line at arn.kashino@gmail .com just for curiosity sake.  Put the subject as "Adoption Update #10", no matter who you are, no matter if I know you, or how you got here.

 

Anyway, tonight I took Isaac and Sharon out to an Italian restaurant... yes I said Italian...  not Vietnamese.  Getting tired of fried rice and chicken asserole if you know what I mean.  Anyway, I digress.  Since grandma and grandpa are leaving, we thought it would be nice to have one night out for dinner and they said that they'd watch Nathaniel who was asleep in his crib.  Last night BTW, he slept the entire night there...

 

The three of us had:

Sharon picked up a hand stitched quilt for Nathaniel here, plus a stitched pillow case for $52, and it's from a not-for-profit agency that teaches Vietnamese women the skills necessary to make a living doing these beautiful quilts.

 

Viet Nam is turning out to me more and more interesting every day...

Well, no pics in this update.  I just wanted to tell you what a day it has been getting the passport for Nathaniel. 

 

First, we got sent in the first taxi to the passport office.  Only problem was that even though the agent told the driver where to go before she sent us off, he didn't know where to go and tried to drop us off in some shopping area.  After arguing with him, he drove to a hotel where the doorman translated for us where we needed to go and we eventually got there 20 minutes late. 

 

Anyway, we went in and waited to get called to the counter.  There were a couple of issues getting the passports finalized, but in the end, we all got them and Jonathan (the one who has the immediate flight deadline) got his and should be able to make his flight home on the 9th.

 

Now, I have to go back tomorrow as a representative of the group and pick up all of the completed passports (or so I hope) with Loan and Jonathan.  Chris and Tracy are taking the kids to a resort up north, so I hope nothing goes wrong, otherwise they may have a problem. 

 

So, the excitement continues.  If we get the passports tomorrow with no issues, I will be VERY happy.

 

After we finished with the passports, I took Tracy and her daughter Isabelle to the medical clinic.  Isabelle has a little bit of an intestinal problem that has been getting worse over the last 2 days culminating in a "baby diaper blow out" at the mall this morning.  Parents of children will understand what I mean.   Tracy's husband couldn't make it due to business issues, so I thought it would be wise to help her get to the clinic since I'd been there 2 days ago with the allergy issue (which by the way I think is caused by Tea Tree oil.   Lorna's been using it to disinfect their bathroom, and the day I started getting the rash was the day I used their bathroom.  I'll get tested by a doctor when I get home to be sure, but it's the only thing different these days that I've come into contact with.)

 

Anyway, we went to the clinic, and Julie, the Australian receptionist ended up thinking a) I was Isabelle's new daddy, and b) that I was probably an ass because I waited in the waiting room instead of going with her, didn't know a thing about her when they asked ME to fill in a form, and I had no clue what Isabelle's Vietnamese name was.  At least she thought I was an ass until I smiled when she came by and told her that I was only the escort, and that my child was back at the hotel....

 

So endeth another afternoon in HCMC.

 

 

Well, after waiting all day yesterday for the agents from the agency to show up with the paperwork for the passports, we again missed another date.  Seems some of the paperwork in Vung Tau had not been completed so the agent got stuck there waiting.  So, this morning we heard from them and we're scheduled to head to the passport office at 1:30PM to apply for Nathaniel's passport.  In the meantime, while I waited for the call from the agents, the others toured around or we went swimming.  Here are the pic updates...

 

 

Well, we've been relaxing while we wait for the holidays to end.  The "Reunification" Celebration is pretty big and coincides with the day that the South surrendered to the North.  I went over to the Palace and saw the tank that was seen around the world on TV and in the papers, crashing through the gates.

 

We've been eating out and had a huge seafood dinner at a restaurant around the corner.  For the 5 of us, it came to under $25 US for Thai clams, shrimp, fried rice, shrimp spring rolls, seafood noodles, scallops, etc, plus drinks.   Not bad.  The only problem was that nobody there spoke English, we don't speak Vietnamese, so we really didn't know what we ordered until it came....

 

We also went to an Australian restaurant downtown.  There's a picture below of the "specials".  Check out the 3rd from the top.

 

Finally, I've had an allergic reaction to something here.  May be some of the medication we're using on Nathaniel for a skin condition, but either way, my hands are swollen, red, and really itchy.  Went to the doctor here and had to pay $50 US for the consultation and $14 US for prescription antihistamines.  Makes you wonder how come things are so expensive back home....  So I'm on meds for 5 days with no real clue what caused the allergic reaction.

 

So, tomorrow I go to the Vietnamese Passport office to apply for a passport for Nathaniel which, hopefully, will be sent to Singapore on Thursday to get his visa home.

 

Anyway, here are todays pics....

 

 

 

 

Well, seems that there's still some confusion about when we'll get the visa for Nathaniel back and the story seems to change daily which is a bit bothersome.  2 families have decided to have one person go directly to the High Commission in Singapore personally to pick up their documents in order to expedite the process.  From what I understand has some risks to it, but they are in a time crunch.  Nobody can seem to give us any assurance on when we "should" expect to get this all done so we can book a flight home for Nathaniel and Sharon.  For now, we're staying with TDH's original plan until someone can prove that there is a better way.

 

In the meantime, we're using the National Holiday here to tour HCMC and see the sights like the War Remnants Museum, the shopping district, and have good lunches.  The Museum was interesting.  Seeing it from the other side was a totally different and disturbing thing.  We ran into some US and Australian war vets... pretty tough on them seeing some of this stuff.

 

Here are todays pics....

 

 

Well, we actually got the GR done.  We're now 1/2 way there.

 

We got a call at 11 am to be ready for another 2 hour drive to Vung Tau to get the final papers/release from the orphanage, and now Nathaniel is officially ours.  But, because of all of the delays, we were not able to get the final papers to the consulate here so that they can then be finalized in Singapore (Don't even bother asking).  Now, because of the statutory holidays, we will not be able to do this until Wednesday.  This means that we won't get the visa for Nathaniel until around the 11th, 5 days later than planned.  So, Sharon and Nathaniel will have to stay here with the other families (or what's left of them) and the rest of us will have to head home.  Ray and Lorna are leaving here on the 4th, and Isaac and I on the 9th.  Sharon's hoping to catch a flight out with Nathaniel on or about the 12th.  Confused?

 

Anyway, the only saving grace here is that the other 6 families are all in the same boat, or worse due to scheduling conflicts.  We're all staying at the same hotel, so at least Sharon will have company and some help if she needs it.

 

So, now we have 4 days to sit, relax, or tour Vietnam.

 

BTW, seems that April 30th is basically their Independence Day here, or the day that the Vietnam War as we know it ended and the South surrendered to the North.  Since we'll be here during this time, it may be in interesting weekend to be here.

 

Anyway, some more pics for you...

 

 

Well, we're still at the hotel in HCMC waiting for word that they have everything in place for the GR Ceremony.  Got a call this morning from Loan telling us to be on 20 minute standby.

 

Nathaniel's doing well and Isaac's getting the hang of being a big brother.  Last night was the first night that Isaac slept right through without waking up.  He was quite proud of himself.  Now he has more energy to be a kid (aka a royal pain today).

 

More selected pics for you....