In Hanoi

We made it to Hanoi today and are settled in the Somerset Grand. A far different set-up from the Saigon hotel. We have a two-bedroom, two-bath apartment with a kitchen and washer and dryer. Breakfast is included in the Somerset restaurant, but we're going to miss our Club Lounge with free Internet (it's 3 bucks for 30 minutes here, WTF?), free booze (seriously, WTF???), free snacks all day long, and those views of the Saigon River Loc found so compelling.

Loc was amazing on the flight today. He settled against me and went right to sleep as soon as we started to take off, and woke up when we landed.

In fact, today has been one long day of, what happened to the scared, withdrawn and fussy kid we adopted? This new boy is absolutely delightful, giggling all the time, playing games with us, generally being charming, eating up a storm, and even splashing in the pool today and laughing his head off.

We had a real adventure when we got here. We joined Thao, Christine, and Troy for lunch for Vietnamese food. We went to this place where they were cooking food and washing dishes basically on the street. We climbed a flight of narrow stairs to the dining room, where the food was already on the table. You just sat down and started eating. No refrigeration except for the beers. It was grilled beef and pork in a bowl of sauce, sliced-up spring rolls, a plate of noodles, pickled papaya, and a plate of lettuce and mint. You're supposed to mix everything together and dig in. We avoided the uncooked stuff and hoped for the best. So far, so good. It was delicious, but about as authentic as I want to get.

Hanoi is totally different from Saigon. Much less hectic and less crowded, and the buildings are all older and more French colonial looking. It's hotter and dusty here. Where we are has some new construction, but not like Saigon. It definitely has that post-colonial look.

Okay, the space key on this computer isn't working, so I'll say goodnight. We have a free day tomorrow while Thao does paperwork, so we're going shopping. Then another Big Day on Tuesday, when I have the US Embassy interview and hopefully get the boy's visa. As soon as I get that, we can come home, so stay tuned!!