Sunday, December 16, 2012
Good-Bye Vietnam
We will miss you !! Although we are so happy to finally be going home to see Cliff and Shae-Lee , we will miss this beautiful country and beautiful people. We have made many friends on our journey over here and they have made our stay here so much easier. The kindness shown to Jayda and myself went above and beyond and we are so thankful to have met such wonderful people.
Thursday & Friday 14 & 15 - Saying Good-Bye
The last couple of days we have been busy getting ready to leave, but Catherine and Sebastien were able to schedule their flight to leave early to go back to Montreal. They have been here for 6 weeks. They have travelled to various places in Vietnam but once our passports were ready they decided to change there flight to leave on Saturday instead. They arrived back from Hoi An on Thursday, along with Mary and Wade. We met up for dinner with them and than decided to go to the Water Puppet Theater, we had talked about going, and now that it was near the end of our trip, we decided time was running short so we decided to go that night (sorry, I didnt get pictures)
The next day, Mary, Wade and myself decided to go to the Zoo. I thought perhaps it was a different Zoo than what Shae-Lee and I had gone to since when we drove past it one time, it looked beautiful and green and they had these amazing Swan Paddle Boats. Well, as it turned out, same Zoo, different entrance. I'm not going to bother writing about it because it was just as bad the 2nd time around. One thing I will write about though were the rides they had at the Zoo, think 1950's run down. We decided to put the girls on a ride that had different animals that you sit in and than it goes around in a circle to music, the seats hang from bars that swing a little and the seats are really only meant for a small child, but the operator of the ride, insisted that we sit in the ride with our girls. Mary and I looked at each other, and thought, how could that be possible, how could we possibly fit. Well, we squeezed in as the ride started moving, I dont think I stopped laughing the whole time, we must have looked absolutely ridiculous, the ride kept getting faster and faster, and than we finally had to tell her to stop the ride, I was getting extremly motion sickness and for the safety of our children. It really was quite ridiculous and funny. I really wish I had a picture!!
That night, we met up for one last dinner with Catherine and Sebastien, it was Friday night and they were leaving the next day. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see them one last time. We made many memories together. Our children are from the same Orphanage so we will always have that connection.
The next day, Mary, Wade and myself decided to go to the Zoo. I thought perhaps it was a different Zoo than what Shae-Lee and I had gone to since when we drove past it one time, it looked beautiful and green and they had these amazing Swan Paddle Boats. Well, as it turned out, same Zoo, different entrance. I'm not going to bother writing about it because it was just as bad the 2nd time around. One thing I will write about though were the rides they had at the Zoo, think 1950's run down. We decided to put the girls on a ride that had different animals that you sit in and than it goes around in a circle to music, the seats hang from bars that swing a little and the seats are really only meant for a small child, but the operator of the ride, insisted that we sit in the ride with our girls. Mary and I looked at each other, and thought, how could that be possible, how could we possibly fit. Well, we squeezed in as the ride started moving, I dont think I stopped laughing the whole time, we must have looked absolutely ridiculous, the ride kept getting faster and faster, and than we finally had to tell her to stop the ride, I was getting extremly motion sickness and for the safety of our children. It really was quite ridiculous and funny. I really wish I had a picture!!
That night, we met up for one last dinner with Catherine and Sebastien, it was Friday night and they were leaving the next day. I'm glad we had the opportunity to see them one last time. We made many memories together. Our children are from the same Orphanage so we will always have that connection.
Our Hotel
I just wanted to write a little bit about our Hotel in Hanoi since we have lived here for the past 3 weeks. The staff that work here are absolutely amazing, me writing about it or telling you about it, really doesnt do its justice, you have to experience what it is like to stay here. Here are a few things that I absolutely loved about staying here:
- Everynight I come back to my room, my bed is turned down, and my bedside table holds a little plate of Chocolates and a beautiful flower
- At breakfast, I am looked after from the time I enter the dining area (which really is maybe twice the size of our Living Room area, whoever has been to our place knows that its not very big) We are greeted at the Elevator and looked after like Royalty.
- They love, love, love Jayda and I feel like this hotel should include babysitting as a perk for those staying here because I feel that is what they do. They feed Jayda , they wipe her nose (yes, you heard me, they wipe her nose), they entertain her while I am eating, they play with her and they do it with huge, big smiles on there faces. They really are wonderful. Once I was in the room over lunch and on their own initiative they prepared scrambled egg for me to feed her and brought it to my room
- This Hotel is immaculate, I see them dusting the tiniest corners, they take pride in doing a good job and keeping this hotel in top shape
- The staff here are very young (probably early to mid twenties), but they give amazing attention to detail, always going the extra step, they are always a step ahead of me and I feel like my every need is always met.
- Whenever I come and go, the help with all my bags and stroller is automatic. I never have to ask, its just second nature for them to be helpful.
- When I had to wake the manager at 2:30 am in the morning to print my E-Ticket for her Passport - he never grumbled, he never complained (I know I should have waited, but I couldnt have slept without that ticket in my hand) I hadnt seen him since that night, but I did seem him today, and he was so pleasant with a big smile on his face. I told him that I would be leaving tomorrow night, but not till midnight, so I paid for tomorrow night as well. He told me that he would put in a request that I should only pay half price. I never assumed that I should, but he suggested it on his own.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Leaving Tomorrow
Can you see me grinning from ear to ear. I am SO excited to finally be able to say, we are leaving tomorrow!!! Today was a hot one, it has been the hottest day that we have had since I have arrived in Hanoi, think of a hot Summer day in Vancouver, that's what it was like here. A perfect day to end our trip. I spent the morning doing some last minute shopping with Mary. Mary's husband Wade offered to look after the girls for a couple of hours. That really was a wonderful gift from him!! Unfortunatley poor little Loc wasnt feeling very good so we didnt want to spend too much time away so we did what we had to do and went back to the Hotel. I picked up Jayda, which was now around 1:00 pm and I thought instead of heading back to the Hotel that we would walk down to the lake and enjoy the beautiful warm weather, as we walked Jayda fell asleep so I decided to make a quick stop at the Supermarket that I had wanted to check out before our flight home to see if I could find a few things to take for our trip home. Because Jayda, loves Soup, rice noodles and Congee I wanted to see if I could find something in that category to feed her in case she didnt like what they offered on the plane (and really, who does like Airplane food??) I wandered the aisles just to see what sort of things they had to offer and I was thrilled to find Instant Pho' and Instant Congee so I stocked up (I will have to go back and pick up more tomorrow before our flight because it turned out that when I tried it with her she loved it and that 1 package of Instant Congee was like a snack for her and I had only purchased 4 packages) By this time Jayda had woken up so we wandered down to the lake which was directly across from the Supermarket. I had purchased a little coconut Ice-Cream bar to see if she would like it so we found a bench to enjoy the sun, The verdict was a big fat no, she refused to try it in the beginning, but she eventually gave in when she saw me eating it, but nope, it wasnt a big hit. I have to say it absolutley fascinates me to see the things that she likes and dislikes. At 2 years old, she has already developed her tastes so its interesting to see the foods and drinks she chooses.
As we were sitting on the bench, people watching, I was approached by 3 young men, 2 of them were in University and they said as a project they wanted to interview me, since I was a visitor to Vietnam, the other young man was just a straggler that saw these 2 young men talking to me and thought he would join in. I humored them, they asked a few questions, at the end, it was harmless fun and I enjoyed speaking to them. I ended up talking longer to the 3rd young man , he wanted to practise his English so we had a nice conversation and than we parted ways.
By this time it was getting later in the afternoon so I thought I would start heading back as we were meeting Mary and Wade for dinner. On the way, I decided to stop at the little Vietnamese Cafe that I had been at before for a nice cold glass of Vietnamese Coffee. Once again, because I'm still trying to see what sort of things Jayda likes, and I am pushing the boundaries a little, I gave her a little taste of my very very strong Vietnamese Coffee (think of a glass of Espresso mixed with a little Condensed Milk). To my very big surprise, my little Vietnamese Girl, loves Vietnamese Coffee,!!! who would have thought??? It clearly wont be something she will be enjoying on a regular basis, but I find it so interesting some of the things she likes and dislikes (anything sweet is still not popular AT ALL, now, that I find interesting, considering both Shae-Lee and I have a big sweet tooth).
We finished up our coffee and headed back to the Hotel. Loc still was not feeling well so Mary and Wade decided to stay in and Jayda and I went to the Gecko for dinner and than we wandered around for a bit afterwards. We talked to alot of people tonight, alot of them that recognized us from our daily walks, and than I met the most most facinating couple. They own a organization called Little Kidz Foundation. They travel internationally and teach the caregivers that work in Orphanages as well as caregivers of children with special needs, whether hospitals, clinics etc on the benefits of infant massage. This couple are based out of Los Angeles and travel worldwide for there organization to offer this program in countries that are lacking resources. In further conversation, I find out that the husband actually was born and raised in Richmond, seriously what are the odds, he was a couple of years younger than me so we compared High Schools and tried to figure out if we had known each other through school etc. After talking for awhile, we parted ways and I made one last stop before our Hotel. I had heard that Bao Yen was a famous singer, so I thought I couldnt possibly leave Vietnam without a copy of her CD, so we made our purchase and headed back. Now, I am looking at the time, which is now after Midnight, and realizing that I really need to pack and put a plan in place to ensure that I can get everything to fit into our 2 little suitcases. I'm definitley leaving with alot more than what we brought. So Ciao for now, I will try to write one last time before we leave tomorrow night
As we were sitting on the bench, people watching, I was approached by 3 young men, 2 of them were in University and they said as a project they wanted to interview me, since I was a visitor to Vietnam, the other young man was just a straggler that saw these 2 young men talking to me and thought he would join in. I humored them, they asked a few questions, at the end, it was harmless fun and I enjoyed speaking to them. I ended up talking longer to the 3rd young man , he wanted to practise his English so we had a nice conversation and than we parted ways.
 |
| Of course, pictures were part of their project, so I decided to take one of all us too! |
 |
| Enjoying a yummy glass of Vietnamese Coffee |
We finished up our coffee and headed back to the Hotel. Loc still was not feeling well so Mary and Wade decided to stay in and Jayda and I went to the Gecko for dinner and than we wandered around for a bit afterwards. We talked to alot of people tonight, alot of them that recognized us from our daily walks, and than I met the most most facinating couple. They own a organization called Little Kidz Foundation. They travel internationally and teach the caregivers that work in Orphanages as well as caregivers of children with special needs, whether hospitals, clinics etc on the benefits of infant massage. This couple are based out of Los Angeles and travel worldwide for there organization to offer this program in countries that are lacking resources. In further conversation, I find out that the husband actually was born and raised in Richmond, seriously what are the odds, he was a couple of years younger than me so we compared High Schools and tried to figure out if we had known each other through school etc. After talking for awhile, we parted ways and I made one last stop before our Hotel. I had heard that Bao Yen was a famous singer, so I thought I couldnt possibly leave Vietnam without a copy of her CD, so we made our purchase and headed back. Now, I am looking at the time, which is now after Midnight, and realizing that I really need to pack and put a plan in place to ensure that I can get everything to fit into our 2 little suitcases. I'm definitley leaving with alot more than what we brought. So Ciao for now, I will try to write one last time before we leave tomorrow night
Friday, December 14, 2012
Breaking News!!!!
Shae-Lee has just lost her 1st tooth, literally a few minutes ago. So
sad that I wasnt there to see it happen, but so excited for Shae-Lee as I
know she has been waiting for this to happen for a long time!!!
Congratulations
Shae-Lee!!!!
 |
| Big brother Ryan helping |
 |
| Yay, Tooth is out!! |
Ceramic Lady
Look at this amazing beautiful lady and all the Ceramic she carries on her bike to sell. She was so nice!! I saw her on the street and bought a teapot set for Jadya. I did the same for Shae-Lee when we were in China. We are overrun by Teapot sets at our house, we have many, but the one I had bought for Shae-Lee is special and is packed away, she will get it when she is older and be able to appreciate it more. Same with the one I bought for Jayda on this trip, it will also be packed away for now as its a special keepsake from the Country she was born in.
Drum Roll Please.........
Guess who is a Canadian Citizen???
We were finally able to pick up Jayda's temporary Canadian Passport and Jayda is now officially a Canadian Citizen. It means we can finally leave Vietnam and make our way home. We are so excited. Well, I am at least, I dont think Jayda has a clue what she is in for once she gets to Canada. It will be a completely different way of life for her. But we will give her the best life possible!!!
We were finally able to pick up Jayda's temporary Canadian Passport and Jayda is now officially a Canadian Citizen. It means we can finally leave Vietnam and make our way home. We are so excited. Well, I am at least, I dont think Jayda has a clue what she is in for once she gets to Canada. It will be a completely different way of life for her. But we will give her the best life possible!!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)