We made it to the Rex without any drama yesterday. We arrived and crashed. Normally we have enough energy after traveling to at least get out but after spending 24+ hours traveling we both just wanted to sleep.
Here's a rundown of the last two days.
Flight: First two flights were a piece of cake. But then the 14 hour flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong was BRUTAL! I took two Tylenol PM thinking it would knock me out for a while but I was only out for about three hours. The directions on the bottle should say if you are flying to the other side of the world take half the bottle. Once we arrived in Hong Kong I had a good laugh as they were playing Christmas music throughout the airport. Here we were on the moving sidewalks and Hark the Herald is being blasted through the airport. On our last flight from Hong Kong to HCMC I think we had a new pilot who wanted to land on one wheel instead of three. I thought Chris was going to have a stroke. He wanted to ask the pilot if we were shot down but figured that wouldn't be a good idea.
HCMC Airport: Jynger wasn't kidding when she said it would be a mob scene. I've never seen so many people waiting for family/friends to arrive. Total chaos!!! However we found Minh right away and we on our way to the Rex.
Driving in HCMC: I don't know if driving is the word to use. I have never seen traffic like this before. It makes driving in NYC like a Sunday afternoon drive. There are motor scooters everywhere. What's really crazy is you will see a family of four on one scooter. And crossing the road is an adventure like none we have ever experienced. Basically you just need to step and hope nobody runs you over. We did pretty good on our first walk this morning. I'm sure by the end of the week we will be pro's.
Hotel: The Rex is wonderful. Bed was nice and comfy but I'll admit we would have slept on a pile of rocks by the time we arrived as we were exhausted. But of course our bodies were still on East Coast time so at 4am this morning we were both wide awake. We hit the restaurant as soon as it opened for breakfast. Both of us were starving. Plenty of yummy food to eat but watch out for the toaster. I managed to get a piece of bread stuck and it started burning. Took two people to get it wedged out. And of course we already fried the power strip. Chris plugged it into the converter and it about blew up. Good thing I brought extra converters. Hopefully we don't blow up anything else. This morning we met a couple in the hotel lobby who are from Kansas City. They are also adopting a child. We hope to meet up with them again later in the week.
Shopping: We hit the Saigon Center and the Tax Center this morning. Just wanted to get a feel for the land. Chris bought a belt at the Tax Center. The sales lady called Chris "big and giant". We also hit some of the shops around our hotel. The embroidary is beautiful here. I know I'm going to do some damage in some of these shops when we get back from Ninh Thuan.
I'm so glad we arrived early. Just to feel human for a day before heading to Ninh Thuan I think will make a big difference. Tomorrow is the big day. We meet Bennett for the first time.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Friday, November 28, 2008
Leavin On A Jet Plane!!!!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We stuffed ourselves full of yummy food yesterday. And if you are wondering did I get up early to shop that would be yes. I was standing in line at 5:45 am at Target. Picked up what I wanted and headed home. It's just not the holidays until you've hit at least one Black Friday sale.
This will be our last post from this side of the pond. We leave later this afternoon. Next post will be in Vietnam.
Adios!!!
This will be our last post from this side of the pond. We leave later this afternoon. Next post will be in Vietnam.
Adios!!!
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Three Days Until Lift Off
I can't believe in three days we are leaving for Vietnam. I think it's finally starting to sink in. My mind seems to race at lightning speed and of course my to do list seems like a mile long. I'm sure by the time we actually get the airport I'll be glad to sit back and relax a bit.
Our bags are packed and ready to go. I gave up trying to get everything packed into two suitcases so three it is. We have one suitcase packed full of donations for the kids. I'm so excited to be able to bring a lot of stuff to the kids at the center. It will definitely be a highlight of our trip.
And exactly a week from today we will have met Bennett for the first time. We are still trying to wrap our brains around that. I just hope I can focus enough to soak it all in and then write about. I don't want to forget a single second of our first meeting.
Our bags are packed and ready to go. I gave up trying to get everything packed into two suitcases so three it is. We have one suitcase packed full of donations for the kids. I'm so excited to be able to bring a lot of stuff to the kids at the center. It will definitely be a highlight of our trip.
And exactly a week from today we will have met Bennett for the first time. We are still trying to wrap our brains around that. I just hope I can focus enough to soak it all in and then write about. I don't want to forget a single second of our first meeting.
Friday, November 14, 2008
Getting Closer
We leave on Friday, November 28th and get into Ho Chi Minh City on Sunday, November 30th.
In exactly two weeks we will FINALLY be on our way. I never thought this day would come but now it's almost here. Kind of surreal at this point but I'm sure by the time we get off the plane it might actually sink in.
In exactly two weeks we will FINALLY be on our way. I never thought this day would come but now it's almost here. Kind of surreal at this point but I'm sure by the time we get off the plane it might actually sink in.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
On Our Way Very Soon!!!!!
The above picture was just taken last week. Bennett will be 15 months on November 16th. We missed the first birthday so I guess we'll have to have a "half" birthday party for him after the first of the year.
Our Giving and Receiving Ceremony is set for December 4th. It was exactly one year ago on that day that we received Bennett's referral. Never in a million years did we think it would take this long to bring him home but we are almost there.
I am working on our travel arrangements right now. We will be leaving right after Thanksgiving and will return around the middle of December. We wanted to have a few extra days in Vietnam before we got to Bennett's province. Jet lag is no fun!!!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Our Amazing Race
Over the past eleven months I have had many dreams about our trip to Vietnam and often the dreams seem like they are out of an episode of “The Amazing Race”. We have wanted to be on the show but there always seems to be a challenge that involves heights of epic proportions. The idea of bungee jumping off a building is not exactly on the top of my "fun stuff" to do list. So unfortunately we won't be trying out for the show but instead we will be appearing on our own version of “The Amazing Race”.
Our race will consist of several parts and along the way we may encounter a road block, detour and even a fast forward. We are guaranteed several pit stops along the way. Pit stops are a must in the race! We need those to help keep us sane.
Here's a run down on what the race may look like but we all know Murphy likes to tag along with us, so this schedule is subject to change without notice.
• The flight to Vietnam - Now this should be an adventure since neither of us has been in a confined space for more than 6 hours. Total travel time is about 24 hours. A great way to test how much you really like your spouse.
• Ho Chi Minh City - This is our first pit stop. A much needed stop as I'm sure we will both be dying to take a shower and ready to get off that plane. We will be staying at the Rex Hotel. We will be there at least one night.
• Travel to Ninh Thuan - Big day for us. We will meet Bennett for the first time. But before we do, we have a 7 hour drive to Ninh Thuan. If you have never been to Vietnam then you won't have an appreciation for their traffic laws. Basically there aren’t any laws. It's every man/woman/animal for themself. This should be a lot of fun since I still get deathly car sick and add to the fact we are meeting our son for the first time. I better remember to load up on 7Up and crackers. It could be a long day.
• Ninh Thuan - This is our second pit stop. We will be in Bennett's province for several days and staying at the SaiGon NinhChu Hotel. We will get to visit the center at least once before we have our Giving and Receiving ceremony. We hope to have time to do some touring. This is very important for us to absorb as much of Bennett's province that we can. We want him to know about where he spent the first 15 months of his life.
• Travel back to Ho Chi Minh City - We will leave directly from our Giving & Receiving ceremony and head back to Ho Chi Minh City. If we thought the ride to Ninh Thuan was bad, the ride back could be more fun as Bennett has only been in a car once. Hopefully we can soothe the little guy and make him as comfortable as we can.
• Ho Chi Minh City - This is our third pit stop. We will be staying at the Rex again for the next few days. We will have several appointments during these few days. We should also have some down time to see the city. I plan to do lots of shopping here. Part of my shopping will include buying items for Bennett to give to him over the years. It's important that he keeps the connection to his birth country.
• Flight to Hanoi - Bennett's first plane ride. Another fun adventure. This will give us some practice to prepare for the big flight home.
• Hanoi - This is our fourth and final pit stop. We will be staying at the Somerset. In Hanoi we will have our Embassy interview and get Bennett's visa to come home. There are several sites we want to see when we are in Hanoi and of course more shopping.
• Flight Home - Our final leg of the race. This could be a very long flight but we're up for the challenge.
For us, we have already won the race. We just need to cross that finish line. We hope you all tune in to follow along. I promise it will be the adventure of a lifetime.
Our race will consist of several parts and along the way we may encounter a road block, detour and even a fast forward. We are guaranteed several pit stops along the way. Pit stops are a must in the race! We need those to help keep us sane.
Here's a run down on what the race may look like but we all know Murphy likes to tag along with us, so this schedule is subject to change without notice.
• The flight to Vietnam - Now this should be an adventure since neither of us has been in a confined space for more than 6 hours. Total travel time is about 24 hours. A great way to test how much you really like your spouse.
• Ho Chi Minh City - This is our first pit stop. A much needed stop as I'm sure we will both be dying to take a shower and ready to get off that plane. We will be staying at the Rex Hotel. We will be there at least one night.
• Travel to Ninh Thuan - Big day for us. We will meet Bennett for the first time. But before we do, we have a 7 hour drive to Ninh Thuan. If you have never been to Vietnam then you won't have an appreciation for their traffic laws. Basically there aren’t any laws. It's every man/woman/animal for themself. This should be a lot of fun since I still get deathly car sick and add to the fact we are meeting our son for the first time. I better remember to load up on 7Up and crackers. It could be a long day.
• Ninh Thuan - This is our second pit stop. We will be in Bennett's province for several days and staying at the SaiGon NinhChu Hotel. We will get to visit the center at least once before we have our Giving and Receiving ceremony. We hope to have time to do some touring. This is very important for us to absorb as much of Bennett's province that we can. We want him to know about where he spent the first 15 months of his life.
• Travel back to Ho Chi Minh City - We will leave directly from our Giving & Receiving ceremony and head back to Ho Chi Minh City. If we thought the ride to Ninh Thuan was bad, the ride back could be more fun as Bennett has only been in a car once. Hopefully we can soothe the little guy and make him as comfortable as we can.
• Ho Chi Minh City - This is our third pit stop. We will be staying at the Rex again for the next few days. We will have several appointments during these few days. We should also have some down time to see the city. I plan to do lots of shopping here. Part of my shopping will include buying items for Bennett to give to him over the years. It's important that he keeps the connection to his birth country.
• Flight to Hanoi - Bennett's first plane ride. Another fun adventure. This will give us some practice to prepare for the big flight home.
• Hanoi - This is our fourth and final pit stop. We will be staying at the Somerset. In Hanoi we will have our Embassy interview and get Bennett's visa to come home. There are several sites we want to see when we are in Hanoi and of course more shopping.
• Flight Home - Our final leg of the race. This could be a very long flight but we're up for the challenge.
For us, we have already won the race. We just need to cross that finish line. We hope you all tune in to follow along. I promise it will be the adventure of a lifetime.
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