A couple of Family Days in Hanoi

While waiting for the paperwork to be processed and the upcoming appointments next week, we have had Thursday and Friday to hang out in Hanoi. Then this weekend we have some more exploring to do, hopefully making a trip to Ha Long Bay, one of the most scenic places in the world. We also plan to visit the Museum of Ethnicity, to hopefully learn more about the regions and ethnicities in Northern Vietnam, as they are quite varied and Molly Thai's roots reside here. This is our chance to learn as much as we can about where she is from, so we'll be TAKIN' NOTES!!!!!!!

Let's see... last we left off was Wednesday afternoon here and we ventured to the famous Water Puppet Theatre to see a show which Emma describes as the "BEST WATER PUPPET SHOW SHE HAS EVER SEEN!!!!!".
Here's a little clip just to give you an idea:

We went with the Mausts and all three of the babies were able to behave long enough for the 60 minute show (Emma was closer to melting down than the infants, actually.... Jerry too---just kidding). It was definitely worth seeing, and the effect was pretty cool and unique. We left and walked back to the hotel, first stopping at an art gallery where we picked up a couple of beautiful pieces painted by graduates of the Hanoi School of Fine Arts.
We crashed that evening, not even having enough energy to have dinner!!

Thursday was a pretty lazy day here. Molly was in the mood to nap.... then eat.... then nap... and so on.. So we stayed pretty low key.

Lazy Thursday hanging out together in the hotel

We picked up our laundry which we brought to a nearby laundry service (very professionally cleaned and for 1/4 the price the hotel charges), and hung out at the hotel most of the day. Emma and I ventured out to a nearby market down an alleyway which extended the length of one block.

Our venture to the alleyway market near the hotel

It was quite the cultural experience... lots of bizarre meats, (did I hear some barking??) fish, vegetables and foods.... all of the women enamored with Emma, touching her hair, smiling.... Emma didn't mind the attention at all... she's getting used to being treated like a movie star here! Got back to the hotel, I used the gym which is quite nice here... plenty of aerobic and weight machines... I seem to be one of the few people to use it, as many of the weight machines are still on the same miniscule weight settings that I left them on the day before... unless they let schoolkids come in and use them in between.... you're supposed to laugh now! We ventured up to "tea time" and then out for a walk to the famous or infamous "Hanoi Hilton" which was a prison back during what the Vietnamese refer to as the "American War"... kind of a different perspective eh? Anyway, most of the prison was torn down to make way for a modern office building, but part of it remains as a museum of the Hoa Lo Prison. The infamous Hanoi Hilton, the Hoa Lo Prison with the office tower behind whose construction meant tearing MOST of it down

It is just a short walk from our hotel and we will return to visit there as it was closing at the time we got there.

Afterwards we returned to the hotel to the "snack/open bar hour" which is included on the "Royal Floor" here at the Melia. I had a fun time up there with Emma. She can be so funny sometimes! We then went to the "El Oriental" Restaurant here at the Melia. The Vietnamese food was really good (don't listen to what Kate says!!). Emma enjoyed it too. (she liked the white rice.. had a few pieces of Brocolli and cucumber, and that's about it). Really a beautiful restaurant, though.

Today, Kate, Emma, Molly and I took a tour of Hanoi which was arranged through the hotel. A private van with a driver and english speaking guide (named Thuin) took us to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum and state house, which were very beautiful and interesting, and we were able to talk with him about the history of Vietnam and learn a lot about Ho Chi Minh.

Emma and I by the pond at Ho Chi Minh's state house where he lived as president from 1954-1958

We then saw some beautiful pagodas, and he then took us to a shop where disabled children embroidered some amazing pieces of art. Our last stop was the Van Mieu, (The Temple of Literature, which was considered the first university of Vietnam . It was

Emma befriended by musicians after a performance of traditional Vietnamese music at the Temple of Literature

Molly gets her own personal attendant to fan her and keep her cool!

founded in 1070 which was a beautiful place to see and enjoy the architecture and history while getting a chance to talk to Thuin about the Vietnamese people, their attitude towards Americans (which has been amazingly and overwhelmingly friendly considering the "tensions" of the recent past), and the attitude they have towards Americans adopting Vietnamese babies, which has also been so overwhelmingly positive. It seems they feel these orphans will have a better life in their new homes and it is doing the Vietnamese people an "honor" to bring them to the US and take care of them. And WE feel like the ones being given the honor of allowing us to receive such a blessing!!!
So we're back in the hotel now, and enjoying the AIR CONDITIONING!!!! It is SOOOOOOO Hot and aside from us Northeasterners, Molly does so much better inside as her poor skin suffers when exposed to prolonged heat and humidity!! So enjoy some pics from our adventures and we'll check back in after our long awaited trip to Ha Long Bay! Then Monday brings us Molly's Passport, her pre-visa medical exam, and hopefully news about our second visa interview. Emma predicts we'll get out of here on Wednesday. That would be pretty much the best case scenario, so.............. We'll see.....

By the way, thanks for the comments and emails....... definitely helps when we're so far away!