23:30 Montreal time (ignore the post time/date I did not yet fix the time zone on my phone) 28hrs 30 minutes after we left the hotel in Hanoi this morning we are finally at home courtesy of a Vietnam style child car seat ride from Kamea's uncle and aunt.
Now to fix the jet lag.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
In the country
Hanoi - Shanghai - Toronto complete.
3 separate check-ins, security checks and customs maneuvers later (no transfer desk in Shanghai) we are safely and officially in the country with our new Canadian citizen.
Flight to Montreal up next.
3 separate check-ins, security checks and customs maneuvers later (no transfer desk in Shanghai) we are safely and officially in the country with our new Canadian citizen.
Flight to Montreal up next.
Monday, February 25, 2013
tạm biệt Việt Nam
So our trip is coming to an end (tam biet means goodbye). We are leaving for the airport in less than 12 hours. It is likely future posts will be just updates on our trip home if I can find free airport WIFI. There may yet be a post summarizing my whole experience if I can collect my thoughts a little. We have had a great time and this is a beautiful country with a wonderful population, but all has not been easy. Kamea continues to have severe, pathological, separation anxiety and it is not clear how easy this is going to be when I get back to work. Noah is jealous and both are a lot of work. Again, I need to write about all of this separately I think.
In the meantime, we have been delinquent about the events of the last couple of days. Saturday a.m. Maelle sent me off to a cooking class. I am sure she would have loved to go but Kamea cannot spend more than 5 seconds out of her sight, so off I went.
First up was a market tour. The typical Vietnamese family (in Hanoi -- there are regional and urban / rural differences) apparently eats breakfast on the road to work or school. There are many places to to this and a typical meal is a variation of phở (a noodle based broth) or a type of sandwich. Lunch and dinner are usually at home if possible. Trips to the market are at least twice a day for the midday and the evening meal. No one uses a supermarket -- fresh food only is trusted. The market trips also are used as social time, typically for Vietnamese women, more than men. There are 4 types of market; the mobile market (usually women carrying food on a scooter or on a long pole over their shoulders), the "frog" market (people lay out their food on a tarp on the street and can move from place to place if the police arrive -- no permit), the local market (permits, stalls etc), and the wholesale market (where all the previous 3 get their fresh goods at 1-2 in the morning. The cheapest and most available is the frog market and it seems most people get their food there. Our market tour took us through the first 3 types showing us various types of fresh herbs and meats, noodles, and beans. Fortunately dog meat is unlucky on the 15th of the lunar month so I didn't get to see them skin any pets. I did get to try around 6 different kinds of mint though, as well a vietnamese dumpling, and was imparted good advice like don't buy the fish if it is not still swimming.
We then proceeded to cooking class. 8 of us were taught how to make a typical Hanoi street meal called Bún chả which means pork noodles. I have the recipe and will recreate it in Montreal one day but in general it consisted of spring rolls with pork and pork barbecue all in a fish sauce based broth with noodles. We even decorated the plates as you can see below. It was excellent -- even if I was slightly and suspiciously ill the next day. Still worth it.
We were given some tips of selecting cuts of meat, spices, cutting vegetables and barbecuing over charcoal. The vietnamese cook a lot outside on the street in front of their homes or businesses as part of a social ritual. They do not use an oven for any reason. A typical meal is served family style and may include many courses but must include a soup or broth, a "salty" component (usually meat) and vegetables (greens are vegetables -- carrots etc are not considered vegetables for this purpose). The meal must balance flavours and textures (ie. sweet and sour, salt and plain, cruncy and soft, spicy and cold etc.)
Finally for those of you keeping track -- today was Kamea's 2nd birthday. We had a little party. She seemed bewildered by the whole thing and was clearly terrified of the candle. In any event, Noah seemed to like the idea.
Home to Montreal and real life in 36 hours or so. I will miss Vietnam and we will certainly return to see the rest of the country when the kids are older.
In the meantime, we have been delinquent about the events of the last couple of days. Saturday a.m. Maelle sent me off to a cooking class. I am sure she would have loved to go but Kamea cannot spend more than 5 seconds out of her sight, so off I went.
First up was a market tour. The typical Vietnamese family (in Hanoi -- there are regional and urban / rural differences) apparently eats breakfast on the road to work or school. There are many places to to this and a typical meal is a variation of phở (a noodle based broth) or a type of sandwich. Lunch and dinner are usually at home if possible. Trips to the market are at least twice a day for the midday and the evening meal. No one uses a supermarket -- fresh food only is trusted. The market trips also are used as social time, typically for Vietnamese women, more than men. There are 4 types of market; the mobile market (usually women carrying food on a scooter or on a long pole over their shoulders), the "frog" market (people lay out their food on a tarp on the street and can move from place to place if the police arrive -- no permit), the local market (permits, stalls etc), and the wholesale market (where all the previous 3 get their fresh goods at 1-2 in the morning. The cheapest and most available is the frog market and it seems most people get their food there. Our market tour took us through the first 3 types showing us various types of fresh herbs and meats, noodles, and beans. Fortunately dog meat is unlucky on the 15th of the lunar month so I didn't get to see them skin any pets. I did get to try around 6 different kinds of mint though, as well a vietnamese dumpling, and was imparted good advice like don't buy the fish if it is not still swimming.
We then proceeded to cooking class. 8 of us were taught how to make a typical Hanoi street meal called Bún chả which means pork noodles. I have the recipe and will recreate it in Montreal one day but in general it consisted of spring rolls with pork and pork barbecue all in a fish sauce based broth with noodles. We even decorated the plates as you can see below. It was excellent -- even if I was slightly and suspiciously ill the next day. Still worth it.
We were given some tips of selecting cuts of meat, spices, cutting vegetables and barbecuing over charcoal. The vietnamese cook a lot outside on the street in front of their homes or businesses as part of a social ritual. They do not use an oven for any reason. A typical meal is served family style and may include many courses but must include a soup or broth, a "salty" component (usually meat) and vegetables (greens are vegetables -- carrots etc are not considered vegetables for this purpose). The meal must balance flavours and textures (ie. sweet and sour, salt and plain, cruncy and soft, spicy and cold etc.)
Finally for those of you keeping track -- today was Kamea's 2nd birthday. We had a little party. She seemed bewildered by the whole thing and was clearly terrified of the candle. In any event, Noah seemed to like the idea.
Home to Montreal and real life in 36 hours or so. I will miss Vietnam and we will certainly return to see the rest of the country when the kids are older.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Life in Hanoi
Walking around we have been trying to capture some scenes from daily life in Hanoi. We are not great photographers but I am trying to pay attention to things like composition and I am doing my best to move beyond auto mode on the camera. In any event, presented without caption, here are some of our attempts at photography that we haven't uploaded yet.
Big night out
More shopping in the market today -- pictures to come.
But the big event was a night out with the whole family at the Thang Long water puppet theatre This is apparently a traditional Vietnamese art form and this theater is home to the best troupe in the country. It is certainly a very touristy thing to do.
Youtube video below will give you an idea. Noah and Kamea tolerated the show and seemed to even like parts of it. I was not so impressed but it certainly was unique.
Cooking class in the morning.
Youtube video below will give you an idea. Noah and Kamea tolerated the show and seemed to even like parts of it. I was not so impressed but it certainly was unique.
Cooking class in the morning.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
More Rambling...
Adoption is an adventure. Anybody who lives through it can tell you. I like to say that adoption is a really long pregnancy with a 27-30 hours delivery (the trip to Vietnam). But it is much more than that... It is a roller coaster, a life of uncertainty for many years, a life of wishes that will never come true, but also a life of enlightenment, forgivenesss, amazement. More than ever, you feel that you have to be a good parent to these little beings that have left their country, their home for you, egoist parents that we are, who want a "perfect child"!
Tonight, I received an email from our guide in Ha Long Bay and it made be believe that we were doing the right thing. Here is a sample of what he wrote:
"By the way,I really admire you,who come from a faraway country like
Canada,who have pick up 2 Vietnamese children.I think they(the children)
were very lucky,because they will grow up in a very good condition of
economy and education,which they will not be able to have in Vietnam.I
think they will become good citizens in Canada and Viet Nam and I hope I
will meet them again somewhere.(I said that because I was born and grew
in a very poor family,I fully understand how they will be if they were
not your children)".
It made me appreciate even more, all the little boys and girls we saw at the orphanages and I truly wish they will find a forever family, whether they are ill or not.
Tonight, I received an email from our guide in Ha Long Bay and it made be believe that we were doing the right thing. Here is a sample of what he wrote:
It made me appreciate even more, all the little boys and girls we saw at the orphanages and I truly wish they will find a forever family, whether they are ill or not.
Food in Hanoi
The food is fantastic here and we are not even that adventurous. Eating on the street is supposed to be an unparalleled experience but we remain afraid of illness. However, there is a spectacular restaurant near our hotel Quan An Ngon. This place is all over Tripadvisor, and Lonely Planet etc. but nevertheless frequented by locals and toursists alike. The restaurant is full of little stalls that produce various dishes like small street food stalls. We have been twice now and refused entry once more on the eve of the Tet. The flavours are spectacular, and the food is cheap and evidently the place is packed. I would eat here every night if I could. We are pretty sure our favourite meal in HCMC was in a similar restaurant as well.
Maelle has signed me up for a cooking class on Saturday where I will learn to make traditional street food -- cannot wait.
Apart from that we went shopping on Hang Gai for various things.
View Larger Map
We spent some time in a silk shop which was largely decorated by pictures of Hilary Clinton shopping there in 2000. We also spent time in the Thanh Mai or Apricot Gallery looking at paintings. Those of you who have been to our home may remember that we bought a painting in HCMC from an artist named Nguyen Van Cuong. The same gallery exists in Hanoi and all I have to stay at present is that they appear to like repeat customers. You will have to visit us in about a month to see what we were up to.
Maelle has signed me up for a cooking class on Saturday where I will learn to make traditional street food -- cannot wait.
Apart from that we went shopping on Hang Gai for various things.
View Larger Map
We spent some time in a silk shop which was largely decorated by pictures of Hilary Clinton shopping there in 2000. We also spent time in the Thanh Mai or Apricot Gallery looking at paintings. Those of you who have been to our home may remember that we bought a painting in HCMC from an artist named Nguyen Van Cuong. The same gallery exists in Hanoi and all I have to stay at present is that they appear to like repeat customers. You will have to visit us in about a month to see what we were up to.
Thank you guys
That is what the guys were doing while kamea was screaming her head off while i was showering.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Hanoi Hilton
As we look for things to do for the next couple of days i am surprised to learn to learn that our hotel actually built on the location of Hoa Lo prison or the fabled "Hanoi Hilton" from the Vietnam war. I am curious to visit the remaining memorial as seen in the map below (we are staying at the Somerset) but I am not sure that it is so appropriate for children. Apparently the American POW experience is a little whitewashed with the exhibit concentrating on the atrocities of the French against the Vietnamese.
Hard to believe it took us 3 weeks to discover this fact.
Hard to believe it took us 3 weeks to discover this fact.
A new Canadian
In principle we can now return home. Of course this would mean changing our plane tickets and paying a significant penalty as well as not being sure we could get reasonable seats (something we have spent the last 24 hrs worrying about).
We could also travel (I am in favour of Hong Kong or Singapore) but again there is the flight issue. We could go to our transfer point of Shanghai a few days early but I think we need a VISA. We could stay in Vietnam and go to the beach at Hoi An for the weekend but no travel is simple with 2 kids under 5.
All in all it appears we will return as scheduled the 26th.
We could also travel (I am in favour of Hong Kong or Singapore) but again there is the flight issue. We could go to our transfer point of Shanghai a few days early but I think we need a VISA. We could stay in Vietnam and go to the beach at Hoi An for the weekend but no travel is simple with 2 kids under 5.
All in all it appears we will return as scheduled the 26th.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Ramblings of an old woman
Yes, I am old. My knees hurt, my hips hurt, I am tired and today I am sick (migraine?). It is raining and 100% humidity. At least, we saw dragon dancers this morning. They were visiting Hanoi Towers, where we stay. We went grocery shopping...
A few tricks to survive in Hanoi:
Cross the street, any time you want, waving at the scooters, taxis and cars -- whatever you do don't stop moving. Ignore the street lights, since everybody ignores them anyway.
Travel in a taxi, without car seats and without worrying. Drivers are usually very safe, so believe in your destiny. Of note, 280 people were killed and about 360 were injured in road accidents during the Tet.
Always bring the WRITTEN address of where you want to go. Take Taxi group or Mai Linh taxis if you do not want to get cheated.
Otherwise, smile, say Xin Chào (allo), Cam On (merci), tạm biệt (aurevoir) and right now,
Chúc mừng năm mới (bonne année).
Vietnam is really wonderful. We will try to take pictures and videos of the "real life" for you soon. The food is also quite good and fresh. Hopefully one of us will have time to take cooking classes before we leave.
On another note, I know we cannot compare children, but I have to share the difference in experience:
Noah was 6 months old and had a feeding disorder, drinking only 4 ounces at the time and not sleeping (no nap, waking up 6-8 times a night). He hates milk products besides ice cream. In Vietnam, he is now starting to eat cheese, Yeah!
Kamea was 23 months old. She apparently has hepatitis B or C. She definitely has strabismus and quite a temper. She eats well but has her preferences. She still drinks "lait maternisé" with a bottle. She sleeps fairly well but will wake up at least 2-3 times a night, whining because she wants mommy and/or her pacifier. She has learned to bang her head against the crib to get my attention. She has temper tantrums and screams as soon as I leave the room, even if I warn her ( a little bit like Noah at 10 months, separation anxiety+++).
Noah is a showman. He likes to please others and is caring (see photo of him feeding Kamea). He is emotional and close to his feelings. He his black or white, no grey. Everybody likes him and he has a personality that draws other people to him, even in Vietnam. Currently, he is quite jealous of his little sister, who is attention seeking, but that will pass.
Kamea is mischievous. She knows, already, how to manipulate her daddy with her side looks and smiles. She knows what she wants. She learns fairly quickly. She is quite a tom boy for the moment, climbing, throwing, etc....
Noah is very delicate physically, still wearing 12 to 24 months old clothes at 4 y.o. He has the most awesome skin I have ever seen. Soft, just the right color. With long hair, everybody would think he is a girl.
Kamea is also delicate, but less than Noah. She has broader shoulders and already wears 18-24 months old clothes. She is paler than Noah and she has quite a few scars from scratching, mosquito bites and scabies. She also has shaved hair ( we think because of lice), which confuses people in terms of her gender.
Here it is. Our children are wonderful in all their different ways and we are proud parents!
A few tricks to survive in Hanoi:
Cross the street, any time you want, waving at the scooters, taxis and cars -- whatever you do don't stop moving. Ignore the street lights, since everybody ignores them anyway.
Travel in a taxi, without car seats and without worrying. Drivers are usually very safe, so believe in your destiny. Of note, 280 people were killed and about 360 were injured in road accidents during the Tet.
Always bring the WRITTEN address of where you want to go. Take Taxi group or Mai Linh taxis if you do not want to get cheated.
Otherwise, smile, say Xin Chào (allo), Cam On (merci), tạm biệt (aurevoir) and right now,
Chúc mừng năm mới (bonne année).
Vietnam is really wonderful. We will try to take pictures and videos of the "real life" for you soon. The food is also quite good and fresh. Hopefully one of us will have time to take cooking classes before we leave.
On another note, I know we cannot compare children, but I have to share the difference in experience:
Noah was 6 months old and had a feeding disorder, drinking only 4 ounces at the time and not sleeping (no nap, waking up 6-8 times a night). He hates milk products besides ice cream. In Vietnam, he is now starting to eat cheese, Yeah!
Kamea was 23 months old. She apparently has hepatitis B or C. She definitely has strabismus and quite a temper. She eats well but has her preferences. She still drinks "lait maternisé" with a bottle. She sleeps fairly well but will wake up at least 2-3 times a night, whining because she wants mommy and/or her pacifier. She has learned to bang her head against the crib to get my attention. She has temper tantrums and screams as soon as I leave the room, even if I warn her ( a little bit like Noah at 10 months, separation anxiety+++).
Noah is a showman. He likes to please others and is caring (see photo of him feeding Kamea). He is emotional and close to his feelings. He his black or white, no grey. Everybody likes him and he has a personality that draws other people to him, even in Vietnam. Currently, he is quite jealous of his little sister, who is attention seeking, but that will pass.
Kamea is mischievous. She knows, already, how to manipulate her daddy with her side looks and smiles. She knows what she wants. She learns fairly quickly. She is quite a tom boy for the moment, climbing, throwing, etc....
Noah is very delicate physically, still wearing 12 to 24 months old clothes at 4 y.o. He has the most awesome skin I have ever seen. Soft, just the right color. With long hair, everybody would think he is a girl.
Kamea is also delicate, but less than Noah. She has broader shoulders and already wears 18-24 months old clothes. She is paler than Noah and she has quite a few scars from scratching, mosquito bites and scabies. She also has shaved hair ( we think because of lice), which confuses people in terms of her gender.
Here it is. Our children are wonderful in all their different ways and we are proud parents!
Monday, February 18, 2013
Bad father
I feel somewhat guilty about this post, but since we have taken so many pictures of Kamea looking happy I thought we should show some video of what goes on the rest of the time. I hope she forgives me for this in the future.
First we have Kamea showing us what she does everytime Maelle leaves the room for more than 5 seconds.
Next we have a good example of Kamea's favourite dance when she does not get her way for any reason (like any normal 2 year old). We really need to teach her to speak.
On to a more fun example of our bad parenting. Maelle and I fondly remember cocktails with Noah on the roof of the Sheraton in HCMC, when he was 6 months old. So, we took a taxi to the Sofitel by West Lake where we were met with a very french waiter and a spectacular view of Hanoi from the 20th floor lounge (as well as an excellent rasberry, vanilla mojito). We walked to a nearby Pagoda as well (la Pagode de la defense du pays).
Finally today, we walked to the streets around the opera where we found one of the 3 stores that would be necessary for Maelle to be happy living in Hanoi.
There is some unconfirmed good passport news -- but I will have no announcement prior to having them in our hands -- lots of things could still go wrong.
Et un commentaire de Maelle: I love Vietnam! Could stay here for much longer!
First we have Kamea showing us what she does everytime Maelle leaves the room for more than 5 seconds.
Next we have a good example of Kamea's favourite dance when she does not get her way for any reason (like any normal 2 year old). We really need to teach her to speak.
On to a more fun example of our bad parenting. Maelle and I fondly remember cocktails with Noah on the roof of the Sheraton in HCMC, when he was 6 months old. So, we took a taxi to the Sofitel by West Lake where we were met with a very french waiter and a spectacular view of Hanoi from the 20th floor lounge (as well as an excellent rasberry, vanilla mojito). We walked to a nearby Pagoda as well (la Pagode de la defense du pays).
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| Rowdy bar patrons |
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| cocktail for 2 - Don't worry it is fresh pineapple juice! |
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| West lake at night |
Finally today, we walked to the streets around the opera where we found one of the 3 stores that would be necessary for Maelle to be happy living in Hanoi.
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| Pandora (home away from home) |
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| In front of the opera |
There is some unconfirmed good passport news -- but I will have no announcement prior to having them in our hands -- lots of things could still go wrong.
Et un commentaire de Maelle: I love Vietnam! Could stay here for much longer!
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Activités autour de l'hotel
Au parc à jeux et à la piscine. Noah et Kamea s'amusent beaucoup... Et quelques photos de plus de Ha Long Bay.
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| stationnement de l'hotel |
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| Le jeu préféré de Kamea: lancer |
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| Joyeuse St-Valentin de Ha Long |
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| Oh!oh! |
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