Day 2 in HCMC

Okay, so we're starting to make adjustments to the time change & most of the jet lag is finally dissipating. Those of you who know me will get a chuckle out of the fact that I was awake (on my own, mind you) before 5 am. Now, that doesn't mean I was out of bed by 5 am, just that I was awake.

E. & I lounged in the room until around 6:30 am. Oh, forgot to tell you yesterday that the room is very nice. We are in one of the "deluxe" rooms, so we have more space. Nice, firm King-sized bed, shower/tub w/ good water pressure, TV, and air conditioning (very important for those nice, warm, humid days...reminds me of summer in NC - frizz factor set to +10). The TV has HBO, Showtime, and Stars (in English w/ VN subtitles).

We've decided that b/c of the humid days, we shower at night (because the minute you step out into the outdoors, you feel like you need a shower again). So, after getting out of bed, we walk a few floors down to the restaurant/internet cafe. Breakfast was very nice. There were a nice variety of VN and Western foods. We both drank some very delicious mango juice (very yummy, enough that we probably had 3 small glasses worth). I wish I knew the names of the things we ate...they were tasty. E. had some type of hot soup for breakfast (always the adventurer in the dining area, he is...).

So, after breakfast, we left the hotel to walk a few block to the local market. One thing we have learned about walking as an American in VN, you have to ignore the locals trying to sell you something. For us, it's customary to say "no, thank you" and that's it. Not here. Saying "no thank you" encourages them to try to sell you something (our experience was a man wanting to take us on a tour of the area...).

Walking to the market was quite an interesting sight. There were a lot of street vendors on the sidewalks even before we reached the market. In the market, even that early in the morning, the areas was busy with the hustle and bustle of the daiily events. The market is divided into sections, depending upon what the vendors are selling. You could buy anything from clothing to fresh seafood.

Well, we didn't buy anything and kept walking. We came to an incredibly busy roundabout on the other side of the market (remember my posting yesterday about traffic in Saigon?). Not quite ready to tackle crossing the road, we decided to walk back to the hotel. Jet lag kicked my tush yesterday morning, so I slept for a few hours. E. sat down and read one of his Poli Sci book (and didn't fall asleep...=D ).

After a refreshing nap, we were up & met w/ the agency staff (Mr. H. & L.). They took another couple (P. & M. - adopting a cute little girl from Ben Tre) and us to the Maximart via taxi. So, another roller coaster thrill ride ensued!

Now, the Maximart is certainly interesting. It's (I suppose) the VN version on Wal-Mart on a smaller scale. You know, I got a taste of what it's like for non-English speaking immigrants arriving to our country & having to naviagate in a world so different from their own. I was so happy to have Mr. H & L there to serve as interpreters to buy things we needed for our kids. It was funny to see the difference in the sizes of things P & M bought for their 7-month old compared to buying for our 2-year-old C. We bought Pampers, formula, bottles (two, apparently one for the water & one for the formula), bottle washer, and a thermos for holding hot water. E. had the experience of using the Visa card for the 1st time.

Mr. H & L also gave us an itinerary for next week. We'll be leaving w/ P & M, as well as the other VL family (who didn't arrive until later Saturday evening...) Sunday afternoon to travel to Ben Tre.

So, we met w/ P & M and had a really nice dinner at a restaurant across the street from the hotel. For those of you traveling to HCMC & staying at the Lan Lan 2, definitely go to the restaurant. Very good food & reasonably priced. E. & I had a great dinner for the equivalent of about $10 dollars (US).

After dinner, the four of us walked around HCMC. We were going to try and see one of the water puppet shows but couldn't find the location. It was interesting from a sociologic perspective to see the number of young adults & couples at the park, sitting on their Scooters. Kind of like our teens & college kids hanging out together. The scooters were sort of their own "personal space" in a very crowded city.

After our walk, E. tuckered out & went back to the room. P, M, & I walked around for a little while longer and came across an ice cream shop. We went in (air conditioned, yay!), sat, and had some very yummy ice cream (me, scoop of chocolate & scoop of vanilla...). After that, we we back to the hotel & I crashed.

So, here we are, Sunday morning in VN after a really nice day in the city. We'll be picked up around noon by the agency & meet w/ the staff for orientation. Around 2pm, we'll depart for Ben Tre. We'll spend Sunday evening, Monday, and most of the day Tuesday in Ben Tre. Tuesday afternoon, we'll depart Ben Tre for Vinh Long.

On Wednesday, we'll finally get to meet our little boy. Our G&R will be on Thursday and C. will officially be our son & we'll have the joys of 1st time parenting.

We most likely will not have Internet access until we return to HCMC next Thursday evening. So, stay tuned!