We woke up this morning ready to enjoy our last day in Vietnam, but also eager to end our stay and go home. It’s not that we were not having fun in Vietnam. It’s just that on these international adoption trips, you eventually reach a point where you just want to be home. Home with your new child. Home where she can sleep in her own crib in her own room. Home where you can set up normal patterns and establish daily routines. Home where you can watch your child start to grow and develop. And, most importantly, home where you can begin the rest of your life with your new child. But, we also knew we had only one more day remaining in Vietnam and wanted to make the most of it. And since the only ‘chore’ we had to accomplish was to get our tickets changed, we had plenty of time for other more enjoyable activities.
So, after another hearty breakfast, we left the hotel around 1100 to set off for some light shopping with a plan to stop by a Thai Airways ticket office along the way. But, as we departed the hotel, the concierge told us that there was only one Thai Airways ticket office and that it closed at noon on Saturdays. So a quick change of plans. I jumped in a taxi to get the tickets changed while Nancy, Grandma Patsy and the girls began the shopping trip.
The Thai Airways office wasn’t too far away. In fact, it was in the same building as the SOS Clinic where we had taken Jessie six years ago. So, it was a nostalgic side trip for me as well. It only took a few minutes to get the tickets changed. I probably could have done it at the airport on the day we departed, but because we were uncertain what was going to happen with Alyssa’s visa situation, I wanted to have everything else taken care of in advance. I decided to walk back from the ticket office to link up with the shoppers. It was only a few blocks and gave me the opportunity to see more of HCMC. I was impressed with how diffferent the city seemed compared to six years ago. The shops and stores were more modern and were definitely more upscale and, as I walked along wide smooth sidewalks, there seemed to be more public green spaces. All around increased economic activity was evident.
I had no problem finding the family making its way through the central shopping area and joined in the fun. Nancy and Patsy were deeply engaged. Jessie was having a great time ooking for things and Alyssa was half asleep, only to awaken when pinched on the cheek by interested shopkeepers. It was a hot, muggy afternoon. The air was dead still inside most of the shops, which put a damper on the shopping. After an hour or so, both of the girls had reached their tolerance level for shopping. Alyssa because she wanted to go to sleep and Jessie because we were unwilling to purchase all of the wonderful items she had selected for herself. So, I took the girls back to the hotel to give Nancy and Patsy some time alone to do some power shopping without having to worry about the kids.
Around 3:00 PM, Nancy and Patsy returned with arms loaded and I groaned as I contemplated how I was going to get everything into our luggage in a way so everything wouldn’t get broken. But, a little patience and care would take care of that. I stayed with Alyssa while Nancy met with Thao one last time to tie up the loose ends. Jessie took advantage of this meeting to coax Thao into giving her another ride around the block on her motorbike. Jessie also got together with Gracie and said goodby to her since Gracie and her family were going to be off on a tour early the next day. Then everyone came back to the room to get ready for our next adventure of the day - going to see a Buddhist monk who was going to bless Alyssa.
But, before I chronicle our sojourn to the temple, I should add that one of the items Nancy purchased for Jessie was an ao dai, the Vietnamese traditional long dress. Jessie decided she wanted to wear her new ao dai to see the monk. She looked like a beautiful Vietnamese princess in her new dress as you can see in this picture.
Now, you’re probably wondering what this was all about. Turns out that a colleague of Nancy’s at the embassy in Ankara had previously served in Burma, where he had come to know this Buddhist monk, who was now living in HCMC. Since the monk spoke English, Nancy’s colleague suggested that we might want to have him give a blessing to Alyssa. It sounded like a nice touch to us. Grandma Patsy had been so generous to have a lovely christening dress made for Alyssa (as she had also done for Jessie) so we figured this would be a fine time for Alyssa to try out the dress. Nancy had called the monk earlier in the day and arranged for us to come by his temple at 5:00 PM.
We left the hotel a few minutes before five. The concierge helped us find a taxi and explained to the taxi driver where we wanted to go. The cabby seemed a bit puzzled why these Americans would want to go to a temple in the part of HCMC where we were going, but he was game and off we went. The drive was not far, but definitely took us into an area where tourists don’t normally go. After about 15 minutes, we came to a corner on a busy street. The cab driver indicated that this was the temple, based on the address we had given him. But, he was also motioning that he thought the temple was closed. We motioned back that it was no problem. The monk knew we were coming so we’d just knock on the door, which we did. But, no one was home. We went around the corner where we were able to get a better view behind the front door and were surprised by what we saw. Most of the area on this corner, which we thought was all temple, was a vacant lot that looked like it was being readied for construction. But, in the front portion of the lot in a long narrow space was a small temple. This confirmed we were at the right place and there was a placard on the door with the same phone number that Nancy had called to contact the monk. We knocked louder on the door to no avail. Then we asked the cabby for his cell phone so we could call the monk. We did that, but the monk’s phone was switched off. We were starting to draw a crowd as we banged on the door. I was hoping that maybe someone who spoke English would appear and help us out. But, no lock. Finally, after calling the monk’s cell phone a second time, we gave up. The best we could do was take some pictures in front of the temple, two of which are below.
Despite the disappointment of not actually meeting the monk, we were happy to have tried and left the temple to go for an early dinner at a very nice Vietnamese restaurant. The decor was old Vietnamese and the food was delicious as you can see from a couple of pictures below.
We walked back to the hotel afte a fine dinner. Along the way, Nancy and Patsy wanted to finish some shopping so the girls and I again got to go back to the hotel alone. But, only a few minutes after we had gotten settled into the hotel room, Mom and Grandma appeared with a couple of more packages. Then I had to go back out to buy baby supplies for the long trip to Turkey. We didn’t have quite enough diapers to make it home and diapers are the last thing we wanted to run out of.My last quick walk in HCMC was as interesting and revealing as the previous ones. I headed back to a nearby store where we had bought baby supplies for Jessie. Thao had told me the same store was still there. But, when I got there was I surprised. The store was there, but it had been transformed from a rundown ancient looking department store similar to something one would see in a Soviet country to a modern, glitzy facility that rivaled any Saks Fifth Avenue or Nordstroms. Where the grocery department had been before, now gleaming glass cases stood full of cosmetics and jewelry. I found my way to the grocery department, now on the second floor, and was astonished to see it full of customers, even though it was 9:00 PM on a Saturday night. Apparently late on Saturday night is a favorite time for the residents of HCMC to shop for groceries. Another interesting observation. As I was checking out I saw that the store accepted not only Vietnamese dong (the national currency), but also US dollars. Yet another sign of the major economic changes that are going on in Vietnam.
After a ten minute walk back to the hotel, it was time for bed so we would all be refreshed for our long journey back to Ankara the next day.
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