No more news on G&R as of Friday - Vung Tau and Ben Thanh market excursions.

….I guess we're going to have to continue to be patient.  Today is Friday night and as of the end of the work day today, there was no information on the date of the G&R which should be next week. We are of course concluding that it won't be on Monday.  We are disappointed that there is no date but know that it will all fall into place in its time.

   We've been keeping busy.  On Wednesday we visited another pagoda and had a quick look at the Reunification palace and then an afternoon swim in the pool. Matteo is doing so much better in the pool and is actually doing a bit of swimming…we are hoping for his swimming lessons to start in the fall.

On Thursday we headed out of HCMC to Vung Tau the seaside city where I adopted Matteo.  It was about a two hour drive to Vung Tau and in the five years since I've been, it has definitely grown quite a bit….we managed to climb the 814 steps in 40 degree heat to the top of the Jesus statue.  I made this pilgrimage with Matteo in my arms 5 years ago and promised if I ever returned that I would do it again, only this time I didn't carry Matteo. We took it slow, took plenty of breaks in the many lookout stops and photo stops they had….beautiful views of the ocean from high up….we managed to make it to the top and enjoyed the accomplishment….after stopping at a local mall where I bought some new PetShop pillows, we then made it to the Imperial Palace Hotel restaurant for a nice lunch.  We were able to take some photos of me and Matteo on the beach similar to the one that i have on this blog…the same background!  Again, I'll have to upload those photos later as they are on my sister's phone…but definitely being in Vung Tau was like visiting an old familiar friend.  I had wanted to at least walk by the orphanage, that is no longer an orphanage, which was supposed to be near the bus service we took but we were so exhausted and my excellent traveller was starting to let me know he had no more energy. I think this worked out for the best as I still wasn't sure if and what reaction Matteo might have…. I have photos of him asleep on my sister on the way back to HCMC.  I am so glad we went and I have great photos of Matteo on the pilgrimage…he was the one who egged us on…his strong little legs had more energy than mommy and auntie, but we all made it to the top!

This morning, Friday morning we ventured out to Ben Thanh market which is quite the experience….it is quite overwhelming for anyone, let alone for  a little boy who had to deal with people touching his face, his arms etc…..I tried to keep him close and tell them no, and tried to get Matteo to say no, don't  touch me, too, but it was not a great experience….I'm sure this is a cultural thing but we do not touch other people's children especially when we don't know them….but of course they would say Viet Nam? to him and then touch his face etc…Matteo was happy when we were buying a couple of beautiful dragonfly and turtle mobiles and then when were almost finished as I was buying a couple of ao dai's and some lightening mcqueen pjs, one of the ladies who was helping us (as we were waiting for them to get something for us) decided to kiss Matteo on the cheek….that of course provoked, rightly so lots of crying….I cuddled him and tried to explain to the ladies that they shouldn't be doing that to a child they don't know…but not sure what they thought….we did manage to get our purchases and then as my sister had also finished her shopping we flagged a cab and headed to the hotel for a relaxing afternoon, of tv watching, napping and a swim in the pool where we experienced one of the brief rain showers we've been getting.

Tomorrow we have a one day excursion. It was not our first choice…our first choice was to head to the Mekong delta and travel by boat on the Jirah; however, sadly discovered it is down for maintenance, so we are taking a tour to another grand or largest pagoda in Viet nam (I think)…we're hoping it will be an okay outing for Matteo too, though the first one, I'm sure he would have enjoyed tremendously.

…..so for now I'll sign off from Vietnam, I hope by Monday we'll be able to have more information so we'll know how to plan our week.  If the G&R is late in the week then we will plan another visit to the orphanage. If it is in the early part then we'll just go to the orphanage before the G&R and then take Malia Nhi home with us!!

 It stated to feel a bit more real when they brought us a crib and as I did with Matteo, I used the new pillows here that she will then use in Canada.  I've posted a few photos of highlights of Vung Tau, the better moments at the Ben Thanh market and s a photo of Malia Nhi's crib at the hotel with big brother checking it out for comfort!!

An amazing view of the South China sea inVung Tau.

Better moments at the Ben Thanh Market

Wanting to take a picture with the dragon fruit

Big brother checking out Malia Nhi's bed in our home away from home!