Xin Chao from Saigon!

"Xin Chao" is Vietnamese for "Hello", so Hello from Saigon! :)  We are settled in at the Rex hotel now here in Saigon.  The first part of our trip is finished, and now we begin the grand finale - meeting David and bringing him home!  

The flight from Hoi An/Danang to Saigon is only one hour, but it feels as though you have travelled to a whole new world.  Saigon feels like a very large American city, but Bill & I can't agree which one it is most like.  Bill says Saigon reminds him of New York, with all the hustle and bustle and the fact that it never slows down much at night.  I think of the Las Vegas strip a little here, with all the neon lights and a bit of glitz.  Saigon is the most Western of all the cities in Vietnam, with a melting pot of architecture, restaurants, and people.  We seemed to be the only Americans in the other parts of Vietnam.  In Saigon, on the other hand, we are one of many, and we were able to have spaghetti, pizza, and Diet Coke today for lunch.  I even bought Maybelline lipstick yesterday at the mall across the street from our hotel.  Having experienced several parts of Vietnam, I have to say though, that what you gain in convenience in Saigon, you lose a bit in culture and charm.  Saigon's new, it's modern, it's sleek - it's just a little low on history and beauty compared with other parts of the country.

On Saturday when we arrived here, we toured the downtown area a little bit and saw some of the beautiful buildings here.  We went by the Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, the Old Post office, and the local market here.  We had intended to tour Reunification Palace on Sunday, but it was closed due to the funeral of a previous Vietnamese Prime Minister.  Instead, we went to Saigon's Chinatown and saw the throngs of cheap products that you can buy there.  We also enjoyed wandering through some of the interesting shops and galleries in downtown.  Sunday night, Bill & I had dinner on a boat cruise on the Saigon River, which runs adjacent to the downtown area.  It was a great view of the lights of the city and a great way to finish our touring time.

Tomorrow, we will head down to Vinh Long and Can Tho.  Vinh Long is a small, rural town without Western hotels or restaurants safe for the tummy, so we'll stay in Can Tho across the river.  Can Tho is the fourth largest city in the country (after Saigon, Hanoi, and Danang).  The other three adoption families here right now all have children at the Can Tho orphanage, so we'll be able to spend some of the evenings with them.  We'll ferry back and forth across the river to visit the orphanage until David's G&R ceremony on Thursday morning.  If all goes smoothly, we will travel back to Saigon with David on Thursday afternoon and fly to Hanoi on Monday, June 23.  

Next post:  David! :)