As predicted, we received the phone call to pick Skye up on July 25th; about 4 1/2 weeks after I returned from the 1st trip. This time Larry was able to go. We only had 7 days to prepare! We departed on the following Friday, August 2nd, and arrived in Hanoi, Vietnam on Sunday, August 4th. This time our flight was on Eva Airlines, through Taipei, Taiwan. This route was more convenient because there was no overnight stay, but by the time we arrived in Hanoi, we were exhausted. We stayed in central Hanoi at a real nice property called the Guoman Hotel. Shortly after we arrived on Sunday morning; we found out that our Giving and Receiving Ceremony was not scheduled until Wednesday; so we had 2 full days to spend as we pleased. On Monday, August 5th, we decided to shop and see some of the sites in Hanoi. We spent most of the day around Hoan Kiem Lake, and the Old Quarter.

 

On Tuesday, August 6th, we decided to take a private group tour to Halong Bay with two other families who were also adopting from Lang Son; Barbara and her father, and Barbara and Duaine and their 4 year old daughter, adopted from Cambodia. Halong Bay is a very popular tourist attraction in North Vietnam because of it's spectacular scenery. It's slightly northeast from Hanoi, and about a 2 hour drive. We stopped several times on the way to take pictures because we were so intrigued with this foreign land. On the way, we also had a lot of fun visiting with lots of laughs! When we arrived we couldn't believe that the 7 of us were going to have a double decker 50 passenger boat all to ourselves! As we anticipated, the scenery was awesome. In the middle of the bay we even docked the boat at one of the 100+ islands and took a walking tour through a beautiful cave (but very hot and humid!) The hospitality on the boat was wonderful, especially when the crew began pouring the rice wine! Needless to say it was a full day, so by the end of the journey, we were exhausted, especially due to the heat. We were all much more quiet on the way back. We were so ready to get back to our airconditioned hotel in Hanoi!