We visited the Temple of Literature (Van Mieu) towards the end of our stay in Hanoi. It was a beautiful place and I appreciated a great deal of what we saw, but it was a little tourist-y for me. It was a hot day and my husband had Ella strapped to his chest, so we didn’t last as long as we may have if it had only been the two of us.

A little about the Temple: The Temple was founded as a Confucian Temple and a huge statue and alter to Confucius remain there today. The huge pot of incense lingering... more

I don't personally know about Ho Chi Minh City, but I do know that in Hanoi, every time we saw a bus it felt like a huge invasion that just didn't seem to fit on the small, insanely busy streets that are full of motorbikes, bicycles and people walking around. The buses seemed monstrous in Hanoi and frankly, I could have done without seeing them and navigating around them. I know that Ho Chi Minh City has a different vibe than Hanoi, so this bus tour may just be a great way to see all the sites. But the article states that they have plans to expand... more

I’m a theatre girl. I hold a bachelors and masters degree in theatre arts and was active in the theatre community for many years. My husband shares this passion, so needless to say we were beyond excited to see attend the Water Puppet (Mua Roi Nuoc) theatre in Hanoi. We arrived at the theatre, chose our seats and exhaled. Just being in a theatre, on the other side of the world, was comforting and homey.

Sure, the water puppet show is a tourist attraction and there are many shows per evening to accommodate... more

In Friday's Life With Ella post there was a bear in the picture (sitting in front of the map), and I love this little bear so much that I wanted to write about her. She's one of my favorite items that we got in Viet Nam.

We ate quite a few meals at the Moca Cafe in Hanoi which is down near the lake, and near the Catholic Church. Walking around window shopping one day we came across this adorable little boutique shop and decided to go in. It was actually the cute personalized teddy bears in the window that drew... more

We went with two other adopting families and our agency's coordinator to explore the infamous Hanoi Hilton. I was not especially looking forward to this trip and was nervous about what we might see. It was depressing and upsetting, but it's been turned into such a tourist attraction that some of the depravity is missing. The life sized statues of prisoners were the hardest to see~especially the room that held women and children.

While we were touring the site our group was approached by a somewhat flustered... more

While we were in Hanoi we survived on La Vie bottled water. We had been prepared to only consume bottled water and warned to never go near the local water supply. I had heard horror stories of people becoming violently ill from brushing their teeth with their hotel's tap water or getting a drop or two of water from their shower in their mouth. So we arrived sufficiently nervous and ready to do all we could to only use bottled water.

Turns out that we really had no reason to be so nervous - bottled water is EVERYWHERE!... more

Going for Ella’s exit interview at the United States Embassy in Hanoi was a positive and interesting experience. The picture to the right shows us outside the building after the interview was over. I didn’t really know what to expect, but our time there was much more low key and calm than I had anticipated.

When we arrived our agency’s staff member Hoa had to wait outside. I didn’t realize that because she was not a U.S. citizen, she was not permitted in the building. We had our American staff member... more

I took this picture in the early part of our trip to Viet Nam while we were walking around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi. I was instantly drawn to it for some reason before I even realized that I had just taken a picture of a wheel barrel of trash. But it was beautiful to me, so I didn’t really think twice about it till now.

Looking back I think I was so drawn to this wheel barrel because I was just fascinated by the non la hat that was placed on top of the just picked flowers. For some reason that non la... more

I thought we had it made with our direct Thai Air flight from JFK (New York) to Bangkok, Thailand and then a short flight into Hanoi. A direct flight would be so wonderful for families traveling to bring their children home; and even better on the way home if said child isn't too thrilled about flying!

Vietnam Airlines set to begin first ever direct flights to US Vietnam Airlines plans to start its first direct flight to the US by year-end, its vice general director, Pham Ngoc Minh,... more

I had read about the streets of Hanoi; the motorbikes, the honking, the difficulty crossing the street. But to witness it myself was nothing short of amazing. We got our first taste of how the city lives our first night in our hotel. The honking never stops. Literally. It continues 24 hours a day! We had a room that faced a small street and we were fascinated with the noise. It would die down from time to time, but it would never completely stop. It actually became kind of soothing, believe it or not! And the honking in Viet Nam is nothing like the... more