"Careful - he bites"

We only have two more days left in Ho Chi Minh City before we head to Hanoi. We are just waiting for Kieran's Vietnamese passport to be ready. Everyone told me to do my shopping here rather than in Hanoi. So far, I haven't bought much as far as gifts or items for Kieran. I really have to focus on that tonight. I do wish I realized how easy it was to buy necessities here though. I might not have packed less but I would not have stressed about making sure I had everything. They may not have an extensive selection of everything - but they have enough that we would certainly get by just fine. Almost all the pajamas I brought with me were too small but I've been able to find pajamas here for under $2 (really plan cotton pajamas that are probably equivalent to Carters brand.) Paying $2 a night for new pjs is cheaper than having the hotel wash them too.

I do want to get some things for Kieran's room and they have very nice embroidered wall art at many shops but I cannot find exactly what I want. Today we headed to a market that is not as touristy as where we usually go- I knew I wouldn't get decorative items but I wanted to see if I could get some small toys or other authentic Vietnamese items for Kieran or for gifts. It is very hot in these markets and extremely crowded. I think it would be OK by myself but with a huge backpack and Santosh carrying Kieran, it is tough. I'm definitely getting used to the heat.

Most people think (as I did) that the Vietnamese babies can tolerate the heat. This isn't the case at all actually. They all seem to sweat quite a bit and develop heat rash regularly. We have to continually bathe Kieran as soon as we get home or wipe him down when outside.
For the most part, he likes being in the carrier. He should like it - we cannot see him and he gets into all kinds of trouble. He grabs things in the market or right off the shelf. He's doing really well and is extremely active and a pretty tough little guy.

So today we went to the market and some women stopped Santosh (as usual) to yell "Baby, Baby, Baby" and run right over to kiss Kieran and rub his face or feet. Santosh had about enough of that and today he said, "CAREFUL - he bites!" as he made a chomping motion with his teeth and hands but pointed to Kieran. As you know, Santosh keeps a straight face through this kind of stuff and people backed off a bit. The people mean well but it becomes overwhelming and when Kieran is sleeping, it can be frustrating to have people come up and kiss him or touch him so much. Kieran really doesn't like it either so we are mostly trying to protect him. It's OK most of the time but in the crowded markets - it is tough.

After leaving the market, some old man wearing a mask (as many people here wear) ran up to me and stared at me - putting his face as close to me as possible (tough to do since he was about a foot shorter than I am.) I just kind of looked confused and walked around him. A second or two later, I feel something hit my backpack and he had thrown the peel from his fruit at me. When I turned around and looked rather angry, he ran off. People around me tried to motion that he was crazy. I guess he was - but it was still kind of funny.

We had to come home after only an hour of shopping because the rain was really coming down. Not that I'd recommend a trip to Vietnam in the July/August heat but because it is monsoon season, it rains extremely heavily each afternoon too. If you have a choice, come at another time of year. We have our anoraks which are really great. Santosh can wear Kieran in the Bjorn on his chest and then have Kieran poking his head out of the opening by his chest/neck. I'll see if I can post the photo o that. When Santosh tried this for the first time - I just couldn't stop laughing. I knew we'd get a lot of strange looks on the street with just this baby head sticking out of the raincoat while his body is entirely hidden.

When we walk around - we often walk one behind the other because of the crowds. If there is a little distance between Santosh and Kieran and myself, I can really notice the comments and stares that they get. If we stop near a crowd, they all point and yell "Baby, Baby" and then I think they make a comment about Santosh carrying Kieran. I guess they don't see 6'2" Indian guys carrying Vietnamese babies too often. And they don't know what to make of me as part of this either. I guess they don't think we are all together - that would just be too strange.

Yesterday on our tour of the Cu Chi Tunnels, a Veitnamese man asked our tour guide to tell Santosh that men should not carry babies - this is a woman's job. (I was inside watching the documentary and Santosh was feeding and walking Kieran around.) This guy never saw me at all so Santosh's response was, "What woman is supposed to take care of him? What if I was raising him by myself?" The tour guide was not about to translate any response from Santosh though - despite being in her 20's, she seemed to also think it should be me who carried Kieran around. Kieran was with me most of the tour so Santosh could explore the tunnels and shooting ranges (clearly something Kieran had to sit out and I didn't mind skipping it either.)

At one point, they showed us some of the torture devices and traps the Vietnamese used during the Vietnam War. The tour guide said sometimes people in the group ask to try them out. Well, of course Santosh told her that he'd like to volunteer that nosy old man who made the comments about him earlier in the tour.

The videos they show about the American War (as they call it here rather than the Vietnam War) are all clearly biased. They talk about the ruthless Americans who dropped bombs indiscriminately. Santosh said they peg it as a war between the mean Americans and innocent Vietnamese children eating rice.

We are enjoying our time here and it's great to have the change to really focus on Kieran. We don't have to worry about cooking, cleaning or other every day issues. It's still so much work though so I'm kind of wondering how I will do it when we get back. Kieran (or Durban) will have to pitch in a bit.

I hear Durban (our dog) has been very good for my mom. This is of course except for him rolling around in fox droppings. That just cannot be helped though - way too tempting.

Well, the rain has stopped so we will set out once again to go shopping. Our hotel is so centrally located and cabs to most places are $1 if it is too far or too rainy to walk so we go in an out a lot in a day.

Jennifer