More massage mishaps and the elf pants

Well, I typed a rather long post earlier today but I don't see it so I'll see if I remember what I wrote. The internet connection at the Horison Hotel is much better at night.

We arrived in Hanoi yesterday. It was only a 2 hour flight from Ho Chi Minh. So far Kieran has been fine on the flights (though they have been short.) Well, the flight was fairly busy in that Kieran need two very serious diaper changes. He is thoughtful enough to fire some warning shots out of his diaper before he plans to really fill it up. At least we have some notice!

So at this point, we are getting to know our little guy's favorite activities. They include chewing on electrical wires, playing with plastic bags and pulling out the hair on my head and the hair on Santosh's chest. Those little fingers are amazingly strong (and sticky.) We really never see it coming. Kieran will gaze into our eyes and take one hand and gently place it on our face. Just as our hearts are melting, Kieran's other hand comes from out of nowhere to stick a finger in our eye or pull out some hair. This baby has such a mischievous streak in him. We secretly love it.

Oh so I forgot to mention that the night before we left Ho Chi Minh, I decided to get a massage at the spa at the Duxton Hotel. The hotel was nice enough and I had heard the massages were interesting so I thought I'd try it out. I already had a massage at the Novotel Hotel the first night we arrived. That was an experience in itself. They hand you a uniform to put on when you arrive and then make you change in a tiny room that has a clear glass door. Always up for a challenge, I decided to try to hide in the corner only to see the massage therapist staring at me through the door which was now slightly ajar. She waited until I had this silly little outfit on (the shorts bubble out and have elastic that gathers below your knees. Can't picture this? Well, just believe me that it's impossible not to laugh at yourself as you wear these silly little elf pants and I'm positive nobody has ever allowed a photo to be taken of them wearing it.)

So I finally finish putting on the Vietnamese massage costume and then she bursts in and tells me to get on the table and yells, "OFF OFF. NO GOOD." Ok, I guess they make you put this on for amusement only since they rip it right off of you immediately. Her shaking her head at me out of frustration was just too funny (why watch me put it on then?)

The massage was OK - I've had a lot of massages and it was Ok but not necessarily worth subjecting myself to the humiliation of the elf pants again. At the Sandy Beach Hotel, I stuck to a foot massage - I was not falling for their bubble pant costume party tactic.

Well, since I had heard the spa at the Duxton was so great, I made sure I squeezed it in the night before we left. Well, sure enough, the receptionist gave me the same silly getup with what looks like the same the inflatable pants. This time, they didn't peek through the door though - they just walked in and while I was putting it on and ripped it off and told me it was silly. Ok, well at least we agree on that but I am still not sure why they make you put it on in the first place.

So as I was getting on the table, I noticed that there were strange bars on the ceiling. Must be for the A/C I figured. As I got on the table, the massage therapist was right there with me and she literally sits on your back as she does the massage. A little odd for me (I mean I know they get rather personal during a massage but mounting the client seems a bit over the top to me.)

I barely adjusted to that and she jumps up onto the rafters and starts walking on my back! Well why not at this point? I have to say - it was the best massage I've ever had. If I hadn't laughed though most of it - I think I would have enjoyed it more. It made me look back at every massage I've ever had in the past and wonder what kind of training those people must have had because this was what a massage was really supposed to be like (ok - except for the bubble pant humiliation and mounting the clients.)

Well, so we'll see how it goes here in Hanoi. There will be time for a massage since we aren't near much. The hotel is pretty out of the way but I'm still not sure where we are supposed to be. I'm still not sure where you want to be if you are in Hanoi.

I know we aren't anywhere near it though.

Tonight we had a group dinner with the group. It was at a great place (Brother's Cafe) but since it was outside and dreadfully hot, it was a bit tough to get through. Also having Kieran in the carrier means that whoever is wearing the carrier just sweats.

After dinner we went to the water puppet show. Before we went in, Santosh was holding Kieran who was just dripping with sweat. We unzipped Kieran's outfit a bit to let his neck get some air and a woman on the street freaked out. Some other families have told us that they have been scolded for having their baby out in the rain (not sure where the Vietnamese put their babies in the rain but maybe they use those secret tunnels they dug during the war to hide the babies in when they sense the danger of precipitation.)

One other family has also been scolded for not dressing their babies warmly enough to brave the 98 degree temperatures out here. So while we waited to go into the show, this woman ran up to Santosh and put her finger about an inch from Kieran (who was falling off to sleep) and started yelling that his neck was exposed and he should be bundled up. Apparently she doesn't see the sweat dripping off of him? She was really relentless though and just kept yelling at us.

Of course we were about to go into a building with AC and I wanted to zip it up but it was too much fun to let this woman have a fit outside. I think the ironic thing was that as she was screaming about Kieran's neck being exposed, Santosh pointed out that her own young child wandered into traffic and was almost run over. Now that's good parenting - make sure your kid's neck is warm but pay no mind to it being broken!

Ok, so we are off to sleep. Hope to get Kieran's visa appointment tomorrow and then the visa should come Monday.