Hanoi Beginnings

So Wednesday evening we arrive in Hanoi and of course we are now on our own (with the other family but no agency help). There had been no vacancy at the agency’s preferred hotel so they had booked an alternate. When we arrived we all agreed that we would spend just one night there. It was not in a good area and it was not very nice. The important thing was to get to the US Consulate in the morning and then find better digs.

There was a small hotel restaurant. Crystal did not trust it enough to eat the food. The rest of us took the chance and made it out ok.

Wednesday morning we made it to the US Consulate to get the Visa process started. It was a little frustrating at first. The forms were not filled out properly and the baby’s pictures we were given by our agency coordinator were not the right size or format. They should have been done as regular passport photos but were not. We almost had to leave to go get new photos taken before our applications would be accepted. The consulate worker took pity on us when she realized we were on our own. She was able to make the photos work and instructed us to come back at 2 pm for the final interview.

After some running around we were finally checked into the Melia Hotel, just outside the Old Quarter of Hanoi. Very nice! Crystal and I sprung for a suite on the 19^th floor and the views of the city are fantastic. It is a good thing we are comfortable because we don’t know when we will be leaving!

The final interview was very easy. The woman at the consulate was very friendly. It was really just a matter of paying the fee and signing some final documents as all of our paper work was already examined and found to be in order. There is still a 24 hour waiting period as some final background checks are performed. Apparently the photos of the babies get transmitted to a US office in Kentucky and checked against some database. We have been told we can pick the Visa up on Thursday afternoon at 4. The only problem we may run into is if the computers go down – which is not unusual to happen around here. And the we can head home! Of course we have all missed our return flights and don’t know when that will be!