Home > Feature Family > Barron Family > Our Trip to Vietnam 1996

May 11-13, 1996--Journey to Vietnam:

We left the Phoenix Airport at approximately 9:15 PM. All our loved ones came to see us off, which was a very nice surprise. We landed in Los Angeles about 45-50 minutes later. Our luggage was sent through all the way to Saigon, so we never had to worry about picking it up, and checking it in again, which was a relief. When we landed in LA, we were LOST. We had no idea where we needed to be or how to get there. But like most things, we figured it out, found an abandoned luggage cart (which were parked here and there-we never had to pay for one) for our 4 carry-ons (2 each). We made it to the Int'l part of the airport pretty quickly-we walked-and pushed our way through the tremendous crowds of people to the EVA counter to check in. Our flight didn't leave until 1:30 am May 12, so we had a fair amount of time. You definitely don't want to feel rushed while going through these procedures-they are already stressful enough; especially if it's your first time! When we checked in, we had to dump off our bathroom bag, because only one carry-on is allowed per person (including one per child) on Int'l flights. The attendant helping us let the back pack count as my purse, so we would only have to check one. We headed over to the customs/immigration area (you have to go through this to even get near your terminal). It was dark and CROWDED; people shoving and pushing every where. I started to feel claustrophobic and dizzy. They were doing construction when we went, so it was a mess! I felt like we were in Vietnam already, not LA. Then as we're all standing there, we hear this horrible shriek, and then a couple minutes later a man is pushing his way back through the crowd with a little girl in his arms-her face covered in blood. Of course, everyone wants to know what's going on, and someone (who seems related to the girl) says she got pushed over and has a bloody nose. So all along the way we see this stream of fresh blood, and everyone is trying not to step in it! We didn't bring our film in a lead-lined bag, and planned to take it out when we went through x-rays. You have to explain what the deal is (we said it was professional film), and even if they're grumpy about it, the x-ray supervisors will let you through. In the USA they opened each one separately to see if it was really film-a little extra time, but no biggie. In Taiwan, Vietnam, and Thailand there was no problem at all-they didn't even check! We went to our terminal, found seats, ate some food, and watched the people. Since we were going to Asia, there were only about five other Caucasians on our flight, and we loved to watch the Asians (especially the children) and imagine if that's what Sahara would look like at 20, 30, 40, 50...and so on. Our flight boarded and left on time. We made friends with the girl next to us, who was going home to Malaysia. She gave us her "business" card (which seems to be the cool thing to do in Asia), and invited us to visit her in Malaysia. The flight was about as comfortable as a 15 hour (not including time change) flight can be. We were extremely pleased with the staff, our service, and the food aboard EVA. We watched movies, and slept. It is true-you get so dehydrated! Bring water-we did, and it was gone in about an hour. We had to keep bugging the stewardess for more. They do bring drinks around every hour or so, but for us, it wasn't enough. We landed in Tai Pei, Taiwan around 4 am (the exact times have been forgotten-these are rough estimates) on May 13th, had a long layover, ended up having to check in our duffel bag, and arrived in Saigon at around noon! Everyone made us terrified of Customs in Saigon, but it was cake! We got all our luggage (everything was just fine) went through Customs/Immigration in approximately a half hour. Truong, an employee/representative from Mary (our contact in Vietnam) met us outside the airport. They do not let people inside to greet relatives, and so everyone is hanging out at the front entrance-yelling, laughing, and watching. It was a shock to walk out into the oppressively hot/humid weather surrounded by tons of Vietnamese people (speaking Vietnamese) who are staring curiously at the Americans, and offering Taxi's, food/drink, and asking for money. Truong rushed us into a taxi (like we were important people or something), and told us he'd meet us at the hotel. Driving through the streets was definitely interesting-cyclos everywhere. People cutting in front of each other, horns bleeping fiercely, and scaring me to death! We saw a Pagoda on the way to our hotel, which was neat, but watching the drivers was much more fascinating. We went to our hotel ( the New Asia Hotel), were greeted by the manager, Don (Viet Kieu-which basically means Vietnamese who lived in America and came back to Vietnam--people who are Viet Kieu always made sure to tell us they were), went up to our room (which was beautiful, clean, and HUGE) and fell asleep until 8 PM. We ordered room service, ate, and went back to sleep.

May 14, 1996--Meeting our traveling companions:

We knew we would meet the other couple traveling with us today, and we were very excited. I had already talked on the phone to D. W. before we left for Vietnam, and was anxious to meet her, her husband, and their five year old daughter. We spent the morning looking out our window at the busy street below, and waiting for them, and Mary to show up. Each time a taxi pulled up to the hotel, we got excited. Finally they showed up, and we went downstairs to greet them. Such nice people. Mary came in with her granddaughter, Rosemary and her son Michael. We visited with everyone in the lobby for quite sometime. Mary told us little things about each child. Mary says that instead of going to the orphanage tomorrow as planned, we will go on Thursday, the 16th. This news really bums us out. But we already know that everything involved with adoption is unpredictable. Mary gave us the option of staying in Saigon the full two weeks, or heading up to Nha Trang two days after we adopt the babies. We all are unsure what to do at the moment. Mary tells us that another lady, Karen and her daughter, Haley, will be coming down from Nha Trang tomorrow morning, and we can ask her opinion as to staying or going to Nha Trang. We had planned all along on going to Nha Trang, but for some reason now, given the option, we aren't so sure we want to. After our little chat and some tea and water, Mary and the other family head up to their rooms for a rest, and Tim and I go out and explore. We didn't walk too far, just down some local streets--which were very crowded and unclean. Crossing the streets was a dangerous thing to do, as we had read in every travel guide book. There are no stop signs or traffic lights (or rules really) in Vietnam. Pedestrians DO NOT have the right of way. You must look both ways about three times before crossing, and you have to be quick--run, basically. We enjoyed watching the people go about their daily business, but felt a little uncomfortable with the stares at us (we get to see what it's like to be a minority). We bought three little dresses for Sahara, a total cost of maybe ten dollars, and headed back to the hotel. We spent a quiet evening in our room.

May 15, 1996--Exploring Saigon:

I felt pretty depressed this morning, because we had been planning on getting Sahara today. But Karen and Haley arrived, and everyone (excluding Mary and Rosemary) went to the Ben Thanh market, and some other stores around there. We drove by the Rex Hotel--very big and handsome, and by some other buildings that had been suggested in the travel guides. We lounged around in the lobby for some time, where Karen suggested we stay in Saigon, instead of going to Nha Trang; and we met Travis, Mary's son ( the father of Rosemary). Then we went to lunch at a very fancy restaurant that had a large buffet. It cost US $5 per person--which,seeing that the average Vietnamese person makes US $198 per year, is considered VERY expensive to Vietnamese. The food was great, and the service excellent. The wife of the owner came to our table to show off her cute little girl, and bragged to us that the baby's father was Taiwanese. Outside, there was a large cage with monkeys and snakes. We learned that all the nice restaurants in Vietnam have caged animals out front. Later that night we went to Mary's room and dropped off our gifts to her. Karen was there also, and we sat and talked for a couple hours. It was really fun to get to know Mary, and before we left, she gave us a blanket that had been made for Sahara (by the foster mothers) when she came to them at three days of age. Sleeping that night was a joke--tomorrow, my dream would finally come true!

May 16, 1996--Sahara!:

We woke up at three this morning--the anticipation was almost unbearable. While getting ready, we saw the BIGGEST cockroach either of us had ever seen scurrying across our floor. We chased it all over, trying to catch it in a plastic cup. It crawled under our bed, and so we moved the bed across the room to get it (making lots of noise). Finally I grabbed our fruit knife of the table and stabbed the cockroach--you could literally hear the crunching sound--but he somehow got off the knife and ran between a crack in the wall. I almost cried afterwards--even though I'm NOT scared of insects. A little emotional? We were ready and downstairs in the restaurant by 6:00 am, ate breakfast, and waited for the other family we were traveling with, Mary, and Truong. Mary gave us information that we needed to know. Before long (7:00 am) we were loaded up in the van, and leaving for Long Xuyen, the capital of the An Giang Province. Shortly after we left, we relayed the cockroach story to the other family we were traveling with; and they said, "We heard you! We thought you were having a last romp before parenthood set in!" The ride was six hours long, bumpy, noisy, and tiring. When we arrived in Long Xuyen, we stopped at restaurant two minutes away from the orphanage, and had refreshments. After sitting for ten minutes, us women went and sat in the van and talked-waiting for the men. After about forty minutes, I walked over to them and said I wanted to go to the orphanage NOW, please. I wasn't rude by American standards, but I may have "lost (some) face" by Vietnamese standards. At the time I didn't really care, because I wanted my child--not a drink. We went to the orphanage (which was typical--the best it could be given the circumstances), and listened to a half hour talk from the director asking for money, and telling us to take good care of the babies. (When we first came in the room and sat down, there was a lot of commotion--people every where, and then the director and another man started talking to each other, and staring at me. They said something to Truong, who then translated to me, "they say your baby looks just like you." I was elated to say the least, and had a hard time focusing on what the director was giving his little speech). We signed some paperwork, and then we met our precious daughter. Words cannot adequately describe this moment. It was euphoria. Holding her for the first time, seeing that she was a real child, and all mine, was almost overwhelming. We both were trying to hold her (neither of us wanted to let go of her!). Sahara sounded very congested, was pretty dirty, and smelled heavily like peach perfume. She was absolutely the most beautiful thing I had ever seen! We then went to the Department of Justice to sign the documents. When we were there, Truong translated a message to Tim and I from the director: "They were looking through your paperwork again, and realized that you are too young to adopt." Fear swept through my body, as I made mental plans of escape, before I realized all the government workers, the director, and Truong were LAUGHING. It was a joke. Everyone was surprised that us being so young (me twenty-two, and Tim twenty-five),we wanted to adopt a baby. Needless to say--it was a rough day. We got back to the hotel at around 9:30 PM, bathed and fed Sahara, and CRASHED!

Continued - Read Part 2

Return to the Barrons' page

Return to Feature Families