We're home safe and sound!

We spent the morning of our last day packing everything up (it fit!) and taking a 1 hour rickshaw ride around Hanoi. I realized that even after two weeks, there was much I had not seen. On the way to the airport, the radio was playing a very sad violin and piano piece that made our departure more poignant. I wondered when Evan will return to Vietnam and see his home country again.

The first 3 hour flight (Hanoi to Taipei) did not start out well. Evan fell down with a thump and started crying. In the 30 seconds it took me to console him, I realized he had bitten his lip and was bleeding on my shirt. I cleaned up my (white!) shirt in time for him to get me back for letting him fall by spitting up some undigestible thing he had swallowed. Of course, the ladies around me gave me disapproving looks. After that, things were fine, but Evan would not sleep. He was far more interested in playing with an 11 month old Taiwanese boy nearby. As we descended, Evan started to cry and it was only when an elderly Chinese lady gave me some saltines for Evan that he calmed right down. I was not feeling like a very competent parent.

The Taiwan airport requires a lot of walking appears to have no carts available for hand baggage. It also does not have hot water for bottle washing. However, it did have a play area right next to our gate. Evan got to play on the slide and bang on the tables.

On the long flight to Los Angeles (12 hours) Evan could not have been better. I gave him his bottle on takeoff and he was out cold - for 8 hours or more. My seat was perfect - bulkhead with a bassinett and the seat adjacent to me was empty. There was plenty of floor and seat space for all my things. I even goat diaper and baby food service from the crew, who were more than helpful once I figured out how to use the flight attendant call button. I slept perhaps 6 hours. I finally woke Evan up in order to make sure he would be tired again for the soon-to-arrive night. Evan ate and played and flirted with the other passengers the rest of the time. Here is is playing on the floor:

The hardest part of the trip was waiting for the visa paperwork to be processed. Evan passed much of the time pushing the baggage cart around. After about 90 minutes, an agent offered to help figure out where Evan's file whereupon it became obvious that it has been misplaced. I finally started the exhausted kid on a bottle just as they found the documents and I was ready to go. I finally walked out to an anxious audience with Evan and a bottle in one hand and pushing the cart with the other. Evan was still cute, dribbling formula onto his no-longer clean outfit.

At home, Evan and the dog got to meet. Evan was petrified at first, and the dog was leery of the new competition and barked to show here disapproval. Eventually, they came to an understanding. Evan got a meal and a bath and played for a bit before finally going to bed at 11. I was afraid he would not sleep through the night due to the jet lag).

Evan was up at 4:30 and ready to play (not bad, considering). Here he is earlier today with his welcome balloons and a piece of quesadilla:

What a great Christmas present!