The Ordeal of Fingerprints

I made my way to the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon today to renew my FBI fingerprint clearance. It runs out on the 29th and since that is the day of the G&R I will be involved in another week to ten days of red tape and the clearance must last out the entire time.

I walked the entire way from the hotel at Pham Ngu Lao, past the Opera House (pictured below), past the Cathedral and main post office, finally reached the consulate. I barely made it before their 11 AM closing for a long lunch--and when I told them the fingerprints were for an adoption they sent me a block away to the Diamond Plaza, where the Office of Homeland Security is on the 8th floor.
I made my way there, but of course they had already closed for lunch and told me to come back at 1:30. I guess they take nice long lunches at the consulate. So I walked around the area. I checked out the Diamond Department store in the same high rise. Prices were ridiculous. I was looking for a shirt to wear to the wedding next week--they were priced 950,000 dong. I guess that's around sixty dollars which is probably comparable to a good shirt back home but I am not accustomed to paying those prices. I turned to looking at ties--figured I would wear a shirt I have but put a nice tie on--the tie was 960,000 dong!
I wandered further afield, going north to this fountain roundabout. I was very hungry and had two hours to kill--so I went into Lotteria. My understanding is that this is a Korean chain fast found restaurant. I have not heard good things about the food--and the reports were accurate. I didn't want to try the beef, so I ordered the chicken. I think it was barbecued and it was also coated with bits of peanuts. But at least the 7 Up was okay--except they didn't have diet. I haven't drank this many high sugared sodas since I was a teen ager.

However the upper floor of Lotteria was a nice place to sit and ponder my time as I gazed out at this fountain walkway across the street. Then I got up and made my way back to the eighth floor of the Diamond Plaza.

Here I had the experience of meeting the inimitable lady that interviews the families who are adopting. I've heard so much about her. My impression of her--she epitomizes typical yankee pragmatism. She's sort of a female version of Joe Friday from the old Dragnet--"Just the facts!"

She chastised me for coming before I had a G&R date set. But I had checked with the Dallas office and I recently double checked with the embassy in Hanoi and they said there's no problem with renewing here. They had a big poster with all the services offered to Americans at the consulate along with the prices and fingerprint clearance was clearly one of them.

Anyway she said they didn't have the fingerprint equipment, she sent me BACK to the consulate where I had started. When I got back there, they initially weren't going to let me in because they said the office for services to Americans had closed and would open again in the morning. But somehow I ended up talking to a woman at the information booth and eventually she approved me to come back in.

Then I had to talk to the same lady who had sent me to the eighth floor earlier. She didn't understand what I wanted. I told her to call the interview lady (she immediately recognized the name, I guess she's a high roller in the consulate). She started telling me to just wait and do it when I get to Hanoi, but I told her the process takes two to three weeks and thus I need to start it now in order to be ready to leave.

Finally they brought out the fingerprint cards, I filled them out, paid the $85 fee (just $10 more than it costs in Dallas, and I would have paid more than the difference in gas to get there from where I live), she brought out a supervisor to make sure she took them right and it was done and it's such a relief to have it in the works.

Now everything is basically set up for the remainder of the trip. When I got back to the hotel we went out to a travel agent. We have a train ticket to leave Friday for Hue--it's a soft sleeper and we get there Saturday morning. Then Monday we take a short train ride to Danang and we are there the rest of the week for the wedding and to see Hoi An. Then next Saturday the 27th we fly back to Saigon and the next morning I get Henry!