How to spend time profitably Part 2

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It was another flipflop-melting experience on the streets, still enjoy walking here despite the traffic and general cruddy nature of the pavements. I headers off to buy tickets for the water puppets and the place was marked incorrectly on my map, asked some security guards (waved the map at them) and they flapped me in the right direction, a bit further along. The parks here are so beautiful, ginormous trees, well kept flower beds, swept paths, lots of benches. Still v v hot in the shade though.

Bad ticket karma- it had just closed for lunch. Continued to the Reunification/unification/independence palace, now open again for business, 30,000 (less than £1) to go in. Have never bothered before but thought why not? In fact I really enjoyed it. It is basically a collection of 1970s furniture. Every this labelled, not too much text if you aren't a history enthusiast and it is as clean as you like. Never seen so many people sweeping up. It is constant. I started at the top, thinking I was looking at where the US nationals were evacuated from by helicopter, it I was wrong, it was from the US embassy, now demolished. Amazing opulence, perfectly preserved and must have been an even bigger contrast then to how the majority of people lived. The best parts were the fantastic carpets in every room and the bunker area, which was quite spooky. As you leave go into one of rooms marked video documentary. They aren't very well indicated, but just open the door and there are seats inside. It was very interesting and airconned too. I was there about an hour, long enough for me. The souvenir shop was a complete disappointment. Rubbish, hardly anything connected to the palace, not a worthy Christmas stocking filler in sight!

I left through the exit on the other side, quicker to get back to buy my tickets. Yay! The box office was open. Boo! The lady inside couldn't have been less interested in selling me a ticket. She was having an I hate my job day. Buy on Monday, she said, eyes rolling lethargically. Bugger that! Can't I buy them NOW? She shuffle a piece of paper and said no have tickets for next week. Buy Monday. I seriously didn't believe her. Will try again on way to War Remnants museum on Sunday. Send Gill to the window, hope someone else is there.

Plodded back in heat, schoolkids in sports stuff doing the keepy uppy thing with shuttle cocks again. I tried to kick one back to them, it didn't go well......

In Bui Vien I wanted to find a hotel/agent who sold TNK Tour tickets, as it's cheaper than buying directly from their office. You always get a discount. The 70 Hotel used to when I stayed there before, not now. So I had to go to the Graceful Saigon, scene a few weeks ago of a change of plan when our room wasn't available. At the time I'd booked to go back there now, but the Bali is so much better I cancelled it on booking.com. Really hoping he wouldn't remember this. Of course he did, Even showed me my own writing on the back of his calendar where I'd written the dates and he'd written the promised room number. Smile, sorry, the Bali has an elevator. Thought about saying and I have a bad heart, but that maybe is tempting fate. Anyway, he gave me 50p of fthe Cu Chi tunnels (25p each , still my beating heart) and promised £3 off the Mekong Delta Dluxe with cooking course, maybe when we get back from Phu Quoc.

So now I'm waiting to see if Gill makes her connection in Guangzhou, although actually she has no way of letting me know, so need to check the flight landing time and hope that 55 minutes is enough for the queueing and faffing at transfers, and that her bag is on the flight as well as her. Hoping not to have a fruitless trip to the airport, the next one is in the morning.....

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