Packing, Puppets and Palindrome
Days 806 – 808
Our last few days in Ho Chi Minh was full of lounging about, laughter and packing our luggage for our next trip. But what's that in the washing machine?
On Friday (Day 806), we pottered about in the apartment, writing, a bit more planning for the rest of our time in Vietnam, and doing some washing.
I’d put Tim and my laundry in the top-loader on the balcony and left the lid up ready for Jac to add her clothes. Once the washing was finished, Jac went to hang it up, and suddenly we heard an almighty shriek. She came back into the room shaking her hand as if she was trying to rid herself of something. What had happened? She’d taken some of the clothes out of the machine, put her hand back in to feel something squidgy. She thought it was a large glutinous washing pod, looked down to see a drowned mouse in her hand!
After Tim removed our little dead, but very clean friend, we did eventually get out and had a lovely meal at a nearby restaurant with the most adorable puppy there. Over to Jac:
“Saturday morning was spent reducing our luggage so we could leave some with Ben and Myriam while travelling up to Hoi An and back over the next ten days.
Job done, and so it was off to collect tickets for the Golden Dragon Water Puppet Theatre! We’ve stopped off at Au Parc for a fab brunch, two between the three of us was more than enough of a delicious selection of bread and jam, eggs, avocado, smoked salmon, served with fresh fruit and veg juices and coffee.
Next on to admire Notre Dame and the old Post Office before discovering Book Street. I added to my collection of children’s books from different countries of the world, and we bought some things for Amaya and Megan (daughters of Colin and Kate whose flat we have stayed in). We taxied to meet our lovely new friends - Ben and Myriam with Mae and little Jude.
After some photo shots taken by the children, we settled in for the show.
Vietnamese traditional water puppet shows have existed since the XIth century. They show you animatedly and entertainingly about the history and traditional cultural life of Vietnamese people. (See Day 744 where Lindsey wrote in more detail about the Water Puppet show.)
We ALL loved it! We had treated our new friends to this experience; however, it was as much a treat for us to see how entranced Mae and Jude, (not to mention Ben and Myriam) were than it was for our enjoyment of the show itself.
We then run, jumped and skipped.... well Tim and Mae, and Jude and I did back to the lovely restaurant Le Mekong where we ate with Adam earlier in the week.
Food and drinks ordered, Jude and I set about exploring the restaurant, while the others sipped their drinks and Ben downed his Long Island Tea! We tried out the loos, admired the pretty lights, umbrellas and decorations. Then Mae and Tim joined us and we played with the dragon and Mae played the piano.
Everyone enjoyed the food, and Phuoc, the owner’s son, once again serenaded us. He came into his own when the lovely waiter Den bought out a cake with a candlelit for Lindsey s birthday and we all, including the owner, sang Happy Birthday.
A 7 seater taxi was hailed. The adults were tired, but it was a bit tricky as the children weren’t, and with Uncle Tim in the back seat with them, it was a noisy ride home.
A great day had by all.” Thanks, Jac, it certainly was.
The next day was February 2nd, 2020 – a Palindrome Day, which is when the day’s date is symmetrical and can be read the same way backwards and forwards. I learned that this day marks a time of shifting as we move into the future and claim our power to live a more effective life. The portal of synchronicities is open.” Ooh, interesting. It was also my birthday and the start of my 60th year!
In the morning, Jac went out with Ben and Myriam and the children while Tim and I went for coffee and then booked a room in a lovely new Inn for when the three of us return to Ho Chi Minh for a few days. When the lovely receptionist told us of the cost, I quickly checked out the internet price and discovered that it was cheaper on Booking.com (I am, what they call a “genius” customer – that always tickles me!). After checking with her manager, the receptionist gave us a lower price, saving us £35! Bargain!
We went to join Ben, Myriam and Jac for an enjoyable lunch with in-depth conversations about the experience of life. Time was ticking; we had a plane to catch. We’d packed our luggage so that we could leave some stuff at their apartment and travel with carry-on only (7 kg each). The scales came out – mine was slightly under, Tim’s was slightly over and Jac’s was…oh dear! A few things were extracted from her bag…mmm still a good 3 kg over. Oh well, we needed to leave.
We checked in and weighed Jac’s bag last. Too heavy, we were told. No surprise there. Jac needed to take more stuff out. The ridiculous thing was all we did was transfer it from her case into Tim’s and reweighed hers only, to get the thumbs up. After some delay, we finally arrived in the luminous lamp lighten and lively Hoi An. #LeMekongRestaurantHoChiMinh #HoChiMinh #AuParc #NotreDameHoChiMinh #TheOldPostOfficeHoChiMinh #BookStreetHoChiMinh #WaterPuppetShowHoChiMinh #TheGoldenDragonWaterPuppetTheater #PalindromeDay #HappyBirthdayLindsey