Day 224, Hoi An, Vietnam

Dinner out with Inger 

A little luxury this morning, no alarm clock waking us, but we were still awake early as these things go.

Samantha and I went to the Independence Palace this morning.

In 1868 a home was built on this site for the French governor-general of Cochinchina and gradually it expanded to become Norodom Palace. When the French left, the palace became home to the South Vietnamese president Ngo Dinh Diem. He was so unpopular that his own air force bombed the palace in 1962 in an unsuccessful attempt to kill him. The president ordered a new residence to be built on the same site, this time with a bomb shelter in the basement.

Independence Palace 

Work was finished in 1966, but Diem did not get to see his dream house as he was killed by his own troops in 1963.
The new building was named Independence Palace and was home to the successive South Vietnamese president, Nguyen Van Thieu, until his hasty departure in 1975.

An interesting visit, especially the bunker, which was equipped as a telecommunications centre.

Then it was time to get to the airport, as today I flew back to Hoi An! I loved this little town when I was here last week and I had some spare days before my Cambodia tour starts so I thought why not!?

Inside the Palace 

I got here at about 5, and Inger also happened to be here with her tour so the two of us met up for dinner. Lots to catch up on about what we have seen of Vietnam so far, so it was a very nice evening. Funniest moment was when I spotted a big rat (we were sitting outside for dinner) and I made some sort of noise and said, argh, rat over there. Well, Inger jumped and screamed, she threw her legs on the table and clung to her chair, all the while I am laughing my head off. I haven't seen anyone react like at, she was squealing and laughing at the same time, suggesting someone carry her out of the restaurant! When I finally stopped laughing, I checked to ensure it wasn't there anymore and she managed to walk out by herself, highly embarrassed about the scene she'd made. A cocktail for us helped to settle the nerves, but certainly not at that establishment!