The plan on Friday was simple enough. We were going to catch the 55 bus to Software City to meet Phil and Tam for lunch and deliver our passports to confirm who we were for his work permit and residency so he could be paid. This was a good plan as we want to get the hang of using the bus to get places as they are so much cheaper ($1.40 for all of us) than the cheap taxis and we wanted to see where Phil works and eats each day. We gave ourselves plenty of time, having been assured that buses came every 15 minutes or so. Indeed, after 30 minutes, we had seen five 55 buses, all going the other way, and plenty of other buses dropping off and picking up passengers at the bus stop where we were waiting in the searing heat. We checked that we were at the right place, waited for a few more buses to come and go, then as Phil couldn't understand either why our bus hadn't come after 45 minutes we followed his advice to give up and catch a taxi. We started trudging wearily in the right direction waiting for a taxi to come along and were shortly passed by the number 55 bus.
Our taxi followed this bus into the Software City entrance where we met Phil. Once we were seatd at the restaurant the effect of waiting and walking in the Ho Chi Minh heat was manifest by both girls resting their heads on the table until their parents told them to harden up like real New Zealanders.
After a very enjoyable lunch we crossed the road and successfully caught the number 55 bus home, laughing along with the ticket seller who clearly thought my pronunciation of where we wanted to go was hilarious. But as we say a lot here, "It's all part of the experience." The pool sure felt nice when we made it back to our building!
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