Vietnam (part 2)

Click here to read part 1.

For the sake of my sanity, I've decided to write this in point form:

• Bargaining in Vietnam - I don't know that I'm really cut out for haggling with shop keepers - I'm a bloody wuss. When they started by offering a price that to me was a tenth of what I would have paid in Australia or Japan, I was happy to pay it. But Aunty M got annoyed at me, and took over the haggling for me. We'd communicate in Japanese to say how much lower we should go. Of course, when she wasn't there, I got weak. I got stalked by some old guy desperate to sell me a collection of old Vietnamese stamps. I made the mistake of looking too long, and he proceeded to latch onto my arm like a pitbull and beg me to buy it off him for a good 3 blocks. After the 2nd block, I saw some rich-looking foreigners coming the other way - relieved because I figured he'd give up on me and go after the money. No such luck. He then yelled something at me and walked away. I kept on walking around after that, and thought I was safe, but made a few wrong turns, and ended up in the place where I first came across him, at which point he started begging again. I gave in, and bought the collection for what was originally priced at US$45 for US$10. On the plus side, I did manage to get some cheap clothes and luggage... but again, that's thanks to Aunty M.
  


• Money for nuthin' - Funniest thing that happened to me on the trip - Aunty M and I were doing the touristy bit at the Temple of Literature, and we were looking through the souvenir shop, and all the souvenirs everywhere in Vietnam start to look the same after a while. I came across a bowl full of old coins, and just casually started sifting through them. I didn't know where they were from, and didn't see any point in buying them, until, as I was leaving, out of the corner of my eye, I saw a 100 yen coin. Then I sifted around, I found more and more. The beauty of this being that they were being sold for what turned out to be 75 yen... So I bought a wad of 100 yen coins, and some other souvenirs, and I ended up about breaking even. He he he.

There is a fair bit more to write, but I'm too tired now. Will write part 3 in a few days, I hope, before I go skiing... really looking forward to that. Until then, my photos of Vietnam are here for the meantime (half of them are thanks to Aunty M).