Shopping in Vietnam is different than shopping in any other country - the availability of products, the sights and sounds...it's so fascinating to me, I can't help but be a perpetual tourist and take pictures of it all.
During my holiday, I went with Cô Chi (whoa, I am learning how to use the Vietnamese keyboard on the mac, AWESOME!!! but takes a bit longer so this is going to be difficult) to the nearby outdoor market at 6 am. Cô Chi is the housekeeper and does the shopping for the day early in the morning to 1) get the best products and 2) be back in time to make breakfast for Chú Dung (the Vietnamese Đ with a line through it is pronounced like the English "d", whereas Vietnamese "D" with no line is pronounced "Y" - so this name is pronounced like "YUNG" not "DUNG", whereas Vietnamese "đi" is prouncounced like English "di". Makes sense?)
Back to the story: shopping at 6 am at the outdoor market. This is why at first visit, one wants to stay away from fresh vegetables, salads, and ice:
Carrying vegetables by xe máy
Selling vegetables outdoors.
((Now I am an open minded person, I love being here in Vietnam, and clearly am interested in life here as I decided on my own to live here for a few weeks. So I don't want to insult their way of life, but it is a different standard of living in some respects, as compared to the US. As seen from the pictures of my room and house, I live very well in Vietnam and have access to many luxuries that many Vietnamese do not have. Even though it is my third visit, I still stay away from fresh vegetables and salads, things that have not been cooked, because many of these things are purchased in a open market (very very cheap) and I would get sick - unless you're at a really nice restaurant then maybe it's okay....I have not kept away from ice though, because nowadays many restaurants buy ice from the same companies as bottled water so it's safe. (My first visit in 2004, we all stayed away from ice, ice cream, and water not in bottles) I just stay away from fresh veggies, fruits that do not have a peel, and ice/water if we are in a local or street stand restaurant.))
We went to the outdoor market that is one block away from the house. The outdoor markets are amazing - they sell all sorts of fruits, vegetables, fish, and meats on the streets and it's incredibly cheap. Not a sight for someone with a light stomach, because the smell and sight of raw meats on a sidewalk can be disturbing.
Cô Chi had been told that I was shopping for an áo dài, the long traditional Vietnamese formal dress. For some reason, she got really excited about this and wanted to show me materials inside the marketplace:
Clothes for sale inside the market. That is Cô Chi in the Vietnamese cone hat, you can see that for clothes, the offerings are so much that you can get swallowed inside. It's amazing!
She took me to a stall that sold materials and started poking around. I kept telling her, "có rồi" (I have already) - because I had already shopped for materials and designs with another friend, and did not want to buy anything. She kept looking, holding up fabrics, picking colors, talking to the owners - so I figured that she was picking things out for herself. They started cutting fabrics and talking numbers but I was not really paying attention, just looking at other things and trying to just take in everything - when finally she turned to me and said "Tiền!"
I have limited vocabulary, but I know that tiền = money. I shelled out 418,000 VND ($23) and suddenly had in my hands many yards pink, orange, and green fabric. No clue what is going on. I have limited interactions with Cô Chi because I cannot say much to her that is applicable (in school right now, we learn things like "Where are you from?" "Where do you work?") - so I end up saying "cảm ơn" (thanks) like 10 times a day...to the point where Chú Dung's wife wrote me that the housekeeper cannot believe an American girl would say "thank you" so many times a day. So she likes me and is trying to be really helpful, but the colors are weird, the fabric heavy, and I have no idea what I could make out of this. A blanket? Clothes? Draperies?
Later that afternoon, Cô Chi gets really excited and starts talking. I think she has a different accent than Southern because I sometimes do not have any inkling of what she is saying...so she motions me to follow with the fabric, and we make our way through the maze of houses to what looks like a tailor shop. I get measured, and the women start to point at pictures in a book. I think I am getting jackets and pants made?? I don't know how much they are going to cost either, because the numbers do not make sense when she says them. She keeps saying "ha ba ha" which means "two three two" but when I ask if it is "232,000", she says some other things and then I get more confused. So will post pictures whenever these things are finished, we shall find out together - the adventures in Vietnam continue!!
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Cho Ben Thanh is a very popular, touristy market that is in the downtown area. It is located near the "tourist" area, so the prices are actually more expensive than a normal market because the sellers know they can get more money. And most people can speak English in the market, which you know means the prices will be a bit higher than normal. (Higher is a relative term: a t-shirt here maybe goes for $10 whereas on the street or other market could be $2 - both cheap to American standards but it's a lot of money in Vietnamese standards).
All of these markets have sections that sell the same thing: stalls for clothing, prepared food, raw food ingredients, toiletries, materials, etc.
Food display at Ben Thanh is a bit fancier, to catch the attention of the backpackers. One of the highlights of living in Vietnam is the the immense quantity and availability of fruit. Can you identify what is in the picture - they are all fruits! And delicious...except for the durian...haha!
