It all started out fairly relaxed. Then, Bob got approached, as he usually is about twenty times a day, by a shoe shiner (who, by the way, looked Cambodian rather than Vietnamese) who noticed, he said, that Bob's shoe had split and produced a bottle of glue. Then, he took off Bob's shoe while we hesitated ( we hadn't noticed this scam before) and kept asking how much this would all cost. He shoved a slipper on Bob's foot and took off running with the shoe, round the corner and out of sight. I suddenly turned into my mother at her stroppy Jamaican best, and took after him yelling, Bob hobbling behind us with one shoe on and a filthy plastic slipper on the other foot. The villain of the piece settled on a doorstep in the next street, obviously trying to get the shoe cleaned before we could get to him, and then demand as much money as he wanted. I kept yelling, yanked the shoe out of his hand, made Bob put them on and kept yelling and we walked off. Apparently, he then tried to claim that Bob hadn't paid him for a shine and then yelled at Bob to "Fuck off!" My blood was boiling so it was a good thing I didn't hear or he would have had a good Jamaican eruption! This is the first time we have experienced anything like this in Vietnam and it made me very, very angry. The stupid thing is that if he had been nicer, Bob probably would have let him glue and polish the shoe.
We took a break and then, calmed down, set off again. Great idea, but we hadn't got very far before my wonderful comfortable sandals decided to break. This meant turning back and trying to find the shoe shop street with one sandal flopping. Did you know that it is hard to feel safe crossing roads with the prospect of tripping at every step? Miraculously, we found the street, then came the next problem. My feet are too big for the nice sandals in the shops and the sandals in the stalls are ugly or tiny. Plus, it was early afternoon when no-one is really interested in selling. I decided just to buy thongs, but they were as dear as Australia and no one was bargaining. In the last shop though, I got a nice pair of sandals with rice straw soles and fabric uppers ( well I thought they were nice) for less than a pair of rubber thongs. While I was buying, the woman indicated that a man on the footpath could fix the sandles too. Happy happy happy! And all for less than $7 AUD!
Took another deep breath and started off again. Vietnam is such a consumer paradise and goods are continually moving round the city
things you never realised you needed:
There are up market goods
and there are lots and lots and lots of down market goods.
Our problems with shopping were that we are too big to buy our clothes and shoes in most of the Old Quarter. One of the first things that struck me was what beautifully strong, fit and attractive bodies most Vietnamese have, whether they are of a very slim body build or a stockier one. I expect never to find anything my size in the shops aimed at locals, but Bob is considered quite slim in Australia, and has always been able just to buy things off the rack without thinking. He got quite a shock to be told that they had nothing that large in most of the shops where he tried to buy shirts. Here, he is considered Extra Large!
Apart from trying or trying not to shop, we did a lot of sight-seeing. There is so much to see, so you can never get bored.
As well as walking round the city, we went to the roof of the hotel to see how their renovations were going on the top floor and have a look over the city. During our stay, one of the pleasures we have had has been to sit in the cafe watching the workmen and workwomen transporting wood, concrete sand, etc up to the 12th floor via a rope. No work, health and safety here. We have watched sparks fly, rubble drop, and ropes get tangled round workers' legs. Upstairs, the management are quite happy to have us wandering amongst the workmen, even though all the low glass walls are not yet up and there is a 12 storey drop. The view, despite the danger, is incredible:
And yes, the renovations of the pool area will be ready in time for the party tomorrow night. Pity we wont be here!
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