So I've been thinking about how to organize the blog... it might get a bit boring after a while if all I'm doing is using it as a journal to talk about what I've been doing. So I'm thinking that I'll switch it up regularly to talk about something specific about Vietnam (such as food, transportation, teaching, etc) in addition to things that have been happening from day to day. Let me know if you have any other ideas....
Also- if you have any questions, just ask me through comments and I'll reply in the next post.
So right now it's 5pm, or 6am at home. I am getting more and more used to being in this crazy city. I now know, when buying something, to never... EVER pay the vendor's asking price. They want you to leave having bought something no matter how low they have to go. Example: today I went to buy a pair of sunglasses in a shop. I picked out a pair of Ray Bans and asked, "how much?" She said 400,000 dong ($22 USD). I said no way, 200,000 ($11 USD). She said 380,000 and pointed to a pair of Oakleys and said I could have them for 300,000 if I "want cheaper." I said, no thank you and walked away. 2 seconds later she grabbed my arm and brought me back and said, ok ok 250,000. I said no, 200,000, and finally she agreed! Who knows if they're real, but they look close enough for me!
Here are some other things I or someone else has purchased with their respective costs in dong and dollars.
Pancho- 5,000 dong ($0.25)
All you can drink happy hour- 100,000 dong ($5)
Cafe Su Aga (Coffee with sweetened milk)- 15,000 dong ($0.75)
A dozen clams steamed with pineapple- 38,000 dong ($1.80)
Loaf of bread- 5,000 dong ($0.25)
Outlet converter- 40,000 dong ($2.00)
Beef salad (favorite meal so far)- 40,000 dong ($2.00)
Fried pastry- 3,000 dong ($0.15)
A liter of snake wine- 75,000 dong ($3.75)
Liter of Absolut Vodka- 80,000 dong ($4.00)
Stuffed squid dish- 25,000 dong ($1.25)
So yea, its quite cheap. They don't like you to say "cheap," here though. So we say, "reasonable" even though it's an understatement. Or overstatement? Depends on how you look at it.
OK, I see it now, "snake wine" for all at Christmas!
ReplyDeleteAHHHHHHH!
Love you,
MOM
Max,
ReplyDeleteSend me a case of that SNAKE WINE would You. Sounds like a great X-mas present for some of my better friends and clients.
Your mom has my address! p.s. I'm serious!
WOW I can't believe how "reasonable" everything is over there haha. And that snake wine has to be the coolest thing ever.
ReplyDeleteSNAKE WINE!! &%?T I am simultaneously fascinated and repulsed. Keep the images and impressions coming! love from the Kunzman family.
ReplyDeleteWe have questions about the snake wine... How do they get the snake in there? Is it dead when it's put in there? And if it is alive - do they need a snake charmer to coax it into the bottle? And isn't it kind of a rip off since the snake takes up most of the space in the bottle - leaving little space for the wine? What do you do with the snake after drinking the wine? Is it like Tequila where you "eat the worm"?
ReplyDeleteHi Max, if you want ideas about what to talk about on your blog, how bout the rationale for calling money "dong"? We know that as something very different over here. Love again, Aunt Karen
ReplyDeleteah the fun that comes along with bargaining. i loved traveling in SE Asia because it was so "reasonable". glad to hear you're adjusting well and getting settled!
ReplyDeleteWe started classes at IC on Wednesday...but it's WEIRD being grad students without all the other seniors around...
That is so nasty.
ReplyDelete