Loss of Pride and Shopping in Vietnam

In India where the colours, textures and silhouettes are irresistible to my aesthetic sensibilities....I've felt compelled to contribute amply to the local retail economy.  Indian handicrafts have beckoned me forever.  

Handicrafts local to Vietnam are rich and plentiful. There's tribal embroidery from the northern regions. Embroidered "paintings" that are so intricate you'd swear they were photographs, done by women everywhere. Rubies, sapphires and precious gemstone jewellery from all over the country.  (Gaining access to gemstones was a main reason why the French dominated Vietnam for centuries.) Wood and stone carving from the centre. Laquered accessories.. plates, jewellery boxes and such... from the south. Delicate blue and white porcelain is everywhere. As are folded paper cards so intricately cut, they are a feat of creative engineering. 

Nevertheless, on this trip I've not felt so compelled... to possess... as I did in my travels in India. Having said this though, I have made a few purchases... and  given my considerable travelling experience, it's humbling to confess that I've been duped to pay more... too much... almost every  time.  

Retailers here are a sly and crafty bunch! The currency, given that $1.00 CAD is equal to 16,650,000 Vietnamese dong doesn't make shopping easy. There are way too many zero's attached to even the smallest purchases and much of the currency all looks the same. 10,000,000 dong is the same colour as 100,000,000!!!! Local merchants know this and naive tourists... moi!!... I'm ambarassed to say!!!... are easy prey. 

My first purchase was a large box of roasted cashews that I had to have... at 9:00pm... from the night market in Saigon. I bartered with intended confidence...  but the transaction happened so quickly I lost track of the zeros. I'm pretty sure he got 50,000 dong (3.00CAD) more than the bartered price in the end. 

Having honed my bartering skills on multiple trips to India and Mexico... or so I thought!... and thinking that my cashew experience was enough initiation... I made another purchase in the market with renewed confidence soon after. This time it was 6 intricately embroidered bags... intended to be gifts. I bartered hard and paid $5.00 each. Only to discover later that I could have bought the exact same bags for $3.00 each in a shop close to our hotel. No bartering required!  Now my guard is really up! 

But, wait!!!  The most humiliating experience is yet to come. Despite being warned by our guide not to buy anything in a gift shop attached to the tomb of one of many diabolical emperors... I spotted a tiny, precious teapot carved in stone and embellished with ornate brass. It looks antique... though I know it's not... and I hadn't seen anything like it so far. The last thing I need is a tiny, precious teapot! But this isn't about need. This is about sentiment. The teapot possessed me!!! I gave in and with the cautionary words of our guide looping in my head, I thought I'd won the teapot for 1,000,000 dong ($65.00) less than the asking price. For about 24 hours I was pleased. Then, I saw exactly the same teapot... in fact many tiny, precious teapots... In the airport gift shop for a mere fraction of the price. I'd paid $50.00 CAD too much. Ouch! The teapot doesn't feel quite so special any more. The loss is to my ego as well as to my pocket book. I've put myself on shopping probation!! We'll see how long it lasts. 

Oh oh! Bangkok lies ahead!!

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Sent from my iPhone