Sunday, November 23rd, 2003 – Day 278
I watched the film until 1.30am last night as well as BBC because of the Coup in Georgia. Anyway I was up at 9.00am and went down town to a stall to have noddle soup. It was only 7,000 Dong for a large bowl.
There are so MANY attractions in Hoi An that I cant mentione dthem all. Visit FROMMERS for details. They include …
Cantonese Assembly Hall (Quang Trieu/Guangzhou Assembly Hall)
Central Market
Chinese Assembly Hall
Fukian Assembly Hall (Phuc Kien)
Hainan Assembly Hall
House of Hoi An Traditional Handicraft
Japanese Covered Bridge
Museum of History and Culture
Museum of Trade Ceramics
Old House of Tan Ky
Quan Kong Temple
The Old House of Phun Hung
The Sa Huynh Culture Museum
The Tran Family Home and Chapel
Two of the best ones are:
Central Market
If you see one Vietnamese market, make it this one, by the river on the southeast side of the city. There are endless stalls of exotic foodstuffs and services, and a special big shed for silk tailoring at the east end (these tailors charge much less than the ones along Le Loi). Check out the ladies selling spices — curries, chile powders, cinnamon, peppercorns, and especially saffron — at prices that are a steal in the West. But don’t buy from the first woman you see; the stuff gets cheaper and cheaper the deeper you go into the market. Walk out to the docks to see activity there (best early in the morning), but be careful of fish flying through the air, and stand back from the furious bargaining (best before 7am).
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – Market (23-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – Market (23-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – Market (23-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – Market (23-11-2003)
Japanese Covered Bridge
The name of this bridge in Vietnamese, Lai Vien Kieu, means “Pagoda in Japan.” No one is exactly sure who first built it in the early 1600s (it has since been renovated several times), but it is usually attributed to Hoi An’s Japanese community. The dog flanking one end and the monkey at the other are considered to be sacred animals to the ancient Japanese, and my guide claimed the reasoning is that most Japanese emperors were born in the year of either the monkey or the dog by the Asian zodiac. Later I read something else that claimed maybe it meant construction began in the year of the dog and was completed in the year of the monkey. I’m sure there are many other interesting dog and monkey stories going around. Pick your favorite. The small temple inside is dedicated to Tran Vo Bac De, god of the north, beloved (or cursed) by sailors because he controls the weather
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – Japanese Bridge (23-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An (23-11-2003)
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Click on the picture to see it in it´s original size
Hoi An – fisher Man (23-11-2003)
I got my camera pictures (which was full) onto disk for an expensive 50,000 (2.78 Euro) which included the Disk. Its funny but before I said over cahrging foreigners wasnt as bas as I had thoght. Maybe not. I went into a computer sture to buy a CD-R balnk Disk yesterday. First I had to wake up both peopel working there. There are asleep on a bed. They had to get 2 people in to open the case. There were 6 people talking 5 minutes before they would give me a price. It should have been maybe 6,000-8,000 Dong. They said 50,000 Dong!! I alughed. tehn, they said 40,000 Dong and all the way down to 12,000 Dong. This is not bargaing. If youa re naieve in Vietnam, you will get bought and sold. You will get rippd off if you let people.
Today I bought a bunch of bananas from the market. For 2kg, I have paid between 2,500 and 5,000 Dong (.25 cent). Thery were very cheap in the highlands. They have to be shipped to Hoi An. I have seen the ships come wn the river and paddle boats going out to meet them so they can be landed and sold in the market. The lady wanted 50,000 Dong. If I had not known the price, I would ahve offered 25,000 Dong and she would have gotten a good pay day. You might say well fair enough and thats how the capitalist market works. Imagine the case at home if supaermarkets were suddenly taken away. Silly talk
I took the bananas and weighted them and offered 5,000 Dong. It took 5 minutes (and me walking away 3 times) before I got them for 6,000 Dong. She was still happy as I overpaid, but imagaine if peope do pay 50,000 Dong. it means in the long run, they will not lower their price beacuse they belive a sucker tourist will come along and they loose respect for Western people and tourists. Ripping off tourists can become aceptable and an requirement. In Hanoi during the holiday season, officials annouce and promote the ripping off of tourists. They say in the Vietnam tourist brochures that Vietnam is the destiantion for the new millenium.,.. only if you have some street smarts.
i watched Panic room with Jodie Foster on TV.