Things here are cheap. I kind of feel bad about haggling prices, but that's how the people here actually prefer it. Joe likes to compare prices in terms of beers here, "that costs 2 beers!". Heineken is somewhere between 15,000-20,000 dong. Around one dollar!
You can haggle the price for anything and everything. Anything put out on the street for purchase can be haggled as well as a taxi ride. Today I paid full price for a t-shirt and it was only 30,000 dong. My dad gave me 1,000,000 dong at the beginning of the trip and I still have over half of it. You can eat like royalty here, and pretty much get whatever you want at the price you want. It's a rather kooky idea, I just can't get used to.
I'm trying to keep my eyes peeled for nice gifts to bring back, but it's kind of hard to distinguish the nice stuff from knock-offs. My dad tells me that nice stuff is usually exported to other countries and they keep the chintzy stuff for themselves to sell here. So, I'll have to apologize ahead of time for some of my crappy purchases.
1 USD = 16,000 VND
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2 comments:
Sophie -
Carol and I are truly enjoying your posts - it sounds like you're having an awesome time! Thanks for keeping us entertained!
It's nice to know that Mike is covering for you while you're gone (see comment from last week) - I'm sure you're concerned about the Weeklies. (Just kidding Mike, she's very dedicated.) By the way, one of your favorite CBAM's is anxiously waiting an answer to another one of her emails... :)
She'll have to wait!
Have fun the 2nd half of your trip - we miss you!
Dana
Hi Sophie & Joe,
I'm glad to hear you guys are having a fun time on your trip. Gotta love that exchange rate!(sounds like my kind of place being the bargain-hunter than I am!!) I just figured out that 1 million dong is about $50-$60 and that has lasted you an entire week....VERY impressive!
Enjoy your 2nd week and I look forward to reading more of your posts!
Be safe and have fun!
-Kristen
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