Hue, a surreal experience
I had a very surreal and bizarre day here in Hue. If it is due to the weather (it is rainy and cool), the bad sleep in the night bus or if it is really that bizarre, I haven't figured out yet! Only looking around me in the internet cafe is quite funny: surrounded by Vietnamese young who each has at least 10 yahoo chat windows opened and hacking into the keyboard!
But the story of today: After checking into my hotel (great room on the rooftop with view over the whole city) and dropping my laundry at the hotel laundry service, I went just to check out the neighbourhood, planning only on a quiet coffee somewhere. What happened was quite different! One of the usual 'Hey where are you from?' made me answer ' Germany' and there you go "Oh great! My aunt lives there and has children. Very nice to meet you!!" And a few moments later I found myself on the back of his motorbike an off for a 6 hour tour through Hue and its vicinities.
He first brought me to a place to have some breakfast: Pho, the usual noodle soup with onions and some greens and sprinkled with nuts on top) and then showed me a few Pagodas (all of them more or less in ruins due to the bombings), and the countryside around Hue. Well and then talking about the culinary pleasures of Vietnam, we came across dog meat and there we were, a dodgy restaurant on the outskirts of Hue, where we sampled 4 different plates of dog meat and had a couple of beers together!
After that he dropped me off again and (of course ;-) asked for a little contribution for the gas and for his daughter. But I guess 4 $ is a fair prize for a private city tour ;-)
Besides that, the business sense of the Vietnamese doesn't change as you go down south. I went to the hairdresser afterwards and after quoting a prize of 20000 Dong (1,3 Dollar) I got in! After the whole procedure the guy said : " Ok, it's 50000 Dong!" Hum???? Did I misunderstand? Well, after insiting on the initial quote, he admitted :"Oh, solly, yeah yeah, 20000!" Yep, the Vietnamese have an almost stronger sense of dealing with money as the Middle East!!
Tomorrow I will continue to Hoi An to get some tailor made clothes. So bargaining will be my major activity during the next two days. I better go off now and strengthen myself with some dinner in a restaurant closeby run by mute-deaf people, serving (hopefully) something else than dog ;-)
But the story of today: After checking into my hotel (great room on the rooftop with view over the whole city) and dropping my laundry at the hotel laundry service, I went just to check out the neighbourhood, planning only on a quiet coffee somewhere. What happened was quite different! One of the usual 'Hey where are you from?' made me answer ' Germany' and there you go "Oh great! My aunt lives there and has children. Very nice to meet you!!" And a few moments later I found myself on the back of his motorbike an off for a 6 hour tour through Hue and its vicinities.
He first brought me to a place to have some breakfast: Pho, the usual noodle soup with onions and some greens and sprinkled with nuts on top) and then showed me a few Pagodas (all of them more or less in ruins due to the bombings), and the countryside around Hue. Well and then talking about the culinary pleasures of Vietnam, we came across dog meat and there we were, a dodgy restaurant on the outskirts of Hue, where we sampled 4 different plates of dog meat and had a couple of beers together!
After that he dropped me off again and (of course ;-) asked for a little contribution for the gas and for his daughter. But I guess 4 $ is a fair prize for a private city tour ;-)
Besides that, the business sense of the Vietnamese doesn't change as you go down south. I went to the hairdresser afterwards and after quoting a prize of 20000 Dong (1,3 Dollar) I got in! After the whole procedure the guy said : " Ok, it's 50000 Dong!" Hum???? Did I misunderstand? Well, after insiting on the initial quote, he admitted :"Oh, solly, yeah yeah, 20000!" Yep, the Vietnamese have an almost stronger sense of dealing with money as the Middle East!!
Tomorrow I will continue to Hoi An to get some tailor made clothes. So bargaining will be my major activity during the next two days. I better go off now and strengthen myself with some dinner in a restaurant closeby run by mute-deaf people, serving (hopefully) something else than dog ;-)
borislauser - 10. Jan, 14:25
0 comments - add comment - 0 trackbacks
Trackback URL:
http://borislauser.twoday.net/stories/466386/modTrackback