Failing at Bartering

You can buy a ticket that allows you to visit 5 of the 30 or so sites around the old city. The weather had a been a bit glum since Monday, so it seemed like a good time to go and have a wander around.

We checked out an assembly hall and community meeting place. I can't tell you what the difference is, both looked like some variation of a temple to me! The ancient house we went to after was much more interesting, on the second floor (away from prying eyes) live the 7th generation of a family who have passed the house down over the years. It turns out the old town is very susceptible to flooding, infact even in November the water level in the house was around 1.12 meters, at its highest it can be almost to the top of the ground floor. We then realised there were a lot of other buildings showing a lot of wear on the walls etc, so they must be reluctant to decorate knowing they will only have to start again 6 months later. Also on the same tour we went over the Japanese Covered bridge which has been in existence since the 16th century and to a museum which was pretty basic and the only thing I may have learnt is that an old coin my dad dug up once in the garden may have been Chinese (round coin, square hole in the centre).

Whilst trying to book some flight tickets a guy went to ring his colleague. We heard the sound of ringing and he didn't seem to realise he was ringing the phone next to him. After a minute he told me to wait for a few more minutes and then he called again. This time he realised. I think we call him RingyPhoneNextToMeMan?

That evening we picked another good spot for dinner named the Blue Dragon, which supports disadvantaged children. See the picture that I'm going to post that will list what they have achieved so far, very good considering it's only a small restaurant. I ordered some chilli and lemongrass squid which again was full of flavour, much the same as most of the dishes I had experienced since being in Hoi An. I've also had a mini addiction to Ginger Tea, they make it here in the same way I have done previously at home, very strong, with bashed up ginger and some kind of sweetness (maybe honey) much better than any prepared tea bags from a supermarket. The ginger here is smaller and not as thick as the Indian stuff you get in the UK. I did also forget to write that they have two different types of oranges here, the orange kind imported from China and the Green kind that are grown locally. Who knew a Orange could be Green!

Lastly we went to the night market which is equally as crap as any other night market I've seen, where they have x amount of stalls all selling the same stuff. On trying to find a good price on some Tiger Balm I bumped into the guy who was trying to sell me a suit on the day I arrived. Turns out he sells lots of other stuff too. I had previously been quoted 42,000 VND (about £1.15) earlier the day, and 70,000 (about £2) from another stall. SuitTigerBalmGuy started his offering at 140,000 VND so I mentioned about earlier lower prices. I was given some great sales talk about how the others are fakes and his are genuine etc, of course I didn't believe this but as I walked away he said "I lost you the other day Andy, I can't loose you again" I didn't realised my rejection had that effect on people!! He was trying pretty hard, I had a feeling I was still paying over the odds when we shook on 70,000 but it guess he could do with the money more than me. Tash later found some for 35,000 VND so point proven I guess.

Temple count: 51
Noodle count: 10
Hours travelled: 52