The Bartering Begins

Vietnam Trip - Day 4

We got up at around 5:30am (yes, Tianne too!) and took a nice stroll along Mue Ne Beach this morning. It was very interesting to watch some of the local fishers come in with their catch. The boats are like nothing I've seen before. They are round and hand woven from (I think) palm fibres. I recall reading that it takes about one month to build one. It is not unusual to see 10 or more of these round boats attached to what we would consider a small wooden fishing boat. They are hauled out into the ocean and row/float back into shore. There are two shifts every day -- one returning at sunrise and one returning at sunset.

After our beach walk we rented some mopeds (which appears to be the main mode of transportation in Vietnam) and rode into a nearby fishing village to watch the fishers return en masse. It was really something to see. The local fishers live day-to-day. It's a tough life. They can't afford to send their kids to school so they also begin fishing at a very young age. Mue Ne has really been built over the past 15 years, and I'm sure that many homes have been replaced by the small resorts. There are still some homes beside the resorts, but I would not be surprised if they are not there in another five years. It was also interesting to watch the small round fishing boats intermingling with kitesurfers taking advantage of the high winds. It really made me wonder what the fishers think about all these changes.

Tianne and I returned the mopeds after about an hour, and enjoyed another nice breakfast at the resort. We then hit the beach. The beach in front of our resort was well manicured. Most of the beach is quite coarse, but our resort had clearly put a lot of effort into prettying up the beachfront. The water was surprisingly warm. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure I brushed up against a jellyfish at some point and my side is still a bit sore. The jellyfish in this area are apparently classified as "irritating" -- not dangerous.

We checked out at noon and headed to the Backpacker Restaurant for our final meal -- and one last mango shake. I am really going to miss those things! The bus to Nha Trang left at 1:30pm. It was only about a third full so everyone had a seat to themselves. It was very interesting to see the landscape change as we moved farther north. The area along the coast between Mue Ne and Nha Trang is focused on agriculture... everything from coffee plantations, to cows, to fish farms, to veggies. It took us under 5 hours to make the trip, but it was a bit rough. There were a lot of sharp corners and a lot of construction along the way.

When we arrived in Nha Trang we were bombarded by people trying to convince us to stay at our hotel. They were very persistent, following us around on their mopeds. We checked out a few different places, finalling ending up at a fairly new place by the beach called the Phu Quy 2 Hotel. The rooms are very nice, but We don't have a beach view. For US$11 each per night, we're willing to head up to the rooftop swimming pool for the scenic vistas.

In fact, the original price was $14 each, but we bartered the price down. Ah, yes. This is the part where the title for this blog entry makes sense. Tianne has been very keen to get caught up in the bartering that goes on all the time in Vietnam. She's just dabbled in the bartering game up until today, with some super deals. Not everyone is comfortable bartering for things, but bartering is a central part of the culture in Vietnam. To some, it is considered an insult if you don't try to get a better price (or they think you are just plain dumb). I'm always game to try to get a good deal. We were total pros in our negotiations today. Tianne is trying not to speak Vietnamese during our various negotiations, so she can pick up on the "private" conversations the shop keepers, etc. are having. For my part, I play a pretty decent "straight man". I wonder what kinds of deals we'll be able to wrangle tomorrow!

We dropped off our packs and visited some of the tour operators to see what our options are. We have no set plans for tomorrow (Friday May 4th). We will likely visit the Cham Tower ruins that are close by, and we may take a cable car over to Bamboo Island. I'm sure there will be shopping, the pool and the beach involved at some point during the day, and we've already scoped out a few restaurants.

NOTE: CHANGE TO ITINERARY
It looks like we will be taking a scenic 4-day detour through the Central Highlands of Vietnam en route to Hoi An. We expect to leave Nha Trang on Saturday morning, arriving in Hoi An sometime on Tuesday afternoon or evening. We found a really great rate for a private car (driver and guide) from one of the well-known tour operators in Vietnam. I think it's US$140 for the package (includes accomodation, driver, guide). Considering we were looking into US$50 flights to Hoi An, this is really a good price. Other tour companies quoted rates 2-3 times as high. During the trip we will be visiting some tribal villages in the mountains, visit a coffee plantation, and will go for an elephant ride. There are lots of other things included -- I just don't have the brochure in front of me right now. We will not have Internet access during this leg of our journey. Hoi An should be well-connected, so we'll be back online Tuesday night.