An addition to the last entry:
After we "dined" on board, Bob and I were ready for a nap.
(The boat was "powered" by a man and his wife (or I think it was his wife was, they spoke no English.)
Oh good, she is taking out a tatami mat for us to lay on the floor and nap . Not my favorite mattress but when in Rome....
She is opening up a storage bin..... good it will be softer, she'll get a futon.
No, she takes out kimonos to sell us!!! and lays THEM on the mat. "No I don't want to buy"
Then out come book marks, "No"
Note cards, "No" We are a captive potential customer.
Everything is quite nice but we do not want to buy.
Bob, being the softie that he is, chooses a few items.
When she sees that we will not buy anything else she tells the man to speed up the boat, time to get rid of us.
Now the money.......Vietnam dongs.....
$$25.00 = 500,000. dongs
Picture this:
Bob begins to bargain with her.
He had just changed some money at the hotel so his pockets were full. He has some $$ in 2 pockets and many dongs in 2 other pockets. Neither speak the same language. Both are trying to figure it out and make change.
We parted, new friends.....It was a fun trip...then the nap at the hotel.
Earlier when Bob got the money at the hotel I was asked by the receptionist to put clips on the many piles of dongs to
keep them straight. Each pile contained 10 bills, each bill was worth 100,000 dongs. To give you some idea, a coke costs 30,000. dongs
*************************************************
We are now in Hanoi. We have had 3 different guides in the different cities. Each one has said to us, "Vietnam is very safe. But it is a good idea to keep your passport and money in the safe at the hotel. Not a good idea to carry them around."
After we "dined" on board, Bob and I were ready for a nap.
(The boat was "powered" by a man and his wife (or I think it was his wife was, they spoke no English.)
Oh good, she is taking out a tatami mat for us to lay on the floor and nap . Not my favorite mattress but when in Rome....
She is opening up a storage bin..... good it will be softer, she'll get a futon.
No, she takes out kimonos to sell us!!! and lays THEM on the mat. "No I don't want to buy"
Then out come book marks, "No"
Note cards, "No" We are a captive potential customer.
Everything is quite nice but we do not want to buy.
Bob, being the softie that he is, chooses a few items.
When she sees that we will not buy anything else she tells the man to speed up the boat, time to get rid of us.
Now the money.......Vietnam dongs.....
$$25.00 = 500,000. dongs
Picture this:
Bob begins to bargain with her.
He had just changed some money at the hotel so his pockets were full. He has some $$ in 2 pockets and many dongs in 2 other pockets. Neither speak the same language. Both are trying to figure it out and make change.
We parted, new friends.....It was a fun trip...then the nap at the hotel.
Earlier when Bob got the money at the hotel I was asked by the receptionist to put clips on the many piles of dongs to
keep them straight. Each pile contained 10 bills, each bill was worth 100,000 dongs. To give you some idea, a coke costs 30,000. dongs
*************************************************
We are now in Hanoi. We have had 3 different guides in the different cities. Each one has said to us, "Vietnam is very safe. But it is a good idea to keep your passport and money in the safe at the hotel. Not a good idea to carry them around."
Adele and Blaine are here. They love your blog. They drank to your health. You are healthy, aren't you. All smiles with your hysterical comments. We love you. By the way, the Swints want to know if it's true that water buffalo have big balls, and Len wants to know if they're sold as a delicacy.
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