Barter bonanza

It was our last full day in Vietnam and our one chance to see our friend, Mark. We met he and his wife, Phuong, at a tea house. While Nikki and Phuong got their nails done, we caught up with Mark. It was great to see him in person again. Since we live on opposite sides of the world, we typically connect via Zoom.

We all rendezvoused for lunch at a Thai restaurant, then Phuong braved the crowds to assist us on our shopping excursion. My goal was to secure a North Face jacket for $25, while Nikki had souvenirs in mind. Once Kim saw me trying on the jackets, she couldn’t pass up the bargain. Last time, my $25 down jacket held out for six years before the zipper broke. Not a bad rate of depreciation. Kim found something quickly, but I was about to give up. Then I saw it. A CSU green, 900 fill North Face. The large was too large, but the medium was perfect. Starting the bartering at 750,000 dong (d), I shook my head, and he immediately dropped it to 650,000 d. I suggested I could get it downstairs for 500,000 d, which only brought him to 600,000 d. As I walked away, I suggested 550,000 d and was immediately sold the coat. In case you’re wondering, that’s about $22 US. Sherri “negotiator extraordinaire” Hufford would have been proud.

As I toted my bag downstairs, Kim let me know she, too, walked away with a down coat for 550,000 d. I offered to buy a jacket for Nikki, but she politely turned me down. “I’ve got a good winter coat at home,” she said. “I do, too,” I smiled.

We grabbed a can to a ginormous indoor market to shop for Nikki’s souvenirs. She walked up and down the rows, looking over all the possibilities. There was certainly a wide selection. There were stalls with typical souvenirs, but there were also shops with kitchen wares, bolts of fabric, tee shirts, toys, and artwork to name a few. It was a hodge podge of random things, but Nikki finally settled on a purchase. At this point, I was sweating like Richard Simmons in steam room wearing a onesie. We finally found our way out of the maze of stalls and said our goodbyes. Thankfully, the taxi was blasting AC.

We returned to our hotel, grabbed some food, and prepped for a 4:15am taxi ride to the airport tomorrow. Sad to be leaving but always happy to go home.Read more