4-day trip: Hue, Hoi An - Day 1

Day 1: Monday.

We've been living and working as English teachers in Hanoi for over 5 months now. It's been a great experience, but we're always looking for ways to travel - which is the intention most people have when they go to a different country to teach, I believe. This trip was our second, with the first being a single evening at Tam Dao.

The alarm went off. Mike made breakfast while I packed our single small bag - the size of one person's hand luggage. He'd made toad-in-a-hole with grilled tomatoes and as ever, his food was amazing. After that, last getting ready things, with brushing teeth, closing windows, doing the dishes, taking out the trash (which we did not do, even though the intention was there).

We grabbed a taxi (with Grab, the Vietnam app for going places by taxi or motorbike) to the airport. Our driver spoke some English, and asked us which airline we were at so that he could drop us off there. It went like this:
"Vietnam Airlines?"
Me: "Huh?"
"Vietnam Airlines?" He points at the gate number.
Mike: "Huh?"
Me: "Yes." I nod. The taxi driver takes a minute to stare at is to ensure we understand what he's asking.
Me: "Yes, yes, okay-okay."
Driver: "Okay-okay." He nods at the door as a gesture of 'get out then!'.

'Okay-okay' is the official "yes, I understand" term in Vietnam between foreigners and locals. Going to wherever? OK-OK. Stop here? OK-OK.

Inside, we found that we were not Vietnam Airlines. But it also did not matter much because I'd check us in online the day before. {Not recommended when you can't speak a lick of Vietnamese and is basically trying to figure out what the buttons say based on the info above.} 

On the way to the terminal Mike wanted sweets, but I told him is expensive on the airport. I thought we could easily get some cheaper ones on the plane or even in Hue. He pouted at me. It was a normal plane ride, with Mike falling asleep before liftoff. True to my word, I got us chocolate pretzel sticks and nuts on the plane, but Mike later said it doesn't count as sweets. (Two days later, we still haven't had sweets.)

Walking out of the airport, domestic flights, was easy. There was a bus counter that took you to Hue, so we bought tickets at 50 000 VND per person. Expensive for a bus driving half an hour away.
The bus was tiny, with 2 seats in about 6 rows on the left, and 1 seat in a row on the right. We soon found out that every row had a middle seat that you could open so that the entire small bus was covered with seats. We did not move until the bus was chock-and-block full.
The way there was pleasant, sunny, and about halfway the man sitting next to Mike displayed his true colours - that of a very talkative tourist. It was not an unpleasant conversation, we found out much about not only him but about our neighbours (those who made the mistake of making eye contact) too.

In Hue, we jumped off randomly with some other people when I thought we were in walking distance from our hotel. We ate at ZUCCA - delicious food and an amazing variety. We got free passion fruit! 

At the hotel, we were in for a typical Hanoi haggling surprise. After trying to book in the woman wanted to speak to us about our trip, which is a normal thing to do.

We wanted to hire a motorbike to Hoi An, and, she had one! Only $40 for the big manual and $20 for the small manual! That seemed fair. She wanted to hold our passport while we were on the trip and-
Mike did not like that. Then she brought the paper that looked like a motorbike menu. Manual bikes are $40, and semi-automatic are $25.
Mike tried getting her to understand that a semi and a manual is not the same, and where is the $25 manual, but it went nowhere.
Note: when haggling (whether you intend to or not) as soon as you say no, or that you'll come back, the price will lower.
So we told her we'll think about it. This was mostly because I'd been planning on hiring from MotorVina and I was sure I remembered a manual there for $25. We didn't tell her this.
The woman immediately said, "OK-OK, $35. We can do 35." We said no. I wanted to go to MotorVina first - also only 10 minutes walk from the hotel, if that much. 
The woman: "Okay, because you've been in Hanoi for a long time, $30." We said no, after which the woman got up, talked to the reception lady and came back. "Because you have no luggage, we can do $28."

We said no.

And we recieved a room less than what was described. In which the hot water did not work. Just to be clear, this was not because we said no. From our experience with the Vietnamese they're true to their word and won't do you in, even when grumpy at not getting their way when haggling.

So we went out on the town. We walked around, but we wanted to find some souvenirs to take home so we went to the "market", across the bridge towards the citadel. We never visited the citadel on this trip.

The market was a nightmare for me. Imagine a flea market, times many. Now add ceilings. Now add stalls with food in the floor all the way there. Now add every stall with stuff overpacked the point where the heap can fall off the table at any time. Now image more stuff on the walls to the point where you don't know where the hooks are. Then your imagination is almost there.

For the most part, we had fun. Many sights to see in many colours. We started well - buying chopsticks. She asked 100 000VND (by typing it on a calculator). We typed 70 (because we'd accept 80). She asked 80. We accepted. Good haggling. We walked around some more and then it broke us. 

Upon buying one souvenir, a woman asked us to look at her stall upstairs. So up the stairs we went to a clothing store. I thought, hey, I know someone I could get a t-shirt for! But these people were not usual people. They did to us what street vendors did to Mike back when we first arrived in Vietnam - distract, add more, sell the look, the idea. This time, though, we were not fooled.

I got the shirt. The guy offered two. I said no. They showed Mike a bamboo shirt which looked awesome. He thought it would be a great souvenir as well so we got the right size. I asked, for probably the fifth time, how much. The guy, again, said, "good price, good price" and wove his hand in 'don't worry about it' gesture, before making me try on silk shirts. "We take cards," he'd said a few times, pointing at his sign. I remember telling Mike that that scared me. The silk shirts were awesome. I thought orange was a good colour. Finally we got him to understand that we don't want anything else.

He made us sit down. "I ask good price," he said, smiling," and typed onto his calculator. The amount he showed us was just less than 2 mil VND. We were shocked. "Million!?" I asked, outraged. "Is it the silk? Leave the silk!" I pushed the orange shirt away from his hands.
He nodded acceptance and adjusted the price. Now it was a million and a half.
"It's the bamboo shirt," Mike deducted.
"How much is the t-shirt?" I asked. Apparently 250 000 VND.
"And the bamboo?" Apparently 800 000 VND.
The man could not do math, apparently.

We told him to leave the bamboo shirt. "I'll find one in Hanoi," I said, half to irritate him and half because it's true. We've already told him we live in Hanoi and we know much these things are worth (which we didn't - at least not the bamboo shirt). He set his jaw. After two more attempts at haggling, including information on quality and what-else, and two more no's from us, he clammed up and we got up. We were not buying from this guy.

We walked two steps before the woman who had originally invited me to the stall rushed over and offered 200 000VND for the t-shirt. Knowing that this was normal price for a good quality t-shirt - thanks to my one Vietnamese friend, Khanh - I accepted the offer and got the tee.

Then we attempted to walk down the stairs but Mike says the man sent another lady after us. This lady had the bamboo shirt in hand. "Only 800!"
"No." We continued walking.
"700. 700 is good."
"No."
"600! 400!"
We ignored her now, only shaking our heads.
"300!"
"No."
And then we turned and went.

Many people would have accepted the last, and I'm sure she just threw it out there without thinking of her own consequences, but both Mike and I are very stubborn people and no means no.

We were exhausted after that encounter, but after dinner and some drinks we walked to the hotel, politely declined the motorbike offer (MotorVina did also not have a manual at the $40 we wanted, but it did have contracts and professionalism for the $25 semi-automatic, so we'd accepted it) and swam in the pool.

See Day 2 here, Day 3 here and Day 4 here.