First impressions of Vietnam
Today we've been in port at Da Nang...it's just about 20km away from the ancient city of Hoi An. Along there way there are remnants of the American occupation - for example an abandoned air field where there are still unexploded bombs.
First impressions of Vietnam are that it's similar to India in level of prosperity, but with less people than India obviously. Despite our tour guide's insistence that there was no poverty and that it was a very safe and prosperous place, there are visible shanty towns along the road. The only thing that would elevate it above rural India is that there is more space for each person here than there.
Average monthly wage is $200US, so not a great deal, but it seems that despite the communist regime, capitalism is creeping in on a small scale. Like in China, people are hawking on the streets, and when we got off the bus at the marble carving factory (what this area is famous for), they pounced on us and tried to get us to go to "their" shops...similarly in town, they were asking us to buy the hats, postcards, paintings etc...
Clearly there was some scope for bargaining, as we managed to get two hats for $1 instead of the 1 for $1 everyone else got charged, and where there's room for bargaining, there's profit margins...
It was really humid today, so that made going out during the morning and early afternoon pretty sweaty. Unlike India where we were in Rajasthan which was dry, the humidity really made you feel the heat.
Tomorrow we're at sea again before we get to Na Trang which is further South from here.
Anyway - connection is not bad - so pics are below:
Cloud formations
Again...
Sun setting
Off the back of the ship
Market scene again
Wearing one of the traditional hats - bargained down from $1 for one..to 2 for $1.
Me on a covered bridge
Silkworm breeding
Outside another assembly hall in Hoi An
Looking into an assembly hall in Hoi An
Market scene
Some weird looking beetle on a carving
Marble carving
A typical street scene
The view from our cabin this morning
From the other side of the ship
Formal night...
As we left Hong Kong harbour
Peking Duck for lunch before we left HK
Hong Kong at night...
First impressions of Vietnam are that it's similar to India in level of prosperity, but with less people than India obviously. Despite our tour guide's insistence that there was no poverty and that it was a very safe and prosperous place, there are visible shanty towns along the road. The only thing that would elevate it above rural India is that there is more space for each person here than there.
Average monthly wage is $200US, so not a great deal, but it seems that despite the communist regime, capitalism is creeping in on a small scale. Like in China, people are hawking on the streets, and when we got off the bus at the marble carving factory (what this area is famous for), they pounced on us and tried to get us to go to "their" shops...similarly in town, they were asking us to buy the hats, postcards, paintings etc...
Clearly there was some scope for bargaining, as we managed to get two hats for $1 instead of the 1 for $1 everyone else got charged, and where there's room for bargaining, there's profit margins...
It was really humid today, so that made going out during the morning and early afternoon pretty sweaty. Unlike India where we were in Rajasthan which was dry, the humidity really made you feel the heat.
Tomorrow we're at sea again before we get to Na Trang which is further South from here.
Anyway - connection is not bad - so pics are below:
Cloud formations
Again...
Sun setting
Off the back of the ship
Market scene again
Wearing one of the traditional hats - bargained down from $1 for one..to 2 for $1.
Me on a covered bridge
Silkworm breeding
Outside another assembly hall in Hoi An
Looking into an assembly hall in Hoi An
Market scene
Some weird looking beetle on a carving
Marble carving
A typical street scene
The view from our cabin this morning
From the other side of the ship
Formal night...
As we left Hong Kong harbour
Peking Duck for lunch before we left HK
Hong Kong at night...
posted by Ken at 11:46 am
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