The Saigon Night Market is a Phở King's Nightmare

By Andrew -

Arriving in Vietnam was very special. If you ever asked Ender which part of the itinerary he was most excited for he would always say Cambodia for the company, but Vietnam for the food and shopping.  As soon as we were settled into our hotel/brothel, we were eager to get out and find something delicious for our first meal and were not disappointed!  We picked the first phở place we could find and each ordered a different style; Jacob was the most adventurous ordering beef with tendon. What a king!  

Our initial plans for day 1 in Vietnam were to be pretty low-key: relax from the long trip, and do some shopping. Considering we will be away for 4 months, we packed LIGHT.  Each of us brought 1 carry-on, 1 personal item, and checked 0 bags. That effectively meant we had little room for clothing beyond a limited capsule wardrobe.  So after dinner we walked to a night market to see what we could find. 


If driving in this city seems like an impossibility, walking is quite...improbable. We can't entirely agree when one should step into the street, but we do agree that it is an act of faith. There is no break in traffic, there are no clear moments in which it is "safe" and yet there is a rhythm to the insanity that everyone (else) seems to understand. One must be bold yet hesitant, consistent yet flexible.  One must wait for the opportune lull...and if that lull never comes, one must create it.  This literally means stepping into traffic with nothing but a clenched buttock and a prayer. 

While common in many cultures, including U.S. car sales, we were not mentally prepared for the level of aggressive attention we received from the sales people we encountered. They REALLY wanted us to buy anything at all from them, passing random items in front of us in an endless parade of sports jerseys, jewelry, and other assorted knickknacks. "What do you want? What are you looking for?  What size? What size do you need? Come in! Come in!"  We were still working out the exchange rate in our heads between Dollar and Dong which made the pressure all the more intense if we did ask for a price. Some people love to haggle. We are not those people. And heaven forbid we let our eyes linger for too long on any stall or item. Ender stopped responding and making eye-contact while Jacob worried we were being rude for not answering their questions. It was overwhelming. 
We made a hasty escape after a little while, but not before Kim found a couple of pairs of comfortable pants and some earrings, Jacob found a Chinese beckoning cat, and Ender snatched up a leather shoulder bag and increased his cane collection by one (he is seriously prepared if he ever needs a knee surgery or something). 

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