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"Two dollar, two dollar," the voice is singsong, pleading. "OK! One dollar! One dollar, OK?" The T-shirts jiggle encouragingly in front of my eyes.
"Why you no buy from me?" Her eyes, shaded by the ubiquitous 'non' - that conical bamboo hat worn everywhere here in Vietnam, become mock-angry, her lip draws down into a pout.
She wants to sell me a T-shirt - five sizes too small, in a style I would never wear, and a colour and pattern I dislike - but she just cannot understand why I am resisting her sales pitch.
"Two dollars," she insists, "I give you two. Very 'sheap'."
This article continues with details of modern Vietnam and includes information on accommodation provided, local food and cuisine, things to do and see.
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(finishes
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The traffic in this eight million population city is horrendous too. Thousands of motorbikes and bicycles and the odd car or truck or bus interweave as if practicing for a demolition derby. You have to have nerves of steel to cross through all of this.
"Just walk slowly, steadily," I am told. "They will work their way around you."
They do of course and it is yet another metaphor for the country. Vietnam may appear a little chaotic, but there is sense to it, and the locals know what they are doing. Slowly, steadily it's coming together, and I am happy to have seen it now before cars replace the motor cycles, before the effects of the Western world erase the essence of this special place, while there is still time to haggle with the street vendors and maybe come away with a bargain that suits us both.
©Sally Hammond 2006
Picture Credits: ©Gordon Hammond 2006
(Sally and Gordon Hammond travelled as guests of Vietnam Airlines and Travel Indochina.)
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