Our Home Away From Home
Trip Start
Dec 28, 2007
1
22
27
Trip End
Dec 01, 2008
Hoi An,
Vietnam
Monday, April 21, 2008
We came back to Hoi An to help our friend, Ha, get her shop open (quick refresh - she is our local friend who worked for the tailor we used on our past trips. We invested in her new business last month when we were here so she could be the big boss lady.) So, yeah, we came back to help get things started on the business. We were sure in for a surprise. We had been gone about a month and come to find out that in that time, Ha had signed and closed a two year lease on a "shop", had bought all the inventory and had the tailor samples of kimono and pants, etc., made, had ordered a business sign and business cards, got all her licenses (I guess) and was set to quit her job in three days and open in 5
Opening Day
. Ha's husband, Long, was just finishing off the build-out of the shop (including installing doors) when we arrived. To be honest, we were a bit nervous about what we would find upon our return to Hoi An. Unfortunately we all have doubts about motives when people ask for help, its just natural. We were moved to tears when we drove into town and saw their smiling faces hard at work preparing the shop. On opening day, the time was set for 6:00 a.m. for the good luck, blessing ceremony. (For those as uninformed as I, 6:00 a.m. is the "lucky" time.) Ha and Long set up an offering table and alter, with fake money, incense, rice, candles and flowers. A local shaman came in and said his blessings for luck and prosperity for the shop over the offerings that were set out, then he burned all the offerings in a make shift BBQ pit, right there on the street. It was quite a scene to behold. And it worked. The business is doing amazingly well. Ha is a hard worker and charms the heck out of all the tourists. She used to make $70.00 USD a month at the tailor shop where we met her, working 7 days a week, 8:00 a.m to 10:00 p.m. for the last five years. She makes that in one day now, a lot due to the incredible mark up she can get away with. A lot of our retail, less expensive, products are made in Vietnam. She can avoid the tax and cost of shipment taken into account in US prices. A t-shirt we buy for $15.00 at home costs her a $1.00 here. She sells it to an unsuspecting Westerner for $5.00 and pockets the rest. Not bad. The potential for a successful souvenier shop to earn money here is great. For example, the other day a German woman came in and liked some purses that Ha bought for $2.00 each. The woman bought 3 of them for $60.00, total. Last night Andrew took some of the wares to a local restaurant trying to make a sale. He struck out, but got a lot of laughs from the diners
"Lucky" opening ceremony
. We are so happy for Ha and her family. Speaking of which, their little girl Nguyen is finally getting over her shyness and will actually smile and reach for our hands now. I think it helps that we can speak to her a bit in her language. She will be 5 this May and is getting to be almost as big as her mom.
We went to school with her the other morning and Andrew gave cookies out to all the kids. He is so good with the kids and gets such a kick out of it. They loved him. One of the teachers (not Nguyen's) shook him down for $25.00 "for food for the kids" the last time we were there. She asked for money again, but we were on to her this time. Ha said the parents pay for all the food the school provides. That money went for a new pair of shoes for Ms. Teacher. She got nothing this time.
While here last time we met a great couple from Seattle who were staying for a month to work on their export business. They also have a stall at the Country Fair where they sell the husband's handmade breifcases. What a small world. Hoi An is very famous for tailors and hand made items, so they buy wallets and other silks in bulk and sell wholesale in the states
Our darling Nguyen
. We met up with them upon our return and met their Vietnamese friends with whom they were hanging out and studying Vietnamese. That is a lot of how we have learned the language, along with help from others. Hoi An has an amazingly busy and robust local market, selling everything from fresh produce, live fish, plucked chickens and quail eggs to hand cream, fake Diesel jeans and running shoes. Sometimes we head into town early to watch the action at the local market. There is no Safeway here. Everything is fresh, brought in each morning, and sold in the outdoor/indoor market. Andrew went out at 5:00 a.m. one morning to watch the fish come into the market from the fishing boats. What chaos! Everyone in Vietnam yells at the top of their lungs when having a conversation, and that level is increased even more in the market. (side note, If anyone is planning a similar trip, I strongly recommend wearing shoes to the fish market.)
We have also rented a motor bike for the time we are here. Another friend Andrew made gave him a great deal on it. It is an automatic, so I can drive it (not with Andrew on the back, of course). It gets about 100 mile per gallon. I am getting one when we get home. We drove it out to My Son Holyland the other day, about an hour and a half ride from Hoi An
Now who's boss?
. My Son is the home to the most famous Vietnamese Cham ruins, dating from 9th to 13th century A.D. The Champa people were the rulers of this area back in those days and always trying to conquer what is now Thailand and Cambodia. Many of the stone murals in the Ankgor Wat temples in Cambodia tell the stories of the Cambodians fighting the Champa. The My Son area we visited was a buriel ground for the kings and his wives (yes, wives) and home for monks and other religious men back in the day. The towers do not compare to those of Angkor Wat, but are magnificent in their own way. Sadly many were pretty much destroyed by our B52 bombers during the war. Why that was necessary still escapes me. We also visited the Marble Mountains, just south of Danang, right across from the renowned China Beach. These mountains became famous during the war because they contain many huge caves which were occupied by the Viet Cong during the war and were used for recon, as living quarters and as a hospital. The Viet Cong had a bird's eye view of the major US operation site a few hundred yards away and the Americans were none the wiser. (Maybe they were eventually, I am not sure). Anyway, now the caves are a major tourist attraction, complete with touts selling flashlights allowing in-depth exploration. (Thank you, Peggy, for leaving me your flashlight so I did not have to buy one at the caves)
Market bustle
. The mountains are also home to several religious sites (although religion is technically illegal in communist Vietnam) and there are some nice temples and buddhas. We got a little lost on the way home, but got an incredible view into local neighborhoods we would never have ventured into otherwise. Andrew has met a professional photographer here (we bought some of his pictures) and he has been learning photography tips from him. He also had some business cards made that say "Coit Photography" and plans a photo exhibit debut when he returns home. He is off this morning with the photographer at the clay pot market.
As you can probably tell from my rambling, we have not been doing a whole lot here and have been enjoying ourselves immensely. We will check in again soon. I hope you enjoy the pictures. Love to you all, Andrea and Andrew
