The hustle and bustle of Hoi An, Vietnam

The operative word here is hustle. Hoi an is known for its tailoring and shoe making as well as the historic old town where locals sell trinkets, art, pottery, cloth and silk and, of course, t-shirts. The Vietnamese are hard-sell entrepreneurs. "What are you looking for", "Where are you from?", and "How long are you staying?" are the three questions one is asked while doing any kind of browsing in the markrets or on the street...it doesn't matter whats on the shopping list...squid, art, or clothes.

What you're looking for gives them an idea of the item you're seeking and everything in the entire universe that is even remotely related to that item, ("You want t-shirt?" We have many t-shirts. Good quality. How about bowl?  Bowl go with shirt when you eat with friends.  You buy chopsticks,go            with bowl!  How bout nice table runner...would go well with shirt..and bowl!"...you get the picture.)  Where you're from gives them a chance to inform you they have a bother in Portland when you tell them Seattle is your hometown.  Now you're friends because you have something in common....(geez).  And "How long you staying?" ....that gives them an opportunity to assess whether they'll have time to custom make a dress, shirt, suit, or leather anything for you or exhaust themselves trying.
(This is the guy we bought a street painting from....he could speak english but his daughter did...the first thing she said to me was, "Good quality painting....Where you from?")

Getting your  attention is prime to making a sale so they may block your way, following you down the street, rub your stomach, grab your arm, or scream, "you buy something"!  It way funny at first....then it became obnoxious.  The Vietnamese are a gracious bunch, but disgust is often shown if there is no sale. One guy tried to sell us a paper we already had and just would not leave us alone...he finally left but rode by several times giving us "stink eye".

The word I'm searching for a word that describes the way the Vietnamese drive...it's a cross between the behavior of an out-of-control kamikaze and a determined 6 year old who is way overdo for a nap.  That word describes them perfectly.  The bigger the city, the more dangerous and chaotic the traffic. I know that I've written about this before, but the way these people drive is.......just not believable.  Thai drivers negotiate the streets like crazy people but still, they have a sense of self preservation. But the Thais pale in comparison to the Vietnamese.

From the looks of it, most everyone owns a scooter or bicycle, mostly scooters.  I did my own survey late yesterday afternoon during rush hour while waiting for Moon to get her hair colored.  Fifteen to 20 scooters to one bike.  Of the bikes, 2 out of 5 are electric, so that makes them scooters. Cars or trucks were a distant 3rd.  The reason there are few cars?....there's simply no where to park them.  Not many buses or large trucks although they were there.   The pecking order seems obvious...you give way to anything that's bigger, heavier, or that's coming right at you, head-on.   But then, that's not always true.....and I could not figure out what the clues were to help make that decision.  Some kind of internal high pitched bat radar thing going on here....who knows?

We had a great time at the market,  which is the center of business and social happenings.  Every city has one somewhere.  Hoi An's was down near a waterway by the Old Town.  I guess just about everybody has an Old Town too.  I'll add some pictures.  More later.