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30th March, 2001
December, 1996
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The ferry was fully loaded with cars, lorries, people with bicycles and with loaded panniers, and amongst the passengers a group of uniformed men, but I could not tell whether they were Soldiers or Policemen. Large cargo boats were at the quays when we neared the landing stage, and having survived the rush to disembark, we walked up to the road to be met by a number of pedicab drivers looking for passengers. We chose one and Trung gave him the name of the hotel we wished to go to, then the driver promptly suggested he take us to a much better and cheaper hotel, but we declined his offer.
On one of our daily ramblings in the city, we went to a higher part of the river, away from the ferries, where men were repairing a boat, beached on the river bank. The water at this point was polluted and foul smelling, but this did not seem to concern them; perhaps they were immune to all the nasties lurking in the almost stagnant water. Trung and I made a hasty retreat to safer ground !
The road near the river had many shops and markets including one well stocked ship's chandlers where men were sitting around a low table, either discussing some business contract or equally likely, playing cards. Nearby was a covered market, the likes of which I had never seen before. It consisted of many small stalls packed together and separated by narrow walkways. Each stall looked almost identical, with every inch of space on counters and partitions displaying their goods. What were they selling ? Nuts, bolts, washers, screws, nails, ball bearings, hinges, latches, locks, and hundreds of other such items, in different shapes and sizes. It must have been a mechanic's paradise ! 
Much of the ironmongery in the market appeared to have been salvaged from one source or another, and of course, in Vietnam, if an item was not in stock, then someone would make it for you in a few hours, very little was discarded if it could be re-cycled. By scavenging, some of the poorer people were able to feed themselves, so it was not unusual to see handcarts loaded with cardboard cartons, bales of old paper or bags of empty drink cans. The affluent countries of the world have much to learn. 
The main streets of the city displayed many signs of prosperity, stalls and shops selling fruit, vegetables and every day necessities, but they also sold children's toys, paper decorations, flowers, and on one stall near the river, two mopeds were hung up on hooks, the price of which must have been in millions of dong. For the average worker, at the time, that would have represented quite a few years' wages !
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