Things that should not be missed when travel Vietnam

 ++ Express Tailoring services

With the influx of tourists, Hoi An is becoming a centre for the arts. A delightful hour-long medley of traditional music and dance is performed most evenings in a cramped room rather grandly known as the Traditional Arts Theatre, 75 Nguyen Thai Hoc (Mon– Sat 9pm; 45,000VND). Folk musicians also play short concerts at the Hoi An Handicraft Workshop, 9 Nguyen Thai Hoc (Mon– Sat 10.15am & 3.15pm). Once a month vehicles are banned from the town centre, coloured silk lanterns replace electric lights and shopkeepers don traditional costume to celebrate the Full-Moon Festival (fourteenth day of the lunar calendar). It’s a tourist event, but a great occasion nonetheless: there are traditional music performances, people play Chinese chess and there are the inevitable food stalls set up by the Japanese bridge and on the waterfront, peddling local specialities. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, a much bigger affair celebrated nationwide on the fourteenth day of the eighth lunar month, people also float lanterns on the river. In recent years – usually in spring but dates vary – Quang Nam province has also staged a week-long cultural heritage festival in Hoi An and My Son, including Cham dances and folk songs.

Tourism has also led to a revival in local crafts, though there are plenty of second-rate souvenirs as well. Dedicated browsers can occupy several hours in the shops and galleries along Tran Phu, Nguyen Thai Hoc and Le Loi, while just over the Japanese bridge a cluster of old houses double as showrooms. Scattered here and there are workshops where you can see a range of local crafts, from embroidery, wood-carving and pottery to silk being made by traditional methods; visits are free, though afterwards you’ll be directed to the souvenir shop-cum-showroom, not that there’s any obligation to buy. The most interesting are the Hoi An Handicraft Workshop at 9 Nguyen Thai Hoc, where they also give folk concerts (see above), and the House of Traditional Handicrafts, 41 Le Loi. The Kim Bong traditional carpentry studio is also worth a look at 108 Nguyen Thai Hoc, and look out, too, for a tiny stall at 49 Le Loi where the same family has been making silk lanterns for generations.

Hoi An is now well known for its silk and tailoring, with prices generally cheaper than those in Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. You’ll find shops all over town but the original outlet was the market, where even now rows of tailors sit at sewing machines next to rainbow-coloured stacks, and for a few dollars will make up beautiful garments in a matter of hours. It’s worth shopping around – ask to see some finished articles before placing an order. If you have time, it’s a good idea to have one item made first to check the quality and fit. A few places with a reputation for reliability include Bi Bi Silk, 13 Phan Chu Trinh, with a good range of linen, wool and silk, and the more upmarket Yaly at 47 Nguyen Thai Hoc, The popular Phuong Huy makes a wide array of items such as suits and handbags and and has three outlets, at 9a Nhi Trung and 25 and 26 Tran Phu. To complete the outfit you can have shoes made to match (where you can create your own designs such as suede running shoes with your own initials on them). Most shops can do this for you, or there are dozens of outlets towards the bridge on Hoang Dieu.

Suggetion to make Ao dai over here too!

++ Go shopping Hanoi, Vietnam

When it comes to shopping for crafts, silk, accessories and souvenirs, Hanoi now offers the best overall choice, quality and value for money in the country. Specialities of the region are embroideries, wood- and stone- carvings, inlay work and lacquer, and the best areas to browse are the south of the Old Quarter and the streets around St Joseph’s Cathedral. Though smarter establishments increasingly have fixed prices, at many shops you’ll be expected to bargain, and the same goes, naturally, for market stalls. Hanoi has over fifty markets, selling predominantly foodstuffs; for a greater variety of wares, Cho Dong Xuan and Cho Hom sell almost everything. A recent innovation is a weekly night market (Fri– Sun 6.30–11pm) in the Old Quarter when Hang Dao is closed to traffic. Stalls sell mainly clothes, toys and gimmicks aimed at locals, but it’s worth a wander for the atmosphere if nothing else.

One of Hanoi’s more unusual and colourful markets, though you’ll have to be up early to catch it, is the flower market held each dawn beside Nghi Tam Avenue at its most northerly junction with Yen Phu; action starts around 4am (5am in winter), and lasts around two hours. This is primarily a wholesale market catering to the city’s army of itinerant flower-sellers, so prices are that bit cheaper than in town and you’ll find people peddling wicker baskets, ferns and ribbons besides bundles of fresh-cut blooms.

++ How to bargain when shopping in Vietnam

The Vietnamese, not unreasonably, see tourists as wildly rich – how else could they afford to stop working and travel the world – and a first quoted price is usually pitched accordingly. It makes sense, therefore, to be prepared.

First of all, do your homework. Find out the approximate going rate, either from your hotel or fellow tourists, or from one of the increasing number of fixed-price shops – remembering to take into account the difference in quality, for example, between mass-produced and hand-crafted goods.

The trick then is to remain friendly and amused, but also to be realistic: traders will quickly lose interest in a sale if they think you aren’t playing the game fairly. Any show of aggression, and you’ve lost it in more ways than one. If you feel you’re on the verge of agreement, moving away often pays dividends – it’s amazing how often you’ll be called back.

Keep a sense of perspective. If a session of bargaining is becoming very protracted, step back and remind yourself that you’re often arguing the toss over mere pennies – nothing to you, but a lot to the average Vietnamese.

++ Markets in Hanoi, Vietnam

With so much fresh fruit, bread and takeaway food available in the markets or hawked on the streets, especially in the Old Quarter, it’s easy to prepare excellent do-it-yourself meals, especially as the range and quality of goods in markets and supermarkets continues to improve. You can now buy cold cuts, pâté, milk, yoghurt and cheeses other than the ubiquitous La Vache Qui Rit at several outlets, while gourmet delicatessens and bakeries offer all sorts of treats – as long as you don’t mind paying a little extra for a taste of home.

Markets:

- Cho 19–12 Between Hai Ba Trung and Ly Thuong Kiet. A traditional fresh-food market packed into just two short alleys.

- Cho Dong Xuan Dong Xuan Street. Hanoi’s biggest covered market hides its dried foodstuffs at the rear of the ground floor, while vegetable stalls spread down the sidestreets.

- Cho Hang Da Hang Da Street. This small, covered market is slated for redevelopment as a market-cum-shopping centre.

- Cho Hom Pho Hué. Large, well-organized market, with foodstuffs and snack stalls on the ground floor and a labyrinth of fabrics upstairs.

Supermarkets:

- Citimart Hanoi Towers, 49 Hai Ba Trung. Well-stocked mini-market serving the expats in the Towers’ offices and apartments.

- Fivimart 210 Tran Quang Khai & 10 Trang Vu. Two big outlets offering a decent selection of fresh foods, imported brands and drinks at reasonable prices.

- Intimex 26–32 Le Thai To. Good range of foodstuffs and household goods on two floors, tucked down an alley at the southwest end of Hoan Kiem Lake.

- The Trade Centre 7 Dinh Tien Haong. Handy for the Old Quarter, with a modest range of dried or canned foods and toiletries.

- Vinaconex 4f Trang Tien Plaza, Trang Tien. No fresh foods beyond a small cold counter, but a fair selection of other foodstuffs.

- Western Canned Foods 66a Ba Trieu. Mini-mart boasting broad selection of imported food, albeit at prices above the norm.

Delicatessens and bakeries: 

- Croissant 35 Quang Trung. The bakery of Hoa Sua turns out excellent breads, cakes, pastries and savoury snacks.

- The Deli 59a Ly Thai To. On the ground floor of the Press Club, producing a mouthwatering array of homemade breads, quiches, cold cuts, cakes and suchlike to eat in or take away. It also has an extensive wine selection.

- Maison Vanille 49 Phan Chu Trinh. Real Parisian-style bakery-cum-deli with all sorts of goodies from walnut bread and fruit tarts to cheese, paté and cold cuts. They also serve salads and other light meals in the upstairs café-restaurant. A small outlet at 9 Dinh Liet offers a limited selection of cakes, pastries and sandwiches to take away.

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