Day 12: Getting Into A Little Trouble at Ben Thanh Market

This is going to be a very short post. Well, because not much happened except for that one incident we can’t shake off our minds.

I didn’t take any pictures because I wanted to focus on shopping and if needed, haggling. I already knew what to expect in Ben Thanh since we’ve explored this a few days ago. I bought a few items and simply looked around, trying to find interesting items. My travel buddy was asking one vendor how much the item was. The girl answered. Price was too much. So my buddy put down the item, then the girl angrily asked in her curt English, “How much?” My buddy declined as she has decided not to purchase it anymore. The girl repeatedly asked my buddy and her voice was getting a little louder each time. And when we started walking away, she started shouting and saying something like, “You not very nice customers!” Well, EXCUSE ME, you are not a very nice vendor either! Aren’t customers allowed to ask for the price? My friend didn’t even haggle, she only asked for the freaking price!

I was so pissed and frustrated we decided to leave. I fought the urge to snap back when images of being locked up abroad flashed on my mind. So we walked away from her as much as possible and checked out the other stalls. When we couldn’t find anything else to buy, we left.


Next: Day 13: Exploring the Cu Chi Tunnels

Day 9: Apsara Dancing and Shopping at the Angkor Night Market

We’ve had quite enough of travel lately so we decided to rest through most of the day. Did I mention my travel buddy and I are introverts? We needed to recharge so we took advantage of the guesthouse’s free wifi and cable TV. Perfect. Just what we needed.

We can’t sleep in the whole day of course, so our guesthouse booked us to a buffet dinner with an Apsara performance in Amazon Angkor Restaurant (for $10) for the evening.

Apsara dancers taking the stage at Amazon Angkor Restaurant

Our guesthouse, Bou Savy, is quite popular with Filipino tourists so when the tuktuk driver came to pick us up for the dinner buffet, we found out there was a lovely, older Filipino couple who booked for the same dinner. It turned out the older gentleman was a former employee of the National Power Corporation. One of the industries of my former employer is power so we launched into a lighthearted discussion about coal, power plants, and sustainability. While partaking of the food and watching the Apsara performance, we also noted how Asian dances in general have overlapping similarities in costume and dance styles. Hmm. This was turning into an intellectual, cultural, and culinary evening.

Welcome to the Angkor Night Market!

When the Apsara performance ended, we went back to the guesthouse. The couple called it a day and went in to retire for the night. It was quite early so we took off to Angkor Night Market.

I would love to have this is my garden!

Angkor Night Market sells a wide range of items from jewelry, souvenirs, shirts, pants, books, and decorative items. They even have a bar in the middle of the market! I had fun looking at the stuff and strolling around. There weren’t a lot of people so we had plenty of room to move around. After a few purchases, we were good and we headed back to the guesthouse. We needed to be up early the next day for the Angkor Wat tour.

Next: Day 10: Visiting Angkor and Presenting... The Happy Pizza