Waiting for My (Wo)Man
With 126,000 dong in my hand…
(All apologies to Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground)
Most all of the towns I have visited so far cater to tourists of course. The average wage for most Vietnamese is about $5 a day, and that is if he/she is working a job, rather than laboring in the fields.
So, many people sell trinkets and other assorted items and services to us. It’s a way to make a dong, especially if the mark doesn’t barter.
Here in Sapa, the nearby Hmong and Dzao hill tribes come in and sell local handicrafts (and chinese-made items that resemble these goods). Most are women. The grannies are a hard sell – even tougher than the little kids. Bartering is good fun.
Come dark, the Hmong have other items to sell: marijuana, hashhish, and opium. In other parts of Viet Nam it’s the moto-taxi drivers or the cigarette vendors who offer a connection.
The approach is normal…Mister, would you like to buy a bracelet(or whatever). Then, whispered out of the side of their mouth comes How about some Mary-wanna, OOOpium, hashhhheeeesshhh?
It’s strange, because not everyone gets asked. For some reason, the people I’ve been hanging out with all have been. Me too. What sort of vibe are we putting out?
And i even got my haircut in Hoi An a couple of weeks ago.
The going rate (and investigated for purely scientific research)is about 100,000-150,000 dong ($6 – 9) for a small bag of weed, although the price starts at 250,000 dong.
And here in Sapa, it is the grandmothers who are the dealers.
If you sign up for a guided tour, one of the stops is a wild marijuana field. And this area (along with northern Lao) is part of the golden triangle opium/poppy cultivation area.
Tags: drugs, Travel, Viet Nam
jpb