there was an old woman who lived in a shoe…..
by the Mama, who remembers how much she dislikes shopping
Hanoi, Vietnam
“Just wait till you get to Asia and buy what you need there”, we’d been advised, advice we took regarding hiking boots, which we did not want to carry through the tropics.
In Saigon we stumbled across a shoe store with a huge array of goretex boots, including PURPLE ones in T4’s size (yes, this matters when you’re four years old!)
What’s more, they were all cheap (this matters to the father when you’ve got to buy eight pairs!)
Did we buy any? No! We decided there would probably be a greater selection in the colder north; besides, we’d only have to carry them on the train. Plus Lonely Planet assured us there was a large shoe market in Hanoi and we ended up staying right next to it. More than a market, it’s actually a whole block of shop and shop after shop of shoes and shoes and shoes. We went in to Every Single One and only found one pair of boots worth buying, but they were so expensive that purchase was out of the question. The rest were also expensive AND looked as if they would fall apart after a day on a mountain trail; indeed some were falling apart right there on the shelf. Expensive cheap.
Returning to Saigon was also out of the question. Regretfully.
Hotel staff told us of a place to try, but when we arrived the shop had disappeared.
A local expat gave us only a little hope, suggesting some stores. Nothing.
The Yellow Pages turned up one entry so we walked there – an entire street of sports equipment stores. We could have bought bamboo hula hoops and dartboards and rollerblades and squash racquets and soccer boots and skateboards and treadmills and “authentic” Adidas gear, but no hiking boots.
On our return to town we spied a little old man and a little old woman sitting in front of their shoe shop. It was no more than a triangular hole in the wall, no more than a metre wide at the front, petering off to nothing at the back, but at the very top of their two rows of shelves were some boots. Everyone tried on *something*, but asking for bigger or smaller or a different colour was fruitless – there was only one of each style. Little Old Mr Shoe Seller tried to convince us that Lboy8 would grow fast, but at two inches too long, we were not going to let him buy those boots, no matter how much he liked them! Only two pairs fit, and if the shoe fits…..you try to buy it. Having been told US$40+ a pair up to now, we were pleasantly surprised at Mr Old Man’s offer of $30 for both. We didn’t have the heart to beat him down much further – just $5 😉
This provided us with ammunition to fire at the shop where we found the next five pairs that fit…….their “special price just for you because you come back and have so many children and I discount just for you” was $22 a pair, and $35 for the nice ones. You gotta be joking! We just paid $10 and $15.
A v-e-r-y v-e-r-y l-o-n-g bargaining session ensued. We left the nice ones at the shop and walked away with four pairs for $50. Could have been worse. Here’s hoping they last the distance – hiking in China, freezing in Mongolia, stomping across Russia, puddle-jumping in England….and beyond.
The next day after another morning of searching, we ended up back at Little Mr Shoe Seller, having decided that boots half an inch too long were not *that* big after all – so now ER2 was ready for taking on the rest of the world.
This just left Jboy13. The boy, who we noticed at Vung Tau has developed a most unusual duck-like waddly gait with the arch of both feet rolling down towards the ground and his feet sticking out sideways. How we ever missed that before I don’t know, but I’m sure it didn’t happen overnight. A virtual consultation with our Personal Medical Advisor in New Zealand provides us with a diagnosis – overpronation. He reassures us that a) there is no causal relationship between that and the shocking cheap shoes he’s been wearing (ahhh, absolved from guilt, we are), b) it’s nothing we should (and I quote) “stop a trip to a yurt for” (he will not suffer lifelong damage if we fail to return home tomorrow), c) visiting our friendly GP when we do get back would, however, be worthwhile and d) in the meantime, we should get him some good sturdy shoes, preferably fit with an insole to compensate for the foot rolling in.
Sturdy boots we had found – they were the one good (too expensive) pair discovered on day one of the shoe search. Orthopedic insoles would be harder to come by, but Rob hits on a solution for if the local market fails to stock any – screw up some old newspaper and stuff in under his insole, bungee cord his knees together and tow him behind us in a sled – and so off he goes for one final and this time more successful bargaining session.
So J13 got good expensive boots, L8 ended up with boots he didn’t *really* like, ER2 has boots that will fit for three winters and T4 missed out on purple, but at least we are all set to hit the mountain trails in China in two weeks.
photo will be added tomorrow after a hanoi-boot photo-shoot
Tags: children, dress, health, money, postcard: Vietnam, price, quote
rayres
If you had had one centipede instead of eight kids, life would have much simpler