You want velvet?

So Silas and I went downtown the other day to pick up the Cambodian stringed instrument, the trol, that was broken in transit back from Siem Reap. After retrieving it we went up the street to the Ben Thanh Market, a sprawling but roofed warren of stalls where anything and everything are for sale, pending negotiations. You haggle for most everything here. It’s an art, and you realize that any sale must satisfy both parties. As a buyer, you do it because you need to feel good about your purchase, that you’re not being taken — even if the difference between being taken and not is a buck or two. I don’t enjoy it but I don’t dislike it either. It’s a challenge, and it’s a good skill for the kids to see and learn. We bought some sun glasses, looked for a belt, then moved on to a sandal search. What we would call a sandal or flip-flop the Vietnamese call a slipper. They are everywhere on sale. If you look long and hard enough, they have a sameness of style. You’re better off just seeing a pair and buying it and not searching and searching for some pair that seems unique. Those are hard to find. In any case, I was buying Silas a pair and haggling with the old woman in the tall. I had her on the run — down to the 150,000 dong they were were, having started at nearly double that. Then Silas interjects, “Dad, just give her 180,000.” I looked at him, then looked at her and said, “Is he with you?” She laughed and we paid 180,000. Then I bought a pair for myself down the lane and he did it again — interceded on the seller’s behalf! I told him later, in no uncertain terms, that the humor had passed. No more of that. When you’re buying, you can pay what you want, I told him. I forgot to mention that when we picked up the trol, the folks in the music shop admired it. Silas bought that on his on. Started at US$25 but eventually got it down to $18. They seemed to think we got a deal.