Good consumers

Besides the olde towne attractions, Hoi An is about buying stuff. So we did.

That attractive jacket, cotton and linen with a mandarin collar I’m going to regret, was $65, ready in the three days instead of two because they had to fix that vent that poked out funny.

Lee got a new pair of glasses for about half what she would have paid in NZ. We each got a pair of bespoke shoes. I nearly left mine on the boat today, but all’s well that ends well.

One of the themes of the failed Trump-Kim summit in Da Nang was the idea that North Korea could be just like Vietnam if they’d only embrace a more Western economy. I have no idea how people live in North Korea, but in the heavily touristy parts of Vietnam I’ve seen I can say that people are highly motivated by money and work really hard to get more of it.

It’s not always pleasant. Are their lives better? Are their leaders better off?