Markets & Money
I’ve spent the last 3 weeks in Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Tomorrow, I head to Hong Kong. Looking at hotel prices was sticker shock! No more $12 hotels two blocks from the beach or $20 per night private rooms in hostels in the heart of the action. I imagine that gone too will be the option of buying a delicious Banh Mi for just over $1.00 USD.
The low prices in these countries have really given me a lot of freedom on this trip. I’ve been able to enjoy things like going out to dinner and getting an appetizer, entrée, and drink without thinking twice about money and paying the entrance fees to small attractions, like the Cham Museum in DaNang without worrying whether it was worth the money or whether I should spend more time there just because of the money.
That being said, I have intentionally largely stuck to casual dining and lodging. If you have money to burn, there are plenty of restaurants and hotels in each of the countries I visited to spend just as much money as you would in the United States or comparable country.
Associated with the low prices, is the street vendor and market culture. I’ve seen food and goods sold in so many different ways that it deserves it’s on post (future!). Of the cities I visited this trip, Hanoi takes the prize for most street vendors. Though, I’ll admit this impression may be due in part to the fact that I stayed in the notoriously vendor (and motorbike) flooded Old Quarter. Thailand and Cambodia are still not without their share.
In both Bangkok and Hanoi, I was up and on the streets early enough (not that early, maybe 9-ish) to watch the daily-vendors (those without true storefronts who just use space on the sidewalk for their operations) set-up and it’s incredible. It’s like the cities come alive as the vendors cart their items to their spot using scooters, pushable carts, and the old fashioned carrying pole across the shoulders, and set-up for the day. It feels like the city goes from 0 to 1,0000mph in under an hour.
Meat being sold in one of the outermost booths of a Siem Reap, Cambodia food market
Vendor at Bangkok’s Weekend Market
Raw meat being sold on on a side street in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Yet, as much as I enjoy the low prices and observing the culture, there is a part of me that aches a bit. What these people do every day is a hard life. They are doing what they need to do to get by. Day-after-day-after-day. Many of the vendors make less in a year than most of the tourists (even the “budget” ones) are spending on their trips. Thailand, comes in on top, with a per capita GDP of $ 5,814.80, Vietnam second with $2,111.10, and Cambodia coming in at $1,158.70 (Fact checkers: info from the World Bank).
These are real people doing difficult jobs. I don’t ever want to forget that and hope other travelers don’t either.