Can I Help You?

From our limited experience, the Vietnamese are extremely helpful. And by helpful, we mean they are ready, willing and able to separate you from your hard-earned money! These entreprenurial peeps are modern day rennaisance men and women. The "storefronts" that they operate out of are simply the front, living room/first floor openings to their apartments (it's amazing... the backs of these stores curl into these dark, recessed alleys or back-rooms to access the stairs up into their apartments).

From these "storefronts", they often operate wide-ranging busineses that attest to their many talents. In addition to being restaurants, many of these "stores" also list the following services:
- Massage
- Internet
- Laundry
- Auto Repair
- Tourist Services (Travel Agency)
- Shoe Shine
- Many Others!

The people in front of each "store" are about as persistent as you can imagine. Here's an exchange from this afternoon as we walked by a store:

Dude in front of store: Hello! He-llo!
Web/Jaime:
Dude in front of store: Hello! Moto-cycle ride? 1 hr.?
Web/Jaime: No thanks.
Dude in front of store: Want to shine shoe? (note: we're wearing sneakers!)
Web/Jaime: No. No thank you.
Dude in front of store: Can I book you tour?
Web/Jaime: No need. No thank you.
Dude in front of store: Hello? Can I help you? Where you going?
Web/Jaime: NO THANKS!
Dude in front of store: Want to stay in my hotel?
Web/Jaime: NO!
Dude in front of store: Why not?!

In Hanoi, that exchange happens about 3-4 times... per block!