David

Just saw some beautiful lacquered gifts at a shopping malin USA. They were from Vietnam. Where in Vietnam can we find these gifts: plates, bowls, boxes, picture frames, etc? We'll be in Saigon, Hanoi, and Denang.

jeanine

I've just come back from vietnam. the items you metioned can be found every where for only a couple of dollars and I mean a &quot;couple&quot;. vietnam is extremly cheap, You won't pay more than 1 or 2 dollars for a bowl, plat etc. the best place to buy with a wide selection a good bargain is Hanoi and Hoi An.<BR>enjoy your trip <BR>we loved the country and it's people<BR>jeanine

David

We'll be going to Hoi An too. What should we look for there to buy?

Belinda

We found the best and cheapest shopping to be in Saigon at the huge Chinese market in Cholon. <BR>We found (and bought!) about everything we saw before (Hanoi, Halong Bay, Hue, Hoi An and Mekong Delta), just a lot cheaper.<BR>Apparently, most items come from that particular market and are being sold all over the country.

marilyn

Going to Vietnam in about 2 weeks. How much bargaining is appropriate. About where do you start? One of the guidebooks said to offer 20 to 30 percent less than asking but that doesn't sound low enough. About what percent of original asking price did you pay? Did anyone ship items home - how about buying artwork?

Oldtimer

Some of the best art can be found in Hanoi. We bought laquer panels (they come in various sizes) with art mosaics comprised of tiny bits of egg shells set into the black lacquer. Stunning. The patience and skill it must take to create these scenes is overwhelming. These were bought in a shop in the Old Quarter, carefully wrapped in protective materials by the saleslady, and carried (very light in weight) by us as cabin baggage on our flight home.

Pam

We just returned from Vietnam. We were in Hanoi, Halong Bay, Sapa, Hoi An and Saigon. I think that Hanoi probably had widest highest quality selection of lacquerware, a number of galleries in Old Quarter as well as scattered throughout downtown area. In addition to lacquerware, we saw some beautiful paintings. We purchased an oil painting for $140 - done by a painter who has displayed worked in Fine Arts Museum.<BR><BR>Hoi An is definitely the place to go for clothing. Several in our party had items custom made. We were there for three days so they had time for a couple of return trips for alterations. Sample prices, men's cashmere blazer $25, silk shirt $8, silk pajamas $18 - Also in Hoi An there are many stores selling all kinds of fabric (generally silk) purses for $3 or $4. You can also have shoes made - silk sandals, etc - very nice We saw some beautiful artwork there as well. Some of the lacquerware was more contemporary in design - very beautiful work. <BR><BR>We found Saigon to be more expensive for lacquerware with more mass produced items - they were beautiful but we had seen similar items in Hanoi and Hoi An for less money. Our big find in Saigon was beaded purses and coin purses. Beautiful work - coin purses for $3 - wish we would have bought more. Also many beautiful silk scarves in Saigon. I went to Chico's soon after reutrning and saw scarves that I could have purchased in Vietnam for $16 on sale for $48. Saigon also had had beautiful table linens, hand embroidered.<BR><BR>In Danang we visited Marble Mountain and went to the touristy marble shop at the entrance. We bought a hand carved marble box and thought we got a steal at $20 (asking price was $25) Saw the very same thing in Saigon for $15. <BR>In terms of bargaining, I think we normally started about 1/3 less than asking price. <BR><BR>Have fun - the people were very friendly and we enjoyed our trip very much<BR><BR>Pam

marilyn

Thanks for the info. Was there any modern artwork in Hanoi? Read that some of the less experienced artists start in Hue...has anyone experienced this?

Madonna

My sister and l are off to Vietnam in April - on a Intrepid Tour for 16 days and then onton Singapore.<BR><BR>We are interested in having a cashmere coat made and some other clothing. Would love to have the address of any place that you found as we are only in main areas for a limited time.<BR><BR>Has anyone shipped purchases home?<BR><BR>Also we are thinking of taking clothing patterns over, will this save time or is it a waste?<BR><BR>Would love any tips or ideas that anyone may have.

vt

Be careful if you buy wooden products and ship back.VN is a very humid country so wooden products bought there tend to crack and bend after couple of months.If you like them,buy them here since the woods have been treated and won't crack or bend.<BR> To Madonna,it's very hard to find 100% cashmere in VN since it's too expensive to most.If you want clothes made there or have hand stitches pattern on clothes bring samples or pictures,they really help.They can even do portrait stitches on silk but some of the more complicated one takes longer than 2 weeks.If you plan to ship stuffs home make sure you live close to one of the im\export ports because custom will hold your shipment until you come and pay duty.Get receipts for stuffs you ship home because custom value your shipment then tax you 10%,if they value them too high then show them the receipts.

celeste1023

Am going to Hanoi in 2 weeks - has anyone seen any traditional Vietnamese masks??? We collect regional masks and are wondering if there is a Vietnamese one - if you have seen such a thing, could you tell me where??

Peep

We're going in a few days! Woo hoo! How about bringing back the conical hats?

Amy

Hey, &quot;Peep&quot;, have a great trip!<BR><BR>I brought back two conical hats in my luggage, and the points just got a little squished (I unsquished 'em without a problem.) There are little old ladies selling them everywhere; in Hue there are special ones with poetry woven in.<BR><BR>I wanna go back!