June 9, 2024
A Relaxed Morning Alone in Nha Trang
I really love the song “Mahou no Kotoba” by Spitz and used to listen to it a lot. I often wondered what the “magic word” actually meant. I never imagined I would learn its meaning in Nha Trang, Vietnam.
My friends went out of the city, so I stayed in Nha Trang alone.
I swam in the pool, went to the beach, and relaxed under a parasol. It was a perfect beach-resort day.
When I stayed near the parasol, I could use the Wi-Fi from my hotel, Citadines, so it was very comfortable.
Hotel staff were also standing by at the beach, and they kept my phone and room key while I swam. That made me feel safe.
For lunch, I ate a cup-noodle pho I had bought earlier at WinMart in Ha Long. It was surprisingly good.
A Market Overflowing With Famous-Brand T-Shirts
After lunch, I called a Grab bike taxi and headed to Dam Market（see on map）.
The first floor sold souvenirs, dried foods, and daily goods.
The second floor was filled with clothing and bags.
There were huge amounts of T-shirts with famous brands like Nike, Adidas, and Stüssy.
I wasn’t sure if they were real. But when I touched a Nike shirt, the fabric felt just like real Dri-FIT material.
Maybe the market was some kind of wholesale distributor?
Or maybe these items came out of factories through unofficial channels?
If that were true, would the buyer get in trouble?
I didn’t know the details.
But there were many shirts with proper logos and solid fabric—much more than I saw in the Ha Long market.
Of course, a few shirts looked obviously fake.
Since Japanese customs warns travelers about counterfeit goods, I decided to buy only the shirts that seemed real to me.
Using the “Magic Word” to Bargain
When I asked the shop clerk for the price, he said 300,000 VND for one shirt.
Then I used my “magic word” in Vietnamese:
“Mắc mắc! (Too expensive!)”
Suddenly the clerk smiled, tapped my shoulder in a friendly way, and offered two shirts for 500,000 VND.
I said the magic word again—“Mắc mắc!!”—and this time he took out a calculator and showed me 400,000 VND.
I kept bargaining, and in the end I bought two shirts for 330,000 VND.
There are no fixed prices in the market, and I didn’t know the usual cost of clothes in Vietnam, so I had no idea whether this was a good price or not.
But the clerk smiled and said, “Thank you, bye bye,” when I left, so I think it was a fair deal for both of us.
I felt relieved and walked out of the market.
Riding Back and Dinner With Friends
I called another Grab bike taxi to return to the hotel.
It was cheaper than a car, arrived quickly, and moved smoothly through traffic.
It was extremely comfortable.
My friends came back to the hotel around 8 p.m., and we all went out to eat pho.
This place(see on map) served pho where you cook the meat in a hot-stone pot. It was incredibly delicious.
Trying Durian for Dessert
After dinner, we went to eat durian.
It was heavy and looked fresh.
My friend who loves durian said, “This one is too young, so it’s not very good.”
I don’t like durian, so for me it was honestly, “Ugh… this is tough.”
But my friend insisted,
“If you eat really good durian, you will definitely love it.”
Since she became a durian fan, she even keeps a special refrigerator—or maybe a freezer—at home just for storing durian.
Someday, I also want to try truly delicious durian.
