Monday, 15 October 2007

• Cheapskate Uncle

  I will now tell you the story about the Cheapskate Uncle from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon...

  Ben Thanh Market (from Vietnamese 'Ben' meaning "wharf", and 'Quy Thanh' meaning "turtle citadel") is a big marketplace in the downtown area of Ho Chi Minh City, in District 1. The market is one of the earliest surviving structures in Saigon and today is considered one of symbols of Ho Chi Minh City, popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, ao dai, and souvenirs, as well as local cuisine.

  The neverending traffic on the way to the Ben Thanh Market

  The endless stretch of telephone wires...

  We finally reach the Ben Thanh Market (this picture was taken from Wikipedia- the rest are mine, and mine alone).

  Inside the Ben Thanh Market...

  Some of the things that can be found at the Ben Thanh Market... Delicious snake and scorpion juice- which I didn't attempt to consume...

  In this picture, everyone seems to be in a rush, except for one. There will come a time for everyone to slow down and look at things from a different perspective, regardless of who you are.

  Noodles? Bangles? Ear-rings? Rubber-bands?

  All things dried- prawns, fish, sea cucumber, and SEAHORSES too!!!

  Greens (and reds) for sale

  Preserved foodstuff

  The shop that sells tea leaves and coffee beans and stuff like that

  Guy at the shop putting coffee beans into the grinding-machine to turn those coffee beans into coffee powder

  Stalls outside the Ben Thanh Market

  Those flowers were for real... bigger and brighter than the ones I usually see back home...

  A street beggar playing the flute through his nose. He's actually blind. The girl standing in front of him refused to walk away from that place and kept looking at my camera...

  And now, the story of the Cheapskate Uncle from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon...

  This shop sells lots of affordable ao dai, robes, evening dresses and various other shiny, silky clothes...

  I got an ao dai from this shop less than twenty-four hours before a friend's wedding. It's a last minute thing as I had not brought any evening wear with me to this country. I went by faith, okayyy....

  While in the process of selecting my ao dai from this shop, AE and I noticed a Chinese businessman and his friend standing near us.

  At one glance, I had a feeling this Chinese businessman, whom I shall call the "Cheapskate Uncle", was not looking around for a lingerie set for his wife.

  True enough, AE and I heard the man utter something that sounded like this to his other guy friend: "My wife does not have this kind of a body..."

  The Cheapskate Uncle then told the lady in the shop to wrap up that shiny, silky robe.

  The girlfriend must've been thrilled to bits to see that Cheapskate Uncle had got her such a lovely piece of garment from the BEN THANH MARKET OF SAIGON.

  There are so many other shops in Saigon that sells nicer clothes...

  So many nicer clothes with more elaborate designs on them...

   There are even shops in Saigon that sell much nicer lingerie sets...

  ...but the Chinese Cheapskate Uncle who's already married with a wife and goodness-knows-how-many kids decides to go to the BEN THANH MARKET OF SAIGON to buy a cheap piece of shiny, silky table-cloth for his girlfriend in Saigon.

  AAAAUUUUUGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

  That's the way the world goes, sad to say...

  Jennifer Lopez's version of "My Love Don't Cost a Thing":

  You think you gotta keep me iced
  You don't
  You think I'm gonna spend your cash
  I won't
  Even if you were broke
  My love don't cost a thing
  Think I wanna drive your Benz
  I don't
  If I wanna floss I got my own
  Even if you were broke
  My love don't cost a thing
  

  Cheapskate Uncle's version:

  I think you're gonna keep me iced
  You won't
  I think you're gonna spend my cash
  You won't
  Even if I were broke
  Would your love cost a thing?
  Think you wanna drive my Benz?
  You won't
  If you wanna floss you gotta do it yourself
  Even if  I were broke (if, and only if)

  My love won’t cost a thing- ‘cos I get your stuff from the Ben Thanh Market of Saigon…

  And my wife does not have this kind of a body… (Huh??)

   

  Also, read about the Obama Girl vs. Giuliani Girl. The Presidential Elections in the States seem to have gone to another level of wackiness recently...

  • 11:59 PM
  • 149 Views
  • 2 eProps
  • 1 Comment