“I don't like dealing with money transactions in poor countries. I get confused between the feeling that I shouldn't haggle with poverty and hating getting ripped off.” The Beach. This quote comes, ironically, from a book I purchased from a tout in Ho Chi Minh City. Emma and I were sitting at a bar having a meal, when a little Vietnamese man walked up with a huge stack of books, nearly as tall as he was. Unconcerned that we were eating, he said “You buy book. Good book. Very cheap.”. We weren't that interested, but somehow, 5 minutes later, I owned a copy of the Lonely Planet Vietnamese Phrase Book, and The Beach, by Alex Garland. I paid 190,000 Dong for the two books, even though I really only wanted 1. He walked off with a
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