Street-side Venders

  

Bong chips ice from a two-kilo block to fill a wide stout glass. He carefully rations a black syrup-like substance and mixes the two ingredients with a miniature spoon. Sometimes he'll add a layer of sweetened condensed milk. The brew dilutes as the ice melts. Vietnamese coffee. The drink is very popular among the locals - his wife, Hai, often makes deliveries by gracefully balancing a tray of the black iced gold with one hand and driving a motorbike with the other. A city bus driver paused at a nearby stop to return a glass.

 

Bong (pronounced Bome, rhyming with home)  was born in Da Nang in 1936 and has lived in Nha Trang since 1958.

He started his street-side business less than two years ago. From a small folding table, he sold cigarettes - individually and in packs. Small profits grew over time and he expanded to two carts and several coolers. Stacks of red, plastic kid's-sized tables and chairs provide seating as required. On each of my visits four or five of the small tables were occupied by both regular customers and passersby, young and old.

 

Located along the south side of the massive Cultural Center building and half a block from the beach, he also offers tea, soft drinks, bottled water, beer, and cigarettes. No food or snacks. A recycled one-liter water bottle filled with gasoline stands curb-side on a cardboard box luring passing motorbikes to expand his business further. Bong worked long hours during the recent Tet holiday - beyond the fireworks - and generated more than three million Ðong in sales in a single day (about US$190).

 

I admire the street-side venders - they are the heart-beat of daily life in a Third World country rapidly growing modern. Their hard-earned rewards seem proportional to their struggling efforts. It was a privilege to hang out with Bong while sipping iced Tiger beers. There are hundreds in Nha Trang like him offering a wide variety of goods and services to every-day people.