This market is a tourist's dream shop; t-shirts, accessories, and trinkets galore. Most of the vendors knew basic English, and with the UEF students there to help bargaining wasn't too hard. Shop stands were set up everywhere in the building with only narrow corridors to navigate through. The vendors were very aggressive and would grab you to get your attention. Since so many vendors sold the same products, competition to drive the prices down must be intense. I was able to snag some gifts for back home at pretty cheap prices. The only thing that I did not like was of course the heat, I was sweating up a storm. The market even had a "food court." All of the food shops lined up next to each other on one end of the market, and the smell was overpowering. We finished up our shopping trip with a quick lunch inside the market.
(picture taken a few days later)
In the afternoon we had a company visit to the VinaCapital Foundation, an NGO. They explained to us the workings of their investment enterprises and then their charity foundation. VinaCapital sets aside a substantial amount of money to fund a charity organization that aids low-income areas with health care and education. They completely pay for business costs so that 100% of donations go towards helping the underprivileged Vietnamese. The charity side of the corporation is run by an American ex-pat named Rad Kivette from North Carolina. In their work, they help fund surgeries to help those who would not initially receive health care and award scholarships to people who would not be able to attend college without them, especially girls. I found it interesting how Miss Loan, the professor from UEF who has been taking us around, was visibly moved when she heard about the work that VinaCapital was doing. Also, hearing from an investment and charity organization offered a different perspective on business in Vietnam than the engineering companies that we have been visiting.
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