Exploiting The Natives

After my awful night of last I couldn't really face up to doing anything. Felt signficantly better throughout the day but didn't want to be stuck on a tour so I decided to head out to the beach.
Got ridden over there by a motorcycle guy with terrible BO, at first it had been masked by the market but when we on the open roads I could really tell. All the way he was speaking really loudly and really fast in a language that bore some resemblance to English but I couldn't be sure - he was trying to sell me a tour to Mai Son; I wasn't up for it, certainly not with him - so I kept on telling him, "Maybe later!"; got to the beach - extremely tranquil at first - loads of restaurants on the edge, deck chairs half way then beautiful warm green waters. Mostly westerners enjoying the beach but almost matched in number by the plethora of women and children selling beads, chewing gum, pineapple, mangos, pedicures, manicures, massages and waxings. Everyone there could speak reasonable English but it was pretty much just, "You buy something?", "Maybe later" (would get rid of them but they would always come back), "Where you from?" (would sometimes result in a 'G'day mate'), "How old you?", "Married?", "Girlfriend?", "Boyfriend?", "You like Vietnamese girl?" (as I mentioned earlier, even the children selling postcards seem to have access to high class prostitutes). I got pressured by one woman into getting a foot and back massage (quite pleasant) but there were some on the beach who were getting simultaneous massage, pedi-manicures and waxings - it was far too debauched to be comfortable about. I know they are trying to sell to us but I find it very difficult to be waited on so obsequiously by anyone just by virtue of my very strong National currency - it's not exactly a sweatshop for these people but it still fits one of the seamier sides of globalisation in my mind. Also, when I was getting my back massage I had the woman doing it, a young boy named Thi who was very friendly but had tragic eyes ("Nobody will buy anything from me today ..."), another kid selling pineapples hanging around and to top it off I had my motorcycle taxi driver turn up and sit down next to me and try to sell me a tour in his incomprehensible way. Not very relaxing at all. Ride home was not great - eventually was shouting at the driver that I wasn't interested in his tours (didn't stop him chatting though).
Very interesting to see all the natives in the beach completely covered in clothes - not just slip slop slap but long sleeve shirts, pants, socks, gloves, hats and more often than not, fully face covering masks. I suppose when you're in the sun every day you have to be a bit more precautous but there are extremes.
All in all - mostly pleasant day though - it's fantastic to get wet at the beach and last night's 'problem' looks like it might only be a 24 hour (maybe 48) thing AND I managed to even out my tan a bit more.
Went to old town and saw a martial arts show held by the local children, most of them far too shy to remember the choreography but all very cute nonetheless and topped off by a very impressive sword routine between two of them.
Later in night I had a few drinks in town with an Australian, a South African and a Pole ... Actually, I can't remember the punchline to this.