Market

Do you think small markets will disappear in the eastern market?

To be completely honest with you, this topic is beyond the scope of my

knowledge. But if I have to guess, I think small markets will still survive.
Maybe barely survive. At this time, bigger manufacturers are slowly
dominating the market by fulfilling all of the customer demands. They
really know the customer behavior, how they want to shop, which product
they want to have on, I guess, the shelf. So small markets with little,
smaller range of goods might not be as competitive as the bigger ones.
But still, they have their own values. For example, the night market in
many countries gain their sales from tourism. Being such a tourist
attraction makes them just an indispensable part of the market and the
economy in general. So I don't think they will vanish from the market.

What do people do in shopping malls, are there other ways to shop?

People mostly make purchases in shopping malls, but this is not the only
way for them to buy products. In shopping malls, they have goods and
services at the same time. There are stores and stores to look with goods,
and there are also direct consults from, for example, shop assistants. I
guess, well, sometimes people go to this place to window shopping, which
means that they just want to look at the things that are put on the shelves
instead of actually buying them. But to obtain a product, this is not the
only way. For example, clothes, fruits, electronic devices, and many other,
I guess, categories of objects and things you can buy is also available
online, like the online platform. Well, there are e-commerce which is
growing in popularity and mine serves as a more convenient way of
shopping since people can make purchases at home.

What are the types of markets in Vietnam?

I think there are three types that are the most prevalent in Vietnam,
including traditional outdoor stalls, supermarkets, and e-commerce
platforms. The first one, the conventional market, which mostly provide
food supplies and since they are made up like from many sellers. But just
ordinary people want to sell the product. It is generally cheaper than
malls, which is the second one. Supermarkets are larger. They offer not
only food supplies, but also many other kinds of stuff. It's just a broader
variety of products in general. And the last one, which might be the most
inclusive one, is e-commerce. For example, in Vietnam we have Shopee,
which is an online platform for people to buy and sell stuff. And I think that
they sell almost everything and also at a decent quality too.

What problems will the food market outdoor market bring?

I think that there are two main problems that might be cost, including
health problem, which is related to the food quality, and secondly is the
spoiled of urban aesthetics. Initially, the food quality might not be
perfectly preserved since first, they are exposed to the plain air. The food
might be exposed to air pollution, for example, in the urban gas area. And
also in the tropical region, it might have not only hot, really scorching heat
waves in the summer, but also heavy rains. So it would just not be an
ideal condition to sell meat like it would ruin the freshness or maybe spoil
the vegetables. The second problem that we might encounter is the urban
beauty might be spoiled. This is caused by, you know, the food market is
not very a clean place. Having a corner of the food market might turn into
a chaotic corner of the city which would definitely not match with the

Describe a cafe you'd like to visit.

The other day, I was very lucky to have the chance to try out a new coffee
shop near my mom's office. So this place was just a stone’s throw away,
but it was both a cafe and a bistro. Unlike many other venues where they
only have space for I guess 1-2 sittings, this place is actually spacious.
The glass walls outside and wood arches inside cover a really big venue
overall, gives off a cozy and really cottage vibe in the middle of the city
which is nice.

Anyhow, as the name of the place suggests, you see that they can offer a
wide range of food for example. They have breakfast, lunch, dinner. Also,
they have some desserts and they also have drinks from tea, coffee, to
wine. And I believe that there are many other options, but I didn't have
the chance to look through all of that.

Anyhow, and this is also something that I like about this place is that
unlike traditional coffee shop where you have to either go up to the
counter and see on the printed menu that is stuck on the counter to order,
or there will be shop assistants or waitresses giving you a menu, right?
This place actually serves as a technology really smart kind of place where
they have QR code stick on the table and every customer can just scan
the QR code to order directly from the place. Like personally, I guess I'm a
really tech savvy person and I like the fact that they can integrate
technology into their work.

I don't really go to coffee shops or just cafe in general that often. I mean
you can make the drinks at home, but this place was just opening the
other day and I really wanted to try it out. And I guess it didn't let me
down. I went there with my friends and I would say we had decent drinks.
We ordered a chocolate cake which was just scrumptious. Like besides the
really smart and technology inventive thing that they have, the QR code,
the chocolate cake was a cherry on top.

I really want to try out their sprout pod cake. And also I've spotted a drink
that I also want to just have a sip and see how it tastes. I would definitely
try it and go to the place again.

Describe a market

Well, me and my family don't really like going out that much, but we have
visited some markets and there's one that I couldn't get off my mind. It
was actually a flower market that me and my family visited I guess 2 or 3
years ago.

The place was hosted on the outskirt of Hanoi since you know, the
residential area left no space for such a venue to be opened. Anyhow, this
flower market was an annual event. It was to be for celebrating the Lunar
New Year and also just a way for, I guess, flower sellers to gain more
profits.

Talking about the location, I think it was just far from my home but the
venue has one big drawback. It could have received so much more
attention if it had a gate. It didn't have any so people may not know that
there are such good and I guess joyful experiments inside. Well, the place
was actually broadcasted on national television. To be known as a big
event and I think most people really have to go deeper to understand why
it was such a good and I guess nice experience. Me too. Not until I went so
deep inside where I see stalls filled with flowers that I guess I feel like the
flowers were blooming with colors. that I understand why it received so
much media attention.

Well, the very best part of this was that there was no bees or there were
no bees or butterflies at all, like no insects. Me personally, I'm kind of an
insect-hater kind of person. I don't really go like do well with those insects.
So the condition was just ideal. I was surrounded by beautiful colors of
flowers with no bees and no butterflies. Well, we did buy something,
although clearly the vendors purchased more than they normally would.
We did buy a bouquet of mini lilies, I believe, baby lilies, that's how they
called. It was a plain white bouquet, which fitted my house aesthetics at
the time. But you know, fresh flowers, they die very quickly. And I was not
sad, but it makes me feel I would definitely try and I guess revisit the
market one day.

Coffee

Do old Vietnamese people like drink coffee? Why/why not?

I would say no. Coffee is generally a high caffeine drink, which might
cause loss of sleep for the elderly. Old people seem to find it harder to fall
asleep since they are more susceptible to insomnia. And especially
Vietnamese people, Vietnamese older people prefer conventionally
healthy drinks such as tea. Depending on the region, they might want to
drink bean tea or herbal tea. But anyhow, drinks like coffee are more
popular with the younger generations.

What kinds of people often visit cafes?

Absolutely. The drink is enjoyed by most local and foreigners. It has a

variety of different drinks, from the black coffee, which is the plain one, to
iced coffee, the famous one that has made itself a household name, which
is coffee mixed with condensed milk and some ice in it. Well, being so, I
guess, attractive to customers, coffee shops must treat mushrooms
everywhere in Vietnam. And that makes drinking coffee turn into a habit
of the locals also.

Is drinking coffee popular in Vietnam?

I guess people at every age visit cafe, but the most popular one might be
the working people, I guess from 20 to 30 years old. Their workload is
heavier than students’, and also they are more independent financially, so
it would be easier for them to just grab a drink when they want. For
example, you can see in many places of Vietnam, there are coffee shops
like next to offices. And yeah, that's how it works, I guess. People of that
age prefer having a convenient way to grab coffee.

Why do some people like working in a cafe?

I guess this might be because people find coffee more cozy and this has
good drinks. For example, you can see offices are usually filled with desks
and printers and people calling like really professional and maybe I guess
in a way confidential calls which might have a very severe or I guess
stressful atmosphere. Rather in coffee shop you would see it's more of a
chill vibe that might ease your stress. And also working in a cafe sounds
like a trend especially in Vietnam. It is actually a trend for people to work
in cafes instead of working at their home or for example offices.