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Well I'm in Hoi An and I was asking around. Always have to be careful of being ripped off. Don't be afraid to make a scene, but only when you're absolutely sure they have malicious intent, lol. No I'm kidding, try to avoid a scene as you would in any place in the world, but don't be afraid to put your foot down and don't let anyone get away with ripping you off, regardless of skin color or where you are in the world. And when appropriate, low-ball and bargain if it's an expensive item. Some people say, "Oh, don't lowball, you'll insult them." And they're not insulting you thinking you're an idiot tourist by overcharging you many times over? Just walk away. It's not a big deal to people and the ones that do freak out have behavioral/anger issues. You want to be nice and cordial and all of that and just say a polite "Thank you!" and walk away and don't look back. I think there's a little semi social fear of going into someone's store and leaving without buying something, and they get anxious, lol. We have no such qualms in the West. And we shouldn't have qualms about that here either. If they don't have what we're looking for or they're trying to rip you off, say thanks and walk out, no big deal.

I don't know how people sleep at night knowing that they are liars and thieves. I'm sure they rationalize it in their minds saying, "Oh these westerns have so much more money," but stealing is stealing, and you teach your children that and it's just pitiful. But there are plenty of honest people. And you know what, I don't buy this stereotype that Vietnamese people are scammers and thieves more than any other country, because tourist spots and countries around the world are just as thieving I would say, and I think it's just universal human greed. I marvel at the Japanese however, their lack of crime and their honesty; stories of people returning large sums of money and even an umbrella. They wouldn't even steal an umbrella. Anyway,

Bargaining should be done with a smile and it's just a game, it's fun. In many cultures it is positively required, and if you pay without bargaining, it's just socially horrible. Bargaining with angry face is bad. Happy face good!

We should make a list here of common goods and services and the relative price you should actually pay and sticky that.

Now I got prices as high as 180,000 for a kilo of oysters. Also heard 150,000, 120,000, and finally I went to a local seafood joint, and got away from the beach-side more touristy restaurants.

80,000 a kilo. I heard from one place though that sometimes the price can be as low as 60,000, but they didn't have any so they didn't know the current market price. But the downside was that for 80,000, I had to bring them home and shuck them myself. Now the pros can shuck an oyster in 3 seconds flat. It took me an hour to shuck and eat 6 oysters, and I drew blood, lol. Next time I'll pay a premium if it means they'll shuck em for me, but most of them suck at shucking. They lose all the delicious oyster liquor, they don't cut off the attached muscle, and I think half of the oyster that sticks to the half shell they just throw away or something, I don't even know, it's sad. You know there are shucking competitions. These folks would be dead last.

But anyway, we really ought to have a goods and services list and the correct price that you should pay. Anyone with me?

Found a place selling for 70,000 a kilo. The beach-side restaurants are usually pricer, if not complete rip-offs. You want to go to the local drinking restaurants that usually have a large sign with a beer brand, here being Biere Larue as the most popular.

Stopped by a roadside where a couple of women were selling seafood. They said they wouldn't have oysters until April. But guess for how much?

35,000 a kilo.

I think maybe a mark-up to 70,000 a kilo is fair if they are buying the oysters for 35,000, because they lose a lot of oysters from them not selling or dying. I don't know. I saw one restaurant catering to tourists with a price of 250,000 a kilo for oysters, lol. But just like any other touristy place in the world, there will be people trying to rip off tourists. Can't wait until April

Do u want go some where to try ?
I am willing to help

Those of you who found the places to buy the Oysters from could you tell what these places are called, so I can go and buy some. Thanks.

Oh man, I don't remember the name. Go down Cua Dai beach all the way down to the beach and take a left. There'll be all of the expensive beach-side restaurants to your right, dozens of them, and past that there'll be a few local seafood joints on the left side of the street. The last one just before a Y-intersection sells oysters to bring home for 70,000 a kilo (about 6 oysters). Tell them a guy with a white helmet recommended them to you, maybe they'll throw me a few free oysters, lol. To eat at the restaurant however will cost more than 70,000, because of labor, and it can be a bitch to open oysters. I've cut myself plenty of times during my learning curve, and once really deep, and the bacteria got into the cut and 24 hours later it hit me and I'd never been so sick in my life. I couldn't hold anything down and spent the entire night tossing and writhing in agony and my legs ached so badly with pain - it was excruciating. EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. Use protection. Best advice I can give is this: If it's taking too much force, you're doing it wrong. That goes for mechanics and other things as well. That's when shit breaks and blood gushes. Watch YouTube videos, go slow, and they'll open like butter. The pros can shuck an oyster in three seconds flat. Really need the right equipment/knife as well. So damn dangerous, use gloves/towels/etc. as much as you can and just study and watch on YouTube how the pros do it.

There are two types of oysters I've seen here. The big kind and the small kind. Different flavors. I prefer the larger kind.

Now I heard that a few km further down the street, at the red light intersection of An Bang beach, there are a few ladies who sell seafood by the side of the road and come April, they might have oysters for 35,000 a kilo. I could be wrong. All I know is that they grow tonnes and tonnes of oysters in Da Nang, just sickening amounts, and there's no reason why oysters shouldn't be cheap. Either case, I don't know whether the restaurant or the road-side venders will sell to foreigners for that price, let us know your luck.

I asked around in Saigon during Tet, and they wanted 20,000 for a single oyster. Everything is more expensive during Tet though, and they do open the oysters and serve them for you. A few times I've had oysters here served to me it seemed wrong. Like part of the oyster was missing or something, they were just so small compared to when I open them at home, like a switch or scam or incompetence or something. And to add to that they don't preserve and serve the oyster liquor. If they do that to you, send it back and insist they preserve the liquor. I would personally ask to watch them open the oysters or have them open them table side, or ask them to reduce the price and I'll open them myself at the table. They scam and overcharge like crazy anyhow, today alone I heard prices from 130,000 a kilo to 200,000 a kilo. Tell them to go kick rocks.

As an aside, Phnom Penh is an oyster paradise, but most of the oysters there are a specific variety, a smaller creamy kind and they don't save the oyster liquor (natural salty water/juice). Buy 10, get 10 free. A few places I went to were 20 small creamy oysters for 14,000 Riels/ $3.50 USD/70,000 VND. Real soft, don't even need a knife, a spoon will take them clean off. I would scoop out three at a time, put some salt and lemon juice, and have at it. It makes me cry just thinking about it. But I love the oysters here as well, I can't say which I like better. Same same but different. Lol no, I don't know what that means or why people say that. Maybe that's what they said during apartheid and segregation. "Ehh, it's same same, but different." Separate yet equal, that's right! Lol, it's like calling pro-lifers anti-choicers. What a bunch of douchebags. Hey, there are douchebag pro-lifers and douche-bag pro-choicers. Everybody's has an equal opportunity to be a douchebag in my book.

So today I decided to visit the ladies who sell seafood by the roadside at the intersection on Hai Ba Trung just before An Bang beach in Hoi An. And guess what they had?

Oysters.

And guess for how much?

35,000 a kilo.

I had a field day. About 2 dozen oysters, and they were lovely. I like them best served chilled with some salt, pepper, and lime. It was magnificent. No more buying them at twice the price at restaurants - never again.

But again I've got to truly truly TRULY emphasize the danger of shucking oysters if you don't know what you're doing. USE PROTECTION. WATCH VIDEO AFTER VIDEO. GO SLOWLY. I use a dull ceramic knife. Google oyster knives to get an idea. There are mainly 2 ways of doing it. I do it by going in the backside, the hinge bit, and slowly go in, back and forth, until I'm in at least half an inch or more. Then I'll twist the knife and it'll pop right up. If you twist the knife before you're half an inch in, you'll just be breaking some shell. Then I cut off the top membrane portion, and the lid comes right off.

343 Cua Dai, Hoi An.

Oysters. 30,000 a kilo. Awesome.

Though I gotta say I prefer the oysters from the ladies near An Bang beach. But most times they don't have them and I gotta call ahead first. I think they're different species or from a different farm or maybe they're fresher.

That's an important note. Most times the ladies at An Bang don't have oysters. You kind of got to order and wait a few hours.