The Beach Supermarket

The beach is a supermarket in Nha Trang, Vietnam's south-central coast beach resort town. Earlier this year, I spent two weeks in its aisles. As is the case in much of the country, particularly the major towns and cities, there's no need to actually physically go shopping. From my front gate in Hanoi's West Lake district or indeed from my banana lounge on Nha Trang's golden sands, I let the shopping come to me.

This morning in Hanoi, where the variety of travelling vendors pounding the pavement meets virtually all my retail needs, I could've bought hot corn on the cob, a studded dog collar, a wedge of pumpkin and a handful of chilies, a padded pink bra, a cornetto, a bunch of flowers and a hoola hoop, among other things. As I stood on my doorstep, I could also have had my shoes shined, my knives sharpened and my cockroaches exterminated.

In Nha Trang, the beach supermarket caters more for tourists and holiday-makers. One afternoon as I laid about like a sloth on the beach having just turned the last page of a fantastic book of food stories, I scribbled down a list of the products walking by. From this list I could eat huge rice crackers as big as dinner plates, fresh fruit peeled and cut, sugar coated cakes carried on aluminium trays on the vendor's head, boiled peanuts, chewing gum and candy, potato crisps and, for the main course, a seafood buffet served under the fine spray of the sea on yellow plastic plates.

Other vendors offer to adorn me. Bead and shell bracelets, fake gucci sunglasses and straw hats would ensure that I return home looking like I'd been on holidays. More cerebral stimulation can be purchased in the form of photocopied Vina-themed literature and mass-produced asian landscape paintings from a vendor whose catch-cry is "Hello...is it me you're looking for?" I can get fags, tissues and postcards that will never be written on. If I'm feeling lucky, another vendor will sell me a lottery ticket. The list goes on and the shopping keeps coming to me. If I bought everything on offer, I'd need a trolley.

And that would be a real bastard to push through the sand to the carpark.

Comments

[ted]

This is one of the most wonderful things in life. Eating grilled lobster with lemon salt pepper sauce on the beach!

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[Niall Harbison]

Ah that is the only way to be shopping! It brings me bac to buying lobsters when I was working on a boat in the caribbean. Fresh really is best and such a pleasure to shop like that rather than in boring old supermarkets like we always have to do these days!

[Sticky]

Thanks Ted - I did notice some traffic coming from your list.

Seafood and beer on the beach is a real treat!

[liz]

I love food, love cooking and eating and tasting new things. Supermarkets are my favourite places on earth and the beach supermarket description sounds divine and I want to go to there! :)

[Roo]

the lady selling seafood on NT beach is the one and very same that served me 3 years ago! Good to see that she is still around...she was a delight!

[Orlando Hotels]

I love food. I really love to try different type of food. Still I remembered the my last tour to Orlando, we have booked our hotel through LMT at good price. Hotel was really very good specially food. The people service is very fast plus food (Fantastic).