Shopping in Hue  

With two large shopping malls on LBS Marg (Nirmal Lifestyles and R-Mall) and a large number of retail outlets, Mulund is a favourite with shoppers. New shops come up almost every month, each trying to capture the imagination of shoppers. A large number of shops near the Mulund Railway Station cater to the brand-conscious as well as those seeking bargain deals.

All along Le Loi Street, you'll find souvenir stalls that vary from the cute to the kitschy. You can find good deals on commemorative spoons and velvet Ho Chi Minh's here, but nothing too traditional or authentic. There are, however, a few good silversmiths and some little gems on sale in the glass cases of even the most kitschy tourist boutique.

A few tailors are in and among the souvenir shops. You might stop by Seductive (40 Le Loi St.; tel. 054/829-794), a small ready-to-wear-silk boutique. Riverside Le Loi, just across from the town's best hotels (Huong Giang and Century Riverside), is also a good place for affordable silk tailors. Try Viet Silk at 68 Le Loi (tel. 054/825-219), or just around the corner at 8 Pham Ngu Lau St. (tel. 054/846-090). Both stores are open daily from 7am to 10:30pm.

Hue silk paintings are Hue's main shopping item and a central part of Vietnamese culture as well. Silk painting has been done for centuries in Vietnam. Artists paint on a white silk canvas using colors that recreate the colors of nature.

The motives of the paintings refer to natural landscapes and scenes of everyday life in Vietnam. Topics include scenes from the harvest season, going to the market, the cyclo trip, rowing a boat, and historical buildings such as the pagodas. The landscapes synthethize the beauty of the country with scarce but powerful and precise strokes. The colors communicate a tranquility as they combine the blue and the yellow hues with the white background of the canvas.

You can buy the silk paintings framed by two bamboo rolls that will make it easy to hang.   

Calligraphic artwork is another item that the traveler can purchase. Calligraphic work can be found on silk but also on lacquer, stone and wood.

>> Shops
          
Bambou Company (21 Pham Ngu Lao St., next to La Carambole) produces unique T-shirts of local theme and design, all Western-size.

Newspace Art Gallery (28 Pham Ngu Lao St.; tel. 091/349-0120) is run by twin brothers who create contemporary lacquer paintings with fun and free-form primitive themes of block figures and graphic designs.

Long Van Art Gallery (1 Pham Ngu Lao St., tel. 054/822-064; or 15 Vo Thi Sau St., tel. 054/826-080) has good lacquer designs and antique (or faux antique) embroidered hangings at either of their locations

DONG BA MARKET

Dong Ba Market in Old Hue is near the place where the Dong Ba Canal joins the Perfume
River. This market is strongly recommend to anyone with an interest in Vietnamese food or culture. The maintenance of ancient characteristics makes an unforgettable impression to visitors.

Nón lá is the name of the conical shaped hat made by weaved palm leaves. The hat has been around almost as long as the country is old and used by men and women everywhere. The lighter the hat, the more elegant the look, and its beauty is enhanced by the material and colour of the chin trap. In Huế especially, the hat makers insert cut out poems into the weaves and call it nón bài thơ (the poetic hat). The poem can only be seen when the hat is held up against the sunlight, making it a secret joy that appeals to the wearer's romantic heart. Nón bài thơ is a good and inexpensive souvenir to bring home from Huế, but to make sure your hat is authentic and not the shoddy stuff that are made for tourists, make sure the poem is discreetly weaved into the hat and not the gauche colourful images that can be clearly seen from afar. Remember, discreet is the key word, and less is always more in the case of nón bài thơ.

Go shopping in Hue with recommendations, reviews, tips and photos posted by real travelers and locals.

Local Time 10:22 am Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Viet Silk

Detailed Product Description

Vietnam Handicrafts Import-Export Co., LTD, supplies with all kinds of high quality products as silk, velvet, canvas, satin, taffeta, embroidery, cotton, shell, horn, bead ladies handbags and purses. Traditional silk and paper lantern. Silk, wood, bead and steel candle holder. Porcelain tea set, coffee set, dinner ware, ceramic flower vase, table lamp, garden lamp. Wood craft, bamboo craft, wood and bamboo lacquer ware, photo album. Embroidery, silk and cotton children clothe etc.

Please come to visit our website or contact me with email for more information.
All our products are hand-made in Vietnam with new design, traditional process and very competitive price. Therefore, we look forward to receiving your reply with direct contact email for sending the catalo to you.

Ceramic Vase

Detailed Product Description

Hue Handicrafts Import-Export Co., LTD, supplies with all kinds of high quality products as silk, velvet, canvas, satin, taffeta, embroidery, cotton, shell, horn, bead ladies handbags and purses. Traditional silk and paper lantern. Silk, wood, bead and steel candle holder. Porcelain tea set, coffee set, dinner ware, ceramic flower vase, table lamp, garden lamp. Wood craft, bamboo craft, wood and bamboo lacquer ware, photo album. Embroidery, silk and cotton children clothe etc.

Please come to visit our website or contact me with email for more information.
All our products are hand-made in Vietnam with new design, traditional process and very competitive price. Therefore, we look forward to receiving your reply with direct contact email for sending the catalo to you.

Candle Holder

Detailed Product Description

Vietnam Handicrafts Import-Export Co., LTD, supplies with all kinds of high quality products as silk, velvet, canvas, taffeta, embroidery, cotton, bead ladies handbag and purses. Traditional silk and paper lantern, silk, wood, bead and steel candle holder. Porcelain tea set, coffee set, dinner ware, ceramic flower vase, table lamp, garden lamp, wood craft, bamboo craft, wood and bamboo lacquer ware, photo album, embroidery, silk and cotton children clothe etc.

Please come to visit our website Or contact me with email for more information.
All our products are hand-made in Vietnam with new design, traditional process and very competitive price. Therefore, we look forward to receiving your reply with direct contact email for sending the catalo to you.

Shell Handbag

Detailed Product Description

Vietnam Handicrafts Import-Export Co., LTD, supplies with all kinds of high quality products as silk, velvet, canvas, satin, taffeta, embroidery, cotton, shell, horn, bead ladies handbags and purses. Traditional silk and paper lantern. Silk, wood, bead and steel candle holder. Porcelain tea set, coffee set, dinner ware, ceramic flower vase, table lamp, garden lamp. Wood craft, bamboo craft, wood and bamboo lacquer ware, photo album. Embroidery, silk and cotton children clothe etc.

Please come to visit our website or contact me with email for more information.
All our products are hand-made in Vietnam with new design, traditional process and very competitive price. Therefore, we look forward to receiving your reply with direct contact email for sending the catalo to you.