Things are getting worse with the touts in Da Nang

Before we begin, I should explain what a "tout" actually is. The official definition varies but this is the one I am referring to:

A tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner

So as far as Da Nang is concerned I am referring to the wandering street sellers who are peddling anything you can imagine. As of right now there are 4 major things that are on offer and virtually no one actually wants what they are selling, but that doesn't stop them.

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Now I want people to understand that I am not heartless and I understand that these people working these jobs are just trying to make some money. I am sympathetic to this. The problem is that at the moment, the amount of people that are doing this continues to rise and the sellers are becoming increasingly aggressive. It's getting to the point now that there are certain places that if you go and sit there, you are going to be approached by someone selling something every 2 minutes or so. It's really annoying, especially since most of them are selling the exact same items.

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The most aggressive or I suppose if I was to be more polite, the most persistent touts are the people selling sunglasses. They will come and stand next to where you are holding sunglasses increasingly close to your face normally saying "you!" and nothing else. If you tell them no thanks, or even if you say it in Vietnamese, they simply pick up another pair and hold them close to your face. Unfortunately one of the things that works is to be rude to them, then they go away. I don't like to be rude to people but at times you really don't have any other choice because they just linger, I guess hoping to annoy you into making a purchase.

The next type of thing that is for sale was something that was rare and actually useful and I think the sellers actually started making some money offering a good service. But then, just like almost anything else for sale in this part of the world, once word got around that this could be successful, other people flooded the market to the point where I would imagine nobody is actually making any money. These are the people selling protective screens for phones.

This has become so common that no matter where you go in the tourist part of town you will be approached by multiple people with their sign who all have the same opening phrases to their sales pitch. They must be working in tandem with one another to some degree because how else do you explain that their signs are all the same as is the thing they say to you. "glass phone" they say and ok, I get that some people might actually need this sort of thing but to be offered it a dozen times while you are having a meal on a terrace is really annoying to the point where most restaurants now people are preferring to sit inside and the touts are shouted at by the staff if they try to come inside. Once again it is a shame but being rude to them seems to be the only way to get them to leave you alone.

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While this isn't so common in Da Nang because it is banned on the beach, the hawkers/touts are becoming more bold and venturing onto the sand even though they face the risk of prosecution for doing so. They are selling anything you can imagine and for the most part they just stand there saying things to do you until some people will eventually buy something just to get them to go away. Other beach areas are far worse than Da Nang because they have no such rules, but it is getting worse here as it seems as though they are testing the limits as to how far they can go before getting whistled out of the area.

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Remember the old timey cigarette sales girls? Probably not because like me you probably weren't alive when that was a thing but guess what? They're back and now they do not care whether or not you actually smoke.

And now they are dealing in what is technically an illegal product in that most of them are selling vapes. Some of them are quite polite, but others are really persistent and it doesn't seem to matter to them that you do not smoke or vape. They once again use the tactic of "hang around long enough and someone will pay me to go away."

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Lastly we have the shoe shine, shoe repair person. This has been a staple in Hanoi and Saigon for a while now, but only recently did they start to appear in Da Nang. I was at a terrace yesterday meeting an old friend for a grand total of 3 beers, we were approached by 4 shoe repair people during that time. I was wearing flip flops so I'm not sure exactly what this guy is going to repair. These guys took no for an answer and immediately took off but I can guarantee you that once these few people start making a bit of money that more will follow.

It's not that I don't want people to make money and I also don't think that I am in some sort of higher order or class of society. People need to make a living and I understand that but it gets to be a bit overwhelming when you are sitting somewhere just trying to have a coffee or a beer and you are approached by a seemingly endless line of people interrupting your peace.

If you are traveling in this area I have found the that the following steps are the best way of handling this:

• Shake your head no and put your hand up in the "halt" position
• Do not say any words to them, doing so will be seen as if you are interested in what they are selling since they almost certainly do not speak your language
• Just pay very little attention to them at all... basically do not engage.

This might seem a bit rude but honestly folks, there really isn't anything else you can do other than shout at them and this is a great way to end up in a completely unnecessary fight.