The Price of Enlightenment

100,000 dong (about $6.75) according to the "tour guide" at Giac Lam, the pagoda we went to yesterday. after showing us around the temple and revealing to us some of the beautiful Buddhist art and the peaceful principles contained within, he looked Carrie dead in the face and demanded more money. she felt that 50,000 dong would be enough, but i guess that only covers half, and who would want to be only half enlightened when full enlightenment is staring at you with open palm. i felt that zero dong would be sufficient compensation for his services, but that the situation was certainly worth its weight in irony. maybe if he had let us walk around in our shoes instead of having to take them off every god damn time we entered and left a holy room (i don't have sandals...). that woulda been cool. i'd have paid him for that.

so instead i paid for a round of drinks at the bar across the street from the pagoda and we called it even.