Lam Dong Street vendors in Lam Vien Square, one of the tourist destinations in Da Lat, have been bustling for many years despite being banned.
From 7pm on June 29, despite the heavy rain, some street vendors around Lam Vien Square began to arrange chairs, set up their stalls, and stretch out tarpaulins to welcome customers. The street vendors were mainly concentrated in front of the entrance to the underground supermarket and near the artichoke symbol. Some vendors even sat in front of the supermarket to take shelter from the rain because there was no tarpaulin.
Due to the bad weather, the number of visitors to the square in the evening was sparse. Vendors continuously walked around the square offering customers "hot milk, grilled rice paper".
After 8pm, the rain stopped, more visitors came to the square, and more street vendors appeared.
A street vendor sets up his stall for sale after the rain stopped. Photo: Bich Phuong
Each stall has 2-4 people selling together, usually a family. One serves milk, another bakes rice paper, the rest help stretch the canvas, arrange chairs, welcome customers and "watch" for the management team to clear out spontaneous stalls in the square.
A high school girl selling goods shared that every night she, her older sister and younger brother help their father carry goods to the square to sell until 11pm, even on rainy days.
"Around 8-10pm, the management team will go check, everyone will arrange chairs and run downstairs. When the management team leaves, they will bring the goods back to the square to continue selling. On rainy days, it will be harder to move goods because of the heavy umbrellas," she said.
On dry days, the number of customers increases. On average, the stall has about 20-30 customers each night. Each customer usually spends about 40,000-60,000 VND.
"It's been raining a lot in Da Lat these days, there are few customers, sometimes I can only sell a few hundred thousand in the whole night," said a street vendor.
Most of the street vendors around the square sell famous Da Lat snacks such as rice paper, hot soy milk, skewers, and grilled sweet potatoes. Each snack costs between 10,000 and 20,000 VND.
Tourist Xuan Lan, from Ho Chi Minh City, shared that street vendors create a messy and unsightly scene in the city center. However, these vendors also help "save hunger" after walking around the lake and square.
Lan said that within a radius of a few hundred meters around the square, there are almost no cafes or snack shops to stop at. There is a cafe inside the artichoke house, but it is usually crowded. There are also a few shops in the underground supermarket, but they only serve main meals.
"Every now and then there are a few events in the square. Otherwise there are no entertainment activities," said Ms. Lan.
Street vendors in front of the artichoke symbol. Photo: Bich Phuong
A leader managing Lam Vien Square said that this situation has been going on for 5-6 years now and is "very difficult to solve" even though regulations do not allow it. In September 2022, Lam Dong province issued a document directing Da Lat city to continue to preserve the landscape and environment of Lam Vien Square, banning street vendors and spontaneous trading. The ward People's Committee and interdisciplinary teams have carried out inspections from 6pm to 10pm every day. However, many people still put their goods out for sale when the inspectors were not present.
"We tried our best but couldn't do it. We can't stay at the square all day," said the leader of Lam Vien Square management area.
Bich Phuong - Tu Nguyen
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