An interesting retailing strategy. Note: These are ALIVE (for now).
Yes, people actually use these things for carrying things. Anything. You'd be surprised.
Hoi An is a quiet little fishing village. The closest thing Viet Nam has to a tourist trap.
As my digestive system would attest, there's a fair amount of rice (com) in Viet Nam. And, while working in the fields, people typically wear - you guessed it - conical hats.
Despite the efforts of the French, U.S., ARVN, Viet Cong, and North Vietnamese, there are actually still some signs of ancient civilization in the country. I think these are about 2000 years old and yes, the best part was destroyed.
Stu with some Vietnamese Navy guys in the mountains near Da Nang. Thinking I was Buddha, they actually wanted their picture taken with me!