2017 Note from Lillie: I wrote this article in 2009, and have since realized that it’s rude. As a kind commenter pointed out, haggling is part of the culture in Vietnam, and should not be seen as attempts at “ripping off” tourists.
With that in mind, feel free to read on to see my thoughts from my time in Vietnam eight years ago, understanding that they are the result of a misunderstanding that has since been cleared up. Thanks!
“I can’t believe it!” gasped David. “That little old street corner soup woman just scammed me!” The little old lady cackled and pocketed the 80,000 Dong she had charged for our two bowls of normally 20,000 Dong ($1) noodles and beef. “Now I’ve learned my lesson to ask the price before I eat the food!” David exclaimed. “You can blame my tourist face,” I said sympathetically, having gotten all too used to the sneaky price changes over my month so far in Vietnam.
Traveling for the past week alongside David, who now lives in Canada, but was born in Vietnam and speaks fluent Vietnamese, we have noticed some shocking patterns with Vietnam’s price scams. Take a peek!
1. Price changes after service.
My first night in Saigon, the taxi driver told me the fare would be one dollar, then demanded twenty dollars from me upon reaching my hotel, vehemently denying that he’d ever quoted a lower price. Two days ago in Hue, our rickshaw driver said he’d take us around for 50,000 Dong ($2.50), but when David tried to be nice and tip him for a total of $60,000 Dong, the driver grew angry and began demanding 200,000 ($10)! Unbelievable!
And yet– every tourist to Vietnam has at least three stories like this. The only things you can do to combat the rapid price change scam are: a) be EXTREMELY clear up front about what the price is, and b) if and when a higher price is demanded, firmly state the lower price, and give up no more than a few dollars extra if you must. Then walk away.
In the end, the Vietnamese police want to keep tourists happy, and thus will side with you if you summon them. We’ve also heard of scammers fleeing in terror the moment the tourist pulls out their camera to record a license plate number or face for public justice. But perhaps the most important way to combat this scam is to expect it. The feeling of utter shock and betrayal when the scam is (inevitably!) splashed upon your unsuspecting self is heartbreaking, otherwise!
2. Nickel and diming the price up with extras.
Oooh, how lovely: a $6 all-day boat ride in Nha Trang to four different islands! But wait… though lunches are included, any beverages (including water) are extra. Though the boat ride between the four islands is included, “entrance” onto each island will cost at least one to three dollars extra. About ten other hidden (and tempting) costs lurk under the surface.
Similarly, a hotel room will often cost $6 a night, but if you turn on the air conditioning the price jumps to $8 or $10. Renting a DVD is only a dollar, but adding the DVD machine to your free hotel TV is three more bucks. Sneaky, sneaky!
To combat this scam, read the fine print carefully, and ask all the questions that would be included in the fine print, should there be no written brochure. Plan ahead if you can (ex: bringing your own cheap water onto the tour boat), or just accept that you will need to budget for the extras you want (ex: walking onto the beach instead of bobbing like a fool alone in the boat for two hours).
3. Blatantly different prices for Vietnamese folks than for tourists.
David stormed out of the Emperor’s Palace in Hue looking like he would kick it down if he could. “Do you realize they are charging you tourists almost double the entrance price they charge Vietnamese?” he asked me. For me, I was so beaten down by the constant price gouging after weeks and weeks of it, that I just shrugged and said, “So it goes.”
Moral, kind David, however, refused to enter the palace on the principle that paying the entrance would support the continued maltreatment of my kind. “Maybe I feel American guilt,” I protested, “but my country owes Vietnam a whole lot more than a few gouged Dong after what it did in the war.”
“You can’t think like that,” insisted David. “It’s hurting Vietnam in the long run to be constantly taking advantage of tourists, because you told me yourself that every backpacker you meet is exhausted from fighting the constant scamming.” I nodded. He did have a point. David continued, “If this government-administrated attraction is officially charging tourists extra without any clear explanation of why, then it’s telling everyone else in the country– including that little old soup lady who overcharged us today– that it’s all right to be sneaky and money grubbing!”
As a true Libra, I can see both sides of this issue. The average Vietnamese income is around $1000 a YEAR, and in my Socialist heart, if a person makes less, they should pay less. That said, it was a little awkward when on the boat today to Cat ba Island, David was charged 50,000 Dong ($2.50) for being Vietnamese-Canadian, while I was charged 80,000 Dong ($4) for “insurance purposes”. (See upper left hand sign which states the price difference for the boat in Vietnamese.) Huh? Insurance? Can’t they at least say something about national pride?
Many say that what makes a “First World” country is having trustworthy, uncorrupt structures. In the U.S. or Canada or Japan, you gladly pay $7 for a bowl of soup because you trust that a price is a price, and you cannot challenge that structure. In a Developing Country, however, constantly shifting prices give a feeling of instability and mistrust. “Shouldn’t that $2 soup actually be $1?” you whisper.
Thank goodness for the Snail Man for redeeming our scam-filled day!
David and I stomped away from the Emperor’s Palace in Hue for blocks, passing through stray-dog-filled parks and motorcycles hollering to give us a ride. Suddenly, we stumbled across a gap-toothed old man selling steamed snails.
“OH!” David gasped with delight, “These are the BEST!” David and the old man burst into animated discussion of the ideal condiment for the snails as the man clattered a heaping scoop of the critters onto a plate for us. The men squeezed a little extra lime into the orange sauce, and then we devoured the escargots, scraping off the intestines with toothpicks and eating the dark horned heads. “Eat more,” said David to me, “You make the man happy when you do.” The snails tasted good but it was a challenge to forget that they were… snails. I tried valiantly, though!
The time came to pay the 10,000 Dong (75 cents) that the old man had quoted David. Suddenly, the snail man’s furious daughter came huffing out of the shed. “I can’t believe you charged them just 10,000 Dong!” she screamed at her father in Vietnamese as David translated. “It’s supposed to be 15,000 for him,” jabbing a finger at David, “and 20,000 for her!” she pointed at me. At this point the old man’s face wrinkled to its absolute leathery maximum as he unleashed a sun-bright grin. “Oh honey, let it go,” he said. “That boy is one of us.”
David handed the man a giant tip and said as we strode off. “It’s to people like him that I want to give my money,” sighed David. “That’s why Vietnam needs to get its tourist treatment right.”
Kevin says
For people that plan to Travel to Vietnam or any part of Asia. Please understand that haggling is part of the culture and the quoted price already factored that in.
If you paid the asking price without the haggling don’t accuse them of trying to rip you off because you don’t understand the culture.
Lillie says
Thank you for this comment, Kevin. I wrote this article 8 years ago, and see how right you are. I will add a 2017 introduction now. Thanks again!
David Mark Aldridge says
Everywhere you go you are scammed. Scammers exploit the lack of knowledge of the customer. I’ve known London street sellers charging tourists £5 for a well known can of drink which was available at a local store for 25p if you knew where to look.
Living in SE Asia, the price I pay for many street items is more than a local pays – one often sees a guilty glance as the seller considers what they can ask – and only if my hard bargaining wife is with me will she negotiate the local rate. Was quite an interesting spectacle in China as she went to war with the local sellers. Whilst my opening offer would still bring a huge profit, she enters bargaining at almost manufacturing cost and if the seller gets a sale its been bloody hard work for them.
Heading to Vietnam soon. We’ll just walk away if they try a fast one.
Lillie says
Thanks for your input, and have a great trip!
Jimmy B says
People in Vietnam sure will try to scam people! *starts laughing*
Talon says
Reading this kind of stuff is what makes me very leery of our planned trip to Vietnam next month. It’s always frustrating, but when you’re on the road indefinitely like us it gets even more infuriating.
On the one hand I understand charging foreigners more than the locals, but it really does cast a pallor on an area. These frequent stories about Vietnam almost kept us from going there completely.
Lillie says
DO still go to Vietnam. It has such important, fascinating, beautiful, and historically powerful elements that it’s one of the most important countries to visit today. With regards to the hassles, you will be able to handle it, and even more so if you’re able to make a trustworthy local friend or three, perhaps through volunteering for a time. Best of luck and keep us posted!
steve loitz says
Been many places in the world and this practice is both common and frustrating. Often in tourist areas the dual prices is to encourage locals to participate in their own attractive and interesting activities. Indian rickshaw drivers where the worst for me, but I stood up for what I knew was the correct price and usually prevailed. Not without the frustration however. The camera idea is very good and looking around for a cop worked for me. However, if there is an agreed upon price and it suddenly changes, pay the agreed price and be on your way. A few failures in the face of their attempted injustices can go along way in their future actions. One more note, try and find out the appropriate tipping percentage for particular services, and stick to it, over tipping can create monsters and ruin it for all that follow
Lillie says
Great advice!
Kelly D, says
That’s so rude! My family went to Vietnam last summer, and they said that they saw many tourists get scammed in the streets. It’s always safer to have someone that knows the place well, so that they will tell you if the prices are right or not.
Traveling Ted says
I think the key to enjoying Vietnam is getting off the beaten path. They kind of push tourists down the Ho Chi Minh, Nha Trang, Hoi Anh, Hue, Hanoi, Halong Bay path. I heard Sapa in the north is amazing and the people much friendlier. I am sure the same could be said if you made an effort to go to any city other than the ones I listed. I never did, but I will someday.
Lillie says
Well said! I had no idea, before I arrived in Vietnam, what a forceful push there is to visit a specific tourist trail laid out by the government. There are many great things to be seen on that trail, and the infrastructure certainly makes it super easy to follow it, but your advice is correct!
Triston Xie says
That old man at the end is so nice. There should be more people like him in the world. I think that people should learn from his guy. He is a very good influence to other people. I think that the old man deserved the giant tip. He has taught me a very important lesson. He taught me to be honest and not to be greedy.
Marvin says
I love the last part of the story Lillie! It reminds me of this past summer when Jo and I were on the island of Tioman in Malaysia. A gardener for the guesthouse we were staying at had chopped down 5 coconuts from a tree and was about to have his second helping of coconut water. We asked, “Wow, that looks good! Is it sweet?” Sometimes coconut water isn’t that sweet, hence the query.
He smiled and nodded in agreement. We then asked if we could have a taste. He paused for a moment, and he quickly realized he could make a buck here. So he said “5 Ringgit!”. Clearly these were his personal enjoyment coconuts(not his livelihood), so we shook our heads and started to walk away.
He then reconsidered, hollered at us, and simply gave us the coconut. And you know what? That was the sweetest coconut water we had tasted in all our travels so far. Guess what happened next? Big smiles on our faces, and on his too…as I graciously reached into my pocket and handed him DOUBLE what he had asked for.
Both he and we learned something that day. Generosity begets generosity. Integrity begets integrity. The courage to do something for nothing pays back double for your trouble.
Lillie says
Love this story! Thanks for sharing it!
Xiu Na says
I think this article is really interesting but also that it is unfair to charge tourists more money just because they are not from Vietnam.
Imported Blogger Comments says
Ian said…
This is highly common and the Two Months I spent living in Hoi An I was constantly ripped off mostly by stall holders at the markets. There are honest people too though I am glad to say but the Gov needs to really come down hard on this two-tier pricing and constant rip-off’s. Obviously after a while of hanging out with the locals I become more savvy but I was there for Tow months. The average Tourist stopping over or there for a week or so will not know a lot of the REAL prices.
It does them no favours as word soon gets around on the Internet as to who is doing it and other tourists should not use them people.
One Hairdresser in Hoi An called Tuan Boi who claims to have a certificate from Toni and Guy, I was ripped off by being charged 300,000 Dong for a 50,000 don’t haircut and wash.
October 22, 2009 1:34 PM
Louisa said…
ew snails.
October 24, 2009 1:50 AM
Amy said…
found your blog through Our Man in Hanoi….not sure if i want to keep visiting yours. As a Asian person, I can tell you that our culture(not just Vietnamese) is very…humble/modest. Humility and SELF AWARENESS will get you a lot more than being snooty and a “loud obnoxious American….” and they wonder why people in foreign countries dislike Americans….
November 4, 2009 8:27 PM
Luddy Sr. said…
Wow what a great post. Great point about the people getting their cues from the government pricing system. From what I’m hearing Ghana will have a similar foreigner/local pricing system.
And thanks for keeping Amy’s comments on here, I got a kick out of that too!
December 17, 2009 9:05 AM
jessiev says
great stories. it would drive me crazy to deal with that all the time. they don’t understand that news travels fast, and people don’t like to deal with those sort of issues. UGH!