Vietnam is a beautiful and interesting country where the standard of living is not as high as in Thailand, for example. And seeing how much money tourists spend in popular resorts, some people want to get their hands on that money. On tourist forums persistently rumored that Vietnam is called the country of “divorce”. There is some truth in this, but if you keep your ears to the ground and do not be a patsy, you can get rid of these unfortunate incidents.
Scams on Vietnamese streets
Bicycle rickshaw debauchees in Nha Trang
Where it occurs: Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Hue, Hanoi and other tourist spots.
Most common scam. One of the classic ways to scam tourists in Vietnam. To begin with, do not mess with cycle rickshaws. Never. Such a tourist trip looks simply barbaric, the desire to feel like a white exploiter does not make anyone better, but we are not about aesthetics and ethics now, but about fraud.
If you do contact a bike rickshaw, expect the price of the ride to increase five to ten times, even if you have agreed on the price a hundred times. At the end of the ride you will be “explained” that this price was in dollars, or that you missed a zero (three zeros) in the calculations and misunderstood. On attempts to solve the issue peacefully will certainly run away other cycle rickshaws, and the real hell will begin. Tested by many tourists. Rickshaws will start shouting, pushing you, pulling your things. The brawl looks terrible – ten twenty dirty dressed Vietnamese and tourists who are stunned. It is impossible to leave without losses, it is better to just give the money and forget as a terrible dream.
Often (in 5 cases out of 10) if tourists do not want to give the money in a good way, rickshaws provoke a fight. And the police will take their side, as there is no proof of your rightness for them.
What to do: never ride a rickshaw. You will pay 50 or 500 dollars instead of 50,000 VND anyway, and the police won’t help.
A spectacular photo on the street in Saigon
Where to meet: Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Danag, Hue, tourist spots
A colorful Vietnamese woman walks past you with a traditional pail full of fruit, smiles immensely, speaks Vietnamese and English, calls you a friend and offers to take a photo with the pail and fruit as a friend, wearing her straw hat. And when the photo-session is over, he starts selling fruit at exorbitant prices and swearing if you refuse.
What to do: pass by, do not engage in communication.
Can I shine your shoes?
Where it occurs: Hanoi, Saigon and other centers
Another popular scam. In tourist areas, you may be caught by unexpected “well-wishers” with a brush and wax. You stand with a camera and shoot the beauty of architecture or the bustle of the city, as suddenly pops up a Vietnamese with a brush, points at your dirty dusty shoes, and immediately begins to clean them. This “courtesy” usually costs 10-20 dollars. And on attempts not to pay causes shouting, noise and help of eyewitnesses.
How to be: refuse and continue moving even if he has already started, no reaction – the best way to get rid of the well-wisher.
