Hanoi Hustle

We were beginning to get frustrated with the death by a thousand
cuts that is the Hanoi hustle. Tonight was better, though.

Most times, a shopkeeper or taxi driver isn't out to fleece you, just
make an extra little bit here or there. One vegetarian restaurant we
went to follows the Chinese model of offering you wet wipes before
your meal, but charging you if you use them. You can opt out by not
opening the packs, which is what I always did in China, but my guard
wasn't up here. Total cost was like 10 cents, but it was the
principle. The same restaurant also charged for our un-ordered peanut
appetIzer- 25 cents.

Sometimes the hustle is more of a highway robbery (alley robbery might
be more appropriate for Hanoi.) A cab we took from the Hanoi bus
station to the train station obviously had a rigged meter. The thing
was ticking like mad, much faster than in other rides. The driver was
running on empty, and stopped to get gas without pausing the meter. I
yelled at him a bit, and resolved to myself not to pay for the fare
from that wait, but it was pretty fast and ended up being about a
nickel. The trip ended up costing more than twice as much as a trip
of a similar length and time a couple of days before- 112,000 dong
this time, or almost $6. For perspective, one combination bus-bus-boat-
bus ticket to get from an island 200km out of Hanoi back into the city
was $9. I was pissed about the cabby, but it was raining and we were
trying to catch a train and I justified it by saying that the
difference between a fair price and what he was asking wasn't very
large in U.S. terms. I tried to pay with a 100,000 bill and a 20,000
bill, expecting 8,000 back, and he tried to give me a 2,000 bill back
in change, shorting me 6,000, claiming he didn't have any more change.
I grabbed my 20,000 bill back, gave him about 4,000 or so I had in
small bills, and explained that I wouldn't pay more unless he had
change. He continued to claim he didn't, so I walked away with him
yelling at me.

The amounts of money I'm talking about are tiny. It's the principle-
feeling constantly under siege and like somebody's mark. I hate losing
these exchanges because I dislike thinking that they're smiling to
themselves about that little extra they just made. It's even worse if
they think they got away with it without my noticing. I don't like
feeling like a chump.

The bus we took today from Danang to Hoi An is supposed to cost 10,000
dong. When we got on, they asked for 50,000. I pointed out that the
side of the bus listed the price at 10,000, but the old lady taking
money pointed at our backpacks and arms (skin?) and said "Not for
you." At least she was being honest. We ended up not taking her bus,
but still paid 30,000 on the next one. Victory is getting taken for
less than you might have otherwise, I suppose.

Addendum: Vietnam isn't all like this. For none of my previous visit
did I feel so much like a target. Today, in Hoi An, we ate at a
vegetarian restaurant where we were the only foreigners. The
proprietor's young daughter was assigned to serve us because she spoke
a bit of English (more than I speak Vietnamese...). She was sweet and
helpful, explaining things and tolerating my pidgin Vietnamese. We
paid local prices (they were so low they couldn't be anything else)
despite the lack of clear price labels and the obvious opportunity for
markup. The food was fantastic. We left smiling, and would have been
happy to have paid more- we'll go back for sure.

Addendum part 2: I have to be careful not to wave off everyone who
says hello to us on the street with a "no thank you". Sometimes they
just want to say hello. Smiling at people in Vietnam gets a smile back
far more often than it ever would in the U.S. I should even try to
smile more at the people on the street trying to sell us things.

Sent from my iPhone