Why I'll Never Return To Vietnam

[amidamaru]

Traveling through Southeast Asia, you are frequently asked where you are going. "Everywhere," I tell people. This is my last adventure through the region. Except, I'll be skipping Vietnam. After my experience there in 2007, I'll never go back to that country. Never, ever, ever. A business trip or a girlfriend may force me there in the future but for as long as I can see down the road, I'll never touch down again in that country.

No one ever wants to return to a place where they felt treated poorly. When I was in Vietnam, I was constantly hassled, overcharged, ripped off and mistreated. I never felt welcome.

I met street sellers who constantly tried to overcharge me. There was the bread lady who refused to give me back the proper change, the food seller who charged me triple even though I saw how much the customer in front of me paid, or the cabbie who rigged his meter on the way to the bus station. While buying t-shirts in Hoi An, three women tried to keep me in their store until I bought something, even if that meant pulling my shirt.

On a trip to Halong Bay, the tour operator didn't have water on the boat and the operator overbooked the trip, so people who paid for single rooms suddenly found themselves with roommates...sometimes in the same bed!

One of the worst experiences came while in the Mekong Delta. I was catching a bus back to Ho Chi Minh City. I was thirsty, so I bought a common drink in Vietnam - water, lemon, and some powdery, sugary substance in a plastic bag. You can find it everywhere, especially in transit stations. I went to the one next to the bus and pointed at what I wanted. She looked at me and nodded. The woman then started making this drink, turned to her friends, said something, laughed, then started laughing at me while clearly not putting in all the ingredients into this drink. I knew I was being blatantly ripped off.

"She's telling her friends she's going to overcharge and rip you off because you're white," said a Vietnamese American who was also on my bus. "She doesn't think you will notice." "

How much should this really cost?" I asked him. He told me. It was some tiny number -- a few cents. I gave the vendor the correct change, told her she was a bad person and walked away onto my bus. It wasn't the money that I was upset about but the disrespect and contempt she had for me.

I wondered if it was just me. Perhaps I simply had a bad experience and Vietnam was really great. The countryside is stunning and I can only imagine what it looked like before America napalmed most of it. Maybe I just had bad luck. Maybe I caught people on an off day. However, after talking to a number of other travelers, I realized that we all had the same story. They all had tales of being ripped off, cheated, or lied to. We all had to struggle for everything. We never felt welcome in the country.

Additionally, I witnessed other people having problems in Vietnam. I saw friends of mine getting ripped off. Once my friend bought bananas and the seller walked away before giving change back. At a supermarket, a friend was given chocolate instead of their change. Two of my friends lived in Vietnam for 6 months, and even they said the Vietnamese were rude to them despite becoming "locals." Their neighbors never warmed up to them. Wherever I went, it seemed my experience was the norm and not the exception.

While in Nha Trang, I met an English teacher who had been in Vietnam for many years. He said that the Vietnamese are taught that all their problems are caused by the West, especially the French and Americans, and that the West "owes" Vietnam. They expect Westerners to spend money in Vietnam, so when they see western backpackers trying to penny pitch, they get upset and treat them poorly. Those who are spending money, however, seem to be treated quite well. I don't know if this is true or not but based on what I had seen and the experiences I had heard, it did make some sense.

Two friends were out eating once and a woman came riding up on a very nice looking bike. My friend Sean describes it as one of those Huffy mountain bikes you were always jealous your neighbor had as a kid. The woman locked up her bike and then proceeded to go around the restaurant asking for money. When she came to my friends, they asked the Vietnamese woman if she could afford such a nice bike, why couldn't she afford food? That's my sisters bike, the woman said. Sean looked at her and said "Then she can pay for your food."

I'm not here to make judgments about Vietnam or the Vietnamese. I only have my experience to fall back on. However, the stories and anecdotes I've heard from other people only reinforce that experience and the feelings I have.

Travel doesn't always need to be perfect. I like it when it is difficult. I like the struggle and having to find my way through the world. I think it builds character. And I don't mind paying more money. A dollar for them goes a lot further than a dollar for me. I get that we will haggle in the market, have a laugh, and I'll still overpay. But what I don't like is being treated like I'm not a person. I don't like being disrespected or cheated. I don't want to look at everyone and wonder if they are trying to cheat me. Every interaction doesn't need to be a struggle.

After three weeks in Vietnam, I couldn't get out fast enough and I'll be happy to never go back.

Author's Note: While I had a bad experience in Vietnam, many people have had good experiences. You need to find out for yourself. Learn about the good, the bad, and the ugly to become an informed traveler, and then go experience it for yourself. I'm not advocating anyone skip Vietnam. I'm just saying I have no desire to return.

Matt Kepnes: Why I'll Never Return To Vietnam

welcome to asia... that happens EVERYWHERE including china!!!... because westerners have more money then asians, there is always one price for westerners and one price for asians

thats asia..

 

[Zabaniyah]

I remember back in Thailand when Thais used to (and still do) see Westerners as walking banks

Ever seen those teacher job descriptions showing "native speakers wanted"? Yeah, and that

Sad reality really.

But generally speaking, it is safe to randomly walk around.

 

[livingdead]

It it true anywhere in the world, whereever the trade is not organized, one price for native and another for outsiders.
most things told about vietnam can be applied to India too.

 

[amidamaru]

I remember back in Thailand when Thais used to (and still do) see Westerners as walking banks

Ever seen those teacher job descriptions showing "native speakers wanted"? Yeah, and that

Sad reality really.

But generally speaking, it is safe to randomly walk around.

thailand are all for making most their population speak english, it is good sense, hence why the native english speakers jobs are everywhere.

you do need a degree though for most schools, some are shonky and will let you get away with a TEFL certificate lol but in saying that, in your statement i assume you mean the jobs "native speakers wanted" is just there to get the farang there to spend money etc... well they also make about 3 times as much a month as any thai do for the same job which goes a very long way in thailand

but a lot of thai do see farang (westerners) as a bank, they see white guy and think money lol

there are many thai who are very good, who charge normal price, but there are a lot who charge you a lot more because you are a farang lol.... it happens, thats why in thailand, you have to bargain with them, never accept the first price... most cases they will say 500 baht and u say haha no way, then u walk away and they say ok hows 450.. and u say no, 200, etc etc till you get it about half of what they say, which is generally about right.. otherwise you just dont make a deal and u go down a few stores and you will find the same thing cheaper lol

 

[Skyline]

Price difference can found in many Asian countries. In Sri Lanka at tourist locations they charge less from locals and 10x or more from foreigners. I have seen some complaining about this price difference at the entrance of those tourist sites.
Other than this price difference of tickets at tourist sites all other things are same price to both locals and foreigners in Sri Lanka.
Public transport Bus/Train - same prices for both local and foreigners
Food Prices - Same prices for both locals and foreigners
Health services at Government hospitals - Free of charge for both locals and foreigners

If anyone charge higher price from you complain to a police officer or nearest police station. They'll help you.

 

[Sashan]

This is his personal opinion. I have my opinion about Viertnam as well. I backpacked in Vietnam in 2009 Feb for 2 weeks. Took buses and trains and ate street food and got an opportunity to mingle with common people. People are very nice and had many pleasant experiences. Since then, I feel Vietnam is close to my heart. So why a news article about a single person's opinion about a country?

 

[gambit]

Pretty much sums up my experiences in vietnam, but this is kinda expected when you visit ungrateful and poor country like vietnam.

I doubt that you ever been in Viet Nam.

One of the engineers I work with recently returned from a temporary duty (TDY) assignment from Shanghai. His assignment for the past few months was to familiarize our assembly clients with our new products. His experience with mainland China, past and present, is that there is ENDEMIC corruption and collusion between the Chinese organized crime families and the police, national and local. He was robbed. The police keep tabs on all foreigners, especially if a person is white and obviously American, which my friend is. On this assignment, he was alone. The local Chinese police monitored his movements, determined that he actually was alone, and tipped off one of the local gangs. The police would get a cut, of course.

My friend was leaving his hotel (after work) early evening for a meal and some shopping for his family when he was accosted and turned into an alley. The policemen were within sight and they turned away. The robbers had a portable credit card scanner and they proceeded to 'swipe' his Wells Fargo VISA. When they found out his card was 'locked', they forced him to call WF to 'unlock' his card. According to my friend, the WF agent asked pretty much a rhetorical question that he was being robbed. He confirmed that he was. The fact that WF locked his card so quickly is telling. It means that such robbery of foreigners is common enough that WF had a quick and readied procedure to deal with an unauthorized attempt to access a client's money. The portable credit card scanner must have been the giveaway.

Then they forced him to another street that have a local bank ATM. When they found out that this method still did not worked, they threatened to beat him up unless he can convince WF to 'unlock' his VISA. There was no way that WF was going to release his accounts. From the moment he was forced to call WF, the bank locked all of his accounts, from savings to checking to retirement investments. They secured everything. The only way they would release his access was if he was calling from an American consulate number. In the end, the robbers took about $300 in cash and let him go, ruffled but relatively unharmed.

The Chinese police, national and local, know that if any real physical harm come to any foreigners, especially the white gweilos, in sufficient numbers to generate worldwide attention, they would be forced to do real police work. So the best thing to do are simple intimidation, rough up the foreigner a bit, take whatever is available at the moment, then split the loot. The local police commander does not need to know and usually he does not want to know what/how his officers do to supplement their incomes. As long as his officers and the crooks target single foreigners and scare the person a bit, not much will happen in the media since the Chinese government controls the media anyway.

 

[EastSea]

Afternoon of 6/4, hundreds of police suddenly stormed in Ho Chi Minh City four houses in the City to 12, Hoc Mon, Tan Phu and caught 43 Chinese citizens who are using high-tech equipment to fraud business and cheating in Vietnam.

http://http://vnexpress.net/gl/phap-luat/2012/04/43-nguoi-nuoc-ngoai-lua-dao-cong-nghe-cao-bi-bat/

 

[Kevrai]

Mark Zuckerberg in VietNam

the CEO of Facebook in Vietnam yet facebook is banned in Vietnam

 

[EastSea]

the CEO of Facebook in Vietnam yet facebook is banned in Vietnam

I don't think so, I just visited home page of my friend, nothing don't happen.

 

[NiceGuy]

the CEO of Facebook in Vietnam yet facebook is banned in Vietnam

FB only is banned in public internet, home user and FB on smart phone are OK .

in my opinion: it's good to ban FB in public internet.

 

[ChinaToday]

FB only is banned in public internet, home user and FB on smart phone are OK .

in my opinion: it's good to ban FB in public internet.

Bs guy a banned is is a banned dont make stupid excuses we can get what ever in china too but still fb is banned and we dont make silly excuses like you

 

[ChinaToday]

You see, even the Facebook CEO and the couple Brad Pitt - Angelina Jolie has also feel very comfortable in Vietnam.

LOL lookat how proud these viettrolls about fb founder vistited their country and yet they banned fb in vietnam, what this telling us is that these viettrolls their moral is there for the highest bidder

 

[ViXuyen]

facebook is banned in Viet Nam? That's just a myth. If it is banned then how come so many people from Viet Nam have facebook accounts (including all of my cousins)?

I constantly check out the girls from Viet Nam via their facebook accounts here buddy

 

[scorpionx]

So what is the only heavenly place left in the world guys? yaaa no points for guessing.its CHINA. indians, viets and pinnoys pack ur bag baby