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Published: November 6th 2008
(Day 216 on the road)It may sound harsh, but I have come to the conclusion that a lot of Vietnamese people (certainly those in the tourist industry) are not just opportunistic as I had previously thought, but plain dishonest. I have had so many bad experiences in the eleven days I spent on Cat Ba Island and heard of even more from other travellers that it is impossible to enjoy travelling in Vietnam. I have decided that I have had it, and I will leave Vietnam as soon as possible and head over into Laos.
The first four days on the island where very nice however. After crazy Hanoi, Cat Ba, only about four hours away by bus and boat, was a very welcome retreat. I spent these first four days not doing very much at all, and my life resolved around the beach (reading a book I picked up in a second hand bookshop in Hanoi and swimming), the balcony of my waterfront hotel room overlooking the sea, a few seafood restaurants, and my bed. Sounds too good to be true? Well, the only worry I was having at that time was the lack of water pressure from the
shower in my room. And I guess if this was my only concern in life right then, I could consider myself a pretty lucky guy. I also quite enjoyed the frequent power outages, as then in the evenings everyone was doing business by candle light. During one spectacular power cut, I was having dinner with a couple I met when the whole town just went pitch black from one second to the next - it was a great sight.
After the first few lazy days, I got out and about more around town and the island, and this is where the bad experiences started. Here is a short list of just the main ones:
• At the market: I buy 1 kg of mangos, and the lady fiddles a bit with the scale before weighing the fruits. I am thinking nothing of it. The amount of mangos however looks a bit strange, and I have a look at the scale when she takes the fruits off. Sure enough, the scale reads 400 g even with nothing on it - the lady had set it to 400 g instead of zero, trying to charge me 1 kg but only
giving me 600 g.
• At the market another time: I buy two dragon fruits and the lady picks them for me and puts them into the bag. After I get back to my hotel, I find that both fruits are clearly rotten.
• At my hotel when I check out on the final day: The price we had agreed upon was 4$ per night and 5$ including breakfast. I had breakfast once, but when I give him the 5$ for that day, he somehow forgot about this deal and wants to charge me more. Naturally, I refuse, and he starts pushing me around and tries to hit me. I want to leave and he starts to hold me, telling me I will not leave the island until I pay him. I am furious at this lying bastard, but somehow manage to keep my cool and not get involved in the fight he wants to pick. I walk off and to the bus.
• In the Internet cafe: I walk in and ask how much it is, and am told that the rate per hour is 15.000 dong per hour. When I leave, the same guy knows nothing of this, and says that
it is 20.000 dong per hour.
• In a different Internet cafe: Again, the rate is 15.000 dong per hour. I stay for exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes. So the total is 22.500, right? However, as I ask how much it is they guy says 50.000. I say he must be joking, he then says 25.000. I look at his screen where he monitors the PC usage, and sure enough it says 22.500. He agrees reluctantly, I give him 30.000, and he then shortchanges me by 2000 ("Oh sorry sir, my mistake, here is your 2.000").
• At the ice vendor: I ask the woman how much a small cone of ice cream costs (after I observed a local pay 500). She tells me it is 10.000 and refuses to go below 8.000.
• Touring Halong Bay: This was a bit of a all round disaster: We had been promised an English-speaking guide, snorkeling, two caves, and entrance to Monkey Island. None of these was true. No guide at all, no snorkeling equipment on board, just one cave, and off course we had to pay the entrance fee at Monkey Island. On top of that, our inexperienced skipper set the boat aground
just two hours after leaving in the morning, and we were completely stuck in the middle of nowhere. We were unable to move the boat and waited for three hours until another tour boat finally came along and took us on board. The group on that boat had booked a kayaking trip, so we had to wait another hour and a half for them to return. So out of a nine hour trip, we spent four and a half hours just sitting on the boat. When we got back to Cat Ba Island and wanted part of our money back for this complete failure to deliver, the guy who sold us the tour used so many lies, got very aggressive and eventually tried to hit a member of our group, Franziska (luckily prevented by her boyfriend, Robert).
• Franziska and Robert at their hotel: also had some bad experience at their hotel: At check in, they had agreed with the hotel owner a price of 5$. At check out, surprise surprise, the woman does not remember that anymore and tries to charge them 6$. As they refuse, the lady behind the counter starts abusing them and shouting at at them, taking off her shoe and wanting to hit Franziska with her flip-flop. They give their the agreed money and the lady rushes to the door of the hotel trying to close them and lock them in.
• Franziska and Robert and their motorbike: They rented a motorbike from their hotel and left it and their helmets for about ten minutes when they went for a swim. Sure enough, one helmet was stolen in that time. Back at the hotel, the lady asks for 10$. They have a look around town and find a new helmet for 5$, which they buy. The lady at the hotel refuses to accept the helmet, shouts at them and eventually starts to physically hit them.
• On my way to the island from the main land: I had asked a local how much the motorbike taxi would be to the jetty and got the price. When I give the money to the taxi-driver he takes my note, rumples it up and throws it to the floor as if I had gravely insulted him.
All coincidences? Just a little unlucky? Maybe. But after seven months of travel in eleven different countries so far (and about 40 more countries on previous trips), nothing like this has ever happened to me anywhere else. I have also talked to quite a few other travellers, and they all have similar stories to tell. I have no idea why the Vietnamese behave like that, not just ripping foreigners off, but being plain dishonest, lying, and not upholding agreements.
In any case, as I have said above, I have had it. I will make another brief stop in Ninh Binh which is famous for its beautiful countryside, and after that I am off to Laos as quickly as possible. I will not spend any more of my money or time in this unpleasant country.
Next stop: Ninh Binh (Vietnam).
To view my photos, have a look at
pictures.beiske.com. And to read the full account of my journey, have a look at the complete
book about my trip at Amazon (and most other online book shops).
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Tony from UK
non-member comment
Vietnamese ARE dishonest people
I have had many similar bad experiences in Vietnam. I'm surprised how tourists keep coming here!