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Why I'll Never Return To Vietnam</h1> 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.
Và đây là bản dịch:
http://www.petrotimes.vn/...khong-tro-lai-viet-nam
Why I'll Never Return To Vietnam</h1> 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.
Và đây là bản dịch:
http://www.petrotimes.vn/...khong-tro-lai-viet-nam
Dzụ này đúng nè, em để xe mấy đêm liền ngoài trời mà không bị vặt tai, heheehe. Nhà ông bác ngủ không khóa cửa, xe máy có thể để ngoài sân cả đêm.MaiHanh nói:
Dzụ săn bắt chó thì nó vào tận nhà ông bác bắt luôn đó, mà em tìm đỏ con mắt không có quán cầy nào??? kô biết nó bắt cầy làm giề.
Thằng cháu đi xe ôm có hơn 1km ở ngã ba Huế bị chém 100k vào kể với em, vừa kể vừa chửi, hehehehe.
Nói chung DN cũng lắm người nhiều ma lém lém, heheheehe.
Đầu tư điểm du lịch trên Bana chắc phải tính toán lắm để mau thu hồi vốn. Bác phân tích cũng có lí.Maserati_fan nói:
Nhưng tâm lý khách du lịch rất không hài lòng vụ này. E cũng đi nhiều, chưa thấy nước nào phân biệt người cùng quốc tịch, nếu có free thì nên áp dụng cho dân ở vùng bị ảnh hưởng khi xây khu du lịch.
maninh nói:Tình hình là tết vừa rồi em vừa làm một chuyến Sài Gòn - Đà Nẵng - Sài Gòn bằng con xe cỏ của em. Chuyến đi hoàn thành tốt đẹp duy chỉ có một điều em quá bức xúc nên đăng lên đây cho các bác chém thoải mái:
Mùng 7 tết em ghé qua núi Bà Nà dự định đưa bà cả và F1 đi cáp treo lên đỉnh Bà Nà cho biết, bản thân em thì đi rồi nên biết trên ấy chả có cái gì ngoài khí hậu mát mẻ, một cái chùa bé bé và cái cột mốc chỉ độ cao. Sau khi cho xe vào bãi và đến chỗ mua vé thì thấy bảng giá như sau:
300.000 VND/người lớn (giá khủng cho một khu tham quan chẳng có gì). Nếu chỉ có cái giá này thì em cũng chẳng nói làm gì, đằng này ngay bên cạnh lại có một bảng giá khác:
160.000 VND/người lớn (nếu là công dân Đà Nẵng có chứng minh nhân dân tại Đà Nẵng).
Đọc tới đây thì em nóng máu quá. Xin phép cho em chửi bậy cái. (Đ.M) nó. Trước đây vé bán vào các khu du lịch chia làm 2 giá, một cho người trong nước một cho nước ngoài đã bị chửi um sùm rồi phải dỡ bỏ thế mà người trong nước với nhau mà tụi nó phân biệt chủng tộc như vậy là sao. Thà rằng giảm giá cho các em học sinh, sinh viên thì em OK đằng này nó làm như thế. Nó có tưởng tượng nếu đi vào SG, Đà Lạt, Nha Trang ... và các khu vui chơi ở các tỉnh khác thì nó cũng gặp các bảng giá tương tự không???? Em thề không bao giờ quay lại nơi này nếu nó còn tình trạng thế này. Và cũng khuyến các các bác nếu đi thì chuẩn bị cục tức trong lòng giống em nhé. Chúc cho ban quản lý núi Bà Nà mau dẹp tiệm sớm với ý tưởng phân biệt chủng tộc này.
VĂN BẢN TRẢ LỜI CHÍNH THỨC CỦA BAN QUẢN LÝ KHU DU LỊCH NÚI BANA.
<span style=""color: #3366ff;"">V/v : Giá vé tham quan.</span>
Tiếp thu ý kiến đóng góp của quý du khách về việc giá vé tham quan khu du lịch có sự chênh lệch do phân biệt giữa du khách và dân địa phương.
Nay Ban QL xin thông báo giá vé sẽ thống nhất là 300.000 đồng/người không phân biệt du khách hay dân tỉnh nhà.
Thông tin khuyến mãi: Nhân dịp năm mới, khu du lịch chúng tôi có chương trình khuyến mãi "THẺ CÀO TRÚNG THƯỞNG" cho quý khách tham quan như sau: tất cả du khách không phân biệt giàu-nghèo, tuổi tác, địa phương hay vùng miền đều có thể tham gia chương trình khuyến mãi này.
Quý khách trúng thưởng là những người có "THẺ CÀO" mang "ĐẦY ĐỦ" các dòng chữ như vầy <span style=""color: #0000ff;"">"Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam + Giấy CMND + Nơi ĐKHKTT: Đà Nẵng"</span>.
<span style=""color: #ff0000;"">Giá trị trúng thưởng là 140.000 đồng trừ vào tiền vé tham quan.</span>
Kính báo.
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