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Kho temple: “Beggars from nowhere
flooded everywhere outside the temple.
Many appeared to be fine – they were
dressed carefully and even had a good
handbag. Some had brought along a
child to beg for people’s mercy. I felt like
I was being cheated.”
At Tran Temple beggars also came,
again, many with young children in tow.
In front of them they placed plastic buck-
ets for offerings. Some police officers
passed by, but they ignored the scenes.
A fried rice seller in Bai Dinh pa-
goda in Ninh Binh province told
Time-
out
that a beggar can earn up to sev-
eral million VND each day. “My cousin
is handicapped,” he told Timeout. “At
peak times, he earns at least VND 1-2
million as a beggar.”
EXCESS CHARGES
Prices are also routinely hiked at
many festivals. The most noticeable ex-
tra charges are those for motorbike and
car parking services, which can surge by
2-5 times. Around Phuc Khanh pagoda
in Hanoi, many parking sites sprout up,
many charging VN20,000-25,000 for a
motorbike. 44 year old Hanh in Hanoi
says she had to pay VND25,000 for a
motorbike and VND100,000 for a car
parking place near Tay Ho Palace.
Le Thi Yen Huyen in Ho Chi Minh
City visited Ba Pagoda in Binh Duong and
was left angered by her experience: “Af-
ter being charged four times as much as
normal for a car parking place, I was sur-
rounded by tens of incense and flower
sellers who did not let me go even I told
them I had prepared all the offerings
already. Finally, I had to buy one lotus
at VND 120,000 to escape from them.”
Thieves have long been an inherent
aspect of events where people gather in
crowds. Nguyen Thi My had her wallet
stolen at Ba Pagoda: “I hoped that they
would just take my money and waited
to get my important papers back, but
they did not return them.”
Many such cases were reported
at the pagoda. 35 year old teacher,
Nguyen Thi Lan of Haiphong city faced
a terrible situation when she went on
a pilgrimage to Ninh Binh province.
“I was robbed of all my money,” she
says. “I did not have a penny left to
buy my car ticket when I came to
leave. It was the worst situation I have
ever met in my life - I had to borrow
from a stranger.”
So far, no effective measures have
been put in place. People are simply
told to heed warnings and keep their
eyes open.
Standing on the others the Tran Temple’s royal seal granting ceremony (left),
beggars are rampant at a festival (below) while gambling is also common in
many festivals