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T
housands of tourists are drawn to Vung Tau each
year, however, not all leave satisfied. Some have been
charged several million dong for a simple meal at one
of the town’s basic quan binh dan eateries, where bills
should be very cheap.
Nguyen Tung Nghia, who complained to the press early
this year, is one of the victims. He and his four family members
dined at Thu Mai Restaurant on Thuy Van street; they ordered
a small prawn and another small crab hotpot. The bill came as
a large shock, standing at a huge VND3.6 million. At the same
restaurant there have been reports of four high-school students
having to pawn two mobile phones to pay for their lunch.
It is said that this restaurant uses three scales, with the
one used for weighing in front of guests shorting customers
300 grams per kilo.
One month later, at nearby Huong Viet restaurant, the
same ordeal happened to another group. This restaurant is
even more down-at-heel than Thu Mai, but the bill clocked up
to VND16.6 million.
A number of dirty tricks are applied to pick guests’ pock-
ets. Son, an American Vietnamese, is another victim: “I went
to a common restaurant with my family. I did not forget to
ask carefully about the price and to watch the staff scale
and process. Still, the bill was over by VND1 million, so I re-
checked and found that five plates of rice were each charged
at VND200,000. They said that they cooked it with American
rice, hence the price.”
On April 6, 36 year old Le Thi Sinh a fruit seller in the old
quarter, was arrested. She had been soliciting foreign tourists
to buy one pineapple and two bags of fruit for VND840,000 –
an extreme over-charge.
Late May, Australian David Patrick and his wife Brandi
Dawn Burmey were charged VND980,000 for a 7km taxi ride.
In another case, Ilona Schultz and her two sons took
a cylco from the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum to Dinh Tien
Hoang street, about 5km away. They negotiated a price of
VND70,000, but he ultimately asked for VND1.3 million. Luck-
ily, the hotel’s staff took Ilona to the police to report the case.
28
timeout
The overcharging of tourists has been an issue in Vietnam for years and while
some action has been taken, the problem remains steadfast. With the number
of serious cases reported on the rise, the issue has found its way back to the
top of the agenda.
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