Comments on: Tourist Scams and American Guilt

By: askland

askland — Sat, 12 Mar 2011 02:14:53 +0000

Hi Billy,
The focus of this blog post was meant to be tourist scams in tourist areas. Just that specifically. For instance, just over the border from where I live there are triads that maim young children specifically so they can be effective beggars. The triad takes the money. (This info according to a local who rushed me away when I started to give money.) Yes, it’s very, very sad and it’s wrong.

The intention of my post, and perhaps it wasn’t clear, was to encourage people to avoid being guilted into tourist traps in tourist areas. Just that – tourist trap areas where you don’t really know where the money is going. If people want to help locals there are plenty of ways to do this through legit groups in each country. Or, as I mentioned in my post, to help in areas away from tourist traps (where soliciting money can be a business and operated by third party groups, etc.)

I work with many Aussies and yes I would agree they have very generous hearts.

By: billy

billy — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 16:26:24 +0000

Wow…you americans think your so good. Im from australia and we all feel like giving our hard earned tooo thoose that live in impoverised conditions. Thoose that suffer in conditions we have never lived and can never imagine as a day to day reality. As you blog on your computer and walk around you dry lovely home walking on your comfortable carpet. think about the men who has limited opportunitys and even fewer for his wife and children

bye mean ppl

By: jack

jack — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 03:35:06 +0000

Dude, that’s a good one. When I first got to HCMC, dude came up to me with the “see my family” line and I said, “sure, but tomorrow.” Then I never showed up. But the dude was on the same street corner later hustling another guy. The cyclo drivers are worst. They promise a price, like 15k dong, then say it was 150k dong. Or the bike rental guys. When you bring the crappy rental back, they say hey, it needs repairs or that the bike is now “no good” and must be thrown away and you must buy them a new one. I once bought a moto driver a coupla beers and then rode with him around the corner to my destination. Gave him 20k dong, a good rate, and he flipped, wanted 100k for “his time”….like his companionship for an hour was so great. I gave him 50k because he was flipping out grabbed a stick and threatened to beat me with it right there in the street. I walked into the restaurant I was going to and he followed me, screaming and yelling. The country is a mess, man, and not only will I not be coming back ever….but I will blog the crap outta the scams and things I’ve seen. I would NOT recommend VN to anyone…..maybe if you’re passing through for a day or so, that’s it.
But the idea of American guilt being used as leverage to rip you off, it’s a good one. Armless/legless, shoeshine boys, even “preachers” carrying bibles around town, asking for donations to “spread the Gospel”…..You have to think of HCMC as a den of huslters, pimps and thieves. Even the VNs themselves warn you not to trust “anyone” — including a guy I knew who said that to me, then tried to hustle me out of 2 million dong. I laughed at him. And then he just shrugged and walked off. Horrible people, no ethics. They really should be booted from the WTO and frankly I wouldn’t do business with anyone either in country or from the country — and that includes American VN immigrants. They are notorious in the states for being scammers. Only difference is that they are on our turf and getting them put into jail is soooo much easier.

By: Laura

Laura — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 08:27:55 +0000

Hehe..have you encountered shop owners that bring out home-made
hootch in attempt to encourage more spending? (Beware, it’s
strong enough to strip oil off your drive-way!)