The expats here in Nha Trang tell you that Vietnamese will cheat you today because they don't think about tomorrow. The locals see only $ signs on your forehead, they say. And these are the foreigners that speak the lingo and still love the place! I can't say my experience goes any way to disproving this view. Water that is 7,000 Dong at the local shop is 8,000 the next day, despite me passing the shop and saying hello to the keeper 5 times a day. Hold out 15,000 Dong while ordering food from a street vendor and, hey presto, the price coincidentally becomes 15,000 - 50% more than the going rate. What's more, the margin of the swindles varies hugely: the real price could be 70% or 7% of the asking price.
While it keeps you on your toes, and gets you to think about the true value of things, only some people (like my ballsy New Yorker companion) have the stomach for a fight in every encounter. For me that's too tiring, and I've reached the point where I just take the rough with the smooth. Sometimes you'll be grievously ripped off. You might catch one or two at their game and get a "discount". You might even find a cafe where reasonable Pho is the same price every day and seems to bear a resemblance to what the locals pay. But you'll never win. The Vietnamese are diligent entrepreneurs when it comes to parting you with your cash. Better to roll with the punches, and seek as much non-financial interaction with locals as possible to balance it all out.
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Well put, comrade! My favorite is when you stand at the stall, watch the locals pay for something, count their bills, count their change, make the same order and, suddenly, it costs three times what they paid! Bun Bao for 10,000 dong each? Really???
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