Have you been reading Johnny Vagabond’s blog? He seems to be having some of the same adventures.

On asking for the bill, we heard the words for ‘one’ and ‘five’ and were pleasantly surprised that two bowls of pho were only 15,000 dong (about $US1), the price we’d been paying for one bowl in Hanoi. My husband got out a 50,000 dong note; the cafe owner took it but shook her head. Thinking there was a problem with change, my husband opened his wallet to show he had nothing smaller. The lady quickly removed the 100,000 dong note in there, and held up each note saying ‘one’ and ‘five’. 150,000 dong (about $US10) was a chunk of our daily budget, and made for very expensive soup. She quickly disappeared into the back, then rushed to the front and fanned the smoke of her cooking fire to try and stop us from speaking to her. Her husband, sipping green tea in the corner, shrugged embarrassedly when we appealed to him.

At this point, the two Vietnamese phrases I had learnt before arriving came into good use: “oi-choy-oi” (oh my god) and “dat quoi”(too expensive). Repeated often and loudly, we began to draw a crowd. Eventually, by standing in the cafe owner’s way and moving so she couldn’t walk around us, we encouraged her into a conversation – her shouting in Vietnamese and us asking for a refund in Vietnamese, English and international miming. We were first offered the 50,000 dong note back, and then she finally threw the 100,000 dong note at us instead.

We hurriedly made our way back through the market and, grateful we’d filled up before we went for lunch, hopped back on the bike and scarpered. Within ten minutes, my indignation had melted into amusement, and we spent most of the journey back, through beautiful mountain passes and paddy fields, laughing our heads off.

It can be hard to avoid being scammed sometimes. I rarely trust anyone and try to avoid shady taxis and touts if possible.

In every country I go to, I always ask how much it is going to cost upfront and ask if there are any extra charges. There are often fake luggage, toll both and extra person charges, even in richer countries. In a strange country I always try to ask the information counter at the airport how much a taxi will cost. Then if the driver tells you it is going to be more, you know to try a different cab. Also, by showing that you know the real price, I feel the driver will probably think you have been to the country before and is less likely to try and rip you off.

Another tactic that worked on two occasions is to take a picture of the number on the taxi. Legitimate taxi companies can’t afford to have government scrutiny of scams, so even just a picture can be enough to get the driver to comply.

The safest route is always public transportation though. It can also be more interesting. My wife usually walk everywhere in a new city just to get a better feel for everything. We only use a taxi if that is the only choice from the airport.

Thanks for the links, I’m sure they will prove to be useful.