Vietnam Travel Forum

Guys,could you please help me?. Just travelled from Saigon to Hoi An,
and am finding my family and I are repeatedly getting hassled in restaurants.
Loved Saigon,and we even made friends at a local restaurant where we ate.
No probs from hawkers,just said no once and they left us alone. Even bought
things off the street from them,no problems at all,but here getting bugged
really bad. Tonight we ate at a restaurant and a little guy hid behind a pole
for half an hour, asked if we wanted a postcard,we said,no thanks,but he then
proceeded to ask us again,said no again,he came back and started arguing with
us and it went like this. `Why you not buy postcard?",-(us no thanks)
he then mimicked us with a `no thank you", but by this time I`d had enough
of being hassled and saying no and said `please go`, but he did the same
again and repeated our words. The sad thing is I always try and buy from
the kids, but why the rudeness and the lack of respect? Does anyone have any
tips, because I dont know how many more times I need to say no. The worst
part was that the people in the restaurant saw we were getting annoyed and
did nothing? Why?, I dont want this to spoil things as I really love this place. Any tips would be much appreciated.

hi natty,
i travelled all over south vietnam earlier this year and i hardly had any problems.
i tried to buy something small of everybody and then usually got left alone!
its better than begging i suppose but, in the end you might have to very firm with them without being too aggressive.
try not to let it spoil your trip, vietnam is without doubt my fav place yet travelled too!
good luck.
morgan

Advice: take it easy. Of course some kids/people are more agressive, but it doesn't help if you get upset. Locals won't really bother with your problem if you show too much emotions. It's the way it is there. So, don't get too emotional and say 'no' only once and don't bother about the postcards and the kid who sells them; don't take his 'lack of respect' too seriously because he (or she, whoever) doesn't know that you bought already hundreds of things from other kids. Picek

Thanks guys,I agree with you about not letting it get to you, but sometimes
it can be frustrating when we as a family are trying to eat and you can
feel trapped. Ill take your advice as its so beautiful here and I dont want
to spoil our holiday,as we have met so many wonderful people that make up for it.Thanks for your replies, as sometimes you dont know what to do and its my
first time here.Sometimes you just dont know how to deal with it.
Thanks,Natty.

I had a similar problem with street beggars in Hanoi. They were very aggressive and would not take no for an answer. They would follow us around everywhere until we gave them something. But this is not unique to Vietnam, as I've experienced the same thing in many countries. India was by far the worst, as the street hawkers there would follow us to the entrance of a building (museum, temple, etc.) and then still be waiting for us once we got out, even it was an hour later! If we got into a car then they would stand outside the door and tap on the window. The words "no thank you" have no meaning for them. But still, I always try my best to keep my cool and remain respectful to them, as their life is very hard and unlike them I was born quite priveleged. But I agree that no one has any accuse to be rude to someone as you experienced in Hoi An.

Hello,

I've just returned home after a month of traveling in S.E. Asia (two weeks of which I spent in Vietnam). Haggling and harrassment goes with the territory when you travel in these countries so going with the flow is the best option. However, I did find it to be just a tad over the top in Hoi-An so you're not alone. I had one woman follow me into a store, stand outside for twenty minutes while I shopped, and then follow me to my hotel. I let them know I wasn't interested and let them know that I kind of knew this game by cracking a joke, and at least there didn't seem to be any hard feelings when I didn't

The best cure is ignoring them.
They are always going to be around, but will pester the ones that fight back.
Keep enjoying your trip though!!

Eat inside restaurants, not on the streetpath where hawkers can easily walk up to you. Also, learn to say no thank you in Vietnamese-pronounced kom, kam ern and smile and then ignore them.