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I’ve been to more than a 100 countries – and I’ve probably been cheated at least a 100 times.
We arrived in Saigon by bus from Cambodia. I knew that our hotel should be only 500 metres or so from the terminal, so I was prepared to walk. As usual there was the hord of taxi drivers surrounding us when we stepped out of the bus, and I could sense that Malla wasn’t very keen on walking with the luggage (although we only have the flight bags on wheels). One taxi driver grabbed her bag and started walking towards his car.
I tried to get a fixed price, expecting it to be 3-4 USD, but the guy insisted that the fare is metered. After a while I gave in and got into the car and looked at the meter, which said 10,500 (dong), about 50 cents US. One minute later, when the taxi has moved around 100 metres, the reading was 220,000 dong (12 USD or so). I told the driver that there was something wrong, but he ignored me. A couple minutes later we came to the hotel, but the guy didn’t stop the car in front of the entrance (although there was free space), but at the corner 50 metres away.
At this stage the meter showed 260,000 (14 USD) and I new, that I had been fooled again. The driver said that he would not accept dollars, only dongs. I protested of course, and refused to pay this rediculous amount, as I knew that a ride from the hotel to the airport (30 minutes) would cost only 6 USD (120,000 dong). I told him to move the taxi in front of the hotel entrance, so we could discuss the matter with the reception, but the driver refused.
In the end he decided to accept dollars, and just to get the thing over with I handed him 10 dollars before we walked away. I could hear him complaining loudly, but we ignored him and walked back to the hotel.
It’s not the price, for that amounty you can’t even get into a taxi back home, but I hate being taken in – every time.