REMEMBRANCE 97: RIP-OFFS WITH REJOICE

INTRODUCTION
HEADING FOR CYCLO RIP OFF

On Monday, 17^th. October 2011, before making our final journey to check in at the three star hotel, Thein Loc Hotel at Pham Ngu Lao Street, Mr. Muhammad Wong, the sole proprietor of the Halal Satay House Restaurant at Nguyen Van Troi Street, gave us a fatherly advice on the dos and don’ts that we should abide while we were in Vietnam. After enjoying a splendid dinner at his restaurant, Mr. Wong’s advice came in very handy to us since it was our maiden visit to Vietnam.

Apart from the Vietnamese language which was already foreign to us, the Vietnamese currency was also another confusing factor to us. Easily we would become a millionaire in Vietnamese Dong if we exchange them with RM 160.00. However with one million Dong, we cannot even buy the smallest original knapsack bag of Samsonite. Mr. Wong kept reminding us that although Ho Chin Minh City (HCMC) is a vibrant prosperous city, yet Vietnam is in fact a communist country. As such, we should familiarise ourselves with the stern faces of its government officers who are always willing to assist tourist in distress.

Before our departure from his restaurant, he kept reminding us not to be intimidated by the famous cyclo peddlers. One of the common rip-offs in HCMC involves cyclo peddlers demanding exorbitant sums at the end of a cyclo tour. Nevertheless, if we do wish to experience the cyclo riding just for nostalgic reasons, Mr. Wong advised us that rather than hopping blithely into the seat when the peddler smilingly says “price up to you”, clearly negotiate for a fair price up front. It sometimes pays to sketch out numbers and pictures with pen and paper so that all parties agree on the quantum to be charged by the peddler.

Unfortunately, more often than not, “misunderstandings” do happen. Even if you bring up the matter up to the authorities, the tendency is that the authorities might always give the benefit of the doubts to the peddler. Being a socialist country, naturally the sweat and tears of the cyclo peddling power are much more valuable as compared to the taxi drivers who drive effortlessly on their fuel power.

As the Malay old wise saying says ”the mouse deer may sometimes forgets about the trap, but the trap never once forgets about the mouse deer”. Unfortunately my folly has proved that the old wise saying was indeed accurate to the latter.

Together with my new Samsonite backpack and a topi on my head, riding gleefully on the cyclo around HCMC . Can you imagine Mr. Prom could stop the cyclo in the middle of the busy street just to snap this picture

PART ONE

THE CYCLOS OF HCMC

Antique HCMC Cyclo

Cyclo is similar to our trishaw but its ground clearance is much higher than our trishaw in Alor Setar. Although our trishaw is a double seater, cyclo on the other hand is a single seater. The cyclo peddlers are very conversant in English as most of them are former South Vietnamese soldiers. it's tough living for the cyclo peddlers, especially as the Cty's Authority is trying to phase out the cyclos entirely. As such, me must not just assume that the peddlers are trying to cheat you because they has got to generate a tremendous amount of strength in peddling the cyclos just to earn a daily meager income.

It requires skill and determination peddling the tall cyclo in the midst of the congested traffic flow

As Asians are mostly aware about the cyclos' scam, most of the cyclo passengers are Westerners

The gathering points of the cyclos peddlers are beside the shops adjacent to the Ben Thanh Market

Some cyclo peddlers resort to transportation of goods on the cyclos when there are less demand from humans.

PART TWO

EXPERIENCING A CYCLO'S JOURNEY INTO THE HEART OF HCMC

Because of the physical impediment on both of my knees, I did not follow the rest of the group that has gone on the package tours to Mekong Delta and Cu chi Tunnels. On the morning of Wednesday 19 October 2011, as I was strolling along the street in front of my hotel. I was astonished when I saw a topi (hat) for sale at the souvenir shop beside our hotel. The Vietnamese topi was very similar to my late father's Forester's official uniform during the pre Merdeka years.

My late father's official head gear was a topi which was khaki in colour and it was made of cardboard lined up with khaki canvas. On the other hand, the Vietnamese topi was green in colour and it was made of fiber glass. As the topi it self reminisced the memory of my late father in his forester's uniform, without hesitating, I bought the topi for 60,000 dong @ .RM 9.60

While I was fully engrossed with the topi, I did not realised that my antics has been scrutinised by a cyclo peddler beside the souvenir shop. After putting the topi on my head, I heard a greeting from the cyclo peddler. " Sir, you must be from Malaysia. Would you care for a ride in my cyclo."

Showing my physical inability by demonstrating to him my walking stick, my curt answer was "So sorry my friend, I can't even step on your cyclo. Let alone riding on it. Very sorry my friend."

The cyclo peddler was not easy to give up when he replied," Don't worry Sir I will help you up to my cyclo,". He then demonstrated to me by lowering his tall cyclo at a kerb in front of the hotel, so that I could then easily step on the cyclo without much effort...

Seeing his earnest in pursuading me and at the same breath remembering Mr. Muhammad Wong's advice, I inquired, "How must does it cost for a ride."

Confidently the cyclo peddler replied,"Very cheap Sir, just 15,000 for a ride."

To be sure with the figure, I requested him to write the figure in my note book. Without hesitating, he wrote the figure 15,000 dong in my note book. Confident with the written figure, I then mounted his cyclo with the understanding that if ever I would be cheated 30 times over, it would only cost me 450,000 dong @ RM 72.00. With that assurance on my mind, I boarded the stylo and hoped for the best. My journey into the world of the unknown commenced at about 11.30 am from the steps of our hotel....

The cyclo peddler quipped, "Welcome aboard, Sir. My name is Mr. Prom, Sir.".

Mr. Prom, the persuasive cyclo peddler

PART THREE

MISCONCEIVED PERCEPTION

Since the first time I met Mr. Prom, the cyclo peddler, I was fascinated with his personality. I could easily communicate with him because he was very conversant with the English language. He was also very knowledgeable about socio cultural history of Vietnam especially about the historical development of Ho Chin Minh City. He learned to master his English during his stint as a soldier in the then South Vietnamese Army. He is 60 years old but his physique did not denote his actual age as he managed to pedal his cyclo with me on board effortlessly.

Mr. Prom was very talkative and in no time, we were already talking about our families. Similar to me, he has also three children which are all boys. He shared my vision that education is paramount in determining the social mobility of our children. He was even impressed with me because all my three children are university graduates.

With his meager income from his cyclo business, he is also trying his best to provide good education to his children. I praised him for his positive attitude as he has also achieved progress in providing good education to his children. His 23 old eldest son was already in his final year tertiary eduction while his second son has just enrolled at a Technical Institute. Whereas his youngest boy is still studying at secondary level.

Observing my style of behaviour, he guessed that I must be a retired Government servant. When I told him that I have already retired 10 years ago, Mr. Prom straight away guessed my age as 65 years old. His guess was on target and I believed he has a vast knowledge about Malaysia. He could even converse in a limited Bahasa Melaysia.

As such, I believed a lot of Malaysian tourists has frequented Ho Chin Minh City and may be a few has even seeked the service of Mr. Prom and his cyclo. That was why for the success of his cyclo business, Mr. Prom has acquired the skill to converse in limited Bahasa Malaysia.

I was very impressed with Mr. Prom because he could narrate non stop about the historical background of each historical site and heritage building that we passed through our journey through the heart of HCMC. Apart from witnessing with my own eyes all the interesting points of HCMC, I was also very contented with the journey because I could snap photo shots at the eye level on the cyclo as if I was standing on the road.

To have a clear view of the photo objects without any hindrance, Mr. Prom has even pulled down the cyclo hood cover. Without the cover, I felt very at ease because I could snap photos from any direction that I prefer. Indeed the cyclo journey with Mr. Prom was really an opportunity that I treasured most in my visit to HCMC. At that moment, I did not have a needle of doubt on the sincerity and genuine hospitality of Mr. Prom.

THE PHYSICAL JOURNEY

Departed from the vicinity of Ben Thanh Market at 11.30 am

The tower of Ben Thanh Market at the top right hand corner.

Crossed to Ham Nghi Street towards the Saigon River

The cyclo peddler is immune to the busiest crossings at the five junctions of the Ben Thanh Market

Buses and motor cyclists crossing each other on the busy street

HISTORICAL BUILDINGS AND STATUES OF HCMC

The Statue of Tran Hung Dao, along the Ton Duc Street. The monument was dedicated to Tran Hung Dao, the national hero who defeated Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khans' invading forces believed to be 300,000 men in 1287

Floating Restaurant at the Saigon River

Opera House @ Municipal Theater at intersection of Dong Khoi and DL Le Loi.

A colonial building with a sweeping staircase. There are weekly scheduled programs of classical music and traditional Vietnamese theater.

A brief stop at The Opera House door steps

Contemporary sculptures in the garden in front of the Opera House

The City People Committee (City Hall) which was built 1901 and 1908

The sculpture of Ho Chin Minh symbolically protecting the young by cuddling Vietnamese children in front of the City Hall

War Memorial Museum

The Saigon Notre Dame which was built between 1877 and 1883




The Central Post Office. HCMC 's grandiose French style main Post Office.
Built between 1886 and 1891 and it is the largest post office in Vietnam.

The Reunification Palace at Dinh Thong Nhat Street

The striking modern architecture building was rebuilt in 1966 by the Vietnamese President Ngo Dienh Diem on the site of the former palace for the French Governor-general of Cochinchina in 1868.


Before the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975, the palace was known as the Independence Palace or the Presidential Palace which was the symbol of democracy of the South Vietnamese Government. Hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese and 58,183 Americans died in vain trying to save the then symbol of democracy in South Vietnam.

PART THREE

INTERESTING FACES OF HCMC

Its does not matter if you are small or big.
Everybody has a place on the busy street

COLOURFUL VIETNAMESE HELMETS



Motorcyclists with interesting helmets on their heads




Colourful helmets on varieties of motor bikes

BICYCLES RULE THE STREETS

It is very rare to see mountain bikes or other types of modern bicycles with gears in HCMH. Mostly the bicycles are basic in nature and as such the cyclists on the old type old bicycles require raw power of cycling. It is very rare also to find cyclists suffering from obesity or even the people in HCMC. In fact almost all the Vietnamese are slim in nature.

A cyclist in the middle of the street




A cyclist with his pillion rider beside the kerb
along side the other motor vehicles on the street




Another cyclist pedaling for survival




Lady cyclists leisurely joining the fray




A lady cyclist on the middle of the traffic with her goods to sell


PEDESTRIANS ALSO RULE THE STREET

With all sort of motorised vehicles passing the street which seemed to be chaotic and in a very haphazard manner which might result in numerous road accidents. Ironically it was not because the traffic etiquette in HCMC is much different from ours. As for me, I believed that HCMC streets are really not for the faint heart pedestrians. If you are hesitant and wait for the opportunity of crossing when the traffic flows are less chaotic, then you have to wait until past midnight.




HCMC Traffic at 6.00 pm




The HCMC traffic is still chaotic at 10.00 pm

It was very fortunate for since Mr. Muhammad Wong gave us this golden advice: 'Don't be scared at the chaotic traffic flows on HCMC streets or otherwise you will stuck at the road side." All of us were indebted to Mr. Muhammad Wong's advice which stipulated that you must always cross the busy streets at the zebra white lines. Your pace of walking must also be a little slower than your normal pace and then forget your chaotic surroundings and be dammed with the bombarding traffic flows towards you.



The Vietnamese traffic etiquette is very unique whereby motorists would always accommodate and respect pedestrians crossing the street. They would always honk at you signalling that they were coming towards you. They would then circumnavigate around you without even affecting your walking pace. The constant and slower pace of your walking steps would help them to determine the maneuver they would have to take.

To prove the validity of Mr. Muhammad Wong's advice, Shiwar and Ayie tried their luck in crossing the main Tran Van Dung Street at the highest peak hour in the afternoon. The husband of an European couple who were very hesitant to cross the same street commented on their folly, "Both of you must be very brave or are you really stupid. You are indeed digging your own grave.".



With the grace of Allah, both of them managed to cross the street safely thanks to the accommodating attitude of the Vietnamese towards pedestrians especially the foreigners. The European couple was still at the other side of the street when both Shiwar and Ayie waved to them good bye.






The most important factor is to cross the street at the white lines.

Shiwar, "How on earth can I cross this street?."




Ayie to Ezman, " I give up., I am still single and I can't gamble my life on the street of Vietnam "




Another couple of laddies confidently crossing the busy street



WELL KEPT SIDEWALKS AND PARKS

The Vietnamese are very regimented in keeping their parks and sidewalks clean and tidy for the benefits of the masses





All the sidewalks in HCMC or its outskirts are well maintained and very tidy




For the sake of tidiness, the authorities also do not restrict the sale of the local handicrafts or other types of goods on the clean sidewalks.





Very tidy and clean sidewalks although a vendor is seen selling her products


Newspaper vendor selling cigarettes and light drinks on the sidewalks



Well kept parks
In the morning you can often see people practicing the art of slow motion shadow boxing or thai cuc quyen




In the evening, HCMC citizens would flock to the parks
to enjoy the freshness of the environment




Even visiting Malaysian also flocked to the park enjoying its serenity





Benches are placed strategically for resting place of tired feet.




Ideal place to relax during lunch break


FAMOUS HCMC ENTANGLED ELECTRIC AND TELECOMS LINES




Illusion of entangled telecoms lines which actually function efficiently.
The entangled lines were even used as the motif of T shirts for souvenir



Electric and telecoms lines strung across the street


Apart from its historical buildings, the HCMC is also proud of its high rise
buildings or even a building similar to our TM Building in Kuala Lumpur



Another elevation of the look a like Telecoms Building


PART FOUR

END OF A WONDERFUL JOURNEY





FINAL STOP OVER AT SIDEWALK COFFEE VENDOR

After almost 1 hour 20 minutes on the paddles, Mr. Prom suggested that we should stop awhile to enjoy the taste of the traditional Vietnamese coffee while resting his exhausted tired legs . Sympathetic to his exhausted legs, I innocently agreed to his suggestion.

Finally, we stopped at a traditional Vietnamese coffee vendor on the sidewalk at the Lee Thi Hong Gam Street. When I wanted to step down from the cyclo on my own, I felt both of my feet were numb. Seeing my predicament, Mr. Prom seeked the help of his cyclo peddler friend to carry me down the cyclo and placed me on the low stool of the vendor. I was very grateful to Mr. Prom and his friend for their assistance without even realising that I would be entering the final phase of their scam technique.

Showing my gratefulness to their assistance, I invited Mr. Prom's cyclo friend to joined us at our coffee table. I was baffled when Mr. Prom's cyclo friend refused my request to take a photograph of him for remembrance. When Ezman called me up on the hand phone asking my whereabouts, I informed Mr. Prom that it was high time for me to go back. His answer was in the affirmative but he took his own sweet time in finishing his drink.

I climbed on Mr. Prom's cyclo at 1.12 pm and we pushed off towards Ben Thanh Market. Mr. Prom's cyclo friend also followed us on his empty cyclo. When we reached at a deserted bus stop on the street of Ham Nghi just across Ben Thanh Market 5 junction, Mr. Prom wanted to help me down from his cyclo. I asked Mr. Prom why should I have to ascend from his cyclo since we have not reached our final destination yet i.e. Hong Thien Loc Hotel. His curt answer was that we would not be able to cross the street on his cyclo at the peak rush hour. As I was already in the vicinity of the Ben Thanh Market, he suggested that I should finish my journey on foot.

HIDDEN QUOTED PRICE

Convinced with Mr. Prom's reasoning, I then proceeded to inquire about the price tag. Immediately Mr. Prom pull out his HCMC map with the designated cyclo route and also the quoted prices which he failed to show me before our departure from my hotel. The quoted prices were as follows:

a. 15 minute ride around the vicinity of Ben Thanh Market: 15,000 @ RM 2.40

b. 2 hours ride around HCMC: 800,000 @ RM 128.00

I was astounded with the price since it was 54 times more than the original price that Mr. Prom wrote in my note book. It was also far my anticipated price of 30 times over i.e.450,000 dong. Mr. Prom the showed the digital time on his watch which displayed 1.50 pm . In other words, it was already more than two hours and 20 minutes journey on the cyclo together with the two stop overs.

I wanted to argue further with Mr. Prom to reduce the total amount since I was not on the cyclo for the whole duration. I abandoned the idea when I saw Mr. Prom's cyclo friend also stopped over at the bus stop and proceeded towards both of us. At the same time, the bus stop was also empty since there were nobody else waiting for the bus. I was indeed lonely and alone after being pushed to the corner in that precarious situation.

I then realised then I have been rip off and as such I should make myself scarce from them as fast as I could so as to avoid any further embarrassment. I immediately paid 900,000 dong for the 2 hours 20 minutes cyclo adventure to Mr. Prom and dashed from the bus stop towards the Ben Thanh Market forgetting even about the pains of my knees.

THE TRAP NEVER FORGETS THE MOUSE DEER

After being duped in that manner and recollecting the events of the day, then I realised that I have been drawn into the trap since Mr. Prom greeted me at 11.30 am. Mr. Prom did not show me the whole scenario of the quoted price which stipulated that time was an essence in determining the price tag. Then I realised why Mr. Prom kept requesting me for stop overs at a few places for the purpose of resting his tired legs. It was part of the ploy to add to the total amount accrued time on the cyclo journey.

The final stop for coffee at the traditional Vietnamese coffee sidewalk vendor was also another clever ploy to prolong the time to exceed 2 hours whereby the stipulated price tag would be at the minimum of 800,000 dong. While the activities of shoe shining and writing of the testimonials added weight to the ploy. I also believed their kind hospitality deeds towards me was not genuine but just to soften my heart with generosity so that I would feel more indebted to them. To add salt to the injury, I even paid for the coffee for Mr. Prom's cyclo friend.

I believed Mr. Prom has pre planted his cyclo friend into the scheme when his friend was already waiting for our arrival at the sidewalk vendor. He even refused my request to photograph him since it could be also turn as evidence of identity against him. His pursuit to the empty bus stop on his empty cyclo was also another ploy to frighten me so it would be easier for both of them to squeeze my purse.

Their ploy did worked out for their benefit for it really frightened me and influenced me to conclude the business with Mr. Prom as fast as I could. After crossing the street to Ben Thanh Street, I was grateful for the blessings of Allah whereby I have managed to endure the scam unscathed. At the same breath, I realised that my experience in dealing with various types on clients for 33 years during my tenure as a government servant was indeed no match to the well oiled scam of Mr. Prom.

Indeed the trap never forgets the mouse deer but instead the mouse deer often forgets about the trap.

LINGERING TACTICS

While waiting for the coffee to be served and to recover my numbness, I wrote a favourable comment in Mr. Prom's note book which would be then shown as testimony to other potential riders or rather victims on his cyclo. To instill my confidence in him, Mr Prom has also showed me various positive testimonials of Mr. Prom's credentials in his note book prior to our departure at 11.30am.

After finalising with my favourable comments in his note book, Mr. Prom introduced me to a shoe cleaner. At a cost of 2,000 Dong ( RM 0.32 ), the shoe shiner then shined my pair of shoes back to its original condition.

The traditional tree shaded side walk coffee vendors accommodate the blue collar workers with its cheap price tag without compromising the original flavour of the coffee.

Whereas the white collar workers enjoy their coffee breaks at the proper coffee tables placed under shaded umbrellas at established side walks cafe




The waitress in green and yellow jersey effortlessly serving her customers



A motobike passed by unassumingly between our miniature coffee tables




Sympathied with their fates, I bought a few books on the memories of War
sold by a war veteran without both legs


THE ART OF DRINKING VIETNAMESE COFFEE

Mr. Prom illustrated to me the correct way to consume the Vietnamese coffee. The vendor would place a glass of thick Vietnamese coffee with a 2 inches in height . The sugar was placed at the bottom without being stirred. If we could not consume the very thick black coffee , ice cubes would be added upon. If we wish to consume a thinner black coffee, then we should stir the coffee to our desired level of taste.

My desired thickness of kaw black Vietnamese coffee.



To optimise the true genuine feeling of the Vietnamese coffee, I was advised to consume the tea placed in the kettle after finishing a glass of Vietnamese coffee.

I joined Zam's group in the evening and was awarded by another traditional side walk coffee vendor in front of the Hong Anh Shopping Mall at Nam Ky Khoi Nghia Street.


After having been baptised by Mr. Prom on the technique of enjoying the flavour of drinking traditional Vietnamese coffee, I then transferred my newly acquired knowledge to Ayie. Ayie was not so confident with my advice and as such he just consumed the coffee according to his normal style.

The coffee vendor was very sympathetic to my physical impediment and happily he placed 5 stacked of chairs for my convenience





After drinking the coffee in one gulp and tasted raw sugar at the bottom of his glass, then Ayie acknowledged my skill in drinking the traditional Vietnamese coffee.


Heading Towards The Grand Finale of Rip Off





CONCLUSION

I did not blame Mr. Prom for his treacherous ploy, since I considered myself as a loser in the fair battle game of the minds. The blame was entirely on both of my shoulders since I was the one who agreed without duress to take a ride at Mr. Prom's cyclo. Apart from that Mr Muhammad Wong and Mrs. Erra Fazira (our Vietnamese tour guide) has repeatedly reminded us not to be intimidated by friendly and innocent looking cyclo peddlers. Mrs. Erra Fazira even assured me she could get honest cyclo peddler delivering the same service at a price of just only 300,000 dong.

From left: Mrs. Erra Fazira of HCMC aad Mr. Omar of Sarikie.

Any way, I have also enjoyed the comradeship of Mr. Prom during the ride in his cyclo. I was also indebted to him in enlightening me on the rich cultural heritage of Vietnam. What saddened my heart most was only the way Mr. Prom treated me as his potential prey whereas I innocently considered him as my truly new Vietnamese friend.

Looking back at the incident, I did not have any regret about it because my rejoice was much greater with the experiences I gained during my two hours ride on Mr. Prom's cyclo. It was indeed my joie de vivre experience in HCMC which I will treasure until infinity. Given another chance, I would still ride on a cyclo powered by sweat and tears around HCMC even with another price tag of 800,000 dong.

What is the value of RM 128.00 or 800,000 dong as compared to the similar price of a premier taxi ride from KLIA to the city at high speed with its stereotype scenery of straight roads and concrete jungles along the route against a 2 hour slower journey down memory lane with a live show of rich cultural and sociopolitical heritage of Vietnam.

Even if it was indeed a pre planned rip off by Mr. Prom, I still consider the experience as a rip off with rejoice. Thank you for sharing my pearls of experience in Ho Chin Minh City, Vietnam so that it would be a invaluable lesson learned from this misadventure for others..