First, this thing about the money. As I wrote previously, in Vietnam the physical condition of cash is important as heavily worn, torn, or chipped cash is not (knowingly) accepted by anyone. I could understand this when it came to foreign currency since damaged currency must be returned to its country of origin to be exchanged and that can be problematic when that's thousands of miles away. But what has always annoyed me is that in Vietnam, even the local Vietnam dong (vnd) currency is not accepted when damaged. In the US and most other countries that I know of, banks will freely accept and exchange damaged currency, so I was really taken aback when confronted with this issue in Vietnam and I chalked it up to a silly collective attitude among the Vietnamese. Along with motorbikes using the sidewalks as an extra traffic lane, this is one of my 2 big pet peeves about Vietnam.
Well, I have to rescind that thought because it's not the fault of the Vietnamese, but their banks, and probably some government policy that directs the banks. It turns out that banks will not freely accept and exchange damaged currency in Vietnam but instead charge about a 4% fee and ask the bearer of the damaged currency to fill out a form in order to try to determine how it got damaged, so it's no wonder merchants and others don't want to accept currency that carries an inherent penalty on its face value. I can think of all sorts of pejoratives to ascribe to such a policy, but I'll just say it seems a bit looney to me.
A result of this bank policy is the Vietnamese playing a perpetual game of hot potato with damaged currency by trying to sneakily pass it on to someone else. I'm certain that foreigners are a common target for damaged currency since those fresh off the plane have no idea about it. I've mentioned that even the official foreign exchange counters will hand out damaged currency as it's happened to me at least 3 times. Now I not only count the vnd currency I've just received but also inspect it all for damage. The counters are good about exchanging any currency you don't want, but you have to spot it yourself. So far I've only caught one damaged note at an exchange counter, but I received 2 or 3 before I started checking it.
On one occasion I received a chipped 500,000 vnd ($24 US) note and didn't notice until I had left the counter. I decided I would eat at a restaurant and then act as if I didn't have any other currency and could only pay with that and nothing else to see how far they would push it. The answer: really far. They took the note that was inside a closed booklet, but it was only a few seconds before they brought it back pointing to the chip on the top and shaking their heads. I said it was the only currency I had and they said sorry, we can't take it. They actually were fine with me leaving the restaurant to get undamaged currency and returning to pay later! I was amazed. I was about 1 km from the currency exchange counter where I had received the note earlier and decided to walk back there and try to exchange it. The counter took it back and exchanged it no questions asked. So I imagine anyone could take any damaged currency to an exchange counter and possibly get it exchanged. So about 25 minutes later I returned to the restaurant and paid up.
On another occasion I came into possession of a 100,000 vnd ($4.85 US) note that was worn on one side down to the bare plastic. The usual green coloring and portrait of Uncle Ho were worn off and clear plastic was exposed. I actually wasn't sure if this note would be considered damaged or not as there were no chips or tears. The house I was living in at the time shared drinking water and we ordered when there were no full bottles left in the lobby. Myself and another housemate took turns ordering and it was my turn. As an aside, the ordering had to be done over the telephone in Vietnamese and I felt such elation when I had mastered the simple sentences well enough to pull it off! That day I ordered 3 bottles for a total of 90,000 vnd. I thought, hey, I'll give the guy this damaged 100,000 vnd note and let him keep the 10,000 vnd as a tip and maybe he'll be ok with that. I handed the note to him with the worn side down so he didn't notice and he thanked me and took off on his motorbike. Well, that wasn't so bad I thought to myself.
About 2 hours later it was so bad! I heard a Vietnamese man yelling and banging on the front door to the house and looked out over my balcony to see the water delivery man from earlier banging on the door and trying to peer in through the grating. I knew immediately what it was about and was truly aghast. He had made a round trip to the warehouse and back, a distance of over 10 km, and was now back making a scene in the alleyway. I went down and could see the 100,000 vnd note in his hand and tried to calm him and tell him I would replace it for him. He spoke not a work of English and my Vietnamese wasn't getting through and it got a bit testy when I tried to tell him I needed to shut the front door to go get the replacement. Finally a student came over and translated for him and he backed off so I could shut the door. Feeling annoyed at the circumstances, I only gave him the 90,000 vnd originally owed for the 3 bottles of drinking water. He gave me a look and left. I imagine it was his boss who sent him back to return the damaged note, so I shouldn't have taken back his tip, but I was really annoyed.
I was later able to pass the damaged note at a gasoline station and this is a good way in general to do it. The gasoline stations in Vietnam are all serviced and you hand the attendant the money to pay for your gasoline. The attendants are usually quite busy and have a huge handful of cash and don't usually take the time to inspect what you hand them. It's even a little easier after dark.
I think if the banks would do away with the fee and form for damaged currency, the GDP of Vietnam would immediately bump up a fraction.
Before I wrote about one of the hotel maids who arranged fruit in my refrigerator and even peeled, cut, and handed it to me to eat.
Now I live in an unserviced apartment, meaning I have to take care of everything myself. This is ok as I like my independence, but I have to admit I miss having the maid service included in the rent. At my previous residence she even changed the sheets. Now I use the same maid from my previous residence. I hired her because I thought she did a good job. She does do a good job, but she is starting to become a bit motherly. A Vietnamese friend explained that this is common here as a maid will start to think of a client as part of her extended family. This maid started by buying me a book on Vietnamese grammar so that I could form better sentences when talking with her. First, I really don't want to talk to her beyond confirming whether she'll be showing up or not, and second, it would actually help her a lot if she tried to learn some English, something she seems not at all interested in doing. She sends me long SMS messages, all in Vietnamese, and begins blabbing at me as soon as I open the door to let her in to clean. I usually can understand the gist of the SMS messages, but don't usually respond as to not encourage any more. After letting her in I'll nod and smile and say a few words and hustle out the door as quickly as possible. This week she sent me another SMS which I could understand very well. It said 'You shouldn't drink so much soda because it's not good for your health. Where I live there are many people who drink too much soda who are in the hospital.' First, I drink Orangina which isn't really soda so much as sparkling orange juice. She has noticed the ample supply of it in my refrigerator. And second, I only want her as a maid, not a mother! Well, sometimes the extended family just pulls you in. I guess I shouldn't complain.
The all-seeing eye inside the Cao Dai (cao đài) temple in Tay Ninh (Tây Ninh). Photographs are only allowed during the Tet (Tết) new year and I was lucky enough to be there then.
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