We will be leaving Viet Nam shortly. We have spent 12 days/nights and have enjoyed ourselves. An incident happened 2 days ago brings home a reality that all of us are going to have to face when we come home. That challenge will be what we pay for our food, our beer, our everything when we come home.
In Lao, we had 8,000+ kip / US$ while in Viet Nam it was 18,500 dong/US$. In Cambodia, the exchange rate is 4,000+ riel/US$. Now pretend that you have a beer in Hanoi and the bill is 10,000 dong...wooow...10,000 of anything is a big number. After putting on your thinking hat, you realize that bottle of good beer cost you about $0.60. You go to a more expensive restaurant and the same bottle of beer is 25,000 dong...what a rip off...$1.40 for that same bottle. Everything is inexpensive from beers to meals to tours to tipping to......
A couple in our group went to the top of the Rex hotel to see this beautiful hotel and experience its ambiance. They paid 155,000 dong for 2 beers and were enraged....what a rip off. But think about it....is paying under $10 US for 2 beers at a ritzy 5* hotel really a rip-off, I don't think so. Another couple went to a nice restaurant and paid over 1,00,000 dong for their sumptuous meal and were quite pleased with the whole experience. They especially liked for their evening's meal.
I know all of you are concerned about my ability to adjust to this dilemma when I get home. It is going to be hard but I look forward to the challenge...traveling is great but sometimes it is difficult. Reality is always a challenge.... :>}...Tom
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