Little wins. Little ones.

First of all, I made it safely to the chilled out beach town of Mui Ne. Slight breeze.  View of the ocean. Ok.....Ill be a total jerk and take a pic of where I am writing this at this very moment, really rub it in...

It's pretty nice.  Just wish you were here with me!  It's quiet...chill, very zen in a boogie kind of way.  

I booked the hostel dorm here that's a slightly older crowd...more of the couples and less of the 20 somethings, but for sleeping purposes, sharing a room with grown ups is pretty nice.....except for that one snorer.....grrrr. 

So.  Now that I'm settled, I of course have to start planning the next leg of the trip....which can be infuriating on an emotional level, because it means bowing to the gods of the booking agencies. 

I'm going to let you in on the grimy icky not fun part of backpacking....playing the game of how ripped off do I want to get and by whom. Be it a hotel, a bus, a taxi, a meal, the only power I have is in the form of paper bills with a picture of Ho Chi Minh on them and it can be infuriating to be treated like an ATM machine rather than a person. 

Letting someone rip you off a few bucks doesn't seem like a big deal. Right? This is a poor country. People need the money. I can afford it. What's the fuss all about?  

Firstly, no one likes to be the chump. The loser. The odd man out. Especially after when you find out you've been fooled by someone you thought you could trust. It just doesn't feel good.  Also, it's dehumanizing. It's saying, I'm different than you. I'm not one of you. I am simply a standing, talking object to get money out of. 

I'll use this morning as an excellent example of my fuss:

All the buses that run are the same quality, same type, same time to the next city I'm going to. The local price for a ticket should be 150,000dong/$7ish.  Sounds easy right?  

Here's what happens really.....

When I check in last night, the lady at the hotel tells me the bus for Saturday costs 320,000d/$14. It's Tet holiday after all and so prices everywhere for everything have gone up. That seems reasonable. I have after all booked 7 days in a beach resort just to avoid the mess and haggle of traveling during a holiday when there's no buses running. I think about buying it right then....but decide to wait, maybe I'll want to leave earlier?  Maybe head directly to Cambodia?....it's a big investment really to decide on a leaving date. What if I hate it here?  Better to wait and feel it out I decide...best not to pressure. 

I walk down the beach this morning and check in at one of the local bus companies...the woman ignores me for 5 minutes, then slowly wanders over and glares at me. I ask, she quickly whips out 350,000dong/$16 at me. Whoa!  Every day?  Every day same price. No smile. No discussion. No nothing. Yuck I think. That's more, why?  Weird. I'll wait and buy at my hotel. 

Now.....back at the hotel, 12 hours later, the buses are all full she says. The price has gone up....400,000d ($18).  I sigh. Oh shit. I missed my opportunity. Man people sure we're fast buying up tickets last night!...thinks my Minnesota nice brain. I say yes out loud to buy, then I make a grimace and change my mind....something smells fishy.   I apologize for my confusion and walk away. 

I talk to another tourist girl I met on the road. Her ticket has also gone up in price.

Then I meet a dude from the States. He says it's a thing the locals do....inflate the prices to get more out of tourists, if you argue or start to walk away, they'll lower the price to the local price. 

So...(now we are nearing the end) I walk down the Main Street half a mile. Walk up to the first travel stand on the street with a younger dude chilling out with his 2 year old daughter. I walk up and ask....300,000d/$13  He was nice. He smiled. He talked about other things to do here. He talked about his plans for Tet New Year and what the locals do for the holidays. He was a person with me and he smiled and treated me warmly. We shook hands and we wished each other a good day like human beings. I could have argued him down.  Maybe I probably should have, but the experience of sitting with him and being treated decently and sharing a very short moment with him and his family that didn't involve eye glares or irritation.....I really don't mind paying more to him at all. I feel kind of good about it!  

So to summarize the experience for one bus ride and probably even the same bus!

2/6 5pm $14 (my hotel)

2/7 8am $16 (angry lady)

2/7 9am $18 (my hotel)

2/7 10am $13. SOLD!  To the nice quiet guy at only double the price with the adorable little girl!

So I have a new motto. I don't mind being ripped off at all, if I'm being ripped off by people I like and who are honest and reasonable with me. Helpful is a plus!  

I was also told a few cities back by a reception girl after being super ripped off at a place next door to her....always ask around to 3 different places before buying something. Anything. It's worth the wait. Plus, you meet people....maybe even nice ones. 

So I sit and enjoy a respite before heading to lunch and doing the process all over again. It's not bad at all, just takes some getting used to!