A

When we first arrived in Vietnam we thought we would work our way south as far as we could in our 18 days and then return to China. We had to be concerned not to get ourselves too far south and not be able to buy a ticket that would get us out in time. But we weren't really too concerned.

From our guide book and others we learned that good small travel agencies and good deals could be found on Hang Be street. So the night that we bought our ticket to the Perfume Pagoda we walked around the corner from Old Quarter Cafe and looked around. There we found the Open Tour - Sinh Cafe and its lone staffer, Miss Mung. We asked her lots of questions — about tours to Halong Bay, about the train to Hue, and flying from either Saigon or Hanoi to Guangzhou. Because it was Tet, she couldn't tell us the availability of trains or airplanes and asked us to come back the next night.

Coming back from the Perfume Pagoda trip we got off the bus as close as possible to Open Tour - Sinh Cafe since we needed to find out about the train to Hue and air tickets to Guangzhou. In a few minutes walk we were again at Sinh Cafe where the same always busy and overworked Miss Mung was waiting. She told us right away that the sleeper for Hue was not available for Wednesday or Thursday — it was sold out to well beyond the Tet period.

We asked again and were told the Guangzhou airfare is $140; this was better than the deal we came on, which cost us about $170 (Y1350). After a brief discussion we decided that if we could not take the train to Hue and had to fly, why not go to Nha Tranh and give Jan the beach holiday and warmth she wanted? After all, everybody we had talked to said it had been raining continuously in Hue for weeks. Why go there? If the schedule would permit we would immediately fly to Nha Tranh and later return to Hanoi to fly Guangzhou on 2/20 or 2/21.

Miss Mung made some phone calls and told us that tickets were available for Nha Tranh the next morning and Guangzhou for 2/20. So we told her to confirm it and she did. We tried to pay with our First USA Visa card but it was refused; we were told that the reason was our charge limit was $50. This seemed impossible because our actual limit is $20,000. But a second try failed so we switch to Jan’s Citibank Mastercard; that is why we carry several different cards. Having paid, Miss Mung gave us travel vouchers and told us to come back at 9:30 for the actual tickets.

Having more than an hour to wait we went to find some supper. We decided to eat at the Handspan cafe and there had steamed rice, vegetables, and spring rolls and a plate of french fries. All very good, all very fattening, and very cheap compared to other restaurants we’d been in — about $1.50 for the two of us. Atmoshphere does cost, and we were at the bottom of places that offer tables to eat off of.

We had a lot to do, so we split the chores. We walked back towards the hotel together and split up a half block away. Jan went to hotel and to pay our bill with cash. Over dinner we’d counted it and realized that we would be depleted. The counting, trying to get the conversion rate right, had us confused for a while but by the third calculation we were sure we had it right. To get more cash Gerry went to the ANZ cash machine (the only one in all of Hanoi), hoping that it would not be out of money because of Tet. There he tried his Mastercard and got the message "Go to counter”. So he tried the First USA visa and got $125 — so much for the limit being $50. It’s great to have several cards.

From there he went to our room where Jan had started packing. There he did some sorting and went out at 21:30 to retrieve our ordered tickets. Going to the Sinh Cafe he missed the turn for Hang Bac and was thoroughly confused and lost for a while. How simple it is to be lost when there is no support: without a map and unable to speak the language, he just had to keep turning corners hoping he was getting closer. He did find the place, only taking perhaps an extra 2-3 minutes to get there, but while lost it seemed longer.

Immediately upon entering he was told by Miss Mung, with an apologetic look, that the tickets to Guangzhou cost more than had been specified; they’d be $170 rather than $149. Gerry didn’t take but a few seconds to say he was having none of that — a deal was a deal. She said that it wasn’t in her power: Vietnam Airlines set the price and that was what they had to charge. This was a refrain Gerry would hear again and again in the next hour. That’s because they (Sinh Cafe) didn’t want to eat the loss and Gerry out of principle and out of concern for the cost didn’t want to pay more. Miss Mung made several phone calls and, among other things, had Gerry talk with the manager. He wanted Gerry to pay or cancel the tickets. Gerry refused.

Near 23:00 the manager showed up. He and Gerry went through all the same points again. The manager said that he would sell the ticket but the the money would come out of the airline accountant’s pocket; he is the person who gave the wrong price. This would cost him two month’s pay. Wouldn’t Gerry show some compassion and pay more? Gerry asked wouldn’t the manager also show some compassion and contribute to relief for the accountant?. This idea clearly came as a shock to the manager; his tactic of appealing to generosity had put him on the hook.

From the beginning to the end of this whole affair Gerry wondered what to do and what he wanted. He did want the tickets but not enough to accept the price increase without a complaint. But he really didn’t want to impose a big economic hardship on any of the Vietnamese for a mistake, even if it was theirs. So how to handle this? Finally Gerry proposed that Open Tour deduct its commission, $5 per ticket, and Gerry would pay the balance. This was accepted.

The manager went off on his motorcycle to get the tickets. While he said it would take 20 minutes it took closer to an hour. Gerry sat there reading the LP Vietnam, which was worthwhile, but he was getting pretty tired. Gerry also watched Miss Mung, with the help of the manager’s wife, pretty much close up the shop (by bringing in all the billboards, etc and half closing the grate) and go home. Just before she left she thanked Gerry for saving her from a big problem. That made Gerry think that maybe it was Miss Mung and not the airline accountant who would have lost two month’s salary.

When the manager returned and gave the tickets to Gerry he apologized for the affair and wished Gerry a good trip. Gerry, in his turn, said that we should all be friends and left for the hotel. The end result is that the airline accountant was off the hook, Open Tour and the manager earn half of what they would have (because of the two tickets to Nha Trang), and Gerry has made his point.