I want to spread the word far and wide to all Vietnam expats and visitors...
DON'T GO TO MINH'S JAZZ CLUB!
Sooo, some of my friends and I decided to go to this place and I was pretty excited and even commented on how this could be a new chill hang out spot for all of us. Once the show ended most of the customers left right away. As my group waited, there proceeded to be a 20 minute yelling match between a Malaysian couple and a waiter about how they were being overcharged. The waiter explained to them that the extra money was for a "music listening fee." I thought the people were being ridiculous as they were arguing forever over a measly 10,000VND ($0.50).
and then our bill came.
And well...I burst into laughter at how completely off it was! Our bill was more than double to what was on the menu!!! WTF man! So amongst my group of 7, only M and I could speak Vietnamese which meant we had to kinda deal with the situation. I actually tried to approach the staff calmly since they were still agitated from their last argument...
Me: "So I don't want to make a lot of noise but this bill is wrong."
Waiter: "What are you talking about, that is the right bill."
Me: "No this is double, I only want to pay with the prices from our menu."
Waiter: "NO YOU SHOULD PAY THIS PRICE! THIS IS THE CORRECT PRICE AND THE OTHER MENU WAS A MISTAKE. (shows me more expensive menu)"
Me: "WHY DO YOU HAVE TWO MENUS?!?!?! If it was your mistake then I do not have to pay for it."
Waiter: "Pay this correct price."
GAAAAAAAAAAWWWWWWD. This argument lasted a good 10-15 minutes with buddy M also doing lots of yelling. Well, our group gets quiet, tells the waiter "okay" and we put money in the bill book to cover the original price before getting the hell out of there.
BUT THEN!
...they run storming out and grab my bicycle, yelling all the while, and we start to have a tug of war with my bike. YIIIKKKKES! And let's just say this part of our argument lasted a good 30 minutes with lots of screaming (I have never seen that side of M) and cussing in English and Vietnamese in the middle of the street. Holy crap man. It was quite an experience to have to stand there with 5 men surrounding me and yelling at me. I was really scared something violent would happen but luckily some of my friends are bigger dudes than these waiters. Although these folks were dishonest they were not stupid.
Anyway this incident made me think a lot that night (I was so angry I couldn't sleep!)
1. Foreigner privilege versus principle - not such a novel topic amongst the expat community. Obviously, being an expat comes with a lot of privilege. You get to take your not so amazing salary and do incredible things with it, enjoy other regions and cultures, and get things from people and communities for pennies what it is worth back home. Contrary to what you might think from my argument above, I am not against paying more for these things. As long as I think what I am getting is worth it than I won't complain if I unknowingly pay more for something than say a local does. The difficult part is when my pride gets involved and the statement that "its not the money it's the principle." To be openly cheated, to not let me choose what I want from the expensive menu but rather to feel DECEIVED, well then it gets complicated...My biggest gripe with last night wasn't so much the money but how it was handled. During the argument I felt vulnerable, belittled, insanely angry, and a little threatened...someone making me feel those emotions...that I can't handle.
2. Being a Viet kieu in Vietnam - quite a complicated topic and I've been struggling with this. Not sure if you understood this from above but the scream fest was basically just between me, M, and the staff because my other friends did not speak Vietnamese and all they could do was yell in English from the sidelines. The staff knew this and directly ran and focused on me since I was probably the less threatening one...and it kind of sucked. It sucked to be surrounded by angry men, being called names by them, knowing I was irrational with anger but also feeling responsibility for my friends. And yes because I have some communication ability there is a certain expectation from my non-speaking friends to help them out.
Contrast this to my times with my co-workers who berate me daily on my poor language skills and lack of culture. Their expectations from me are on a completely opposite spectrum than my expat friends. I am unable to fill either role well and it gets tiring...
argh. this topic is getting too complicated and I didn't even mention my feelings on being a Viet kieu vs a White foreigner...but I guess I'm just throwing all this out there as an intro to some things I often think about and for some food for thought.
Don't be fooled, I am having a great time in Vietnam but not everything can be unicorns and rainbows. On the bright side, the event last night was an extreme bonding event for me and my friends.
