The price
of being white
In four days time I will have been in Vietnam for five months. For me
this marks quite significant length of time and proves that I have been able to
adapt and thrive on the other side of the world.
However, it also is a good time to address the question “how integrated
have I become into Vietnamese culture?” and, the question all expats ask
themselves: “what separates me from the run of the mill tourist” Answering the
first of these two questions is easy: not very. Superficially I have changed: I
eat more rice and noodles, I drive on pavements if the road is too busy and I
can count to 100 in Vietnamese. However other then this I still live a very
westernised lifestyle, quite different form my Vietnamese neighbours. When I go
back to England I’m not going to attempt to haggle for fish in Tesco or
pavement hop in my small car when the traffic is to heavy. In short, I have
become familiar with the customs and ways of Vietnam and have integrated to the
extent that most westerners here seem to – a little but without truly leaving
their comfort zone.
Answering the second question is trickier as it boils down to a question
of perspective. From my point of view I’m not a tourist, I live and work here
and therefore am currently an inhabitant to Vietnam. However, this does not
mean that I am treated as a local.
Tourists in Vietnam are a big source of income for many people so naturally
they are a constant magnet for street sellers, motorbike taxis and basically
anyone - read almost everyone - who has something to sell. Unfortunately, being
large and lumbering, tourists are also the target of many scams and cons
designed to rinse them of as much cash in as little time as possible. These are
primarily rigged taxi meters and overpriced goods however can be as far fetched
as artificial boarder crossings where you pay for a fake visa only to find the
real thing half a mile down the road. This is just the natural way of things
however it becomes slightly tiresome having to prove that you are not a naïve
tourist every time you wish to haggle for something. Knowing Vietnamese numbers
helps but it doesn’t guarantee a good price.
There are a number of things you can do to differentiate yourself from
the average tourist: wear trousers not shorts, drive a motorbike, don’t hang
around in the backpacker district. But even when following these simple
instructions I’ve still found it very hard to go unnoticed and am still
regularly greeted by the familiar sounds of “hey you, want –insert a seemingly never ending list of
products on sale on the street - ?”.
Driving a motorbike keeps you away form the street sellers and fairly
anonymous, however, even here I can be singled out. During the traffic police
crack down on westerners driving without Vietnamese licences, we were all
warned to cover up in order to avoid detection: facemasks, sunglasses, gloves
and large helmets were a must. However being six foot one with extremely pale
skin and very light hair, I found it very hard to pass for Vietnamese even when
fully kitted out in my disguise.
In the end of the day, these small annoyances are a small price to pay
for the privilege of living in such an exciting country, I might even go so for
as to say it wouldn’t be the same without them!
