its not too often i see that much difference to be honest, i already know the price of the vast majority of things and dont ask a price i just hand them the money, sometimes i may get charged 1-2000riel more than i should, sometimes i dont, in them cases i sometimes give them the money they didnt 'white tax' me with as a tip,
i remember a while ago i made a very late night dash to some street vendor to get some bottles of water, it was an old man who didnt speak english, so i had to talk in khmer, he only charged me 2000, i like honesty and i only had $2 left in my wallet so i just gave him $2, he didnt want to take it at first and thought id made a mistake, i said it was fine and to keep it, so he kept $1 and gave the other dollar to his friend who was keeping him company, maybe a relative, they both were really happy and thankful, i liked the fact he shared the tip with his friend, it was nice touch

As few months ago, I bought a sugar cane juice from a street seller around St 118 near Psar Themy. It was 1,000 reil. I gave her a 10,000 reil bill by mistake and walked away. She and another customer called and walked after me and gave me the right change. And otherwise I've had mostly pretty good experience w. Khmer honesty.

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:I think the point is that it's much more common to get ripped off as a tourist in Vietnam than in Cambodia. It's usually for small stuff, but it adds up and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it's almost relentless.

Couldn't disagree more, I found the Vietnamese to be the most honest people I've ever dealt with and for some reason I found the money really confusing there and kept over paying... to find people chasing me down the street with my change. Even my Chinese wife commented on how people would screw you in China but in Vietnam they were scrupulously honest even when we didn't know the language nor they ours...

We used to live across the road from Sesame Noodle in TTP and would often buy a meal there - good, healthy stuff served by great staff. I'd regularly tip a dollar as I know the back-story to the place. I went in one day and one of the young waiters came to me very concerned with a $10 note, stating that I normally tipped $1 but last time I'd given $10, and asking if I'd made a mistake and possibly gave the wrong note. I was stunned by the honesty, thanked him and asked him to put the $10 in the shared tip jar. There was 3 weeks between me making the tip and returning to the shop.

We also enjoy the Thai-Khmer fusion food at Tom Yung Kung in TTP and occasionally pick up takeaway from there after a busy day. Recently the staff brought out the order and the mama from behind the register came out to tell us that they'd missed an item from our previous takeaway (they'd forgotten to put it in the bag) and so they'd added it to this order if that was okay. This was after about a four-week gap.

I had a wad of currency fall from my pocket near Riverside, and two Khmer chased down the notes in the wind and returned them to me.

Yes, I've been ripped off by dodgy sellers - but by far I've seen a greater level of honesty in the Kingdom that I'd expect to see in Australia.

TheGrinchSR wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:I think the point is that it's much more common to get ripped off as a tourist in Vietnam than in Cambodia. It's usually for small stuff, but it adds up and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it's almost relentless.

Couldn't disagree more, I found the Vietnamese to be the most honest people I've ever dealt with and for some reason I found the money really confusing there and kept over paying... to find people chasing me down the street with my change. Even my Chinese wife commented on how people would screw you in China but in Vietnam they were scrupulously honest even when we didn't know the language nor they ours...

And my Vietnamese ex-wife would't let me go to the market with her as she was inevitably asked to pay more as I was paying (or so the market people thought).

In on and off 20 years I have had few problems in Vietnam apart from the odd taxi drive (this was before Mai Linh and Vinasun). It does get worse the closer you get to the banana pancake ghettos; another reason to avoid the soap dodgers.

hanno wrote:

TheGrinchSR wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:I think the point is that it's much more common to get ripped off as a tourist in Vietnam than in Cambodia. It's usually for small stuff, but it adds up and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it's almost relentless.

Couldn't disagree more, I found the Vietnamese to be the most honest people I've ever dealt with and for some reason I found the money really confusing there and kept over paying... to find people chasing me down the street with my change. Even my Chinese wife commented on how people would screw you in China but in Vietnam they were scrupulously honest even when we didn't know the language nor they ours...

And my Vietnamese ex-wife would't let me go to the market with her as she was inevitably asked to pay more as I was paying (or so the market people thought).

In on and off 20 years I have had few problems in Vietnam apart from the odd taxi drive (this was before Mai Linh and Vinasun). It does get worse the closer you get to the banana pancake ghettos; another reason to avoid the soap dodgers.

Ah my wife did all the shopping in markets - she found it terrifying as everyone assumed she was Viet until they found that she only spoke English (she's not daft enough to try Chinese in Vietnam feelings run strong on that issue). Yes, I try to ensure I never visit anywhere that is designed for backpackers... I was actually based outside of any of the major expat districts too... I really liked the Vietnamese, lovely people and driven. And while I think Khmer are lovely people, "driven" is a rare quality here (though it does exist - a lass of my acquaintance has worked 2 jobs to pay off the loan on her home in her village 4 years early, now she's saving up to start her own business...).

hanno wrote:

TheGrinchSR wrote:

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:I think the point is that it's much more common to get ripped off as a tourist in Vietnam than in Cambodia. It's usually for small stuff, but it adds up and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it's almost relentless.

Couldn't disagree more, I found the Vietnamese to be the most honest people I've ever dealt with and for some reason I found the money really confusing there and kept over paying... to find people chasing me down the street with my change. Even my Chinese wife commented on how people would screw you in China but in Vietnam they were scrupulously honest even when we didn't know the language nor they ours...

And my Vietnamese ex-wife would't let me go to the market with her as she was inevitably asked to pay more as I was paying (or so the market people thought).

In on and off 20 years I have had few problems in Vietnam apart from the odd taxi drive (this was before Mai Linh and Vinasun). It does get worse the closer you get to the banana pancake ghettos; another reason to avoid the soap dodgers.

yeah that does me in that does around the backpacker areas

frank lee bent wrote:good work op.
vietnam has a really bad reputation for this.
it stops people from visitingo
one of the great assets of Cambodia is the friendly people, and honesty seems to be a well developed trait among young people here who have an education.
it sets Cambodia apart from some other countries in the region- in a good way.

Fuck me! you really are a moron. Cambodia is THE WORST PLACE for this kind of behavior. At least in Vietnam you can find 1 in 5 who are honest. You''ll need a fucking long time to find an honest Khmer.
Fucking Cambodian expats - evil or dumb as fuck.

Samouth wrote:I remembered, i was doing the same thing at Pich Nel. I bought a piece of pineapple for $0.50, then when a barang went to buy it, the price went up to $1. I then talked to the seller and he got the same price as me. I actually hate it.

If you really mean that you hate your fellow Khmer for this, then I support you %100. But if your bullshitting (which I suspect) ....

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:I think the point is that it's much more common to get ripped off as a tourist in Vietnam than in Cambodia. It's usually for small stuff, but it adds up and leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when it's almost relentless.

Clueless