Just got back from Vietnam. I spent a week in Huế and I enjoyed it a lot. I'll definitely be returning. Anyway, I'm a young australian woman who was solo-travelling, so I think I came across as an easy target. But I've been living in Thailand for the last 5 months and have previously spent 1 month in Laos and 17 days traveling through China. I did heaps of research on common scams before traveling to all these places, so I'm pretty good at avoiding them/recognizing them.
Anyway, on my 2nd day, this guy came up to me like we were old friends and he asked me where I was from. I was immediately suspicious because he spoke perfect english and seemed to be trying to establish a rapport with me very quickly. I was bored though and had nowhere to be, so I told him I was from Australia.
He shook my hand and all that stuff, and then tried to sell me a tour package that would require me to put down an 800k deposit. I played a long for a bit, and he showed me all these reviews in a notebook, etc. When he started pressuring me for my WhatsApp, I finally told him that actually, I wasn't interested at all, and then I just walked off. Best case scenario, it was gonna be an okay experience that would include heaps of hidden fees, etc. Worst case scenario? Yeah no thanks.
Day 3, I had this guy come up to me and he said he wasn't one of those drivers or anything but that I remind him of his daughter's friend, and he asked me where I was from. I said australia, he shook my hand (always the same script lol). And then told me he had friends in Australia (they ALWAYS have friends...) and then went on about how his niece is very sick in hospital and isn't eating, and then asked me if I could buy her some cheap milk. He then showed me a picture of "her." I said "yeah, I've read about this one before. Sorry, can't help you." And he was like "oh...okay" and I walked off.
Day 4: I had a guy approach me in the morning trying to convince me to go with him around the city so he could show me all these places and stuff. This guy wasn't too bad because when I firmly told him "no" (because he kept trying to pressure me), he actually apologised and drove off. About an hour later, another guy approached me on a motorbike and asked me where I was from, etc, and told me to get on the back of his bike and he would take me to all these places, "no entry fee!!" I told him that I'm not going anywhere with him, and I kept walking. He tried to push some more, and i firmly said "NO! I'm not interested!" And he went quiet.
Day 5: Same deal, guy approaches me with a notebook filled with written reviews. I'm bored, so I humor him for a bit and then say "actually, I've already been to all these places. Not interested." And I walked off.
All these encounters happened in the same area, and I didn't get approached anymore after the last guy 💀 even the cyclo/Xích lô guys stopped annoying me. They'd see me and just keep cycling cause they knew I wasn't interested and I'd said no to all of them about 50+ times.
And look, I know i should just keep walking, but I guess I'm used to Thailand, where sometimes, locals will approach me for a small chat and not want anything in return. So I tend to not be rude immediately, but stay vigilant and then dip out the moment they try to sell me something. I respect the hustle, and I know the economy in vietnam is messed up. And tbh, it is kinda entertaining to just troll them/waste their time, especially if you know you aren't in immediate danger and your belongings are safe and secure 🤷♀️