In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age
of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this
financially independent lifestyle, they invite you
to take advantage of their wisdom and experience. |
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The Great Coconut Rip-off -
This Vendor Lied to Us!
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli
Currency Exchange
Street vendors are
everywhere in Vietnam and you can get just about anything you want from them.
You can get
your bag fixed, have a hot meal prepared for you right then and there,
have a sweet waffle made or fresh fruit cut up for your enjoyment.
Pole vendor selling
coconuts
This vendor is selling
fresh cut coconuts with the cold coconut water still in the nut. The box on the
back of his pole is a cooler with cold coconuts swimming in ice.
A group of friends
sharing a coconut drink together
Fresh cold coconut water is
available everywhere and you can get it in restaurants for 20,000VNDong or about
$1USD a coconut. It's a very affordable, refreshing, health-full drink.
Cart vendor
This cart vendor is selling
fresh coconuts for 12,000VNDong or about $0.60 US cents. Notice the small
machete on top of his cutting board.
Billy with coconut vendor
One particularly hot afternoon, Billy and I
are out walking the city when a verrrrry friendly coconut vendor approached us.
Wanting us to take his photo, we obliged, and he practiced his English with us.
Being polite, we entered the conversation and teased about how heavy his pole
weight was.
Here Billy is carrying the fully loaded pole for a few
minutes. They weigh more than you can imagine!
Verrry happy coconut vendor cutting off
top of cold coconut
But we were making him happy, he said. He
didn't mind working if we made him happy. Look! I give you this coconut because
you make me so happy.
The Vietnamese people in general had been
very friendly to us, and if this guy wanted to practice his English and give us
a coconut, well so be it. Anything to keep relations between our countries
positive. We did not ask for a coconut, and never asked how much they were, the
normal introduction to doing business with a vendor. Once you begin asking about
his wares, you are in negotiation.
Notice his Styrofoam cooler with ice cold
coconuts, and his pile of colored straws on the other side of his pole.
Oh you make me so happy! Notice how happy
I am to make him happy
"Take this coconut! I give you this coconut!
Ice cold! You will like it. Hot today."
I'm just thrilled. I'm so happy that he's so
happy. In slow motion, I. Take. The. Coco. Nut.
Once we took the coconut into our hands his
demeanor changed and he quoted a price to me. 200,000VNDong (almost $10USD). I
was stunned and confused over the number and thought I had not heard him
correctly. We had just recently arrived in Vietnam and I was still getting used
to
the many zeros on their currency. I give him 20,000VNDong ($1USD the usual
price... I just knew it couldn't be more) and now he is definitely NOT happy any
longer. He wants ADDITIONAL money,
another 100,000VNDong ($5USD) besides the 200,000 he asked me for to begin
with!
Not only is he browbeating me, he is acting
indignant.
This now very unhappy vendor wants $15USD for
2 coconuts that anyone could purchase anywhere for $2USD or less.
Dazed with confusion, not wanting to cause
trouble yet definitely knowing
something isn't right, we refuse to give him any more money, take our $10
coconuts and walk away.
His shouts greet our backs.
It was hotter than blazes, the coconuts were
cold as ice and we just figured that we experienced The Great Coconut Rip-Off!
Buyer beware!
For more stories and photos
of Vietnam, click here
About the Authors
Billy and Akaisha Kaderli are
recognized retirement experts and internationally published authors on
topics of finance, medical tourism and world travel. With the wealth of
information they share on their award winning website RetireEarlyLifestyle.com,
they have been helping people achieve their own retirement dreams since
1991. They wrote the popular books, The
Adventurer’s Guide to Early Retirement and Your
Retirement Dream IS Possible available on their website
bookstore or
on Amazon.com.
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