The story, which was posted on Facebook by a Hanoi resident named Thu Anh, stirred public outrage about the bad behaviour of the local sellers.
Anh said that having recognised the bad mood of a foreigner after buying the fried cakes on Ly Quoc Su Street, Thu Anh guessed that she might have bought them at expensive prices and asked her “How much do you pay for that”. Thu Anh was really shocked to know that the woman had to pay up to VND700,000 (USD31) for the cakes.
A female tourist overcharged USD31 for some fried cakes
“It was unimaginable that the sellers insisted me buying their cakes and they put the cakes into my hands. I did not know how much to pay. After I opened my wallet, they took two banknotes, one valued at VND500,000 and the other of VND200,000 and they left,” Thu Anh cited the woman as saying.
Thu Anh, however, did not mention the female foreigner’s name and where she was from.
Do Dinh Hong, director of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, said that the department has been working with Hoan Kiem District’s police on the incident.
According to Vu Cong Huy, deputy chief inspector of the Hanoi Department of Tourism, the fried cake case was published on social media without pictures of the violators being taken, so it was quite difficult for the authorities to investigate further.
The department has sent its staff to Ly Quoc Su Street after having been informed about the incident, Huy added.
The department has closely worked with district police to deal with the overcharging of tourists, particularly at Hoan Kiem Lake and pedestrian areas.
The department will focus on more raising awareness of people, particularly businesses and vendors, about protecting the capacity city’s image among travellers.
The department said that when detecting overcharging activities, people need to take photos or make videos to send local police or the department’s inspectors.
