Fun with the Black Market

Several years ago I went to Europe. Changing money in Europe was a depressing experience. You would go to a bank or an American Express and hand over 2 dollars and receive 1 pound or 1.5 euro, depending where you were. In Vietnam it is much more fun because at a bank for 2 dollars you get 32,000 dong (pronounced dowm, say dow like the stock exchange followed by an m sound as in Matt).

However, if you know George, you go down to the open air cafe and have a coffee or beer with a guy named chew-key, or uncle key. Then you give chew-key 2 dollars and he gives you 34,000.dong. But chew-key is not the only game in town, there are small “gold shops” all over the city that will give you a better exchange rate. But here is the good news for Vietnam, despite the ridiculous exchange rate it is not that much better on the black market which is an indication that the currency is doing well.

Money is far from the only thing exchanged on the black market. George, through a connection, was able to buy a police issue license plate for his motorcycle. The plate allows him to legally break the few laws that are in place, such as the helmet law. For those of you that know George, you know that he is rarely happy with what he has and always wants something better, the license plate is no exception. George is currently trying to trade in his blue police plate for a red military plate and even more power. George tells me that in the south, near Cambodia, all kinds of commodities, oil, cigarettes, even fruit, are smuggled across the boarder to be sold at higher prices in Vietnam. George claims that these smugglers are some of his favorite people in Vietnam and has promised that I will meet them later in the trip. Be sure to stay tuned for that adventure.