Ho Chi Minh City Tourist Trap Tips by yeeman999

Staying at Omni Saigon, we knew that a cab ride from District 1 only costs 48,000 dongs (eq. USD 3). We were trying to go to the War Remnant Museum from Ben Thanh Market (Dist. 1), which is a much much much shorter distance that cannot be more than how much we pay to go back to hotel. The driver insisted that, according to the meter, I should pay 100,000 dongs or 8 USD as he quoted. He pointed to the few un-used digits space on the meter where numbers weren't even shown and insisted that those should be counted. I refused to pay what he asked for and told my friend to get off the car first. The driver tried to grab me from his seat. I yelled at him immediately and ran off after throwing in a few notes that added up to approximately 10,000 dongs which was what shown as I saw from meter. Polices were around but not helpful.

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At Least Do This: We were totally freaked out and forgot to write down the company name. All I remember it was a small Toyota that looks a bit old, the company logo on the door is relatively small to be even "eye-catching". Suggested fellow tourists to ride the newer taxi van which usually have their logo stickers big enough to cover half of the taxi door. Also, remember the taxi id which is usually a 3-digit number printed inside the taxi. Taxi companies suggested by hotel are Vina Taxi or Mai Linh Taxi.
Alternative: Ride the hotel shuttle if available