The minuses of Da Nang tourism   File photo of Da Nang by night. Tuoi Tre Editor’s note: Quang Kiet and his family would have had a perfect vacation in the central coastal city of Da Nang if they had not encountered “some minus points” when touring it. In this piece sent to Tuoi Tre News, the Vietnamese recounted how his family was upset by the trip. Definitely we will return to Da Nang City because it is an appealing destination. We will take it into careful consideration when catching taxis as well as visiting Ba Na Hills next time, however. Last week, my family visited Da Nang to let the youngsters enjoy a relaxing holiday. Embraced by the Han River, the city was an ideal place to visit, I admit. The streets and beaches were clear of trash; there were loads of public beaches and eateries in general offering fixed prices, with staff showing good manners. However, there are some issues that I see as the “minuses” of the city’s tourism, which somewhat lessened the comfort I had expected from the trip. Here come the cab drivers who try their best to take visitors to stone sculpture stores to earn commissions from the store owners. My family and I took a taxi to visit Hoi An City to spend our first day. As soon as we departed from the hotel, the driver advised us to visit some stone sculpture facilities. When I refused to do so, the driver kept urging, “You just drop by for 15 minutes. It’s OK to buy nothing.” As my family did not change their mind, he pleaded “Please help me earn a bit!” and told us that those taxi drivers bringing visitors to the said stores would receive tips from the shop owners and a crate of beers in the case of taking many visitors there a month. Tired of being hustled, we agreed to let him carry us to a stone sculpture facility on Truong Sa Street. When arriving at the shop, we saw a lot of taxis there waiting for visitors to go around the place. On the second day, after exploring Ngu Hanh Son Mountain, we had the same experience as another taxi driver begged us to visit a stone sculpture store for 15-20 minutes when taking us to the hotel. In the evening, my family decided to dine at a well-known seafood restaurant on Vo Nguyen Giap Street and chose a table outside to relish the gentle breeze. During two hours dining there, we were continuously solicited by many food hawkers despite the signpost of local authorities banning such behavior. But it was nothing compared to the trip to Ba Na Hills, a horrid journey, I must say: two hours queuing in sweat under the scorching heat; totally worn out by the crowd jostling for the cable cars to the amusement park. When my family and I managed to arrive at the park, it was completely disappointing as we were stuck among a sea of people. I really felt pity for the kids as they were all tired and almost “fainted” at noon, so they hardly had any chance to play there. I hoped that the Ba Na Hills attraction would offer 50 percent discounts to those visiting in the afternoon to solve the crowding problem of the morning. Taxi firm threatens to sack drivers forcing guests to visit stores Taxi drivers who try to force their guests to drop by a store will be fired, a taxi company has said. Vo Thanh Nhan, general director of the north-central Vietnam subsidiary of Mai Linh Group, made the statement, admitting that many stores pay “under the table” money to those drivers who bring their passengers to the places. When the passengers want to buy goods, a taxi driver can carry them there; otherwise, the driver has no right to force them, Nhan said. Drivers will be fined VND200,000 (US$9) if they break the rule for the first time, he said, adding that the drivers will be sacked if they backslide. According to leaders of another local taxi firm, passengers should firmly turn their drivers down and notify the operator whenever they are hustled by any of them into going to an unwanted destination. Visitors who are solicited by hawkers in Da Nang can contact local police for help, Huynh Van Hung, an official from the Son Tra District People’s Committee, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.  Tuoitrenews