Argh! Foreign postage question. Test your skills!

Factual Questions
1

Argh! Ventured from Long Beach on Phu Quoc, into the little town today to do a little money changing, get some stamps, and a few other errands that got cancelled due to rain!

But I did get stamps. Through only fractured language I told the girl I wanted stamps for letters to Canada, she knew exactly what I needed and was very efficient. I repeated, and she wrote it down to double check, I needed stamps for 15 letters.

Okay, so here’s my issue, she gave me two bundles of stamps.

Bundle 1: 15 X 3000 VD (Vietnamese Dong)
15 X 10,500 VD

Sure, looks pretty obvious at this point, right? Not so fast!

Bundle 2: 10 X 3000 VD
10 x 10,500 VD

Wait, what? I thought it would be self evident, instead it’s just making my brain hurt!

(And, of course, there is always a chance she gave me postage for more letters, by accident, than what I asked for!)

So I went online to look up how much postage for a letter to Canada would be thinking that would straighten everything out.

It did not. I wasn’t asked how big the letters were or if I wanted it sent express. (I did hold up a letter to mime ‘stamp’, which is probably 7x7cm, if any of that helps.) All the info I could locate was only more confusing, most of it seriously out of date.

I was so happy, (and a titch proud too), I’d managed to make myself understood and come away with what I needed.

Now it’s just turned into the world’s worst math problem, ugh.

So I’m asking, can you work it out? Got any ideas? Guesses?

(I’d really like these letters to reach my family and friends for Christmas, so I kinda would like to get it right.)

Go ahead, give it your best shot! Any and all assistance would be greatly appreciated!

(I might even send you a card. I have a lot of stamps! Oh, and they are lovely too!)

2

Put about 21,000 VD on each envelope, you should be in the ballpark. Yolu have 25 at 10,500, so put two on each of 12 envelopes. Cover the other three envelopes with about 8 3000VD stamps.

3

I think it’s 22,500 dong each. Unfortunately what she gave you can’t be split into 15 equal portions.

If you can’t get her to trade you 35 3000’s for 10 of your 10500’s then do the following:

  • Mail 4 letters with 1 large stamp and 4 small stamps. Exactly 22,500.
  • Mail 9 letters with 2 large stamps and 1 small stamp. Overpay a little.
  • Fold the 14th letter with no postage and place it inside the 15th letter, asking recipient to forward it for you.
  • Place 3 large stamps on this 15th, slightly overweight, letter.