# How hard is the dong? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 16, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001 "2006-09-16T21:56:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/1 "2006-09-16T21:56:54Z")
No, no, that’s not what I mean at all. How stable, and how well-backed, is the _ **dong,** _ the monetary unit of Vietnam? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/2 "2006-09-16T22:08:06Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] How hard is the dong? [/QUOTE] It’s non-convertible which doesn’t help its hardness, but it also seems they’re only [looking at gradual devaluation.](http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/?catid=2&newsid=19985) [Pictures of Dongs.](http://vietnam.sawadee.com/currency.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2006, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/3 "2006-09-16T22:42:13Z")
The biggest problem with the dong is that it’s subject to rapid inflation. Two can play this game, Shoshana. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/4 "2006-09-17T11:09:51Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] The biggest problem with the dong is that it’s subject to rapid inflation. Two can play this game, Shoshana. [/QUOTE] It’s important to note the time zone in which the question is being asked. The morning dong and the evening dong are not equal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/5 "2006-09-17T13:00:17Z")
[QUOTE=Squink] [Pictures of Dongs.](http://vietnam.sawadee.com/currency.htm) [/QUOTE] Is that link SFW? ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/6 "2006-09-17T13:22:27Z")
Anecdote warning:[ > [@me](#): > > There are 15,000 dong to the dollar, or 20,000 to the euro. This causes all of us terrible confusion, trying to divide with all those zeroes. I like to relate the story of when I bought the two motorcycles in Hanoi ten years ago. We finally located two Belgian expats who were prepared to sell us two black market bikes. They wanted $650 for the pair, but asked to be paid in dong. I therefore went to the bank and duly changed dollar travellers cheques for the requisite amount of dong - the exchange rate was 11,000 at the time, so I ended up with more than 7 million dong in cash, which my girlfriend and I later took back to the hotel room and rolled in on the bed, shouting “we’re millionaires!”. > > The low value of the currency, however, meant that the bank had given me a huge brick of notes to take away with me. Not wanting to get mugged, I stuffed the entire lot into my money belt, which I then shoved down my shorts. As I left the bank, my girlfriend looked at the huge bulge in my crotch area, and asked “what on earth is that?” > > “Oh that,” I replied with a smirk. “That’s my dong.” ]([Crow Aptok travelogue](http://www.crowaptok.com/travelogue/07/cheapest-beer.html)) ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/7 "2006-09-17T13:30:53Z")
[QUOTE=Dog80] Is that link SFW? [/QUOTE] Yes it is. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/8 "2006-09-17T14:16:07Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] No, no, that’s not what I mean at all. [/QUOTE] Yeh, right. You really wanted to know about Vietnamese currency. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/9 "2006-09-17T19:23:17Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] Yeh, right. You really wanted to know about Vietnamese currency. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Well… Both/and? I’m going to Viet Nam in November. I’m at that point where I start thinking about what currency to carry or convert, in what quantities. Having spent almost 14 months working in sheqels in the 1980’s, I know that buying local currency too early can sometimes be a problem. But I was also happy with the thread title. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/10 "2006-09-17T19:29:02Z")
In practical terms, you can use US$, though the practice seems to be losing ground a little and the exchange rate in local outlets is less than favourable; furthermore so much stuff is so cheap that having a mere dollar bill means you have a problem with overtipping, etc. Also, the dollar bills you have will be rejected if they’re less than perfect - a rip, or writing on it, or anything like that will mean it is unlikely to be accepted. But the good news is, since it’s a closed currency, it’s dificult to get any before you go. There are ATMs that give dong in most major connurbations, and the banks will take travellers’ cheques, though they’re inefficient and have bad opening hours. Hotels will also cash them, but will rip you off. Credit cards are accepted in most larger hotels and travel agents. ---
**Author:** ![DVsickgirlDV](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5e925/32.png) [@DVsickgirlDV](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DVsickgirlDV)\ **Post date:** [September 17, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-is-the-dong/373001/11 "2006-09-17T20:20:30Z")
Just got back from Vietnam (as I posted in your other thread). Everywhere in Vietnam accepts $USD, and the exchange rate with the locals is $1USD = 16,000Dong. Everything is super, amazingly, ridiculously cheap so you should probably start with a small amount and (I started with $230USD for 10 days and had money left over) pull out of an ATM as necessary.