Unofficial Foreigner Tax to Park?

I ride my motorbike everywhere in Saigon.  I pretty much know my way around through all the districts now.  I normally know where to park and how much it costs.

At HSBC, you can park free behind the Metropolitan but I prefer to pay 2,000 VND to park across the street.  It is faster for me to run in, use the ATM, and run out.  The parking guys are nice too so my motorbike, if is not busy, is normally waiting for me 5 minutes later.

Parkson and Diamond Plaza charge around 2,000 VND to park.  If you park outside, normally it is 2,000 VND.

At Saigon Financial Center, I pay 3,000 VND.

The majority of restaurants and cafes I go to, it is free to park but normally the parking rate is around 2,000-4,000 VND.

At the Saigon Centre, the rates are much higher.  It went from 3,000 VND last summer, to 4,000 VND last month, to 10,000 VND this month.  If you get a receipt from Highland's Coffee and stayed less than 3 hours, it is supposed to be free.  The parking attendants at Saigon Centre do not seem to recognize the receipts anymore and after paying 10,000 VND yesterday, I realized that I have been paying, possibly, double the price for awhile.  Parking attendants do remember faces.

It is an unofficial foreigner tax, maybe?

I go there very often so next time I will just leave behind my Vietnamese friend and have him pay.  Other options is to have Highland's park my motorbike for free (valet motorbike parking) but it is a long wait to have them retrieve your it.  I can park across the street as well but outside parking lots are notorious for taking motorbike parts (a great business in Saigon).

Oddly enough, this is the only price hike I have noticed in the last couple of months, hence I blogged it :-)