After three weeks of confidently getting around Vietnam on my own, I made the most rookie of rookie mistakes when I arrived in Nha Trang at 4AM. I stepped off the bus – the only passenger on the sleeper bus – and was immediately approached by the usual guys looking to take me on their bike. This time, however, I made the mistake of not ignoring them and instead told them I needed to charge my phone as it had died during the 9-hour journey.
Little did I know, the offer to charge my phone was too good to be true. Before I knew it, one of the guys had taken my bag and put it on his bike and we were off – no talk of money had been made. As we went to a cafe for me to charge my phone, I was handed a cigarette and asked where I was from. His friend followed on his bike while we chatted the best we could. In my tired state, I thought the two were just being nice and helping me out.
After my phone had charged, I showed them the address of my hostel and we were off. It wasn’t until we had arrived that I realized what a silly mistake I had made. Not only had I not asked how much I owed the two guys, but I had also foolishly not brought a USB charger. I was so close to getting away with it too.
Lesson learned: always stay alert and never trust the kindness of strangers in the early hours of the morning!