Where No Traveler Wants to Be

Last week, I went on a long-awaited trip to Vietnam. I bought tickets a little late ("expensive and last-minute" being my preferred mode of travel), so there were no early flights. Our flight (with Traveling Companion #2) wasn't scheduled to arrive until 11:45. Add in time for visas and customs and what-not, plus an hour or so from the airport into the city proper, and it was going to be 1:30 am before we found ourselves in our hotel. Of course, the flight was a few minutes late, although everything else was about on schedule, putting us at our hotel at 2:00 am.

Since I had purchased the flights, TC2 said she would make the hotel arrangements. She had borrowed my book, and I thought she had done some reading in it. The book clearly states that it's best to arrange for your hotel to send a taxi, taxi drivers being shady scoundrels the world over. I even thought about chasing her down and seeing if she had talked to the hotel at all, but I didn't. Mistake number one.

Not only were there no arrangements for a taxi, forcing us to take a random airport taxi, but we quickly ran south on the money front, too. Although many establishments (especially hotels) happily take U.S. dollars, it is not so ubiquitous a currency as it is in Cambodia. So, while I had gotten dollars before I left China, I had not gotten any dong. (heh-heh, heh-heh)

I suspect the taxi driver (and his English-speaking buddy) had a share in an ATM, because they hustled us out of the airport before I could think to hit up the ATM there. On the way to town, they stopped by an ATM, and TC2 went to get some money (as she is still working off her debt to me). She hadn't checked the exchange rates, though, so she came back with about $5. Which isn't enough for a 45-minute taco ride in any country.

So, after a good laugh at her expense by the taxi driver's buddy (he said Vietnamese money has a lot of zeroes) we found another (working) ATM, and had enough tom pay for the cab. Now, I don't think Mr. Cabdriver was fleecing us (but it was late and it's all a little fuzzy), but I do think we wore him out. He left us on the street in front of our hotel, bags in hand, and drove away.

The hotel was locked. Straight-up bicycle lock around the door handles locked, and there was no bell, button, or man sleeping inside. Yup. Stuck on the street in a foreign city with no prospects of a place to spend the night. I would have called the place, but our flight was so late that the SIM card place at the airport was closed and I couldn't buy one. I don't think my Chinese phone makes international calls.

If I were a more excitable person, I would have started flipping out right there. But, I maintained my composure, sure that if I freaked out, TC2 would be right behind me and become completely useless. But, like any good tourist spot, another taxi driver was right behind the first and he was more than willing to bring us to a hotel. (I'm sure he got a commission out of the deal, so it's not like it was out of the goodness of his heart or anything.) He rang up his friend, got him out of bed, and found us a room.

It was clean and had a nice view and a private bathroom with the promise of hot water. There was a mini-bar and some bottled water and a fan. At 2:30 am, it was perfect, even if it was up 5 flights of stairs.

At least I wouldn't have to worry about not getting enough exercise.