**DAY 5**
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Tinjau's first stop was much closer than he had anticipated. However, what surprised him even more was that a one-way ticket on Vietnam Airlines to Ho Chi Minh City was more expensive than a round-trip ticket on British Airways to London on the same day.
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Since Virgin Atlantic does not operate flights to Vietnam, Tinjau had to pay for his ticket out of his own pocket. When he learned that a one-way ticket to Ho Chi Minh City was $200 more than a round-trip ticket, he protested against Siupui for her reckless spending of his money.
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"What do you know? A one-way Ticket represents a choice of lifestyle." Siupui retorted confidently. "It signifies a commitment to true freedom, without the burden of worrying about when to return, or even needing a plan—just the desire to go wherever you want."
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"It sounds like the behavior of a nouveau riche." Tin
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"I could eat nothing but bread for a month, sleep in a sleeping bag, and skip showers, but I will never compromise on my stance regarding a one-way ticket," she insisted. "Have you forgotten what I told you? For an urban white-collar worker, true luxury isn't about how to spend money, but about taking a real long vacation. What you need to do now is to immerse yourself in the travel mindset as quickly as possible."
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The plane was small, with only a few dozen seats, and it was less than half full. Aside from the two of them, the rest were all returning passengers with tour group badges.
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It turns out that there are Vietnamese tourists visiting our city for sightseeing, Tinjau thought. Although Vietnam is considered not an affluent country, there will always be a middle class.
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During the voyage, Tinjau was consumed by anxiety. This was his first experience traveling alone. They hadn’t booked a hotel, and he had no idea how to get from the airport to the city center (when he used to join tour groups before, he was always picked up and dropped off by private vehicle).
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Siupui, on the other hand, appeared completely at ease. Tinjau watched her lazily reading a book, but he are could not swallow his pride to share his inner turmoil with Siupui.
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The challenge soon presented itself.
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At the Immigration and Customs of Ho Chi Minh City, the officer who responsible for checking visas was rudely scolded Tinjau in Vietnamese and sent him back.
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He turned around and found that Siupui had successfully cleared immigration at the adjacent counter and was unable to help him.
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Tinjau stood in the middle of the transit hall, holding his visa and passport, feeling lost and unable to find anyone in uniform to ask for help.
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Finally, he mustered the courage to join the line at the next counter. The officer there had a slightly better attitude. He pointed at the blanked “Name and Address of the hotel “ column in Tinjau's immigration declaration form and scolded Tinjau in Vietnamese again.
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Tinjau tried to explain to the officer in English that he hadn’t booked a hotel in advance, so he couldn’t fill in any information in this column. But the Customs officer refused to listen, ordering him to step aside for the people waiting behind him.
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Tinjau thought to himself: (Does Vietnam not allow travellers to enter the country without a local contact address (hotel address)? Do they suspect I’m a terrorist and will endanger their national security?)
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(That make sense. If a stranger visit here for the first time and chooses to buy a one-way ticket to enter someone’s country during the non-tourist season, and he even without a hotel reservation or having a clear purpose for visiting, and just hanging out. It is reasonable that stranger will not welcome by them. Will I going to be sent back on the same flight?)
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After thinking wildly for several minutes, all the other passengers on the same flight had cleared immigration, and he couldn’t find anyone to ask for help.
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Without other options, Tinjau could only rehearsed his body language several times in his mind and approached a group of middle-aged male staffs chatting and smoking by the wall. Through observing the demeanor of them, Tinjau didn’t expect them to understand English.
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To his surprise, when Tinjau approaching them, they greeted Tinjau warmly with smiles, a stark contrast to the attitude of the Customs officer. Tinjau tried to explain his predicament to them using simple English and gestures.
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As soon as they saw the entry declaration form Tinjau had filled out, they immediately knew what was wrong.
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"Are you Chinese? Then just write 'China'." They even understood a bit of English and insisted that Tinjau write "China" in the "name and address of the hotel" section.
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Tinjau giggled inexplicably for a while, and then they grabbed the pen and paper and filled in "Hotel" after "China".
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Suddenly, it dawned on Tinjau: all he had to do is scribble on the form. He quickly filled in all the blank columns of the declaration form with random English words and handed it back to the officer.
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After the customs officer read the declaration form, he stamped his passport. Entry permitted.
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After glancing over the form, the officer stamped his passport. Entry permitted.
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After having this experience, Tinjau no longer afraid of facing Customs officials from the unfamiliar countries. Bureaucratic attitudes are the same everywhere in the world.
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When Siupui say, "You’re a man, so you should take responsibility for everything," sparked Tinjau’s pride. He negotiated with the taxi driver boldly, managing to haggle the fare from twelve dollars down to eight dollars with his broken English successfully.
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He was generally is a man not to bother with trifles and didn't like to bargain. This time he argued rarely with others in order to save face, but he felt very satisfied after the success.
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Though it was a small victory, it marked a significant character breakthrough for Tinjau. He began to understand the excitement Siupui felt when she first tasted garlic bread in Madrid.
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The most satisfying thing was being praised by the taxi driver for his excellent English. Tinjau thought to himself, "In my twenty-something years, the most common response I’ve received when speaking English to people from other countries is 'Pardon?' I’ve never been complimented on my English speaking skills before.”
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According to the travel guide in his hand, Tinjau chose a hostel popular among backpackers. At 15 US dollars a night, the price is not cheap, but the room was clean, and the air conditioning was sufficiently cool—essential conditions for Tinjau at this moment. All these making the extra cost worthwhile.
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What disappointed him was that Siupui stopped Tinjau who was trying to fish in troubled water in a serious manner. She forced him back to the reception lobby and asking him to change the room from the deluxe room with double bed to two single rooms. Even the receptionist, a girl who looked very elegant in a golden cheongsam, couldn't help laughing when she saw this scene.
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(It's not like I haven't slept with her before. She even kissed me in the graveyard and travelled with me. But now she suddenly becomes reserved when we arrived hotel. Women are truly contradictory beings, aren’t they?) Tinjau thought.
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Since arrived Vietnam, Siupui seemed to have changed. She suppressing her activeness and independence that are particularly obvious in her character. She follows Tinjau quietly like a little woman and expecting him, this novice backpacker to be her guide.
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Tinjau was more than happy to play the role of the macho. Before setting off, he had read through two well-known travel guides and had a general idea of the popular tourist spots in Ho Chi Minh City.
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Following the pre-planned route in the travel guide, they visited the Neo-Romanesque Notre Dame Cathedral, Giac Lam Pagoda, Ben Thanh Market, the War Remnants Museum, and etc. Within two days, they had almost covered all the tourist must-visit places in the city that were air-conditioned and elegantly decorated.
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They primarily took taxis but also tried the cyclo rides which are popular among tourists. They dining at food courts that accepted US dollars, enjoying exquisite Vietnamese cuisine that tasted almost identical to the upscale Vietnamese restaurants in their hometown.
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**DAY 7**
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By the third day, Tinjau was feeling utterly frustrated. This is because he had been hurt by a group of tourists the previous night.
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He thought that following the routes carefully designed by experienced backpacker in the travel guide and occasionally altering the itinerary based on personal preferences would be the smartest way to travel.
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But to his dismay, they visited five scenic spots that day, encountering the same tour group from their hometown at four of them. Even the place he chose for lunch was the same as that tour group.
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Some members of the tour group noticed this coincidence and began to whisper among themselves, "What a brave couple to backpack in Vietnam."
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However, when tour guide of their group caught wind of this, he seized the opportunity to promote his travel agency.
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"Our six-day package, which includes meals, accommodation, and transportation, is only xxx dollars, but if you choose to travel by yourselves, you can’t even buy a round-trip air ticket at this price." The tour guide said.
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"Aren’t they foolish that not to join the tour and would rather go on their own?" an oblivious tour group member asked. "
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"Perhaps they think it would be smarter to design their own itinerary. But as you can see, the itinerary we carefully designed for our group members is no different from the one we planned by experienced backpackers..." That tour guide bragging with their tour group members proudly.
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"I’m sorry for causing you to be ridiculed by them yesterday." Tinjau said while sipping beer by the Saigon River.
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"Don’t take it to heart. I don’t care it at all." Siupui said.
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"What frustrates me the most is that what they said is entirely true. I’ve been asking myself these past few days: Is this what we considered as backpacking? Is this the experience that backpackers want to pursue in Vietnam? Just visiting museums, browsing souvenir markets, dinning in expensive restaurants, and taking cyclo rides?"
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"What do you think?"
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"Siupui, what do you backpacking veterans do in other countries?"
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"I don’t want to tell you."
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"Why not?"
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"Of course, there are so-called 'backpacker routes' for the veterans. But the question is, is this the travel style you desire?"
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"At least when I’m carrying a backpack, I want to act like a backpacker, not like a fool wasting money by not joining a tour."
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"When you put on a tie, you desperately try to appear as a successful white-collar worker. When you carry a backpack, you want to become a backpacking veteran. So, the person you are now is no different from when you’re working in the office. The only difference is that your cage has moved from the office to here." Siupui said to Tinjau.
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"...Then what should I do?"
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"There’s nothing to do; just do what you enjoy to do. Don’t worry about whether it’s what experienced backpacker do, and don’t care about others’ opinions. True backpacking means 'freely moving around,' not just following wherever backpacker will go. And you would dare to go to the places that experienced backpacking wouldn’t go."
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"...It’s hard... I’m not used to it." Tinjau drank off his beer. "
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"Then start getting used to it from now on." Siupui tossed him a new bottle of beer and finished her own. "Your first lesson is to get drunk and forget everything in a strange land."
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In the end, Siupui was the only one who got drunk. This girl looks like an innocent high school student, but when she drinks, she was intrepid as a strong man. However, her way of drinking didn’t come off as 'bold' but rather left a feeling to Tinjau that she is a bit gloomy.
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After carrying Siupui back to the hostel and threw her onto the bed, he took a wet towel from the bathroom and gently wiped her flushed face.
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It seemed she had longing to get drunk for a long time, and finally, that night, her wish was fulfilled.
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Tinjau recalled the night they had one-night stand. He was the one who was drunk and unconscious at that time, but what about Siupui? Did she remain sober that night?
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Why was it that she could only watch him get drunk that night, while tonight she finally found her release? What was the difference between these two nights?
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Compared to the night when we in the love hotel, Siupui's sleeping face tonight was clearly shadowed by a cloud of gloom. Her frowning brows remained tense even in sleep.
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…
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Tinjau didn’t dwell on it too much. After covering Siupui with a blanket, he returned to his room to sleep.
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**DAY 8**
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It was just past six in the morning when Tinjau woke up. After tossing and turning until 6:30am, he could no longer stay in bed and decided to get up and explore.
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When he arrived at the reception desk in front of the main entrance, he noticed that the Vietnamese girl in the golden cheongsam from yesterday was not on duty. She must have finished her shift. He had originally planned to chat with her to pass the time.
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Tinjau had a good impression of this simple girl.
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The hostel they stayed in was only a fifteen-minute walk from the Saigon River. Tinjau had managed to find his way back to the hostel while carrying Siupui on his back last night, so he figured he wouldn’t get lost if he takes a walk along the riverside during the day.
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Strolling along the Saigon River, Tinjau realized that he could not feel the beauty of the Saigon River by simply walking along the riverbank. He casually boarded a small boat, negotiated a price with the boatman, and let him use a long pole to guide the boat into the winding waterways surrounded by aquatic plants. Now this was the tropical vibe he had been looking for, and his mood brightened instantly.
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The boatman spoke good English and was quite friendly and chatty, which gradually made Tinjau lower his guard and improved his overall impression of the Vietnamese.
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After an hour on the boat, Tinjau almost reluctantly said goodbye to the boatman. Once back on shore, he excitedly strolled along the riverbank, looking around for other interesting things.
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Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder from behind. Tinjau turned around and saw a middle-aged Vietnamese man on a motorcycle and wearing a blue baseball cap, smiling and greeting him in fluent English. .
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After chatting for a while, Tinjau decided to hop on the motorcycle of that Vietnamese man for a USD2 ride, during which the man would show him around the various landmarks in downtown Ho Chi Minh City.
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As they rode around, Tinjau was take out of the city center by the man.
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After visiting two small Buddhist temples in the suburbs, the man drove the motorcycle into increasingly remote areas. At this point, Tinjau began to feel uneasy, but the man continued to chat with him politely, making it hard for him to suspect this man have any bad intention.
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About half an hour later, they got out of the car in front of a dilapidated teahouse located like an isolated island in the middle of a vast wasteland.
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There were a few locals sitting in the teahouse, drinking Coke and smoking. The man wearing a hat invited Tinjau to sit down, ordered two cans of cola from the barmaid, and continued chatting with him, casually pulling out a rolled-up item to smoke it with enjoyment.
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So that’s what it is. Tinjau had suspected that this man was more than just a motorcycle guide. This man turned out to be a marijuana peddler to foreigners.
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Tinjau had never tried drugs before. Although he was well aware the dangers of the drugs, he felt a natural curiosity to try it, which is a common human nature.
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After the warm reception from the boatman earlier that morning, Tinjau felt emboldened and reached out to take the other joint the man took out from his pocket.
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"How much?"
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"Very cheap! USD20!"
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Tinjau wasn’t sure about the market price. But it wasn’t an unaffordable amount, so he willingly paid.
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Leaning lazily in the outdoor tea house chair, Tinjau took a puff, squinting his eyes into slits, his mind drifting into a state of carefree oblivion.
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The man in the hat patted Tinjau’s shoulder friendly and invited him to go into the private room inside the teahouse to continue to enjoy his joint, which he didn’t resist.
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However, as soon as Tinjau saw the layout of the private room, he suddenly realized something was off and refused to go in no matter what.
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Inside the shabby wooden house was a room adorned with luxurious wallpaper. The room featured comfortable black sofas, a large television, and two microphones resting on the coffee table.
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On the sofa, two sexy girls in tight black tank tops were sitting. They were the same waitresses from the tea house.
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It was basically a pornographic place packaged as a karaoke nightclub.
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At that moment, Tinjau was completely sober. Not wanting to expose the shady intentions of this establishment, he pretended to be oblivious and insisted that it was more comfortable to sit outside, and insisted on returning to his original seat and sitting down. Tinjau began to pressure the man in the hat to take him away as soon as possible.
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The man agreed, offering Tinjau another can of cola, saying they would leave after he finished drinking.
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While drinking the cola, the man kept asking Tinjau how the waitress behind the bar looked like. Tinjau pretended do not understand what he means and responded perfunctorily.
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When Tinjau almost finished his coke, the man pointed at the girl and asked Tinjau directly, "Do you want to have sex with her?"
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Tinjau didn’t dare to engage in such activities in this remote area. God knows how much it would cost to just sit in that private room, have some peanuts, and drink a beer or something like that?
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He had heard about such schemes before; they would force a large amount of food and drinks into the room, and then the girl would gorge herself. The man would start by touching her hands and legs, and only after he was “done”, then he realizes that she had consumed food and drinks worth thousands of dollars.
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Tinjau immediately replied that he didn’t want a woman, saying that he had a friend waiting for him in downtown and needed to leave right away.
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He thought to himself: I’m just not going to do it; let’s see how they can handle me!
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After finishing the cola, Tinjau got back on the man’s motorcycle to leave. However, that man took a route that was the opposite of the way they had come, veering off into countless small paths before merging onto an unfamiliar highway.
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Tinjau kept reading the road signs written in Vietnamese. After a long time, he still didn’t see the sign written "Ho Chi Minh City."
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About thirty minutes of driving, the man in the hat parked the motorcycle on the roadside in a wilderness area, saying he needed to relieve himself. Less than a minute later, another motorcycle pulled up beside theirs. The short man Tinjau had seen at the outdoor tea house got off and walked over, speaking a bunch of Vietnamese mixed with English foul language.
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When the man in the hat returned from his break, he translated for the short man, saying that Tinjau had forgotten to pay for the two cans of cola.
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Tinjau asked how much the cola cost, and the short man held up two fingers. He thought it meant two thousand or twenty thousand Vietnamese dong or something.
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The man who can speak English explained to Tianyou that the price of the two cans of cola was 200 US dollars.
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That’s about three million Vietnamese dong.
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Tinjau immediately said he didn’t have that much money, and the short man retorted in English, "Do you wanna die?"
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The man in the hat explained that the 200 US dollars was actually the cost of hiring a prostitute. He even told Tinjau that they could bring two girls for him to have sex with him right there.
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But whether he wanted to have sex or not, he had to pay.
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How could he possibly pay? And how is it possible for him to hire a prostitute on the roadside? Tinjau pulled out his phone and told them he would call the police. The two men didn’t seem too worried. In fact, Tinjau do not dare to call the police because he had just smoked marijuana. Siupui had mentioned to him that Vietnam is a country that strictly against drugs.
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Call Siupui for help? He would never do something so embarrassing!
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Tinjau finally sighed, emptied his wallet, and even took out the money hidden in his belt and shoes, just enough to make 200 US dollars. After handing it to the short man, he asked, "Do you have four hundred?"
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Tinjau told him that he really had no money left. The short man started tugging at Tinjau’s clothes, repeatedly cursing at him with vulgar words. The only English sentence that was not vulgar was: "Do you wanna die? Do you want to die now?"
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