**DAY 5**
81Please respect copyright.PENANAGIFaqLBhd7
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAQXBG9AEUdj
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAFa8vwl9FNu
"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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANA3IngS4iI7o
"It sounds like the behavior of a nouveau riche." Tin
81Please respect copyright.PENANAlZBOJxVQOk
"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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANATYIbPKDJtQ
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAr0ust2ewli
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA0KHBrfd9V5
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).
81Please respect copyright.PENANAti7M92mN5x
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANArnewKa7dJ5
The challenge soon presented itself.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAi2ArpXZjGL
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAbuqGi73awc
He turned around and found that Siupui had successfully cleared immigration at the adjacent counter and was unable to help him.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA2nvYVAoZsU
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAcDUzAiSfo2
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAwbrl9BssIK
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAOp4xQ36v0Y
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?)
81Please respect copyright.PENANA4dNKXZ6lAf
(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?)
81Please respect copyright.PENANATEufn4Tdah
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA1F33u3DLnX
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANACnEBtfcyr4
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAi7Hn247ZaK
As soon as they saw the entry declaration form Tinjau had filled out, they immediately knew what was wrong.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIBtaQfA9i7
"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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAFTqKAlkstG
Tinjau giggled inexplicably for a while, and then they grabbed the pen and paper and filled in "Hotel" after "China".
81Please respect copyright.PENANAsdooBtpQs5
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAVsTVrotg2m
After the customs officer read the declaration form, he stamped his passport. Entry permitted.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIb2MnFG5wV
After glancing over the form, the officer stamped his passport. Entry permitted.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAKc9npC99yc
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANATU2gPeCZAe
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAQTqXoaVN8M
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAETlMqzaOHB
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA0G009uEGzB
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.”
81Please respect copyright.PENANAprqvzRLMzX
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANArmUxRsVqk0
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAHXnuUFIV0H
(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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA3MhAydRTf4
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANADRHtoQ0UYq
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAAzTpvHql9Q
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAfW2st5zCMR
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIClUTLGqLQ
**DAY 7**
81Please respect copyright.PENANAKqEzyeobMW
By the third day, Tinjau was feeling utterly frustrated. This is because he had been hurt by a group of tourists the previous night.
81Please respect copyright.PENANABnuBFq8aMX
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAP1mTeUglIU
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANACC8dgeUdRg
Some members of the tour group noticed this coincidence and began to whisper among themselves, "What a brave couple to backpack in Vietnam."
81Please respect copyright.PENANAzOfKQfxXwR
However, when tour guide of their group caught wind of this, he seized the opportunity to promote his travel agency.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAfwR1tQPXjJ
"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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAc0eKMYR9O7
"Aren’t they foolish that not to join the tour and would rather go on their own?" an oblivious tour group member asked. "
81Please respect copyright.PENANA6lxtcFfvTo
"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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAvPaEJVOWjY
"I’m sorry for causing you to be ridiculed by them yesterday." Tinjau said while sipping beer by the Saigon River.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAaLM55ZGJ5n
"Don’t take it to heart. I don’t care it at all." Siupui said.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAJrHebTo12H
"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?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANA27zJmqU6ks
"What do you think?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANA3TvaxP2ZS5
"Siupui, what do you backpacking veterans do in other countries?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAvxm9Nr6q9c
"I don’t want to tell you."
81Please respect copyright.PENANAq8USLORFcL
"Why not?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAxEHMKSDFXF
"Of course, there are so-called 'backpacker routes' for the veterans. But the question is, is this the travel style you desire?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAE6gZItHZJ6
"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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANABak4RmoJhM
"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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANACV1VSsQEKH
"...Then what should I do?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANARyL6KL41Oi
"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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANA4joEXmJQPw
"...It’s hard... I’m not used to it." Tinjau drank off his beer. "
81Please respect copyright.PENANAQatRZl6Hb8
"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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANASvWvPOKLn9
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAMVZGOmMVOC
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA5mEPkP666P
It seemed she had longing to get drunk for a long time, and finally, that night, her wish was fulfilled.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAxwTow3Kb5H
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?
81Please respect copyright.PENANArBYl5s3jLR
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?
81Please respect copyright.PENANAaTq3qJtE8C
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA2BiY7srq8W
…
81Please respect copyright.PENANAWDfpZWJEFb
Tinjau didn’t dwell on it too much. After covering Siupui with a blanket, he returned to his room to sleep.
81Please respect copyright.PENANApeGqrxlQ2Z
**DAY 8**
81Please respect copyright.PENANA5yYQkqBNI5
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA33bqU4Ow6c
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIYXeU1XfXR
Tinjau had a good impression of this simple girl.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAfhM1aEQJSl
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA0W5lYz359I
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAuYWUUGmDDF
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAha7MXLyrPY
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAjXJdrb2wmS
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. .
81Please respect copyright.PENANAehFfJXLNzn
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAvy2EBDdBwo
As they rode around, Tinjau was take out of the city center by the man.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAZ0Qzrz4pEC
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA2ISnrwG0Lt
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA9uiJLNORyx
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAfuCahNxoNA
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAkncMFqWOzz
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANANE1RhN6IIf
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAirvwvRyQ3N
"How much?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANA9NGBCU7hLA
"Very cheap! USD20!"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAq69Fvn4kZO
Tinjau wasn’t sure about the market price. But it wasn’t an unaffordable amount, so he willingly paid.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA5V8wYaXKt3
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAt7sewLP2g8
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAGQUODq1qOy
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIGvkve9EgP
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA8atC3emOmP
On the sofa, two sexy girls in tight black tank tops were sitting. They were the same waitresses from the tea house.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAPvD8fRUaRJ
It was basically a pornographic place packaged as a karaoke nightclub.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA60ssY2guV6
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANA0SeUKZXCRi
The man agreed, offering Tinjau another can of cola, saying they would leave after he finished drinking.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAHhpi4czaOY
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAhO8gtFTlmH
When Tinjau almost finished his coke, the man pointed at the girl and asked Tinjau directly, "Do you want to have sex with her?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIlj0BfsG7o
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?
81Please respect copyright.PENANAz5adXQ07Y5
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAyUSAJEZ89x
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAQ82IB5Ontk
He thought to himself: I’m just not going to do it; let’s see how they can handle me!
81Please respect copyright.PENANAJ8CyBdtKKZ
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAyue90yAsrj
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."
81Please respect copyright.PENANASz6jigK97F
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANArZquDNbjoV
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAHWWNUiMbkF
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAzaWudVwtha
The man who can speak English explained to Tianyou that the price of the two cans of cola was 200 US dollars.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAzJSII6lorH
That’s about three million Vietnamese dong.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAWQbLmuj89x
Tinjau immediately said he didn’t have that much money, and the short man retorted in English, "Do you wanna die?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAbiWlcTxJAH
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAdUZ16EJDl8
But whether he wanted to have sex or not, he had to pay.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAdhRnubFxUm
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.
81Please respect copyright.PENANAnZ4EyqSdpn
Call Siupui for help? He would never do something so embarrassing!
81Please respect copyright.PENANAIlbkhNXSAH
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?"
81Please respect copyright.PENANAYJnwLkNEzl
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?"
ns18.116.235.184da2