Vietnam: Vihn Long/HCMC-Day 5

Now this is where things really started to head downhill. All week, of course, everyone had been trying to rob me, overcharging me, refusing to give me change, etc.

So, in the morning I went to Holly's for breakfast and to see her neighborhood. It was wonderful, her mother was so kind to me. They were the only people who were actively nice to me or willing to help me, really. Holly even took me to a really cool wet market.

Anyway, on the way back I burnt my leg on a moto. It was pretty bad, bleeding and dripping yellow and huge. It was hard to walk so I went to my hotel, they had no first aid kit. So I went to try to clean it up (luckily Holly's mother had given me some numbing ointment as a souvenir-though I'm not sure why exactly). So I put it on and tried to go to the store to find bandages-they had none, nor did they have any ointment.

So I went back to the hotel (7 blocks or so) to check out and they didn't have a credit card machine-which they had neglected to tell me. So I had to go back out and look for an ATM machine because the security guard at the hotel wouldn't look at the one in front of the building. Still dripping at this point.

So I get the money and get checked out and I have to try to find a moto to take me to the bus station. I ask a few guys and they are doubling the price and when I finally find one that agrees on a reasonable price he takes me to the wrong bus station (one that pays him for bringing people there-I saw them exchange the money). He refused to take me to the proper one and took money out of my hand and tried to drive away. I grabbed it back and made him give me the change for it first-all as 5 or 6 locals stand by and laugh with the man.

When I finally get to HCMC my leg was killing me and so I decided to go to this place near the airport. Climbing out of the truck I tore the remaining skin from my burn and start bleeding all over again-it turned a dark, gross color. I found a meter taxi that my hotel recommended and he takes me to the wrong place-an expensive hotel by the airport and takes my money and refuses to give me my change back. Instead he just laughed.

So he left me stranded and bleeding all over myself in the city. The moto drivers started following and harassing me again and I finally decided to go into the hotel and just pay to get myself off the street. I was really upset.

It was a terrible culmination of a week of incidents like those. Really exhausting..

My leg (I'm going to the doctors tomorrow, but at least I was able to get some bandaging for it finally).