We don't scam easily.
I'm so pissed off - a taxi driver tried to scam me! Hanoi has a scam going where the taxi-driver takes you to an entirely different hotel than you asked for, and tell you it is either part of the same chain, or that the hotel has moved. So, I knew about this, and hence took an official-looking taxi with the price to Hanoi from the airport prominently featured, thinking I'd therefore be safe from this.
And then, I was very, very explicit about where I wanted to go. I told the guy my hotel name and address - 34 Something Street. So my cab guy nods, heads along. When we entered the Old Quarter, I idly started following along on the map, mostly to orient myself... And lo and behold, my cab guy takes me to a different hotel, cleverly located at 34 Something Else Street. I'm like - no f***ing way, this isn't my hotel. He points to the number 34: "You said number 34," he says.
I'm pissed off. I pull out my map, very annoyed voice, and say: "Listen - here's my map. I know we are here. My hotel is there - on 34 Something Street, not 34 Something Else Street. Take me there."
So, he's annoyed too because I'm not biting. (Evidently, taxi-driver commissions for scams like this run as much as 50% of the price of the room.) He takes me to my hotel. I hand him his money, putting as much anger and contempt as possible into the gesture. I'm really, really furious.
However, my hotel is nice and welcoming... I stroll down the street and buy a tour ticket for Halong Bay, which I'm looking forward to seeing. Lunch is fabulous, the kind that induces a stupor in you, and thoughts of a nap sound especially inviting.
I've been doing stuff for the last few days, rather than just lazing around, and I feel like I'm overdue for a day of doing absolutely nothing. I think I'm going to give myself permission to hang out in a coffee shop all day.
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