Getting Lost in Saigon, Tackling Thieves, Angry Prostitutes

Everyone has heard of cutpurses and thieves, but the idea of someone yelling, “Help, stop that thief!” is just something from the movies, at least in most western countries. In Vietnam, it’s a daily occurrence.

On Bui Vien and the surrounding streets, you’ll find a number of different restaurants, art galleries, and pubs to hang out and while away the hours. After midnight, the entire face of the city changes; thieves and prostitutes emerge from the shadows, and I somehow managed to run into both last night.

But first, let me preface this story. A few nights ago, I was in my favorite pub here in the city called The Spotted Cow. It’s an expat bar with a nice, laid-back vibe; I usually go there to play darts and make new friends. On this particular night, I met an English teacher named Sarah and a traveler named James who was interested in doing some of the same sort of work I did. We hit it off, and the next night, we all went out together.

They introduced me to several more of their friends, and as we walked down the street around 2 AM, a motorbike sped by and snatched one of our member’s cellphones from her back pocket. There was nothing we could do; the motorbike sped away in no time at all. We shrugged it off as bad luck.

Last night, it happened again, this time with a purse. Again, the motorbike sped around the corner too quickly for any of us to catch. However, not thirty seconds later, a girl on a neighboring street shouted, and I looked up to see the bike turning towards us, slowly speeding up.

So I stepped in front of them. They swerved to the side, and I kept moving forward, until they swerved into the wall. I threw my arm out and knocked the passenger off the back of the bike, but he bounced off the ground quickly and ran faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. I turned and gave chase to the driver, but I lost him down an alleyway. He knew the area, and I was wearing flip-flops, so I couldn’t get up to speed quickly.

I came back and checked on the second girl, making sure she was okay. She told me her name was Katie, and she had just gotten to the city. Since she was alone, I was going to walk her back to her hostel – thieves are more likely to target someone walking alone – when a bystander came up and told us the thieves had dropped something. As it turns out, they had thrown down her bag, so Katie was able to get her items back. My other friend from the night hasn’t been so lucky, so far – we’re still hoping, but not with bated breath.

After I walked Katie back to her hostel, I returned to my friends, and this is when things get strange. As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t have the greatest sense of direction. I took several wrong turns and found myself lost on the back streets of Saigon at 3 in the morning. A girl came out of a club and grabbed me by the arm, asking what I was doing. I told her I was just looking for my friends, and she said to come hang out with her friends instead.

I declined her request, telling her that I really did need to get back to my own. She said hers were more fun, and I gently pulled my arm free of her grip (which was actually quite strong) and told her “No, I don’t think so.”

I came off as kind of a jerk, but I’ll admit my adrenaline was still pumping from earlier. However, telling her no was the wrong answer – she drew back and slapped my arm, then stormed off. I stood there blinking, asking myself, “Did that really just happen?”

I finally found my friends, and we had another, much needed drink before making our way to the police station where the other half of our group was giving a statement. When we were finally able to get out of there, no one was quite in the mood for sleep, even though I had to leave early the next morning, which at this point was only a few hours away.

Alfred, another traveler I’d met that night, invited us to his rooftop patio, and we all hung out and talked until the first rays of dawn began to break on the edge of the sky. I went back to my hotel, packed up, and caught a taxi back to Bien Hoa.

That was a few hours ago. I’ve gotten maybe 3 or 4 hours of sleep in the past 30 hours, so I suspect I’ll crash tonight. For now, though, it’s nearing suppertime, and I need to find some noodles.

I’m still having a hard time believing that happened last night. I’m usually pretty non-confrontational; I don’t see the point in unnecessary conflict. I’ll also admit that what I did was reckless and dangerous; the thieves could have been armed, had a knife, or even simply tried to accelerate and run me down. At the moment, I didn’t think about any of that – I just acted. All of the considerations came after the adrenaline burned off.

All in all, the night ended with a couple of terrified thieves, one of which will be sore for a day or two, at least a few recovered possessions, and one heck of a story.