Honeymoon over?

I suppose it was bound to happen sooner or later - and, in the grand scheme of things, this really was a trivial incident - but it just goes to show what can happen when you've been lulled into complacency by easy traveling.

On my last afternoon in Hue, after an all-day rain storm had finally subsided, I needed to get out side and burn off a little pent up energy. Took a long meandering walk through the old quarter and was about to finish it off with a lap around the canals that ring the Citadel when I met "Thue," a local high school English teacher. Turns out he had a couple of days off because his river-side school had flooded and the cleanup was taking some time. At any rate, he had just wrapped up an afternoon of fishing in the canals and was ecstatic at the prospect of actually talking to an American. We chatted for a while before his wife came to pick him up on their motorscooter, at which point he insisted that we go to a nearby cafe to have a beer and talk. His wife had to do some shopping and would meet us at the cafe soon. Fine, I thought. I've got a couple of hours to kill and this is what travel is all about, right? Meeting the locals. So off we go.

He takes me to a quiet little restaurant a few blocks away, we chat and he orders a couple of beers. Cool, whatever. Then more beers. And a couple more. And another. I've got to be honest, this guy was a total lightweight. After an hour of matching him drink for drink, I knew he wasn't any sort of threat - at this rate, he'd be flat on on the floor long before me. Anyway, his wife eventually shows up - a very friendly woman, a little younger than me - and suddenly they begin ordering food. That's cool. I wasn't hungry but I was happy to keep them company while they ate.

Long story short, wife leaves - she has to get back to their two little kids at home - and the check shows up. Guess who suddenly doesn't have any money to pay the wildly inflated bill? Yep, my new buddy. I avoid making a big scene, knowing how seriously Asians take a loss of "face," and cover the bill. Thue promises over and over that he'll pay me back at his house. Yeah, right.

At this point, trying to maintain my composure (the bill was literally 5 times what it should have been - the staff must have assumed the white guy was paying and let me have it), we wandered to his house which was on my way home anyway. I'm pissed, he's dodging my requests for his 2/3 of the bill for a meal and drinks I never wanted, I'm getting more pissed. Suddenly my head is flooded with Africa flashbacks - where you really are getting screwed on a daily basis - and I can feel my temper rising. By the time we get to his place I'm equal parts fired up and completely over the incident. But I'm not leaving without putting up a diplomatic fight. So, I take his wife aside and present her with the bill from the restaurant and she suddenly feels bad (maybe her husband does this kind of thing on a regular basis?). She disappears next door and comes back with a few dollars. Not nearly enough to smooth things over but realizing it's all I'm getting, I decline a ride home and start walking back to the hotel.

Disecting the situation on my walk home, I instantly recognized that it wasn't the money that bothered me - it came to a lousy $20 (which, for perspective's sake, is at least two night's lodging). No, it was the fact that I was taken advantage of because I was a foreigner - first by the restaurant when they overcharged me, and second by Thue when he didn't argue against the outrageous tab, nor even consider paying part of it....after asking ME to join HIM.

But, of course, what it really came down to is that I allowed myself to be taken advantage of. I'm normally so much better at spotting this kind of shit and not allowing myself to fall into the trap. Two years of African-style boot camp may have made me suspicious of everyone's intentions but it also protected me from getting jerked around. And now look at me - I've gone completely soft! Trusting people.....ha.

By the time I reached the little alley leading to my place - after being cheerfully greeted by the woman who owns the coffee shop/travel agency across the way and the guy who runs the internet cafe next door - I was calming down a bit and putting it all into perspective. And after chatting with the front desk girls for a few minutes, I had mentally written off the twenty bucks and begun putting the incident behind me.

Whatever the restaurant staff did, it obviously wasn't personal. To them, I'm just another wealthy foreigner who can afford to part with a few dollars. Thue...well, I can't really explain his behavior or motives, other than he just saw me the same way - a white skinned, English-speaking meal ticket. Hmmm....not exactly the image I had hoped to portray. But, when all was said and done, it was a relatively inexpensive reminder that you DO have to stay on your toes. My image of Hue or the Vietnamese people has not been tarnished....but the bullshit detector has been activated.