The scam

The Extortionist that took us for a ride.

It happens to the best of us seasoned travelers. You get off the bus and all these people hop on to the bus and says transfer to the other bus. They take you for a ride in town close to the bus station but not there yet. They prey on you that you don’t know where you are and extort money for their ride to finish the connection to the bus station.

I spotted  a taxi close by, so we grab our bags and head towards the taxi and that driver don’t want anything to do with the scam so he waves not available. Another taxi pulls up and pops his trunk and we quickly commandeered it and went inside. They now know that we have the upper hand and not reliant on them.

The bliss before the extortion.

The bliss before the extortion.

 

The Citadel

The Citadel

Meanwhile the motorcycle drivers are still wanting 500k for their services, but i would not be taken for that, so i figure i will give them a litre of gas each for their time, which comes out to 40k in total. So we were taken for two bucks, not bad for an enjoyable ride for the time it lasted. We got to see the Citadel up close.

20151031_125319

Be weary of bus stops at unknown places

The taxi to the bus station cost a buck and that included 100 percent tip. Plus we it to our connection on time. Laugh it off and chalk it up ti another adventure in Vietnam  ( Hue ).