IT EXISTS!!!! what does, you may ask - please infer from this story.
This morning Rachel and I are leaving our little paradise at Don Det. To leave this island you have to take a boat back to the mainland. At 11am there are about 4 boats all going to the same bus station area. As we all load up, a girl (I think from Australia or England...I can't tell the accents apart) gets into a bicker with one of the locals. He comes up to her and says, "you owe me money, I book ticket for you..you owe me money." She says, "I didn't book with you, I booked with the other guy." He says, "No you come back from kayak trip and say you want to book but had no money with you, so I book and you were supposed to bring me money." She said, "I didn't book with you, when I came back to book with my money you were not there, so I booked with a different guy. Aren't you all the same company?" He says, "No we are not the same and you owe me money, I book ticket for you." She says, "No I already paid and I'm not paying agian."
At this point EVERYONE is listening and watching because she is getting frustrated and he is becoming very aggressive. He tells her he will call the police and starts taking her bag off her shoulder. She tells him to let go of her bag and that she paid the money and refuses to pay twice. The by standers (included Rachel and I) load up in the boats to head back and catch their bus to the next city. At this point she is trying to get on the boat but he won't let her and NONE of the boats leave because we are all waiting on this girl.
In my opinion, she was right. Why did that guy book a ticket for her if he never got any money from her? (laid back Laos is my conclusion) She paid the other guy and he gave her a ticket and that's it. Makes sense.
In the meantime, she met a guy on the island (I assume) and they have known each other for a couple days and are going to different cities from this Island. He offers to pay for her (the ticket was about $30...which is expensive in Laos and for a bus ride in general). She refuses the money and tells him that she does not want to pay twice! This is all happening while all of us sit in these little boats that feel like they will tip over at any minute with all of our backpacks, some without sun coverings, and it's HOT!
FINALLY, this guy friend of hers jumps out of the boat he was in and pays off the asshole who booked the ticket for this girl. The girl gets in the boat...all 4 boats take off.
So it does exist, chivalry. Maybe this new boy friend of hers is just a good person or maybe she had the voodoo p***y, or maybe they never even kissed. But, regardless this is a great example of a few things:
Comradery - this is what you experience when you travel. Many people travel alone but all in all your all in the same boat (literally) and people do look out for each other and care about one another.
Unfairness - the asshole just hasseled more money out of this tourist, because they probably are the same company and it was his fault for booking the ticket without her paying first and he used the locals against her when they all ganged up on her and the guy she did pay didn't help her out of it. This is a great example of being taken advantage of and ripped off, but there is no one you can call bc the local police will always side with the locals.
Chivalry - balanced out by the unfairness. It was nice to see that that guy helped her out, they weren't even going to the same town! They JUST met, but he cared about her and if it wasn't for him we would have all been stuck their waiting, missing our buses, and she could have possibly ended up in jail!
It's all a part of traveling, the ups and the downs only to come back up again!
This morning Rachel and I are leaving our little paradise at Don Det. To leave this island you have to take a boat back to the mainland. At 11am there are about 4 boats all going to the same bus station area. As we all load up, a girl (I think from Australia or England...I can't tell the accents apart) gets into a bicker with one of the locals. He comes up to her and says, "you owe me money, I book ticket for you..you owe me money." She says, "I didn't book with you, I booked with the other guy." He says, "No you come back from kayak trip and say you want to book but had no money with you, so I book and you were supposed to bring me money." She said, "I didn't book with you, when I came back to book with my money you were not there, so I booked with a different guy. Aren't you all the same company?" He says, "No we are not the same and you owe me money, I book ticket for you." She says, "No I already paid and I'm not paying agian."
At this point EVERYONE is listening and watching because she is getting frustrated and he is becoming very aggressive. He tells her he will call the police and starts taking her bag off her shoulder. She tells him to let go of her bag and that she paid the money and refuses to pay twice. The by standers (included Rachel and I) load up in the boats to head back and catch their bus to the next city. At this point she is trying to get on the boat but he won't let her and NONE of the boats leave because we are all waiting on this girl.
In my opinion, she was right. Why did that guy book a ticket for her if he never got any money from her? (laid back Laos is my conclusion) She paid the other guy and he gave her a ticket and that's it. Makes sense.
In the meantime, she met a guy on the island (I assume) and they have known each other for a couple days and are going to different cities from this Island. He offers to pay for her (the ticket was about $30...which is expensive in Laos and for a bus ride in general). She refuses the money and tells him that she does not want to pay twice! This is all happening while all of us sit in these little boats that feel like they will tip over at any minute with all of our backpacks, some without sun coverings, and it's HOT!
FINALLY, this guy friend of hers jumps out of the boat he was in and pays off the asshole who booked the ticket for this girl. The girl gets in the boat...all 4 boats take off.
So it does exist, chivalry. Maybe this new boy friend of hers is just a good person or maybe she had the voodoo p***y, or maybe they never even kissed. But, regardless this is a great example of a few things:
Comradery - this is what you experience when you travel. Many people travel alone but all in all your all in the same boat (literally) and people do look out for each other and care about one another.
Unfairness - the asshole just hasseled more money out of this tourist, because they probably are the same company and it was his fault for booking the ticket without her paying first and he used the locals against her when they all ganged up on her and the guy she did pay didn't help her out of it. This is a great example of being taken advantage of and ripped off, but there is no one you can call bc the local police will always side with the locals.
Chivalry - balanced out by the unfairness. It was nice to see that that guy helped her out, they weren't even going to the same town! They JUST met, but he cared about her and if it wasn't for him we would have all been stuck their waiting, missing our buses, and she could have possibly ended up in jail!
It's all a part of traveling, the ups and the downs only to come back up again!
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