Saturday afternoon, I met up with my cousin and her friend in front of the bus station across Ben Thanh Market. We waited patiently for the 01 bus as it is the one that will take us to Cho Lon (Chinatown). After less than 10 minutes, I spotted one and we got on it quickly. My cousin and her friend settled on the seats in front of me while I made myself comfortable in the aisle seat behind them.
Not long after, a lady in decent do bo (Vietnamese pajama set), a stack of paper-thin gold bangles and rice paddy field hat stood in front of me. Knowing I'll get off almost near the end of the bus route, I scoot over to the window seat and I was met with lively gestures for her to take the window seat.
The bus was cruising the extensive stretch of Tran Hung Dao and I was pre-occupied plotting our course on my map as I was quite unsure on which bus stop me and my companions would have to alight on when the lady next to me jerked my leg using her leg. I looked up a bit annoyed as she motioned that she will get off soon. In my head I was thinking I wanted to strangle her as she made me lose my bearing but knowing how irrational I was being I put it aside and just let her pass.
Soon she got off and I'm all alone. Not too long after, I found the temple and the three of us got off. We went past the temple a little bit and we had to walk back to the temple. When we arrived there, we found it to be closed so we just took pictures of the exterior then hopped on a cab to another temple in Hong Bang Street. I opened my bag and I was in for the shock of my life when I found my wallet non-existent inside.
I was freaking out but I didn't want to ruin my cousin's trip so I had them take pictures of the temple before taking another cab to retrace our steps. We went back to where we started but there wasn't any trace of my wallet being there. We searched the immediate vicinity where we went to but nothing still. I went in and looked for a caretaker to ask if anybody saw anything but it was just frustrating as the language barrier was so strong, the girl I asked translated every English word I wrote down on my Post It on her Ipod's dictionary.
Frustrated with nothing much to do, my cousin, her friend and I just walked back to the next stop and took the next bus back to District 1. The weather was just so awful -- heavy monsoon downpour, it just completely made me even more upset. It's the third time I've lost a valuable to a pickpocket but it never gets any easier. It's the first time that something like this has happened to me since I moved to Vietnam so I still can't get my head around it.
My only saving grace is that I didn't have a lot of cash in there as I have already spent it the last couple of days and the fact that I only carry around a photocopy of my work permit and residence card in my wallet. The thing I was really worried about would be my credit cards, my Lottemart membership card as I have already amassed massive points doing my grocery shopping there regularly, my patient card at a local hospital that I use as my In Case of Emergency identification card and my key card to my apartment building. It is going to be a bitch getting them replaced and having them sent to Vietnam.
I got home through my cousin donating enough money for me to catch the shuttle bus to my area. As soon as I got to my flat, I immediately called HSBC. Sure, they were able to replace it but for Php400 they can't send it to me to Vietnam. Worse, my card is set to expire January of next year and they can't just wait until then to send me a new card. I called Citibank and I'm thankful they have the ability to send it to me to Vietnam for no extra charge. The only thing that sucks? It takes 2 - 3 weeks for arrival. Still, I'd settle for having one card than none at all.
I went to my apartment complex's customer service center today and they said I won't be able to get a new card until the 22nd of this month. Great, I'll be playing patintero with the door on the ground floor and on the basement for the next two weeks on which one will be open when I come home.
I also had a sudden realization today -- my insurance bill is charged to my HSBC card and it's going to be due by next week. Now that the card is blocked, I'm going to have to dig through my emails for a contact person in Manila I can talk to about it. I'm also going to have to ask my sister to go find the billing statement and pay it for me.
I really hate losing things specially important documents. I know it's not the worse thing in the world considering I just lost my grandfather less than a month ago but it's just the sheer inconvenience of it all since I'm here and all my accounts are stuck in Manila.
