Taxi Ride Experiences
- violet
- Suspicious Little Mad Woman
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Taxi Ride Experiences
What are yours here? .... . or in bordering countries if you like, 'Phuketdick'
I'll start.
Leaving Poipet for PP a young Cambodian approached me and said the best option for me to get out of dodge quickly (I wanted a fast departure) was to share a taxi with some others. I agreed. Yes, I was clueless about Poipet prior to finding myself there without pre-planning.
I ended up in a car with two women and one male plus the driver. They all seemed to know each other. All Cambodians. I was in the front passenger seat.
After awhile they started indicating that I should give them money or whatever I had in my bags of value. They didn't speak much. Mostly coughed to get my attention and then made signals about what they wanted.
They also gave hints that I could expect acid on my face if I didn't comply.
I was instructed to show what was in my bags and to put items in the side pocket of the door. The male behind me would then take the items from the door. They indicated I should not speak about what was happening. (to be honest the way they indicated this to me is a little fuzzy now - probably due to the anxiety I felt at the time and the length of time passed since it happened).
After giving them cash, cards and jewellery (no, I don't normally have all this on me but it was an exceptional circumstance that meant I had it on me - sods law). With the cards, they asked for the numbers... without speaking. They indicated I should tap out the pin codes. They telephoned someone. They mumbled 'no money' ... true. It was an ANZ Royal account that had about $20 in but was soon to get more when my salary was deposited. I had another card with me but could not remember the number to give them.
They told me (indicated) I should cover my eyes and prepare for something.
They then indicated (after coughing to get my attention) I should take the cap off my water bottle. As they had already given me reason to think acid was going to be thrown, I prepared as best I could to protect my eyes. And waited. I thought perhaps there was some compassion in them and I was to throw the water over my face after they sprayed the acid.
From behind me was the sound of gloves being put on by two people, a plastic sheet of some sort being spread out, and a pumping of something ...
I waited, eyes covered for the inevitable. I had also wrapped a scarf over my exposed skin and wondered what the scarf was made of ... if it would melt on to my skin.. .would it be better to have it on me or have exposed skin?
grunts got my attention and they indicated I was to indicate I was ready by coughing three times. I coughed three times. And waited. Mumbling from the back. i must have been like that with eyes covered for ten minutes. I turned my face to them, eyes still covered - indicating 'just fucking do it already'.
I can only guess they were threatening me with acid if I didn't give them the number to the other credit card. Whether they would have is unknown.
After another five minutes or so, I thought fuck it and uncovered my eyes, looked at the driver and shrugged to ask, Well? He shook his head and kept driving.
Later they had a phone call and suddenly there was a lot of conversation and things changed... They asked if I was a teacher, to which I replied, Yes. ... We altered route and changed speed. They asked me where I lived and said it is ok to speak now.
They drove somewhere on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and dropped off the three in the back. Told me to get out of the car ... SHIT! .... then acted all friendly and the guy got in the driver's seat and I was instructed to tell him where to take me to drop me off. They gave me about $10 or $20 of my own money back ... pitying the poor TEFLer, I guess.
^ True story.
I am also aware of a weird taxi ride in Thailand to the Cambodian border. I'll share that later although I'm not sure of all the details.
edited to add a detail that I hesitated over including, but decided my reason for not including it was as bad as including it.... being PC is so difficult a path to tread. The women wore scarfs on their heads as though Muslim.
I'll start.
Leaving Poipet for PP a young Cambodian approached me and said the best option for me to get out of dodge quickly (I wanted a fast departure) was to share a taxi with some others. I agreed. Yes, I was clueless about Poipet prior to finding myself there without pre-planning.
I ended up in a car with two women and one male plus the driver. They all seemed to know each other. All Cambodians. I was in the front passenger seat.
After awhile they started indicating that I should give them money or whatever I had in my bags of value. They didn't speak much. Mostly coughed to get my attention and then made signals about what they wanted.
They also gave hints that I could expect acid on my face if I didn't comply.
I was instructed to show what was in my bags and to put items in the side pocket of the door. The male behind me would then take the items from the door. They indicated I should not speak about what was happening. (to be honest the way they indicated this to me is a little fuzzy now - probably due to the anxiety I felt at the time and the length of time passed since it happened).
After giving them cash, cards and jewellery (no, I don't normally have all this on me but it was an exceptional circumstance that meant I had it on me - sods law). With the cards, they asked for the numbers... without speaking. They indicated I should tap out the pin codes. They telephoned someone. They mumbled 'no money' ... true. It was an ANZ Royal account that had about $20 in but was soon to get more when my salary was deposited. I had another card with me but could not remember the number to give them.
They told me (indicated) I should cover my eyes and prepare for something.
They then indicated (after coughing to get my attention) I should take the cap off my water bottle. As they had already given me reason to think acid was going to be thrown, I prepared as best I could to protect my eyes. And waited. I thought perhaps there was some compassion in them and I was to throw the water over my face after they sprayed the acid.
From behind me was the sound of gloves being put on by two people, a plastic sheet of some sort being spread out, and a pumping of something ...
I waited, eyes covered for the inevitable. I had also wrapped a scarf over my exposed skin and wondered what the scarf was made of ... if it would melt on to my skin.. .would it be better to have it on me or have exposed skin?
grunts got my attention and they indicated I was to indicate I was ready by coughing three times. I coughed three times. And waited. Mumbling from the back. i must have been like that with eyes covered for ten minutes. I turned my face to them, eyes still covered - indicating 'just fucking do it already'.
I can only guess they were threatening me with acid if I didn't give them the number to the other credit card. Whether they would have is unknown.
After another five minutes or so, I thought fuck it and uncovered my eyes, looked at the driver and shrugged to ask, Well? He shook his head and kept driving.
Later they had a phone call and suddenly there was a lot of conversation and things changed... They asked if I was a teacher, to which I replied, Yes. ... We altered route and changed speed. They asked me where I lived and said it is ok to speak now.
They drove somewhere on the outskirts of Phnom Penh and dropped off the three in the back. Told me to get out of the car ... SHIT! .... then acted all friendly and the guy got in the driver's seat and I was instructed to tell him where to take me to drop me off. They gave me about $10 or $20 of my own money back ... pitying the poor TEFLer, I guess.
^ True story.
I am also aware of a weird taxi ride in Thailand to the Cambodian border. I'll share that later although I'm not sure of all the details.
edited to add a detail that I hesitated over including, but decided my reason for not including it was as bad as including it.... being PC is so difficult a path to tread. The women wore scarfs on their heads as though Muslim.
Last edited by violet on Sun Oct 08, 2017 1:23 pm, edited 2 times in total.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
I'm not a negative person, I encourage people all the time...it's usually to f**k off! But, whatever.
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did this happen to you or someone else?violet wrote:I agree. Weird.kinard wrote:Bizarre story
The first time I visited Siem Reap I met an American girl who had just arrived in a shared taxi from Poipet. She said there were 3-4 other dudes in the car and they made her give her all money and tossed her out of the car. They were nice enough to throw her passport out of the window as they drove off.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
- violet
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- Joined: Mon Nov 30, 2009 9:48 pm
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I would love to say it happened to someone else... easier to deal with any challenges from forum members about my mental state or deal with people who will want to pick holes in the story, but it happened to me earlier this year. I said 'weird' because it was!gavinmac wrote:did this happen to you or someone else?violet wrote:I agree. Weird.kinard wrote:Bizarre story
The first time I visited Siem Reap I met an American girl who had just arrived in a shared taxi from Poipet. She said there were 3-4 other dudes in the car and they made her give her all money and tossed her out of the car. They were nice enough to throw her passport out of the window as they drove off.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
Sorry to hear this happened to you, v.
I don't think I would have calmly sat there waiting for acid to be poured on me. Not saying you did the wrong thing, I mean I would've done something stupid and probably been covered in it.
Bless
I don't think I would have calmly sat there waiting for acid to be poured on me. Not saying you did the wrong thing, I mean I would've done something stupid and probably been covered in it.
Bless
- violet
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I considered trying to jump out but then didn't know where I was, had no money, can't speak enough of the language, wasn't going to run from the fuckers.
Enough time has passed for me to share the story now. All is good.
Enough time has passed for me to share the story now. All is good.
The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.
- Plutarch
- Plutarch
I think I would've made a run for it when they started demanding stuff. Did you have bags and stuff in the trunk? That makes it harder.
And ya, understand about time passing. Many develop PTSD from events like this. Happy you're OK.
Bless
And ya, understand about time passing. Many develop PTSD from events like this. Happy you're OK.
Bless
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Or just play dumb when they are trying to indicate through coughing, and without speaking, that you should take out your cash and valuables, put stuff in the side pocket, etc. I wouldn't know how to cough demands like thatAlexandra wrote:I think I would've made a run for it when they started demanding stuff.
Or scream. Khmers can't handle screaming foreigners.
Follow my lame Twitter feed: @gavin_mac
What a horrible experience, Violet. I'm glad you've come through it OK, and I hope you had someone to lean on during your recovery.
I think it's difficult to foresee how one would respond in these situations unless having been trained or prepared for such an event. We'd like to think we can remain calm, assess the threat and choose the right or safest action but the human mind and body doesn't always react the way we hoped it would in times of high stress.
When in Nepal during the earthquake in 2015 I was able to witness a cross section of responses to a threatening situation from sheer terror leading to paralysis to cool thought out logical action, as well as seemingly blase unaffected behavior (which I suspect was a coping mechanism itself).
I think it's difficult to foresee how one would respond in these situations unless having been trained or prepared for such an event. We'd like to think we can remain calm, assess the threat and choose the right or safest action but the human mind and body doesn't always react the way we hoped it would in times of high stress.
When in Nepal during the earthquake in 2015 I was able to witness a cross section of responses to a threatening situation from sheer terror leading to paralysis to cool thought out logical action, as well as seemingly blase unaffected behavior (which I suspect was a coping mechanism itself).
Last edited by Londo on Sun Oct 08, 2017 2:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"That was probably Londo...He is always shitty." - Marvin
- violet
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yes, but when already feeling I was in a threatening situation, I guess I opted for the acid rather than getting chopped up or (unlikely, as we know, according to Playboy) raped. The latter two scenarios were purely my imagination but they weren't risks I was prepared to take. I'd rather (and did, obviously) hand over my money and go into debt.gavinmac wrote:Or just play dumb when they are trying to indicate through coughing, and without speaking, that you should take out your cash and valuables, put stuff in the side pocket, etc. I wouldn't know how to cough demands like thatAlexandra wrote:I think I would've made a run for it when they started demanding stuff.
Or scream. Khmers can't handle screaming foreigners.
Last edited by violet on Sun Oct 08, 2017 3:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Yeah, sorry to hear the story. I also can’t imagine how they communicated all this stuff by coughing etc. If it was with me they probably would have ruptured their vocal chords - I’m not so good at charades.
The acid thing, did you know what they meant at the time or did you subsequently work it out? Or did they show you the acid?
I’m not making fun. It’s just that I speak Khmer and sometimes it is difficult to communicate with provincial folk... but your guys seemed to communicate quite a lot without speaking.
Did you go to the tourist police?
The acid thing, did you know what they meant at the time or did you subsequently work it out? Or did they show you the acid?
I’m not making fun. It’s just that I speak Khmer and sometimes it is difficult to communicate with provincial folk... but your guys seemed to communicate quite a lot without speaking.
Did you go to the tourist police?
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