In an attempt for full disclosure let me say this. What was an otherwise pretty dreamy day in Vung Tau quickly came to a halt once I arrived ready to catch the ferry back to HCMC.

I got to the port and went to the desk just to ensure that I was at the right place. I asked the woman to confirm that the ferry would be picking us up from the same dock when she told me that the ferry back to HCMC had been canceled. I’m fairly certain I got Ramona Singer crazy eyes  upon hearing that news {any Real Housewives fans??}. For the first time, I was really questioning my decision to travel alone seeing as I believed at the moment that I was stranded for the night in the wrong part of the country.

Luckily for me there were at least 14 other people who had also been stranded with a round-trip ticket and the hydrofoil company arranged a van to take us back on the highway. It would take a little longer but at least I would be back in HCMC.

After the van pulled up we all piled in. It seemed to be two families also on vacation, I couldn’t tell where they were from, but it wasn’t Vietnam as they couldn’t seem to communicate with the driver, a European businessman, and myself.

As the driver turned on the car a familiar song began I couldn’t quite place it until the chorus, “que sera, sera, what ever will be, will be”. Apparently, the driver had an affinity for female hits of the 60’s- 90’s because this particular mixed tape also included popular hits, “I Will Follow Him“, “Circle in the Sand“, and my personal favorite from the ride, “Big Big World“, a song the driver just happened to enjoy singing along to. This soundtrack included a number of songs all from this genre and played through on repeat three and a half times in our two-hour journey home.

We drove along the highway and at about 20 minutes in the rain started. Before long we were driving through a torrential downpour that led to driving through a small pond that a stretch of the street had turned into.

About half way through the trip we pulled into what I will say was the shadiest truck stop I’ve ever been to. The driver gets out without saying a word, leaving all of us in the van to assume we were stopped for a bathroom break, yet nobody could really be sure. We just sat in the van hoping to end up back in the city rather than the middle of nowhere.

Ten minutes later our driver was back and we were once again listening the musical stylings of Doris Day. On the second half of the trip on of the men fell asleep so at that point we were not just listening the third round of the greatest mixed CD in Vietnam, it was now accompanied by heavy snoring, and later, the baby a bit of crying added to the soundtrack. Luckily, we were getting closer to the city where the thunderstorm turned into just a light drizzle.

Just as I began to feel relieved to be back in HCMC the traffic hit. It was now rush hour on a Friday and we were still in the passenger van. Two hours later.  And right when I was starting to feel restless in this van while sitting in traffic, the side door flew open and multiple men were screaming at all of us in Vietnamese. This included the driver who we assumed was telling us to get out, though none of us spoke the language to be sure.

I could not have been more convinced that my worst fears of being kidnapped were coming true.

As a handful of men continued to yell at us we soon realized that they were all motorbike taxis telling us that there was too much traffic for the van to take us to the bus depot and we should take one of them to our location.

Now ,FULLY rattled, I put on my best “get the ‘F’ away from me face”, and started walking in any direction there were no men trying to persuade me to hop on the back of their motorbike.

And that’s how I found myself wandering back to my hotel, completely thankful for not being abducted in a foreign country and for my adrenaline-enhanced directional skills, yet completely ready for a very strong cocktail.

#fulldisclosure