Let's Not Meet Again

Money Saved My Mum

  This is a disturbing encounter that happened to my mom.

About 4 years ago my mom, who was 48 at the time, traveled alone to Beijing, China for the first time. We already booked the hotel and everything was ready. She arrived in Beijing at midnight, so it was very dark outside. There were lots of taxis lined up, waiting for passengers and my mom sat in one of them. Note that my mom does not speak english or mandarin. She showed the driver which hotel to go to, which was a 4 stars hotel in one of the fancy areas.

It was a long ride. At first it seemed normal, but after a few minutes, the driver turns into a dark street and continues driving. My mom started to get freaked out. She told the man that he was going the wrong way, even if he did not understand her. After a moment the man stops in front of a creepy looking place and tells my mom that they arrived at the hotel. There were sketchy looking men outside the place that gave chills to my mom. Those men started to approach the car and even tried to open the car.

My mom knew what the hotel looked like from the outside, because she saw pictures of it and obviously this was not the hotel. She yelled every single curse she knew, at this point the driver was smiling and almost pushing her out of the taxi. Suddenly my mom takes out about $500 out of her bag and shows it to the driver. His face lights up and he starts the car. They came to the actual hotel about 10 minutes later. As soon as the taxi shows up the hotel porters come out and get my mom's luggage and help her get out of the car. Before slamming the door, my mom throws him $20 and quickly ran into the hotel.

Later that evening she skyped us and told us everything. My brother decided to contact the hotel manager and tell them what happened, so when my mom checks out of the hotel to leave, there will be a safe taxi waiting for her. The hotel thankfully helped my mom till her last day in the hotel and even escorted her to the airport. She came back home safe and sound.

I can't imagine the helplessness and the terror she felt at that disturbing moment. Thankfully she had cash on her, so who knows what would have happened if she didn't think of that idea sooner. Maybe she wouldn't be here with us now. Since that day, she has never traveled alone.