Travel Karma Bank
BootsnAll 30 Days of Indie Travel Project
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Prompt #5: KINDNESS
One of the greatest joys of travel can be the random acts of kindness you’ll receive from total strangers. Have you ever found kindness from strangers in unexpected places?
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Often when I am at home I try to help fellow travelers out. Sometimes it is answering questions from couchsurfers and sharing a drink or two with them. Sometimes it is as simple as seeing someone with that lost look on their faces as they try to decipher a map. I often think that all these small deeds at to my Travel Karma Bank.
Just this morning I cashed in on my Travel Bank. I was dropped off by a bus on some unknown street in the middle of Donh Hoi, Vietnam at 5:30am. Oh and did I mention it was raining cats and dogs as well. I was trying to meet a car that was supposed to drive me the hour more I needed to go to arrive at the Phong Nha National Park. The only problem was that I was supposed to call the driver when I arrived in town to tell him where to pick me up. No silly me has yet to buy a local SIM card and nothing was open yet in town where I could possible use a phone.
As I wandered the dark streets feeling stupid for not arriving at a decent hour or buying a SIM while in Hanoi I stumbled upon two Vietnamese men crouching on the sidewalk. I took a deep breath and walked up to them. In my best sign language I asked if I could use there cell phone. They nodded and I showed them the business card with the number. They called the driver and told them in Vietnamese where we were than handed me the phone. I was told to wait 5 minutes and the driver would be there! Problem solved.
Thank god for the kindness of these random stranger or else instead of typing this from the dry warmth of my homestay I might still be stranded in the rain.
Being silly in Hanoi instead of responsible and buying a SIM card
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[…] person who eases another’s fears and show them the kindness we hope to receive from others. Fluent in Frolicking says she makes frequent deposits to her “Travel Karma Bank” so that someone is there to […]
Fluent In Frolicking 
Great story…I had a similar experience in Korea where I couldn’t get the phone to work to call my ride…thankfully a passerby saved me…
It’s the small favors when traveling that I find mean the most. The times you are lost or when they wont sell you a bus ticket at the local price in Vietnam and some kind soul comes up and saves you from getting ripped off. So thankful for these moments!
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Thanks Best Of BootsnAll for including my post! Traveling to remote areas with limited internet got in the way of me finishing the project but I plan to use the prompts to write more in the future!