Panic began to set in as I poked
through my money belt for a second time: passport, debit card,
drivers license, a few hundred baht, keys to our locks.
We stood at the ATM on an unknown
street in Bangkok on our very first day in Thailand and felt like
throwing up. I had lost our credit card!
That evening when we returned to our
hotel, I immediately began rummaging through everything I had—on
the nightstand a handful of loose change, my journal, and granola bar
wrappers. I checked my pants pockets from last night and pulled them
inside-out. We looked in the bathroom and under the bed and all over the floor.
Then I retraced my steps at the airport
last night. It was late. The plane landed at 1:40 am and we were
both tired when we threw packs over our shoulders and walked for what
felt like miles through the terminal of a foreign airport and went
through immigration.
I knew I needed Thai baht if we were to
pay for a taxi ride to our hotel. I fumbled the credit card from my
money belt, which was hid beneath the waist of my pants. I had to
pull the belt up to my stomach and unzip the pouch and finger through
the pockets to find the right card.
At the first kiosk they told me I
had to go to the “machine” that was further ahead. I kept the
card in-hand and found the machine and withdrew 2,000 baht.
I know I had the credit card at that
moment and that is the very last time that I can say with certitude
that it was with me. I don't remember if I tried returning it to the
money belt, or put it in my pocket, or just held it in my hand until
I sat down and had a moment to put myself back together. I remember
waiting on a bench at the front of the airport for Jenelle while she
was in the bathroom. Maybe I dropped it on the floor, or perhaps it
slipped from my hands when I intended to replace it to the belt.
Once Jenelle got back from the bathroom
to tend the bags, I took my turn. You take care of business and
you unbuckle your pants and maybe it was there that the card dropped.
But anytime I leave a place, it is always my habit to look behind me
as I walk away. I'm sure it was no different then.
On our way to call a taxi, our burden
was heavy. We both carried a backpack on our shoulders and I carried
my camera also, strapped in a case that slung cross-ways over my
body. We ordered a taxi from a booth near the exit of the airport
and they handed us a paper receipt. Just something else to hold in
our hands. It is no wonder that I would have lost a credit card as
there were so many different distractions calling our attention.
Of course, it could have been lost in
the taxi. It was dark when we sat down in the back seat, relieved to
finally be on our way to the hotel. The driver spoke almost no
English, but the ladies at the booth had already given him the
address of our lodging.
He looked like an honest man and if we
had dropped it on the floor of his cab, I don't think he would have
used it. But you never know. Jenelle and I enjoyed the twenty
minute ride, cruising along a nearly vacant freeway,
watching signs pass by in Thai script, completely oblivious that we had
just lost our credit card.
After learning our sudden misfortune, a
dismal gloom hung over us. As far as we knew, a stranger from
Singapore had been racking up the purchases as quickly as possible
during the last twenty hours. Not only did we not know the password
for our Citicard account, but we only had one phone, and without a
tourist SIM card. Without that, we couldn't even make a phone call.
We carried an extra credit card and one debit card. Two weeks left
in Thailand was a long time and the thrill of our trip was squashed
on day one!
Luckily, Jenelle finally figured out
the Citicard password, and we gave a sigh of relief when we learned
that there had been no new purchases. Perhaps the thief was a little
slow at shopping. We still had to cancel the card. We couldn't do
it online, and then we worried of losing our debit card. Then we'd
really have nothing. We'd be begging in the streets!
Each day as we walked the streets and
came by a 7-eleven, we would walk inside and ask for a SIM card. And
each time they would look around and come up with nothing.
But also each day, we would check the
account, and still, no one had made a purchase. As time went on, we
began to breathe easier and feel more confident that our card had
fallen into the hands of an honest person.
Now as I write two months later, I am
pleased to say that no one took advantage of our credit card. It is
a huge relief and I am grateful that there are honest people in the
world.
Not all are so lucky. A friend of mine
has a son who is living in Cameroon. He lost his debit card and
someone drained the account, making purchases in Vietnam and Houstan,
Texas.
Just last week I went to the store to
buy food for my wife's birthday dinner. I picked out a large round
seedless watermelon that would have been a treat during the
off-season of April. Instead of bringing it into the house, I left
it in the back of my truck while we left in another vehicle to a
church party.
I returned home that evening after the
sun had set, and spent my time in the kitchen working on dinner.
As I turned off the stove and set the table, I pulled out a knife and
cutting board, then eagerly ran outside to grab the watermelon. It
was gone! Stolen!
I was quite perturbed that in my own
apparently safe neighborhood, I had something swiped from the back of
my truck. My mind quickly turned to a group of teenage boys that
tend to wander after dark and cause trouble.
At least it was only a watermelon. I
would much rather have that, than a compromised credit card. ♠
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