Bus-ted.

I can handle this.

Hanoi, Vietnam – As the tall foreigner on a city bus, I’m accustomed to not receiving my change.

Often, it’s just a matter of the ticket taker having insufficient small bills – which, frankly, amount to a pittance in coins back home. Eventually, though, there’s something about the principle that rankles.

A week of riding behind me, I’m becoming a familiar face. As the ticket taker fanned himself with a large stack of bills this morning, he doled change out to all the locals.

I laughed, and flashed him a knowing smirk.

After rounding up his next line of customers, he came back and deposited a 1,000 VND note into my hand and waved a teenager out of a seat.

He smiled, and pointed me over to it.

I’ll take that as my welcome to Hanoi.