Today started as a good day. I had cleared most of my errands and was returning from a doctor appointment in Wanchai when I saw an attractive blouse in one of those shops that seems to have a bit of everything. I walked into the store and inspected the shirt, but the material felt poor so I turned to leave. There was a lady behind me who was pushing into me so I tried to walk around her. A man was speaking to her in Filipino and holding up a shirt so I realized that I was in between them and tried to duck out of the way. A moment later, another women squeezed by me and the man appeared to be showing her the shirt. It suddenly came right into my face. The small group seemed to be awfully close and I am really uncomfortable with being in confined spaces.
My dislike of crowds was probably what helped me because as I was quickly trying to extract myself, my sudden movement caused me to notice that there was a tug on my bag. I was unable to see (the shirt was now firmly in my face) but I immediately reached down and felt a hand reaching into my now unbuckled bag. "What are you doing!" I said in a very strong voice. It was loud enough that the man holding the shirt in my face suddenly dropped it and I grabbed the hand, which belonged to the very tiny and short Filipino woman in the group. "Pickpocket!" I shouted at her. She immediately snatched her hand away and ran out of the store.
At this point other customers were all holding their purses and warning each other. I was furious, especially since my passport was with me from my visit to the doctor (my visa has not yet come in). Then the man held his bag, like he was worried about being pickpocketed also and I felt my face turning red. "I know that you are with her, you #%$$#%!," I said to him. He kept faking that he was worried until I raised my fist at him. Then he and the other women left the store with me walking quickly after them. They had to run to get away from me.
Now I realize that loosening a few teeth, or worse, seems like a very uneven response to such a deed, but I was not thinking clearly. Even now I can feel my blood pressure rising at the thought of that group making off with my wallet, or worse, my passport. The women whose hand I grabbed was very lucky that I was too shocked at first to react because my next reaction may not have been so civilized.
My dislike of crowds was probably what helped me because as I was quickly trying to extract myself, my sudden movement caused me to notice that there was a tug on my bag. I was unable to see (the shirt was now firmly in my face) but I immediately reached down and felt a hand reaching into my now unbuckled bag. "What are you doing!" I said in a very strong voice. It was loud enough that the man holding the shirt in my face suddenly dropped it and I grabbed the hand, which belonged to the very tiny and short Filipino woman in the group. "Pickpocket!" I shouted at her. She immediately snatched her hand away and ran out of the store.
At this point other customers were all holding their purses and warning each other. I was furious, especially since my passport was with me from my visit to the doctor (my visa has not yet come in). Then the man held his bag, like he was worried about being pickpocketed also and I felt my face turning red. "I know that you are with her, you #%$$#%!," I said to him. He kept faking that he was worried until I raised my fist at him. Then he and the other women left the store with me walking quickly after them. They had to run to get away from me.
Now I realize that loosening a few teeth, or worse, seems like a very uneven response to such a deed, but I was not thinking clearly. Even now I can feel my blood pressure rising at the thought of that group making off with my wallet, or worse, my passport. The women whose hand I grabbed was very lucky that I was too shocked at first to react because my next reaction may not have been so civilized.
Comments