Day 146 - Dude, Where is my Phone?!

Gah!  I have finally done it.  I have officially lost my iPhone 5s!  You remember how I tried to get rid of it back in Riogordo, Spain, when I threw it in the dumpster bin by the road and totally forgot about it for an hour? 

Well that time, by some miracle, we were able to recover the phone. 

But sadly, not this time....

Aside from heading out to the Cho Hom Market to grab a few fruits and some small things to eat for lunch, we stayed home today until dinner time.  We asked the kids what they were in the mood for, and they both said burgers.  Sounds good to us, we could use a break from Vietnamese food for a night.

Ok, let's see where is the best burger place in Hanoi?  We found a restaurant called Fry Burger in the Old Quarter.  Since everyone was starving, we decided to take a taxi there and then walk home.

There are so many taxis in this city, and it does not take more than 10 seconds to catch a cab!  The minute we stepped on the curb, a taxi stopped by us.  It was a nice and short ride as it is just a little over 1 km.  As we left were leaving the cab, I heard a thud and though Hannah dropped her toy (a little princess she was bringing to dinner with her), but I looked at her hand and saw she was still holding her princess. 

Cab door closed.  Cab drove away. 

20 seconds of walking towards the restaurant. 

Ding Ding Ding...That thud was my iPhone!!!  I frantically searched in my pockets and inside my bag, but I already knew it wouldn't be there. 

My husband suggested that if I could remember which cab company the taxi we were in belonged to, we could call them and see if they can ask the driver to check.  

Every cab here belongs to a company, and all companies advertise themselves on the cabs with names and phone numbers, and there are at least a dozen different companies.  I did remember the pink colors on the cab, so it was easy to find the phone number off the other cabs from the same company.  I had also randomly checked the name of the driver on his taxi license, it probably stuck in my memory since his name was "Dang".

We called the company and gave them all the information we had.  They were actually very responsive, and assured us they would look into it.  Then we took our starving children to the burger restaurant, which was actually quite good! 

We waited

and waited

and waited.

Finally, the taxi company responded.  They said they have identified the taxi car number and will be searching into it further, as the driver said he didn't find anything in the car. 

So we waited more...

Only to hear back... nope, sorry.  No phone in this car. 

They did send another message saying I could stop by the police to ask them to help and that the taxi company would be happy to provide details. 

Police?  Really?!  Hanoi is a city of 8 million people!  I am sure finding my iPhone 5s would not only be impossible, but also of the lowest of the low priorities for the police here. 

I thanked the company anyways. 

Good Bye iPhone 5s.  You were just a thing.  Thankfully I do have my old iPhone 4s with me (we brought it since it was unlocked and could use international SIM cards) so for now I have downgraded.  I was also glad that all my pictures and most of the videos were backed up on my computer.  The only real downside is not being able to take decent pictures with my phone, the 4s takes some really ugly pictures compared to the 5s! 

Kian was really sweet throughout the whole search and "rescue" process.  He gave me hugs and at night before bed he said, "Mommy, I hope you don't have dreams about your phone."  I told him not to worry about it.  A phone is just a thing. I should have paid more attention, but you should not get upset over losing a thing (especially one without a sentimental value).  Things can be bought with money.  I told him, "You, Hannah, and Daddy are the most important part of my life and I am very very happy and very very lucky.  A lost phone won't make me sad."  To this he said, "right...you can't buy us with money!" 

All that said, I do wonder where that phone has ended up by now, and I can't believe I was so careless!  Now who thinks I put my phone in a cab and sent it away, literally, to get a new iPhone 6?  Raise your hands! come on, don't be shy!  Sadly, that is not going to be happening anytime soon.  For now, it's me and my old friend...the 4s! 

What "thing" have you lost lately that's frustrated you and made you wish you paid a little more attention?