The kindness of strangers: I was a young, solo tourist when a taxi driver became aggressive – then two men stepped in

They relayed to me that the driver wanted more money. I went to grab my wallet, but they told me to put it away

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I travelled alone a lot when I was younger and often got myself into stupid situations. You think you’re immortal when you’re in your 20s.

One such occasion happened when I was 25 and travelling solo in Egypt, not long after the turn of the century. I had taken an overnight bus from Cairo to Dahab, which dropped me and my fellow passengers off in the middle of nowhere. I had to get a shared taxi into town at about 3am – one where everyone sat up the back in a ute tray – then find somewhere to stay.