He could have been a plain clothed policeman. He had the manner of a cop. If he was, it would explain a lot. At the time, though, I just pegged him as a jerk who was sticking his nose in because he was drunk, and wanted to get macho. That would also explain everything.

And yes, Grindr friend did intervene, got between us, and answered on my behalf. He did so with urgency, as if he felt there was danger in this situation. My Vietnamese is shaky, at best, but I could pick out a couple of phrases like "he's a friend of mine", and "I am 25 years old."

Perhaps the guy saw me as some old pervert who was exploiting impoverished Vietnamese youth, and as a macho man, it was his duty to do something about it. If so, he had the situation completely wrong. This was just a case of two guys who met on Grindr, having a drink together, enjoying each other's company. One was considerably older than the other, but both were fully consenting adults, and there was nothing sordid or even vaguely sleazy about it.

The funny thing is, though, I have taken many a Vietnamese rentboy to my hotel room in the past. And never, has anyone even raised an eyebrow at me. My overall impression is that Vietnamese people don't give a shit about that sort of thing, as long as everyone concerned is an adult. Was I wrong?