Solved Murders - True Crime Stories - How Our Honeymoon Almost Ended in a Van Full of Gas and a Cab Ride from Hell #30

Episode Date: August 12, 2025

#horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #ScaryStories #creepypasta #horrortales #honeymoon #neardeath #travelnightmare #survivorstory #gasdanger  What was meant to be a joyful honeymoon quickly turned into a nightmare of fear and survival. Trapped in a van filled with gas and then caught in a harrowing cab ride, the couple faced danger at every turn. This true tale explores the thin line between celebration and catastrophe  #horrorstories #reddithorrorstories #scarystories #horrorstory #creepypasta #horrortales #honeymoon #travelnightmare #neardeath #survivorstory #gasdanger #cabride #travelterror #danger #fear #panic #escapestory #thriller #trueevents #roadtrip

I swear on everything wholly, this is 100% a true story. It happened about four years ago when my wife and I went on our honeymoon. And let me tell you, it started off like a dream vacation and ended up like something straight out of a bad Netflix thriller. I'm still amazed we made it home alive. It's kind of funny now that I think about it, but back then, I was positive we were going to end up on some foreign tourists missing in Shanghai news segment. So, picture this, we're newlyweds, buzzing with that honeymoon high, planning the trip of a lifetime. Japan and China Two weeks of sightseeing, sushi, temples, street food, panda bears, dumplings, basically all the good stuff you'd expect.

We started in Okinawa, then hopped to mainland Japan for a week before heading over to Shanghai for the last leg of the trip. Everything had been smooth sailing up to that point. Public transit in both countries Freaking amazing Trains ran like clockwork, buses were spotless and Google Maps worked like a charm But on our very last day in Shanghai Everything went downhill

And fast Our flight wasn't until 9pm So we figured, hey, let's squeeze in one last adventure Before heading home The plan was simple, take a cab from our hotel to the airport, drop off our bags in storage, then grab another cab to the Shanghai Wild Animal Park. Spend a few hours there, dock at the Lions, maybe feed a giraffe or two, and then head back to the airport later. Easy, right? Wrong. The first taxi, tourist tax incoming. We flagged down a taxi

outside our hotel that morning, and the driver seemed normal enough. We piled in, and off we went. I glanced at the posted rates on the door, everything looked legit. But about five minutes into the ride, I noticed something weird. The meter. It was, skipping. Not ticking up like normal. Not slowly counting like a fair meter should. No, this thing was jumping like a damn kangaroo on Red Bull.

I swear it went from 20 renminby to 45 renminby in less than 30 seconds. At first, I thought, okay, maybe it's just a glitch. But then it jumped again. And again. I tried to ask the driver about it, but there was a massive language barrier. I only know, like, five words of Mandarin, and none of them are, Excuse me, sir, your meter appears to be on crack. So I just sat there, fuming quietly, while my wife whispered, maybe it's normal here,

it wasn't. By the time we got to the airport, the fare was double what it should have been. I wanted to argue, but what the hell was I going to do? Yell at a guy in a country where I didn't speak the language and risk missing our flight. I paid it. Whatever. Lesson learned. Or so I thought.

Taxi 2, rage mode activated. We dropped our bags off at the airport and headed back outside to catch another cab to the zoo. This time, I was prepared. I pulled up Google Maps and calculated the distance. Should cost about $20, give or take a few bucks. We flagged another cab, checked the rates on the side of the car, again looked fine, and hopped in. Off we went. And guess what?

Same. Freaking thing. The meter started hopping around like it was running a marathon. I felt my blood pressure spike. This was officially some scammer nonsense. My wife noticed too and gave me that, don't lose your temper, look. When we got to the zoo, the meter read nearly double what it should have been. I'd had enough. I calculated what the fare should be, handed the driver about $30, and said, that's fair. He wasn't happy. In broken English, he started waving the receipt at me, demanding the rest of the money. He kept pointing at the distance traveled and barking something

I couldn't understand. But I knew damn well we hadn't gone as far as his meter claimed. I stood my ground. Nope. That's what you're getting. Goodbye. He kept shouting and even grabbed my arm at one point, but I yanked it free. My wife and I walked away fast, not looking back. My heart was pounding. He didn't follow us, thank God. But at that moment, I was livid. Taxi 3, the one that almost killed us. After our zoo adventure, it was time to head back to the airport. This time, we weren't going to get screwed over again. Nope. We were battle-hardened now. We found a cabby hanging out near the zoo and told him straight up, well, through Google Translate Airport. 150 Renminby. No meter, he frowned. Negotiating a fare like that isn't really a thing in China because taxis are technically government-regulated. But after some back and forth, he reluctantly agreed. Cool. Crisis averted. Or so we thought. At first, everything seemed fine. We relaxed in the backseat, scrolling through photos of pandas and tigers from the zoo.

But about ten minutes into the ride, I realized something. We weren't going the right way. The airport was west. We were headed east. At first, I thought maybe he was taking some backroad shortcut, so I didn't say anything. But after another five minutes, my gut started screaming that something wasn't right. Airport. I asked cautiously.

The driver looked at me in the rearview mirror, nodded, and said something in Mandarin that I didn't understand. Then he kept driving. I pulled up Google Translate on my phone and typed in, You're going the wrong way. Airport is the other direction. I showed it to him. He nodded again, and kept driving. At this point, my wife squeezed my hand. Hard. Why is he going this way? She whispered. I don't know, I muttered. But I don't like it. Welcome to the sketch zone. The building started thinning out. Soon, we were driving through what looked like the outskirts of the city, empty lots, crumbling warehouses, random shipping containers. My stomach dropped. Why are we here? I asked again, louder this time. The driver pulled into what I can only describe as,

the sketchiest place I've ever seen in my life. It was like some apocalyptic trailer park, but with shipping containers instead of trailers. Dirt roads, stray dogs, people milling around aimlessly. And then my wife leaned in and whispered the words that made my blood turn cold. I think I saw a gun in his glove box. The murder van moment. We were officially in panic mode. As the cab slowed down, my wife pulled out the only weapon we had, a cheap plastic pen from our passport holder. If he tries anything, she whispered, I'll stab him in the neck. my heart was pounding so hard I thought it might explode. He parked in a corner between two vehicles. On the right, a white van that just screamed, Murder Mobile. On the left, a black

sedan with a dude and a suit sitting inside. Mafia boss? Probably. This was it. We were about to be kidnapped, robbed, maybe even sold into some underground organ harvesting ring. The driver turned off the engine and started to get out. Run. I whispered to my wife. We flung the doors open and bolted out of the cab. Plot twist, gas station in a van. We were about to sprint blindly into the dirt lot when I noticed something strange. A young woman with a toddler was walking toward us.

She didn't look threatening at all. In fact, she smiled at us. What the hell is going on? I muttered. The cab driver walked over to her, handed her some cash, and she opened the back of the Th-Murder van. Out came. A gas nozzle.

She pulled it out like she was working at a regular gas station and started filling up the cab's tank. This dude had driven us all the way to the Chinese hood to buy black market gas out of a random woman's van. We stood there, still shaking with adrenaline, trying to process what was happening. Home Sweet Home, after he got his gas, the driver motioned for us to get back in the cab.

We hesitated but ultimately did. What choice did we have? We rode in tense silence all the way back to the airport. No one spoke. When we finally got there, we threw the money at him, grabbed our bags, and ran inside like our lives depended on it. We made it back home the next day, safe and sound. But holy crap. That was the single most terrifying experience of my life.

Moral of the story, if you're ever in China, negotiate your cab fare before you get in the car. And if your driver starts going the wrong way, just bail. Trust me. TLDR, took a cab in Shanghai. Driver went the wrong way. Thought we were about to be kidnapped and murdered. Turns out he just needed to buy gas from some woman's van in the sketchiest place ever. The end.