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We planned this trip for eight months. Nine friends, one rented van, a beach house with a five-star rating. On day one the van broke down outside a town none of us could pronounce. A mechanic named Mang Boy told us it would take two…

We planned this trip for eight months. Nine friends, one rented van, a beach house with a five-star rating. On day one the van broke down outside a town none of us could pronounce. A mechanic named Mang Boy told us it would take two hours. It took two days. We slept in the van, ate crackers for dinner, and argued about whose fault it was. (Mine. I booked the van.) When we finally reached the beach house, it was raining. The five-star rating, we found out, belonged to a different house with the same name, three streets away. Ours had a leaking roof and one very confident rooster.