初來乍到：我在澳洲租房遇到的詐騙驚魂

現在回想已經是快五年前的事，2019年抵達布里斯本還住在豪華公寓的時候就準備在臉書上開始找房子與工作，同行的兩位朋友已經出發去草莓場工作了，因為我們抵達的時候草莓的工作已經都額滿了。

Now looking back, it's almost five years ago. When I arrived in Brisbane in 2019 and was still staying in a luxury apartment, I started looking for a house and a job on Facebook. The two friends who traveled with me had already left for strawberry farm work because, by the time we arrived, all the strawberry jobs were already taken.

於是剛成為新包（新的背包客的簡稱）的我們開始在網路上尋找租房和工作的資訊，當時臉書的澳洲打工度假社團就可以看到一些相關資訊。

So, as new backpackers, we began searching online for information on housing and jobs. At that time, relevant information could be found in Facebook groups dedicated to working holidays in Australia.

當時我的想法是先找到房子再來找工作，草莓的工作地點就在卡布丘這個區域，於是社團看到

了位於卡布丘的租房資訊，於是私訊了租房的人之後從市區搭火車一路抵達卡布丘，一下車的時候其實就有些慌張，因為不像是市區那樣的熱鬧地點而是一個偏荒涼的地方之外，走出火車站還可以看到一棵樹上滿滿的鳥，目測大概有快30隻吧，會先聽到一群鳥叫聲非常大聲我還感到非常驚訝，以至於每次從市區搭火車回來聽到鳥叫聲就可以確定我抵達卡布丘火車站了。

At that time, my plan was to find a place to live first and then look for a job. The strawberry farms were located in the Caboolture area, so I found some rental information for Caboolture in the Facebook group and messaged the person renting out the place. I then took the train from the city all the way to Caboolture.

When I got off the train, I felt a bit anxious because it was not as lively as the city but rather a more desolate place. Upon exiting the train station, I noticed a tree full of birds—around 30 of them. The loud chirping of the birds surprised me, and every time I returned from the city by train, I knew I had arrived at the Caboolture train station when I heard the bird calls.

而我到現在還記憶難忘那個聲音和景色。

And to this day, I still have an unforgettable memory of that sound and scenery.

抵達約定的時間約莫下午是三四點，是一位老先生開著紅色的車停在火車站的對面，看起來年紀約莫50歲上下，是一位臉上留著蒼白的鬍子戴著眼鏡的老先生，開著與他年紀相輔的一台紅色有點老舊斑駁的汽車，他先是非常的客氣的互相自我介紹後我與朋友就一同上了他的車，於是就在車上稍微的聊天了一下，途中他說要先加油並詢問我們的行李呢？

I arrived at the agreed time, around 3 or 4 in the afternoon. An elderly gentleman in a red car stopped across from the train station. He appeared to be around 50 years old, with a white beard and glasses, driving an old, somewhat worn-out red car that matched his age. After politely introducing ourselves, my friend and I got into his car. We chatted a bit during the ride, and he mentioned needing to refuel and asked about our luggage.

我們表示我們只是來看房並沒有攜帶任何行李，他非常的意外然後口氣突然變得不客氣，因為他表示以為我們已經要入住了才特地下班敢過來接我們，於是我們打給租房資訊的那位華人詢問，才發現因為他的租房都已經額滿，所以介紹朋友的朋友的房子來給我們，我們也表示有些不愉快，但還是決定去看房，畢竟老先生都已經表示他下班特地趕來我們也不好意思拒絕而答應了。

We explained that we were just there to view the house and didn’t bring any luggage. He was very surprised and suddenly became unfriendly, stating that he thought we were ready to move in and had left work early to pick us up. We called the Chinese person who posted the rental information and found out that their rental was already full, so they had referred us to a friend of a friend’s place. Although we were a bit unhappy about this, we decided to go see the house anyway, since the elderly gentleman had already left work early to pick us up, and we didn’t want to refuse.

這就是我們做出了第一個錯誤的決定。

This was the first mistake we made.

沒想到開了一陣子約莫40分鐘才抵達，途中的景色已經越來越荒涼，我與朋友用中文溝通，避免會發生不好的事情又怕老先生聽到。抵達下車後發現這裡真的有夠偏僻，附近也沒有鄰居，內心的警鈴一直大響但跟著膽子較大的朋友就稍微緩和自己的心情。

Unexpectedly, it took about 40 minutes of driving before we arrived. The scenery along the way became increasingly desolate. My friend and I communicated in Chinese, hoping to avoid any trouble and also fearing that the elderly gentleman might understand us. Upon arrival, we found the place extremely remote, with no neighbors nearby. Alarm bells were ringing in my head, but following my braver friend helped to slightly calm my nerves.

下車後一隻黑色的狗衝了過來，但是是非常不客氣地吼叫著，看著快天黑的天空只想趕快看完房子後立刻離開，於是乎硬著頭皮跟著那位老先生一同走進了他所謂的「房子」。

As soon as we got out of the car, a black dog rushed towards us, growling unfriendly. With the sky quickly darkening, we just wanted to finish viewing the house and leave as soon as possible. So, we gritted our teeth and followed the elderly gentleman into what he called the "house."

首先他讓我們看第一間房，是在車庫的旁，有點像是台灣會出現的那種頂樓加蓋的房間，塑膠製的白色廁所門，一打開的空間非常的狹小而床是上下鋪，看起來真的非常像監獄的配置，如果被綁架可能就會被丟進像這樣的空間裡，於是假裝鎮定的看下一間房。

First, he showed us the first room, which was next to the garage. It looked somewhat like a rooftop room you might find in Taiwan, with a plastic white toilet door. Upon opening the door, we found the space extremely cramped, with bunk beds that resembled something you might find in a prison. It felt like the kind of place you might be thrown into if you were kidnapped. So, we pretended to remain calm and moved on to the next room.

而下一間是一棟平房，打開門後除了格局很擠之外家具也都看起來都非常的老舊，一進門就有兩三位泰國人已經住在這裡，當時他們正好在吃飯，所以整個房子也瀰漫著泰式料理的味道之外而客廳的燈光明明是白色燈光卻完全不明亮，整間屋子非常的昏暗，於是老先生直接帶著我們看了房間，房門一打開竟然是三張床直接合併在一起，除了床單看起來就像好幾年沒換，房間內的燈光就只有一盞非常微弱的黃色燈泡，衣櫃打開就會完全沒有可以站立的位置，我跟朋友的評論只能發出硬擠出來的:「Oh～～wow~」的狀聲詞。

The next room was a bungalow. Upon opening the door, besides the cramped layout, the furniture looked very old. As soon as we entered, we saw two or three Thai people already living there, who happened to be having dinner at the time. The whole house was filled with the smell of Thai food. Despite the fact that the living room lights were white, the room was dimly lit. The elderly gentleman directly took us to see the room, and when he opened the door, we were surprised to find three beds pushed together. Besides the bedsheets that looked like they hadn't been changed in years, there was only one very dim yellow light bulb in the room. Opening the wardrobe revealed there was no space to stand. My friend and I could only muster a forced "Oh~ wow~"

雖然還是可以住，但以當時只有我們兩位女生加上沒有車就住在如此偏僻的地方，除了危險之外也離超市太遠也不會是我們考慮的地點，老先生看出我們的疑慮接著又邀請我們去看看另外一處，這時我心想這個地方到底有多大，如果是人蛇集團的地點這邊真的很適合開發，離市區超遠也沒有任何交通工具夜晚還伸手不見五指。

Although it was still livable, considering that it was just the two of us girls and we didn’t have a car, living in such a remote place was not only dangerous but also too far from the supermarket. It wasn’t a location we could consider. The elderly gentleman noticed our hesitation and invited us to see another place. At this point, I couldn’t help but wonder how big this area was. If it were a location for human trafficking, it would be perfect—far from the city, with no transportation, and pitch black at night.

於是跟著走了一小段，邊走大黑狗也是邊跑邊叫跟著我們。

So, we followed him for a short distance, with the big black dog running and barking alongside us.

在一個門打開只有非常簡陋的傢俱，當時有一位看起來非常年輕的法國背包客剛好坐在沙發，簡短的打完招呼後老先生說這裡剛好額滿了，已經沒有房間了，內心慶幸但不曉得為什麼還要讓我們看這裡的房間。

We reached a place with a door that opened to reveal very simple furniture. A young French backpacker was sitting on the sofa. After a brief greeting, the elderly gentleman told us that this place was already full and there were no available rooms. I felt relieved but couldn’t understand why he still showed us this place.

看完後老先生又帶我們回到了那間平房並詢問我們的決定如何，由於第一次看房完全不懂的國外的流程是怎麼進行，原本想很客氣的拒絕但老先生的意思就想要我們當下決定入住。

After viewing the place, the elderly gentleman took us back to the bungalow and asked about our decision. As it was our first time viewing a house, we didn’t understand the process in a foreign country. We initially wanted to politely decline, but the gentleman seemed to want us to decide to move in immediately.

而太客氣的拒絕就是我們所犯的第二個錯誤。

And being too polite in our refusal was our second mistake.

最後在我們拿出手機google翻譯與老先生雞同鴨講了一陣子後，老先生站在門口就說他可以把我們載回卡布丘火車站但要跟我們收費一人30澳幣。

Finally, after we used Google Translate on our phones to communicate with the elderly gentleman for a while, he stood at the door and said he could drive us back to the Caboolture train station but would charge us 30 AUD per person.

他在說話的同時那隻黑狗又出現開始叫，感覺只要我們嘗試逃跑那隻黑狗就會追上來咬我們。

While he was talking, the black dog appeared again and started barking. It felt like if we tried to run away, the dog would chase us down and bite us.

ㄧ開始就朋友認為老先生就是要詐騙我們，但是當下我只想離開這個地方，用中文勸說朋友先離開這裡再說，於是從皮包匆忙的拿出鈔票給他，老先生口氣也突然變好的收下錢後讓我們上車。

At first, my friend thought the elderly gentleman was trying to scam us, but at that moment, I just wanted to leave that place. I persuaded my friend in Chinese to leave first and discuss it later. So, I hurriedly took out cash from my purse and handed it to him. The elderly gentleman's attitude suddenly improved after taking the money, and he let us get in the car.

當時天色已經是黑壓壓一片，只想著趕快離開，如果真的被攻擊至少我們還有兩個人可以反擊，但最後終於順利抵達了卡布丘車站，直到下車關上車門，坐上了往市區的火車我們兩個人對看才開始放下心中的焦慮。

By then, it was completely dark. We just wanted to leave as quickly as possible. If we were attacked, at least there were two of us to fight back. Finally, we safely arrived at the Caboolture train station. It wasn't until we got off, closed the car door, and boarded the train back to the city that we looked at each other and started to let go of our anxiety.

想當時抵達澳洲時朋友就已經告訴我一個都市傳說三不法則：

不要靠近華人

不要找華人房東

不要找華人老闆

結果被當地人騙30澳幣。

當然也有遇過很好的華人房東與老闆，訣竅就是發現情況不妙就是直接說「No!」或立刻離開。節省彼此的時間，也不會造成不必要的誤會。

Of course, I've also encountered very good Chinese landlords and bosses. The key is to recognize when things aren't right and to say "No!" directly or leave immediately. It saves both parties time and prevents unnecessary misunderstandings.

看房最好也是在早上或中午，路況不熟晚上會偏危險。

It's best to view houses in the morning or at noon as it can be risky to navigate unfamiliar roads at night.

後續補充：想當時我與朋友連去那個租房的地址都不曉得就這樣直接被載去，在後座比較兇狠的友人還一直用中文講放狠話害我在前座一直笑差點被老先生發現。

Additional context:

At that time, my friend and I didn't even know the address of the rental property, yet we were driven there directly. My friend in the back seat, who looked fierce, kept speaking harshly in Mandarin, while I sat in the front seat trying not to laugh, almost giving away our conversation to the elderly gentleman.

沒想到手機都沒有拿出來拍照，因為太害怕被綁票拿出手機會激怒老先生，只能憑記憶形容這整段的旅程，但如果換是現在的我會立刻拍照加錄影跟隨身攜帶防狼噴霧保護自己。

I didn't even think to take out my phone to take pictures because I was too afraid that using it might anger the elderly gentleman and escalate the situation. I could only rely on my memory to describe the entire journey. But if it were me now, I would immediately take photos and videos and carry pepper spray for self-protection.

就這樣結束了澳洲驚魂記，此篇是媽媽看到會很擔心的一篇。

And thus concludes the Australian nightmare. This is the kind of story that would worry my mom if she read it.