Especially everywhere. I can't think of a single instance anywhere, ever that I would not have my passport on my person unless it were locked up in a safe in my hotel. My pack is never out of my sight unless it is checked or I have watched it get tied to the roof of the bus or whatever.
They must have paid the taxi driver or he wouldn't have left. If they paid him and told him to wait, that is a mixed message for someone that perhaps didn't understand everything they said. Their actions would have indicated that he was done, so off he goes.
Of course, I wouldn't put my money in a zippered pocket on my backpack where it could fall out, either.
And if I had lost my passport and pack they way they did, I would have called the police and embassy right away. And James is a lawyer? Wow.