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The amusing travel memoir about How I Outsmarted Locked Doors, Sleeping Receptionists, and Gas Station DJs to Catch My Train

That particular morning was already established as pretty stressful. But in case you need a quick reminder of what happened—or better yet, you’re a brand-new reader (warmly welcome!) to my travel blog, focused on amusing travel memoirs and light-hearted travel stories I’ve experienced during my adventures—here’s a very quick 120-word summary. I’ll keep it really dense as I don’t want to bore readers who already know the story…

It’s 04:13. That early morning, I needed to catch a train to Anuradhapura, which was leaving at 04:55 AM. As my PickMe ride was not yet confirmed, I decided to try and catch a tuk-tuk on the streets. The skinny local receptionist, who was snoring on the floor behind the reception desk during this story, had advised me the day before against relying on the local bus. It’s too early. So here I was, fully packed, ready to run out of the hotel to find a tuk-tuk.

Time was not on my side, and all odds were against me.

I was standing in front of the glass entry door, pushing the handle. The hotel was locked!

At That exact moment, I left my readers in the dark with “to be continued…”

The Key to Freedom

streets of Colombo

I quickly ran upstairs to the reception desk. Knowing where I left the key and having absolutely no desire to wake up the poor sleepy guy (yes, always put others first and be nice, even if it’s at my own expense—beat me!), I thought the whole ordeal would be resolved quickly. If my plan failed, I’d wake him up.

With the keys in hand, I ran downstairs, pushed the key into the lock, and voila, my first small victory of the morning was achieved.

As much as I was happy to finally break free, there was no time to waste! I wedged my small backpack between the door, ran upstairs, left the key on the counter, came back down, and, finally content, exited the hotel.

A Foggy Avenue

Breathing in the first fresh morning breeze, I stepped out of the hotel and looked towards a foggy main avenue. I could see nothing and nobody. The space around was as empty as it gets. A few moments later, I heard a vehicle approaching from my left. I couldn’t believe it! When I zoomed in, I saw, ironically, bus number 138 passing by on the other side of the street.

Wait, what? I couldn’t believe it!

My dear loyal readers, you know my previous experience with bus number 138 and the magician I met there, but my lovely new readers, can either stop and read more about that amusing travel memoir or continue with this one here…

Yes, let’s just stay focused, now, shall we? And lets continue where we left!

Once again, it was proven to me that I need to do MY OWN research and can’t rely on others. However, I wasn’t ready to wait for the next bus. So, I looked for an available tuk-tuk. While walking toward the opposite side, another brilliant idea popped into my head: why not double my chances? I ordered a tuk-tuk via the PickMe app. It couldn’t hurt, right? Whatever happens first—if the ordered tuk-tuk picks me up, I’d go with her (yes, the available driver was female), and if I caught a random one on the streets, I’d go with them! And the latter happened.

The Tuk-Tuk Triumph

The moment I crossed the street, I saw an empty tuk-tuk approaching from my right. Waving my hand in the air, I signaled him to stop and pick me up.

“Where, ma’am?”

“To the central train station.”

“Ok, jump in.”

“How much?” By now, I was used to setting the price upfront. In a hurry, I accepted whatever he proposed.

It wasn’t a total rip-off; otherwise, I would have deployed my bargaining skills.

It was 4:25, and I was finally on the move towards my destination, would not jeopardise that for a few saved rupees. Happy and grateful, I celebrated my second little victory.

A Musical Interlude

We were quick on the go as the streets were still empty. A few commuters accompanied us on the main road in their own vehicles. Lost in my thoughts, I kind of relaxed in the seat, but not for long. The next thing I knew, the driver started turning off the main road to the left. Wait a minute! My Google Maps companion said we should go straight. But then it all became clear: we needed gas. No, really!

My mood quickly shifted from excited to annoyed as another time obstacle tested my nerves.

It felt like the universe was playing a game with me. Will you or won’t you lose your nerves? Will you keep calm or explode?

There wasn’t much I could do! If gas was necessary, so be it. Tapping my right index finger on my watch-free wrist, I showed him my imaginary watch to subtly indicate we were in a time-emergency situation.

The gas station, at approximately 4:30 AM, was blaring loud music. I admired a guy, presumably one of the staff, who slept peacefully next to our tuk-tuk despite the noise. Impressive.

sitting in the hotel lobby (not the hotel from this story though ;))

video of a disco station and a sleeping beauty >

That was all I could do since it was too loud for a normal conversation. He stopped at a disco-gas station. At approximately 4:30 AM, the music blaring from the loudspeakers was so loud that I was amazed by a guy—presumably one of the staff—who slept peacefully behind a desk next to our tuk-tuk. Very impressive.

Back on the road

Less impressive was the fact we were still not on the go. Eventually, the driver returned, and I was relieved as we moved forward! For the remaining time, I nervously watched Google Maps and the clock. My confidence grew as it looked like we’d be on time, and my odds for final victory improved immensely!

When the time came for him to drop me at the station, I quickly thanked him, gave him the agreed sum with a tip, and dashed off to find the platform.

My day was saved, and so was my reserved train trip to Anuradhapura!

With lots of warm love

T.

PS. What is your amusing travel memory you want to share with us? Were you ever locked in or out of your hotel, hotel room, hostel or so? If yes, share in the comments below…