“Take the road less travelled”, said my father. “That will make the difference.”
And with that thought I caught a big plane to the other side of the world. In search of adventure, hopeful of a little more wisdom.
16000 kilometers, two planes and a train later I was walking away from the station on a cobbled street as the big clock on the main square turned midnight rather than my inner feeling of midday.
A few more streets and I saw the hotel - and my heart skipped a beat. I struggled to catch my breath. It looked older than online. The detailed travel plans that seemed sensible surrounded by all-knowing family and friends, suddenly seemed foolhardy. Even dirty. Tonight I wanted to be anywhere but in this hotel.
Anxious, I checked in. The receptionist seemed as he’d been there behind the counter longer than I’d been alive. There was a calculator with big buttons on his desk and back in the corner was what looked like a fax machine. He spoke just a few words of English, and used them quite sparingly.
I exchanged my passport for a huge key and made my way upstairs to my room, tugging my bag behind me. In the corridor I heard a lady giggle in the distance who clearly had no intention of sleeping. From the room opposite I could hear a loud gameshow on a TV in a language that was neither Russian nor Chinese but maybe a little of both.
I turned the key in the lock to the room and dropped the plastic rectangle key-holder into its’ slot - all the lights came on. The room was much newer than I expected. Clean, almost clinical, with a shiny classical wooden floor. The bathroom was modern, the bed big and warm, and on top of the minibar there was a familiar packet of #SLEEPZZZ. I sighed in relief: I knew I’d sleep very well tonight.
#sleep #airplane #hotel #travel #tourist
#sydneysider #booking #anxiety #jetlag #minibar ‘
