Some travel experiences scare you to the point that you never, ever forget to do something again. Waking up alone, locked in a bus in a pitch-black junkyard in Phnom Penh at 3AM without any luggage with my phone on 8% was one of those instances 😩
I did a lot of overnight bus trips during the 4-months I spent solo in South East Asia. The problem with shorter overnight bus rides is that you fall asleep at around 8PM and have to wake up when you arrive at 2-4AM. While dreary, this always went without a hitch. On this day, however, I did not wake up.
Not only did I not wake up, but because I had my headphones in I did not hear everyone exit the bus to retrieve their luggage. The driver did not see me curled up in the back. He left my luggage uncollected at the station and drove the bus to the junkyard where he locked up.
I woke up, realized my predicament, and tried not to panic. I tried climbing through the windows. I tried jarring the door open. I then had to resort to screaming at the top of my lungs for help 🤦🏽♀️ Within 10 mins a terrified security guard arrived. I used half my remaining 8% of battery to Google translate what had happened. He typed back “bus station might have your bags.” He then entered the address into my phone.
4% battery left and the walk was 30 mins. There was no doubt my phone was going to die at any second. I stopped. I sat. I stared frantically trying to memorize the map. It was pitch black with no street lights. I made my way into the middle of the road (so no one could sneak up on me) and I sprinted like my life depended on it.
I’m not sure if it was fear or adrenaline, but somehow I managed to memorize every turn on that maze of a map. Miraculously, my luggage was still sitting there. The guard at the station gave me his phone charger and I ordered an uber to my hostel.
Lessons learned? (1) I always set an alarm on my phone for when I expect to arrive on an overnight bus (2) I can assure you I’ve never traveled without a battery pack for my phone again… a heavy-duty 10,000 MaH Lifeproof in-built torch battery pack at that 😂
Read more: #SuitcaseStories – That Time I Accidentally Tried to Check Into a Phuket Brothel