Traveling in the age of the internet is pretty sweet. A map is always at your fingertips. Taxies are a tap away. There’s an app for every restaurant, hotel, and tour booking imaginable. But, there’s always human error. In this instance, human error lead to me, a weary 21-year old covered in jellyfish stings and a bandaged leg from a stray dog attack (a story for another time) waltzing into a brothel at 2AM thinking it was my hotel for the night.
So how did this happen? Well, first of all, my Air BnB was located on the premises of a café. This café, to my misfortune, happened to have the same name as an X-rated establishment 30-mins north of it. I had drowsily connected to the airport wifi, entered the café name, glanced at the map, and hopped in the Uber none the wiser.
I can only imagine the expression on my face as we pulled up. Not to mention my poor driver who was audibly dumbfounded as to why I was being dropped off in a boisterous red-light district.
I got my backpack out of the boot, put my hat on, and walked into “the café.” 20+ leathery European men stared as I entered the room.
“Ah, um. So I’m checking in tonight? I have a Air BnB reservation?” I asked the lady behind the bar.
“This is most definitely not an Air BnB” she laughed.
It was almost 2AM and I had no internet. I had no idea where I was, or where I was supposed to be. This was also clearly not a “tourist hotel nearby kinda neighborhood” 😂
My face must have said it all because she chimed in. “Oh hunny you’re having a rough night. Here’s our wifi password. Do you have the exact address? A lot of places have the same names here. Have a shot.” She then, no joke, poured me a shot of tequila 🤣
Sure enough, my actual Air BnB of the same name was 30-mins away. “I can give you a lift when my shift ends if you like?” Feeling pretty embarrassed at this stage, I gratefully declined and ordered another uber to my quaint book café 🤣
Takeaways: (1) Always copy the EXACT address from Air BnB (2) Thank god for kind strangers who take pity on dopey travellers like me 🤦🏽♀️🤣🙏🏽 #fail
Read more: #SuitcaseStories – Waking Up Alone Locked in a Bus at 3AM