The Transit Incident

A couple of years ago, I was on my way to Switzerland to spend the summer with my parents. This was the first time I was traveling alone and according to my itinerary, I was to take a flight to Colombo (Sri Lanka) and then stay at a hotel for 12 hours and then head back to the airport for my flight to Switzerland. Now, I was never told which hotel I would be staying in. I would know that only after I reached the exit gates of the Colombo airport.

On my arrival at Colombo, I went through the whole routine of getting out of the airport. At the exit, there stood a 'healthy' lady wearing the traditional Sri Lankan Sari. She was holding a placard with my name on it. I spoke to her and she directed me to a person who was to drive me to the hotel. Now for those of you who are ill-informed, Colombo is a place that is always in the news for bomb blasts and rebellious activities. It is a beautiful place nonetheless but the fear that a bomb could go off anytime can really gnaw on any tourists' mind. I was hoping the Hotel would be close by but to my dismay, the hotel was a good 45 minutes drive from the airport.

The hotel was beautiful. It was by the beach and as you walked into the lobby you could see the beach right there. There were couples everywhere! And I mean everywhere! Anyway, I checked in and the bellboy showed me to my room. It was a big room facing the pool. It had a huge sofa, a huge bathroom and bed. I've been to a lot of hotels but this one was definitely going into my top 5 list.

But it was only after I settled in that I realized that there was no TV in my room. At first it seemed strange and it took me a little while to understand the gravity of the situation. I was in a foreign land (where a bomb could go off anytime), I couldn't take a walk outside, I had no clue where I was and the pool had a huge hairy guy swimming in it. This was not good. So I went straight to the reception desk to investigate what was happening.

Receptionist: "Good afternoon sir. How may I help you blah blah blah... "

Me: "Hi I stay in room number ### and I noticed that I don't have a TV in there."

Receptionist: "Thats strange. Can you give me your room number again so that I may verify what has happened."

I repeat the number. [After a bit of tapping on the keyboard and a couple of swift clicks on the mouse.]

Receptionist: "Sir, it seems you have been given the honeymoon suite (with a big smile)."

Me: "What?! You have to be kidding me."

And at that instant everything made sense. That big sofa, that big bed, all those couples roaming around the place and that pool (with the fat guy) facing the room.

Me: "So are you telling me that honeymoon couples don't need television sets in their rooms?"

Receptionist: " Well sir, I don't think I am at liberty to give you my opinion on that."
[She definitely took the liberty to giggle like mad though!]


Wonderful! So here I am in a honeymoon suite all alone and with no television set. I never missed the 'idiot box' like the way I did on that day. I spent the next 11 hours reading a copy of the National Geographic Magazine which rocked me to sleep in minutes.

I was more than happy when I got the wake up call at midnight. I packed and I left. Next time I go there, I'll make sure I take my own little TV set!

Sheesh!