Halloween in Hong Kong is insane.
I didn’t realise this until I arrived and found out that 95% of hostels were fully booked and I had nowhere to stay.
I put out a cry for help on Twitter and announced that I was going end up sleeping on the streets. Within minutes Ally had replied, offering me her couch to crash on for a few days.
Staying in an apartment as opposed to the dorm rooms I had become accustomed to was a welcome change and I enjoyed feeling settled and having a decent nights sleep for a change. It couldn’t have been more perfect.
That is, until my second day in Hong Kong.
After returning back to the apartment after a full day of sightseeing, I was looking forward to a relaxing evening of doing nothing.
As I removed the key from my pocket, slid it into the lock and turned, I heard a sound which sent my heart into my mouth.
Crack.
I looked down at my hands in disbelief before starting to hyperventilate. I was holding one half of the key and the other half was stuck in the door.
Oh my god.
I stared at the shattered key in my hand for what felt like hours, trying to piece together what had just happened. How on earth do I possess the strength required to break a key in half? The only key to the apartment.
How is that even possible?
My temples began to throb and I felt the panic rising in my throat as I stared at the key in the door. The minutes ticked by, peppered with the sound of my frantic breaths and gentle sobbing.
Attempting to pull myself together, I twisted the door handle but it refused to move. With the key completely wedged inside the lock, I was unable to either remove it or unlock the door.
I dropped to my hands and knees in desperation and frantically scoured the floor, searching for fragments of the key. When that proved to be unsuccessful I rummaged through my purse, and tried using a pen, coin and a Happy Meal toy to force the key to turn but nothing worked.
Damn it.
I had absolutely no idea what time Ally would be returning to her apartment, and I didn’t have a phone to contact her or anyone else. I freaked out.
Pacing backwards and forwards along the metre long corridor I wrapped my arms around myself and started whimpering.
This is the exact situation where possessing common sense would be helpful. Just a little bit. Just enough to figure out what a normal person would do in this situation.
What do I do in this situation?!
Half an hour soon passed before I decided I had to take action. I went downstairs to find the non-English speaking concierge and attempted to mime what had just happened to me.
I handed the shards of key to the concierge, started pretending to cry and waved the pieces of metal in his face.
He laughed. Hysterically. For 25 minutes.
When he finally regained composure, he picked up the phone, and after a few minutes of screamed Chinese down the phone, handed it to me.
“Hello?”
The person on the other end couldn’t speak any English so after my attempts of shouting “I BROKE MY KEY” failed to get the point across, I handed the phone back to the concierge and he shook his head in disappointment at me.
After an awkward ten seconds where he stared at me and panted heavily he told me the locksmith was on his way. My knees gave way as I collapsed on the floor in relief. Everything was going to be ok.
As soon as my legs stopped trembling, I looked up to see the concierge grinning inanely at me and motioning for me to get up and sit on his stool. Upon sitting down he offered me a sweet.
I began to smile as I unwrapped the sweet and popped it in my mouth. My smile soon faded, however, as I watched the toothless man flash his gums at me and slowly lean over to begin stroking my leg.
Seriously?
Could my day get any worse?!
Fortunately, the locksmith chose that moment to enter the building and break up the sexual tension. I showed him up to the apartment and within minutes he had the door open. Perfect. All I need now is the lock replaced and all would be well again.
Except he then held out his hand and asked for money.
What?
I put my mime skills to good use yet again, acting out that I needed a new lock. Finally understanding what I meant, he wrote down a price of the equivalent of £50. I wasn’t happy but I had to agree to it.
With no money left in my purse, I rushed out to find an ATM. Fortunately, there was one just across the street but upon inserting my card in I received the following message:
“We could not process your request. Please try again.”
So I did. I tried again and again. I tried with four different cards and went to three different ATMs but not a single one of them would accept my cards.
Shit.
As I trudged back to the apartment block, my mind was in overdrive and my stomach was churning.
How do I explain to someone who doesn’t speak English that I couldn’t withdraw any money? What if he decides to takes my beloved Macbook as payment? What if he’s already stolen my Macbook as I left him alone in the apartment?!
After trying to explain that I didn’t have any money to pay him, he grabbed my shoulder and led me downstairs.
Was I about to be kidnapped?!
After 10 minutes of the locksmith and concierge arguing and screaming at each other in Chinese, the concierge took out his wallet and handed over the money I owed to the locksmith.
Relief washed over me and after thanking the concierge profusely and promising to pay him back first thing tomorrow I rushed into the lift before he could ask for sexual favours as repayment.
Now I just had to explain to Ally why she had a brand new lock on her door…
What’s the most stressful thing that’s happened to you while you’ve been travelling?
[Images via Samin-chan, TioJesseLuver, Saca, DavidsonAndrew]
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Lauren is a twenty-something physics graduate, who decided upon graduation to leave behind everyone and everything she knows and travel solo around the world indefinitely. This blog is a record of her travels, photos, experiences and adventures!
“Fortunately, the locksmith chose that moment to enter the building and break up the sexual tension”
Pahahaha!
Anthony recently posted..Man Vs Clock’s A-Z of Travels
Anthony – yeah I’m pretty sure that if the locksmith hadn’t entered at that moment I would have lost my self-control and dived at his shiny gums. Yum yum yum
Ahahaha you can’t beat a bit of gum on a man
Anthony recently posted..Man Vs Clock’s A-Z of Travels
Anthony beat me to it. The Locksmiths timing was surely worth the £50 alone?
Whats was your hosts reaction?
Neil recently posted..Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia
Yes, thank GOD the locksmith saved me!
Ally freaked out, ran out of her lecture and back home and was convinced that the locksmith took a copy of the key and was going to break in and rape us all that night.
…..
Oh my goodness! That is really stressful! I am not really sure on how I’d be able to keep my cool if there are language barriers. I’m just glad that he didn’t steal your MacBook or pursued with his not-so-good attempt.
Micamyx|Senyorita recently posted..Tips and Advice For a Good Sinulog Festival Experience in Cebu City
It was incredibly stressful! And yes, thank god my Macbook was safe, I would have exploded if that had gone missing!
I love you but you are RIDICULOUS lol. This could only happen to you. I swear you’re a 24/7 ‘Punk’d’ star =D
Toni recently posted..Learning to say goodbye
Hahahahaha, oh Toni, that is SO true! Why does it always happen to me?!
Oh god I don’t know what I would do in that situation either you seem so unlucky with these things! Ah well at least you managed to get it sorted
George recently posted..Looking Back and Moving Forward: My 2011 and the year ahead!
For a few hours there I considered fleeing the country!
Hahahaha this is brilliant! I think travellers in Asia all develop mad mime skills after a while as a kind of survival adaptation! I wonder if the concierge would have come on to me, too? LOL
Tom recently posted..Gil Dong Speaks Out
Tom, my mime skills are absolutely dreadful! I remember trying to mime a train station to a taxi driver and standing on a street going CHOO CHOO!
I have definitely had a similar experience. I lost a key to a hostel but was too scared to tell anyone so I just spent the week climbing through the dorm room window.
But I didn’t get groped by a concierge.
So you know, I don’t know if that helps or not.
Sarah recently posted..The Time I Wasn’t Ready for India (and I Blame it All on Hockey)
Hahahahahahaha! Sarah – that’s hilarious! Unfortunately, this was on the 17th floor so I couldn’t have climbed through the window
Wow – sounds like it was just not your day! One bad thing after another. Thanks for sharing though so we can all learn and maybe laugh a little too!
John recently posted..Travel Photography Tips – Kerry Park in Seattle: A Before & After Story
Just not my year
Still, at least I know what to do when I lose a key in the future as I’m sure will happen at some point…
Yikes! That does indeed sound like a horrible day! I’m impressed you kept it together enough to figure things out!
Amanda recently posted..Photo Essay: An Afternoon on Parliament Hill
So am I, Amanda, hahaha! I just waiting for something else to go wrong that whole evening…
Shawna and I had a really stressful situation in Kuta, Bali, Indonesia. All the hostels were full, except for one. We stayed there and paid WAY too much for it’s shitty quality. While we were sleeping I felt like things were crawling on me…and there were! We woke up to bed bugs crawling and biting us, with blood splatters on the bed from where we re-adjusted our bodies while sleeping and squashed them on the covers. At 2:30am, we had to wake up the staff (sleeping in the lobby) and convince them to move us to another room where the electricity didn’t work…it was stressful and very annoying! Come to think of it, this would make a great blog post!
~Chais
Chais Meyer recently posted..Walking in a Thailand Wonderland
Chais, It really would! You SO have to write about it!
And also, that’s really gross
Love to see Ally’s reaction as you explain all that happened. What a day!
Sam recently posted..Needles Section of Canyonlands National Park
Ally was horrified and rushed home ASAP!
You always have such sexy adventures.
Chris recently posted..My New Year’s in Sydney
I know, I’m such a sex kitten.
This is hilarious!! I know it’s been horrible for you an I’m sorry but it is hilarious
glad that locksmith just showed up at the exact right moment 
Someday I’ll Be There – Mina recently posted..A Journey of a Thousand Miles Begins With a Single Step
As all of this was taking place, I was thinking, this will make a hilarious blog post!!
that’s how a travel blogger thinks
I just had an accident, and my back is still hurting, while doing a safari trip a couple of days ago, and first thought after i checked that i could still move my arms and legs is “new post!” haha
Someday I’ll Be There – Mina recently posted..Siwan People and The Revolution.
LOL Lauren this is hilarious, you poor thing xxx
Jen recently posted..#63: Terror In The Sky
Woah, that is a bad day! But when you are travelling, you are bound to get some of those days when nothing goes as planned.
I also just wrote about my trip to El Nido, trip when a lot of things went wrong!
Jarmo recently posted..Could I make it to El Nido?
…It just seems to happen to me a lot more than it does anyone else!
it never fails to baffle me how much trouble you land yourself in lauren! it’s like you were solely put on this earth to travel, have heaps of bad luck and entertain us all
hahaha!
Chris recently posted..A Weekend of Ecuadorian Chaos
Hahahahahahahaha! That is so true.
Awww, sweetie … what a story! Although you were quite upset at the time … it was fun reading!
Glad things worked out and that you and that concierge aren’t an item 
LOL!
Hahahaha, oh god, me too!
Oh I have so many similar stories. One from 2 nights ago in Morocco. But don’t know when I’ll get the chance to post. Unlucky adventures in travel at least make for good stories. Glad you didn’t have to pay for the favour with a favour.
Ian [EagerExistence] recently posted..Mishaps in CouchSurfing
Yep, I was constantly thinking about what a good blog post this would make!
Classic post. Enjoyed the misery, panic and the great story with photos.
Am sure I’ve seen that gumless old man flapping them about elsewhere in the world!
Dave recently posted..What is the definition of home? (2012 edition)
Hahahaha, he’s following me wherever I go!
Holy crap. And.. Bahahaha. I doubt any one else could put such situation in words. Good timing on the locksmith. Glad things worked out in the end. How did Ally take to the story?
Kieu ~ GQ trippin recently posted..RTW: Q’s Packing List
Ally was horrified and ran home in a panic! She calmed down the next day though
Ja I love ya~ Too funny!
Love ya too!
What a story! My scariest moment was the first time I was abroad. Was visiting a buddy in Naju, South Korea. After 20 hours of flights and a 4 hour bus ride, I was dropped on the street and my buddy was not there to meet me as promised. Needless to say, I freaked out a bit..
The World of Deej recently posted..Deej’s Picture of the Week
Ugh, that would scare me too, especially if it was the first time I went abroad!
Unfortunately, given the nature of my site (and our collective minds), you had us at “grope”.
It’s a shame to see that female travellers have to put up with this stuff still. Good to see you got out of it unscathed and all the better for it!
Will – TravelSexLife recently posted..Welcome to TravelSexLife: Why We Want to Be the First Site on Your Reading List
The old “offer them a sweet” routine. The number of times I’ve falled for that.. Doesn’t sound like the best of days.. but you emerged the victor! Which is what matters
Laurence recently posted..In photos: Kalbarri coastline and national park
I’ve falled? Man.. I’ve got to stop falled for stuff.
Laurence recently posted..In photos: Kalbarri coastline and national park
I hate it when ATMs don’t work in forign countries. I have had cards randomly swallowed which is not fun!
James Cook recently posted..5 Things To Do In Edinburgh
OMG! You poor girl. I feel so bad for you! What an insane stroke of bad luck. Glad things turned out to be OK for you.
Cheryl recently posted..Street Art And Graffiti In Krakow.
Ha ha – what a hilarious story. I’m sorry, I’m sure you didn’t think it was funny at the time, but hindsight has a way of adding a layer of humour
Now that’s a bad day indeed. Glad it all worked out in the end.
Oh, just call it an adventure.
Laura recently posted..Find Your Paradise in Portugal