My slow boat journey to Luang Prabang can definitely be described as being less than amazing. I hadn’t been able to sleep for over 24 hours and then I found myself spending an entire day sitting next to a dead body.
So when we finally arrived in town, I was mentally and physically drained and I had decided I wanted to spend the next few days in an extremely fancy hotel. I needed to rest and recover and there was no way I was going to be able to do so in a 10 bed dorm room.
I needed some luxury travel in my life.
With this in mind, my friends and I made our first mistake when we stepped onto dry land and immediately decided to go with the first tout who met us off the boat. Big mistake.
These touts usually lead you to the crappiest and overpriced guesthouses in town. At the time we were unaware of this and just grateful to have found somewhere quickly and easily.
The guesthouse definitely wasn’t anything special but I splashed out on an incredibly overpriced room with air con and hot water to treat myself.
Or so I thought…
Returning back to my room after buying a bottle of water, I was confused to find that I could not get the door open. With visions of the last time I tried to force myself into an apartment and ended up snapping a key in half I was apprehensive about applying any kind of force to the lock. No, the safest thing to do would be to find the owner.
Except when I told him that I couldn’t get into my room, he started to chuckle loudly and pat me softly on the arm.
He had forgotten that the lock was broken and that nobody was meant to be staying there.
He had a few attempts at opening the door but remained unsuccessful and disappeared downstairs after just a few minutes.
Then he returned with his machete.
He got to work aggressively hacking away at the door while I sheltered at the other end of the corridor, alternating between taking sneaky photos and thinking about how ridiculous my life is.
After much yelling and panting, he somehow managed to chop off the handle and find a way to get in. It was at this point that he told me he had no other rooms available for the night and I would have to stay here. I would have to stay in a room that I couldn’t lock.
“It’s ok – it’s very safe here”, he mumbled as I stared at him in frustration.
But I was too tired to argue, I needed sleep. I needed to forget about everything that had happened today. I pulled the door closed and anxiously tested the handle to see how easy it would be for anyone to get in.
I looked down in horror as the handle twisted uselessly in my hand.
I was now locked INSIDE my room.
You have got to be kidding me.
I shook the door as hard as I could, I banged until my fists were numb. I yelled and screamed and wailed for help. For over two hours I stood helplessly by the door. Two hours.
And then, finally, somebody heard my cries and was able to let me out.
I was done.
I could not stay in this place any longer. I had to move. Within minutes my bags were packed and I was downstairs asking for a refund.
It was then that I found out that Luang Prabang has a curfew and that all other guesthouses would be closed at this time of night. The owner had gone home and I would not be able to get a refund until the morning.
I was stuck here.
Refusing to stay in my room, I was led outside to their “spare room”. One that had a perfectly functioning lock. And about 5000 cockroaches.
As I looked around the room, I bit down on my trembling lip, refusing to cry.
I can get through this – I’ve been through so much worse. It’s just one night. I know can do it.
I sat down weakly on the bed and immediately jumped up screaming when I saw an enormous cockroach run across my pillow. As my eyes anxiously scanned the room, I waited for them to adjust to the dim light. I noticed several more cockroaches crawling over the walls and floors. Running over my bag, towards my feet, on my bed. Mosquitos dived at me from every corner of the room. There were 7 cockroaches floating in the toilet. There was no air con, no windows.
Just me and the bugs.
I hate bugs, I really do, but I was not about to become a whiny traveler who couldn’t man up and handle being in a bad room. I was going to stick it out for the night, even though I was on the verge of a breakdown.
I lasted just 10 minutes.
I was lying in the dark, wrapped up in damp, dirty, smelly blankets. There were cockroaches and other creatures crawling over my body, my arms, my face. There were strange noises that I didn’t recognise, the sound of wings near my face, banging on the door, creaking in the bathroom.
There is no way I can spend the night in this room.
I grabbed my laptop and ran. I would spend the night on the ground outside.
It was close to two in the morning when I was surprised by two Dutch guys creeping through the guesthouse gate. I think they were more surprised to see me lying on the ground crying. After chatting for a while and finding out they’d been at a late-night bowling alley while I had been locked out, locked in and attacked by cockroaches, the conversation dried up.
They refused to let me stay outside on my own for the entire night and insisted I stay in their room for the night. I was so exhausted, so drained, so desperate for sleep that I didn’t even bother trying to argue with them. It was only when I got to their room that I realised this felt oddly familiar.
Yes, I was now back in my old room.
The room that I cannot open from the inside.
I started to feel very nervous…
I refused to let any of the boys sleep on the floor as they offered and laid down, curled up next to the door. A few minutes later I was fast asleep although I didn’t stay sleeping for long…
I was absolutely horrified and disgusted to wake up and find one of the guys crouched over me with one hand on my chest and the other on my butt.
Oh. My. God.
I could NOT believe it.
What type of person, after finding me crying on the ground, and after hearing about all that had just happened to me, would see this as an opportunity to take advantage of me?
I ran towards the door, trying not to break down in tears, only too aware that I wasn’t going to be able to leave. The second guy somehow managed to open the door with a credit card.
Thank god.
It was 3am. I wasn’t going to be getting any sleep that night.
The next few hours passed by in a blur: Sitting on the ground with my head on my knees trying not to cry, staring at stupid videos on Youtube, watching the clock, leaving terrible reviews about the hotel on TripAdvisor, forcing myself to stay awake (with no sleep the night before, I had managed to stay awake for over 50 hours straight!)
The owner arrived and I was surprised to see that he gave me a refund with no questions asked and I practically ran away from the place.
I’d spent a few hours searching online for amazing places to stay in Luang Prabang and Villa Champa is probably the most expensive place I’ve stayed in during my time in Asia.
It was SO worth it!
I had a hot shower, ate an amazing cheese baguette and slept for 18 hours. I awoke energised, refreshed and ready to give Luang Prabang another go. Surprisingly, I loved the rest of my time there and I even left knowing that it was one of my favourite places in the world. But those first 24 hours?
Wow.
I was seriously starting to believe I was cursed.
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I read these stories of yours and think it would be awesome to travel until you post something like this. Thanks for being honest about all the ups and downs. Glad things got better for you.
Oh no, I don’t want to put you off travelling! The good times outweigh the bad BY FAR!
Wow….that really is the worst travel experience….you handled it better than I ever could have! The bugs alone would have been enough for me!!
The bugs were horrific… I really wish I’d taken more photos but I just wasn’t in the right frame of mind.
I would have cried for sure. Hopefully this is one of those horrific stories you remember ten years from now and can laugh about! Sucks to go through it, though.
I’m half-laughing now when I remember it! It was terrible at the time but I can definitely see the funny side now :)
Oh geez, Lauren. You should have a movie made about you and all your crazy experiences.
Hahahahaha! It would need to be a 400 part thriller.
Why is it always you! I mean it does leave for some interesting blog writing but my lord are you unlucky! I don’t know what I would have done. At least you kept your chin up. Well done girl x
I know! My whole life has been like this! ;) Whenever it happens I think of the post I can write about it!
Can’t decide what’s more horrifying, the cockroaches or the creepy dude! That hotel room at the end looks gorgeous though.
Both were pretty terrible!! The hotel room was amazing and one of the highlights of my time in Laos haha! Sometimes we just need to splurge :)
Crazy story! Glad everything worked out at the end. Finding a place to stay when arriving at night is tough.
Ugh, it’s the worst! I always try to pay extra to arrive at a decent time.
That’s crazy story! If that good place that you stayed at was only $25 what does a cheap room cost. I think I need to visit this area.
I don’t usually pay more than about $2-$5 a night. You can find rooms for 50 cents. This is all over southeast Asia.
Holy shit – I’m so sorry you had such a horrible time! But so glad you got out the other end alive and well ish. I’ve had similar things happen when I travel. I was sat in a bar in Korea once asking why these things seem to happen to me all the time – I am one of those people that manage to always get out alive though I must point out. Anyway a friend of mine made a very good point. Some people travel, they go somewhere, maybe teach english for a bit, see a part of the world, go home. Travel story yes, but sometimes not too different from everyone else. People like us however, have these ‘adventures’ when we travel and although sometimes it SUCKS big style at the time, in 3 months time, we’ll be retelling the story and laughing our arses off about it. This was my nightmare time when…….. He just reminded me how many awesome stories I would have compared to most people. I think of that every time something happens now.
Exactly – I love that! I love having my crazy stories… I just hate them at the time!
That photo of the guy hacking into your room is great… not so comforting on the security side, but a great photo.
Although your day sounds like it was pretty terrible, it sure makes for a fantastic story!
I know, it was absolutely insane!! I could not believe what was happening when he raced up the stairs with an enormous machete in his hand! :D
I would’ve slepted with the machete in my arms – those bastards. Glad you’re ok and went for luxury. Totally deserved it.
Plan! I should have thought of that… Although I’m sure I’d still be pretty useless anyway. I’d probably end up cutting my own arm off.
How do all these crazy things happen to you??? I mean really… it’s tooooo much. I am sorry you had to go through this. With all this happening to you I don’t understand how you love SEA so much…lol!!!
I KNOW! Although the same thing happened to you in India! ;)
I think it’s more the fact that it’s so much easier to write about things like this than how I spent 3 weeks lying on the beach drinking beer… So it makes my travels sound far more traumatic than they really are! :)
I’m in WTF mode right now. As in WTF. The room was bad enough, but being felt up by a perfect stranger after what you’d been through? People amaze me.
I know! I kind of wish I’d waited around that morning for him to wake up so I could yell at him, but I was far too tired…
I’m starting to believe you’re cursed too!
The best bit is, although you might be in a fetal position at the time, rocking back-and-forth crying… in a few weeks you only remember the stories.
Except… it just keeps happening to you! :)
Yes! See! Hahahahaha, amazingly nothing more traumatic has happened to me since then.
Ohmygod Lauren, I’d have totally cried if they’d have put me in that second cockroach room. Crawling all over your body…blearrrgh! And that guy – shame on him. What an absolute dickhead. I’m glad that the situation didn’t deteriorate and that your credit card came in handy.
Ending on a positive, the room that you ended up staying in looks AMAZING.
It was sooooo awful! I just kept telling myself to man up but it was too hard! UGH.
Wow, I am so sorry you had to experience this, that truly sucks. I can’t believe those dudes. What arseholes. You are so brave for handling it all so well, good on you!!
Thanks, Kelly! :) I know, I wish I could find those guys now…!
Wow — it just kept getting worse and worse, didn’t it? I can’t believe all these things happen to you, and I can’t believe the nerve of that guy!
On a positive note, I love your temple photo. It’s so colourful!
It really did! I was so close to flying back home at one point! “IT SHOULDN’T BE THIS HAAARRRDDDDDDD” haha.
Oh my gosh. I was stressed out just reading about it. I truly hope this was the worst 24 hours of your life and that you never have to go through something like that again. How horrible!!
Thank you! I hope so, too.
This is literally the worst night ever – you poor thing. AND WHAT A HORRIBLE PERVERT!! xxx
Seriously! To try to take advantage of somebody who was so vulnerable is really low.
This is my favorite travel blog post of all time. And gets an honorable mention for greatest story of all time. Well done!
Ha! Thanks, Lucie. Glad to be on the other side of it all and able to write a fun story without feeling too traumatised.
Wow, the joys of travelling. At least you are over it now. Enjoy the rest of your travels in Laos.
Thanks, Steve! Fortunately, the rest of my time in Laos went smoothly and without incident :-)
Holy crap! That’s an F’d up story. I can’t believe that second hotel is only $25 a night too!!!
You can really score yourself a bargain in Southeast Asia!
What a hellish day! I can’t even imagine going through any of that, let alone all of it at once. You definitely earned that luxe room!
Thanks, Emily. It was so wonderful to finally have some privacy and comfort after such an exhausting few days!
Well that’s twice in a week that I’ve just sat here and gone :O at my screen at your posts.
I hope the universe is dishing up some soaring peaks to follow this dingy trough…
Let’s hope so! It was a particularly dramatic 48 hours or so…
Seriously, WTF?! I don’t even know what else to say, this is just horrible in so many ways! I’m glad those guys didn’t do anything worse to you, and I’m glad you made it through until the morning. Absolutely insane.
Thanks, Ali. In hindsight, it could have been so much worse.
Oh my god Lauren! That, ALL OF THAT, sounds just terrible! What was the second worst hostel/hotel you’ve ever stayed at? Because obviously that has to be the worst, hands down!
Ha! I actually have an article about my worst (and funniest) hostel experiences on the site!
Oh.my.hell. LITERALLY HELL! Maybe, MAYBE someday you’ll laugh at all of this? ….probably not.
I wouldn’t say laugh… but I definitely shake my head at how ridiculous the sequence of events was!
Jesus God Almighty! That sounds like a freaking rough day girl :( Everything from creepy men, to machetes and roaches. What a shitty day
Seriously! Talk about hitting rock bottom, haha.
Nobody would’ve blamed you for throwing in the towel after something like this…but good on you for sticking it out :)
The benefits of travel always outweigh the lowlights in my experience, and a few days later, I was having the time of my life down in the 4,000 Islands.
Oh man, that SUCKS! I was also groped in Laos, though under entirely different circumstances that were certainly less scary, though not exactly “fun”.
Susan, I’m so, so sorry to hear about what you went through.
Lauren
Thanks for this post and I am thinking I will become a fan of your site. Life is hard, even when doing things you love. It is truly amazing grace that allows us to not only go on but love life. I never traveled much and it is one of those old guy regrets. I think I have a few adventures left in this old body and you have inspired me.
Thanks Ron
Thank you so much, Ron! And I’m laughing that this is the post that you commented on, because I’m not sure there are many people who would read about this experience and then decide they wanted to go have an adventure! :-)
I just left Luang Prabang and gladly, I didn’t have that experience. But I did run into endless awful experiences from Vientiane to Hanoi to Halong Bay to Sapa. Looking forward to getting back to the Luang Prabang flow. Maybe you’ll get that next time.
Hi Noah! Sorry to hear you had some bad experience in Laos and Vietnam. Luang Prabang is the perfect place to recover from it all :-)
I would have kicked the guy in the nuts!! How did you manage not to strangle him!?
Because I was locked in his room and had no way of getting away from him?
I think that most budget travellers have horror experiences at one time or another, but for some reason are reluctant to share them…at least on a public blog!
Maybe they think that it will make them look naive or inexperienced…who knows?
Jolly well done, to share the good AND bad of your travels!
I think that’s definitely part of it, Carol. I know when I first started travelling, I was trying to brand myself as an expert traveller… and then quickly discovered I was most definitely not. I love to share funny stories, though, so I immediately pivoted to talking about the mishaps I kept running into.
I have been perusing all the various blog entries and am amazed at just how many . . . challenging situations you have been through. Over all your shared experiences are entertaining and educational and I appreciate your blog.
Ninety percent of my travel experiences have been through the U.S. military, and while not as coincidentally bedeviled as yours have been, they never really felt like travelling for vacation. Some of my experiences, of course, were no fun at all, but then again that’s sort of what you get when travelling on the government’s check book.
Keep up the blog.
Wishing you better “luck” in the future. :D
Thank you so much, Colin! :-) It’s certainly been interesting…
I’ve stayed in some crappy places, but nothing like that–there’s no way I’d last a night like that. This is why I’m booking at least my first night in any new place in a respectable hotel (after that I can scope out more budget-friendly accommodations.
Yeah, the downside to doing that is that you’re booked somewhere and the friends you meet on the journey might choose to stay somewhere else — or at least that was my thinking this time around. I definitely book my first night when I’m travelling with my boyfriend, though.
I thought of you today when a girl got locked inside her room at our Guesthouse in Luang Prabang, thankfully we were able to get her out quickly and without the use of a machete.
Hahahaha, oh no! I’m glad you were able to get her out and I think it’s hilarious you thought of me when it happened! :-)
I’ve been reading your blog posts and although some of your experiences must have been terrible I can’t help but laugh out loud whilst reading each one! This one and the dead lady on a boat are by far the funniest! I can’t wait till I can travel as you do, but hopefully I won’t have so many horror stories to tell :)
It was traumatising to experience!
You are a talented writer! I know that this must of been a nightmare to live through, but you have worded it in such a funny way. I laughed and felt dismay at the same time. Good luck on the rest of your travels!
Thanks, Cherri! :-)
Wow! They say travel turns one into a great storyteller… it’s true! Reading your posts make me feel like I was going through what you went through. All the best to you on the rest of your travels!
Thank you so much! :-)
Wow that is awful from start to finish. I don’t even know if I could have survived that, I think my will to live would have been gone once a cockroach crawled across my face! I always say the worst travel experiences make for the best stories and that seems to be true! I’m loving your blog :-)
Thanks, Katrina! It was some of the most traumatising travel experiences I’ve had but as you say, it makes for a good story.
Oh my God Lauren! I’ve stumbled on this old post of yours. usually I can giggle at your mishaps, but this is just traumatic….and that’s just the part with the cockroaches. If you ever doubt your capacity for bravery then this story proves who strong you are.
Thanks so much, Francesca. It was probably the most challenging experience yet. So much going wrong in such a short amount of time!
Hey Lauren,
It’s me again . I have been reading your post one after the another back to back since morning.
I don’t know if you are cursed or not, but I sure do know and believe that you have been blessed with one of a strong soul. Leaving and sustaining in such odd…high;y odd situation, fighting back your tears and nervousness and your FEAR, could not be a trait of a normal girl…may be of some supergirl or wonderwomen :D :D .
You, Miss, is one the of the bravest of the Guys (Men, Women,and others ) I have known in real or virtual( as in your case).
May be the bravest and strongest of them all.
Stay Blessed [ :D :)) ], Stay Smiling
That’s so kind of you to say, Vivek! Thank you! :-)
That sounds awful, I hope you treated and pampered your self after.
I did! :-)
Fake. She says she was traveling with friends, and yet she never attempted to go to one of her friends’ rooms and stay with them? She has quite an imagination making all this nonsense up.
I didn’t know which room my friends were staying in because I spent the vast majority of my time in the guesthouse locked inside of my room.
We all checked in, I was taken upstairs to my room — which was on a different floor to them — then I spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with being locked inside my room. I had no idea which room they were all in.
Maybe it wasn’t clear in the post, but I met these friends on this trip, so I’d known them for less than three days. We just sat next to each other on the bus and the boat to Luang Prabang. It wasn’t like I was travelling with friends from home or anything — I barely knew them.
So even if I had known which room they were staying in, I didn’t know them well enough to want to disturb them in the middle of the night by asking to sleep on their floor. I’d also learned the night before that one of said friends suffers from such extreme nightmares that she screams continually that people are attacking her. I don’t think I would have wanted to spend the night in the same room as her anyway — I’d have gotten a better night’s sleep on the ground outside.