Not in Kansas anymore
Being home in the US lulled me into a sense of security, a casualness with my belongings, a feeling that you can leave you bag in your locked room and expect it to be ok. Though I was without my bag for a two hours while I ate breakfast IN THE HOTEL, and another two hours when it was ostensibly locked in a safe while I was getting a massage, 3000 baht (about $90) dematerialized from my wallet.
This is only the second time I’ve had a significant amount of money disappear while traveling. When I lived in Kathmandu, I hid about $100 in my desk in my flat while going trekking. Even though it was hidden amidst papers and envelopes, it wasn’t there when I got back. Both the landlord and the housekeeper had keys to my apartment and knew I was gone for many weeks. In both cases, its not the loss of the money that bothers me as much as the idea that my things aren’t safe in my ‘own’ space, and the feeling that others are going through my things when I leave the room. Ugh. It makes my skin crawl. Today, I locked up everything in my suitcases before going down to breakfast.
I’m not sure what, if anything, to say to the hotel. I’m pretty sure that the theft happened during breakfast, but it also could have happened during the massage – when I opened my wallet to pay for the massage, I had much less money than I expected. Thing is, I hadn’t been anywhere else during the day. This is the thing that really gets to me while traveling: the constant heightened awareness to prevent getting ripped off, and the inevitability of it anyway. Ok, Vigilance on, alert heightened.
This is only the second time I’ve had a significant amount of money disappear while traveling. When I lived in Kathmandu, I hid about $100 in my desk in my flat while going trekking. Even though it was hidden amidst papers and envelopes, it wasn’t there when I got back. Both the landlord and the housekeeper had keys to my apartment and knew I was gone for many weeks. In both cases, its not the loss of the money that bothers me as much as the idea that my things aren’t safe in my ‘own’ space, and the feeling that others are going through my things when I leave the room. Ugh. It makes my skin crawl. Today, I locked up everything in my suitcases before going down to breakfast.
I’m not sure what, if anything, to say to the hotel. I’m pretty sure that the theft happened during breakfast, but it also could have happened during the massage – when I opened my wallet to pay for the massage, I had much less money than I expected. Thing is, I hadn’t been anywhere else during the day. This is the thing that really gets to me while traveling: the constant heightened awareness to prevent getting ripped off, and the inevitability of it anyway. Ok, Vigilance on, alert heightened.
Comments
Hang in there.
The police inspector thinks that the spa receptionist saw me enter the combo on the safe, and then took stuff out while I was blissfully unaware.