You know how people say that things do not always go as planned and we should make our peace with this, learning on the go how to deal with unexpected obstacles that come our way? Well, that might be a wise approach for some situations in life, but not so much fun when it comes to a fully planned solo trip that turns into a “relay race” of mishappenings, the result of which is that nothing goes as planned. Imagine visiting another country, having a hotel and trip arrangements fully booked and paid in advance, only to find out when you are there that both your transport and accommodation have been cancelled… Well, I don’t have to imagine it, it happened to me and fortunately I live to tell the story, along with a few tips on what to do when everything goes downhill.
It all happened in September 2019, when I travelled to the UK for the wedding of my best friend. I was still a student on a tight budget back then, so I wanted to use the occasion to do some exploration on my own and visit some new places, since I was already paying for a plane ticket. This was my third trip to England, so I had decided to avoid London this time and to go someplace new. I flew to Liverpool and the plan was to spend some time there before I head to Birmingham, England’s second city, conveniently situated exactly halfway between Liverpool and Winchester, which was also the wedding location and the main objective of my trip. I had booked accommodation and prepaid for my bus trips within the country a few weeks in advance, because I don’t like leaving anything to chance, especially when travelling alone.
I am not going to go into details about the time I spent in Liverpool, as the city of The Beatles and the greatest football team of all times deserves its own story, plus the plot thickened when I was about to leave it. I got a city bus from Anfield towards Penny Lane, to the bus stop, where I was supposed to catch the long-distance coach to Birmingham, but on my way to my connection, I got an email from my hotel at Birmingham. Apparently the room where I was supposed to stay got flooded the previous night and they were informing me that they could not provide accommodation for me. Great, it was 3pm at that point and it seemed I was about to be homeless for the night if I didn’t act fast! So after letting my blood pump aggressively towards my temples and my thoughts storm uncontrollably inside my head for a few moments, I managed to cool off and to focus my attention on finding a place to stay. That’s the thing with travelling solo- when things get messed up, you’re on your own, so you learn to take care of yourself. Before the time came for me to hop off the bus, I already had a single room booked and prepaid at a convenient central location in Birmingham. Not the best looking room, but I was not spoiled with choice 2 hours prior to my preferred check-in time.
Now all that was left was to catch my connection bus to Brum. And here enters the second major crack in my otherwise perfect plan- the bus never came. So in the matter of 30min I lost my shelter for the night and my means of getting from point A to point B. I was at the location 15min before the scheduled departure time. It was marked in Google Maps simply as a spot at the intersection of two streets on a busy junction and it wasn’t a major bus terminal or a station- just a random bus stop. I double checked if I was standing exactly on the spot that my phone navigation was pointing to, before I asked a few people around me if I was at the right place, showing them my ticket and the directions from the transport company. After they confirmed and pointed to a “pick-up location” sticker of the bus company, placed next to the schedule of the regular city coaches at the bus shelter, I calmed down a bit and just waited. And waited, and waited and 15min after the departure time, there was still no sign of my transport. One panic attack and a 30-min long phone conversation with their customer support later, in which they put me on hold only to hang up without coming back to me, I hurried to the main railway station of Liverpool for my plan B- the last direct train to Birmingham. It was a bit like a tense movie moment- I run to the ticket counter and managed to get my pass for the train exactly 2min before its departure time. Then I jumped on the train right before the doors closed and it left the station. So I made it to Birmingham- 2h late and exhausted, but I was finally there. You’d think I could finally catch a break, but that was so far from what followed.
I checked in and headed up to the second floor of the hotel to see my room. The hotel itself was in a building, which was literally a century old. The lobby area was renovated and looked elegant and comfortable, but once you go upstairs, it was like taken straight from a horror movie set. Everything was old and rusty, every second door was sealed with some stickers, and the lights were dim. It was the type of atmosphere, where you expect two twin girls in vintage dresses to appear in front of you suddenly and to invite you to play with them.
The room itself was small and far from fancy, but it had everything to provide comfort and privacy for the night- its own bathroom, a TV, a desk and a single bed. That’s why when I came back after my walk around the city later that night, I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. I was dead tired and dozed off the moment I got on the bed, with the lights and the TV still on.
It came as a total shock to me when 30min later I heard loud thumping noises on the door. I woke up and sat in my bed, still confused- typical for someone who has been violently awakened from a deep sleep. I watched in horror as the doorknob turned and the door was slightly shaking under the strain put upon it from the other side. It seemed like it could crack open any moment now. I instinctively reached and grabbed my phone. It was 00:34h, the last time I checked it was a little before midnight. I had no Wi-Fi connection and was out of range. The narrow window was definitely not a way out. I was already considering locking myself in the bathroom, since it had a solid door, which could provide another frontier to the intruder, when the pushing and knocking suddenly stopped.
My heartbeat, however, had no intention of slowing down for a while. I waited a few minutes before I dared to get close to the door. I made sure again that the door was locked twice and the chain was on. There was no peephole, so I could not check if there was still somebody in the hallway. Eventually I decided against leaving the room- the reception had already closed at midnight and I didn’t know who I might bump into in the stairways and corridors.
I am not going to go any further into how I spent the rest of the night and how happy I was when morning came and I could finally leave that place and head towards the wedding venue, where I could be reunited with my friend and her family. I’ll give you some advice to help you stay out of trouble as much as possible.
Security tips for solo travelers:
· Always keep in touch with your family and close friends. Update them regularly on your location and any unexpected change of plans.
· Don’t post your location publically under any circumstances. Social media posts can wait for when you are no longer there.
· Make sure to take a note of any urgent phone numbers for the area or state that you are visiting. Checking the contact information of your country’s embassy might also come in handy.
· Always carry around a power bank with you- sometimes cancellations and important updates might come at the last minute and you’d need to have your phone up and running. It should be as essential as your documents, money and keys and frankly, it doesn’t take that much space. Mine is approximately the size of my phone.
· Changes in plans can always happen, so it’s best to be ready to react and make sure that you have at least one reliable means for online payments. PayPal or an internationally recognized credit card will make do if you need to book a trip or a hotel last-minute.
· Make sure, if possible, to always book transport that leaves from a regular bus terminal or a station, even if that costs a bit more or is a little further away than you’d like. It can save you tons of trouble.
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