93. Interesting Encounters during Work😊 – Part 1

There have been several instances of humorous or unforeseen situations that I have encountered during my working life.  I am enumerating a few of them for your enjoyment😊 over the next few blogs!!

I was in Egypt once on an official trip and was staying in the Hotel Sheraton in Cairo.  By the way, Hotel Sheraton was a five-star hotel and was posh!!  I had just finished my dinner in the room and just went to the corridor outside to keep the plates out.  Otherwise the housekeeping guy might come at night and bang the door asking for the plates.  I was dressed in a sleeveless banian and a lungi with no slippers😊.  Now the door of the room was such that it used to close on its own. You have to hold it so that it does not close on its own and gets locked.  When I bent over in the corridor to keep the plates and stuff, the room closed and I was locked out of my room clad only in my banian and lungi😊😊!!

I tried opening the door but to no avail.  I waited for some time in the corridor to see if some hotel employee was coming or not so that I can ask him to get me a duplicate key. After 10 minutes when nobody came, I thought let me knock the door of my neighbor and ask him to phone the reception for a duplicate key.  My neighbor turned out to be an Arab and started shouting at me in Arabic, as soon as I began talking to him.  Seeing my costume, he thought maybe I was some worker and disturbing him.  I tried to speak to him in English, but apparently, he did not understand English.  He shouted again and banged the door on my face😊.

There was no telephone in the corridor.  Suddenly I remembered that there was a phone in the lift.  But if I go in the lift, what will other people think about me in my dress😊.  Seeing that there was no other option, I went into the lift.  Luckily it was empty.  I took the phone and dialed the reception. Suddenly the lift started closing and going down😊.  I couldn’t do anything and started talking to the receptionist stating the I have been locked out of my room and could she have someone bring the duplicate key.  By this time the lift stopped at the floor below and a foreign (maybe US or UK) couple entered the lift.  They were hesitant to enter the lift seeing me. They thought maybe I am a lift mechanic and am doing some repairs on the lift😊!!  When they heard my story over the phone and my English, they boarded the lift and pressed the ground floor button.  Still I was talking on the phone and making the receptionist understand my predicament.  The couple were looking at me at regular intervals and giving me hostile stares!! 

The lift reached the ground floor😊.  The couple walked out of the lift. I had no other option but to go over to the reception and ask for a duplicate key.  They asked for my ID.  I told them I don’t have any place in my current dress to hold an ID😊😊.  I told them of the room number, my name and company and my phone details.  Then they sent a guy with me with a duplicate key to the room and ensured that I was who I was claiming to be😊!!

After this incident I always carry the hotel key on me, even if I have to open the hotel door for the housekeeping guy coming to give me towels or soaps that I asked for😊!!

Cheers till next time with more Office escapades😊!!

Today’s Daffy Definition

Eavesdrop – Adam’s wife listening to gossip!!

PS – Some photographic proofs below to assure you that I had indeed visited Egypt, and the extreme right photo is from a curio shop there😊😊