Disturbed in Dubai…
To break the return journey from Glasgow to Nabire and reduce jetlag I stopped in Dubai for a night, the plan being to arrive at 0200 ...sleep until 0800 ....see Dubai ....sleep 1800 to 0100 and head back to the airport again at 0200. Sounds drastic but it fits really well with the 1600 local time arrival in Jakarta.
Anyway,
that was the plan ....so after a day out in Dubai I am back in the hotel at 1800 and I hang
the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on my door and settle down to sleep.
At
2100 the room phone rings ....it's a nervous sounding Receptionist who
introduces himself, says he hopes he is not disturbing me, am I OK and, after a
pause, asks if I am satisfied with my stay at the hotel ?
I
reply somewhat negatively, reminding him of my planned 0200 check-out and the 'Do Not
Disturb' sign on the door ...."Oh God, Mr Jansen ....I am so sorry. Please
continue sleeping peacefully."
After
a while I fell asleep again ….until 2230 when there was a knocking on the door.
It
was a stressed looking chambermaid, accompanied by a chap looking like a floor
manager. “Mr Jansen, is everything satisfactory ? Is there
something you need ?”
No
and No and Note the Do Not Disturbed sign. “Ah, in that case
have a good night and thank you for staying with us.”
Tossed
and turned for a while, finally gave up on sleep, got dressed and headed down
to the hotel bar to sample the Happy Hour Offerings ....stopping off on the way
to have a constructive chat with the Receptionist.
He
saw me coming and he and the other two behind the counter bunched together like
frightened schoolboys.
It
started off friendly but that changed when the-three-behind-the-counter got
evasive, avoiding eye contact ....then suddenly could no longer speak English.
On
the edge of a sense of humour failure the universal "Manager ....now
!" was used and understood.
Said
Manager appeared from behind the partition where he had been hiding ...actually
looking pale ....and he explained things, almost with tears in his eyes.
48
hours before, the previous occupant of my room had also been a single, European man on a
nightstop. After retiring early and hanging the 'Do Not Disturb'
sign on the door he had committed suicide.
It
has been the same Chamber and Reception staff on duty that night ....and they
were all suffering from a severe case of deja vue. After a long
debate they had collectively decided to phone to see if their worst nightmare had
come true [again].
They
would not give any further details having been instructed by the hotel
chain not to mention it to other guests
However,
as they had "very much disturbed" me they felt I was entitled to an
explanation
....which
very much disturbed me.
I
was offered a different room but decided, having downed four cocktails, not to
bother ....it screwed up my sleep plan though !