Stranded at the Cinema

So last night I decided I'd tick another thing off my "Things to in my Life" list and go to the cinema by myself. Amazing Grace was showing at a cinema somewhere across town. I located it on the map and caught a bus to somewhere where it'd only be a few blocks to walk from. Or so I thought. The blocks were huge! After about a half hour's walk and another bus ride, I finally made it - just in the nick of time. The movie was brilliant - very moving, very powerful - but that's besides the point of my story.

So I got out of the movie about 9:20 and asked the cinema crew if they knew how late any of the nearby buses were running. No idea. So I called the info line, who put me through to another line, which didn't work. And the bus company's line wasn't being answered.

I called a taxi company to ask how much the fare would be back to my hostel (turned out to be 17km away, but I didn't know that at the time). $50-60. Thanks, but no thanks! I had about $6.48 in cash on me. Another company quoted me $27-30, but that was still way outta my price range.

So I asked a bunch of teenagers hanging around outside, and they told me I'd just missed the last bus ten minutes ago. Argh! But the bus down Route 66 was still running, but that's where I'd taken a half hour to walk from. And it was now dark. This city doesn't seem like the safest place to be walking alone down the roadside in the dark, so I opted against that idea. The teenagers were either walking elsewhere or not headed in my direction, so getting a ride with them wouldn't work either.

A kindly employee at the cinema took pity on me, and said he'd drive me to where I needed to catch a bus from when he finished work in exchange for gas money. But the last bus ran around 10:30, and by the time he finished, it was too late.

So he offered for his manager, who was sorta headed in that direction, to take me. But the manager didn't finish til close: 12:30pm. Ah well, beggars can't be choosers. And I really appreciated any ride I could get.

So I spent the next couple hours at the movie theatre, snoozing, reading the book I bought in Kenya and have hardly touched since, and brushing my teeth. And I made it home around 1:00. Finally. And the manager got some gas money, so it wasn't all bad for him, though it was still a huge favour.

But see, this is one of the things I like about travelling; sometimes you just literally have to rely on the grace of God, cos you're in a new situation, probably don't have millions of dollars, and maybe only know one other person - if any - in the entire city. I remember reading an article about the Amish people explaining the reason they don't have electricity is to preserve interdependence, and I guess it's kinda like that with travel. And the above is just one example of it.

On another, completely different note...

I failed to find any other backpackers' hostels (I don't think any others exist), and the cheapest motel I could find was gonna cost around $35.  Out of my price range. So I'm back at the scummy hostel again tonight. But, if I was Pollyanna (and this is for the benefit of mum and my sister, if they're still reading this far), I would find some things to be glad about, like:

- I've only got one roommate who talks on the phone in the middle of the night - there could have been five of them.

- The mattresses are plasticky, so they'd be great if you ever had a "wee accident" at night (as my Auntie Ngaire puts it).

- At least there's warmth coming out of the heater near the head of my bed, along with its spontaneous, noisy hot air release (kind of like a kettle).

- We get to choose which mandatory chore we do in the morning, and vacuuming my dorm makes it feel a little more like home.

And I am genuinely thankful for:

- FREE stuff! Free food, like the pancake a fellow Californian offered me for brekkie this morning. Free coffee. Free bus timetables. And no need to put a deposit down to borrow guide books.

- Having a roof over my head. Even if it is a scummy one.