A Thief in the Night
Last night I woke up with a thief in my room. The fan was on and I was deep in dream land. If Ryan hadn't woken up, I would have kept snoring while computers, cameras, cash and passports went into the booty-bag, and you would be reading a very unhappy blog post right now.
We're staying on the second floor of the guesthouse. The hall outside is open to the garden. A tall fence studded with broken glass separates the garden from the street outside.
As it was, Ryan was having trouble sleeping last night. He was up adjusting his mosquito net just 2 minutes before the thief crept inside and started rummaging through our things. The next minute went something like this:
1) Ryan bolts out of bed, yells, throws off his mosquito net.
2) I wake up, see a figure charging out the door, Ryan's naked white ass close behind.
3) I start yelling. Not screaming. Yelling.
4) Ryan is one step behind the thief as he runs down to the end of the hall.
5) The thief jumps over the ledge. Ryan gets a hand on his shirt, but gravity pulls him free. It's a long fall. Maybe 15 feet onto concrete. Somehow (adrenaline? meth?) the thief keeps going, climbs up the fence and races off down the street.
6) The owner of the Guesthouse, a tall, easy going Frenchman, charges out the front gate and runs down the street. Unfortunately, he's wearing flip-flops. The thief gets away.
7) Guests and staff filter sleepy-eyed into the garden. Ryan realizes he's naked and puts pants on. We check our belongings - nothing is missing, not even the traveler's checks that were in my pack, which I left outside the room on a chair in the hallway.
We were lucky. Nothing was stolen and the thief ran when Ryan chased him instead of pulling a knive. And, in a way, I'm glad he got away. To jump off a second story ledge, vault over a fence and still outrun a pissed off Frenchman is a feat worthy of respect. More importantly, I wouldn't wish Cambodian prison on my worst enemy.
Now if my laptop had been stolen...well...I might not be so generous.
We're staying on the second floor of the guesthouse. The hall outside is open to the garden. A tall fence studded with broken glass separates the garden from the street outside.
As it was, Ryan was having trouble sleeping last night. He was up adjusting his mosquito net just 2 minutes before the thief crept inside and started rummaging through our things. The next minute went something like this:
1) Ryan bolts out of bed, yells, throws off his mosquito net.
2) I wake up, see a figure charging out the door, Ryan's naked white ass close behind.
3) I start yelling. Not screaming. Yelling.
4) Ryan is one step behind the thief as he runs down to the end of the hall.
5) The thief jumps over the ledge. Ryan gets a hand on his shirt, but gravity pulls him free. It's a long fall. Maybe 15 feet onto concrete. Somehow (adrenaline? meth?) the thief keeps going, climbs up the fence and races off down the street.
6) The owner of the Guesthouse, a tall, easy going Frenchman, charges out the front gate and runs down the street. Unfortunately, he's wearing flip-flops. The thief gets away.
7) Guests and staff filter sleepy-eyed into the garden. Ryan realizes he's naked and puts pants on. We check our belongings - nothing is missing, not even the traveler's checks that were in my pack, which I left outside the room on a chair in the hallway.
We were lucky. Nothing was stolen and the thief ran when Ryan chased him instead of pulling a knive. And, in a way, I'm glad he got away. To jump off a second story ledge, vault over a fence and still outrun a pissed off Frenchman is a feat worthy of respect. More importantly, I wouldn't wish Cambodian prison on my worst enemy.
Now if my laptop had been stolen...well...I might not be so generous.
Labels: Cambodia
posted by Tim at
10:18 PM
1 Comments:
was there a door? and was it locked? man a hair graying experience. i just wonder what ryan would have done had he caught the guy....i know what i would have done but im not as compassionate as he is.
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