A Horrid Travel Nightmare

Traveling solo as a woman often carries real risks, no matter where in the world you go. Ever since my son was a toddler, he has accompanied me on my journeys. Yet, navigating travel as a single mother with a young child or a ten-year-old is just as challenging as it is for a sixteen-year-old girl. While I have encountered my fair share of awkward and unsafe moments on the road, this one genuinely shook me.

Once in 2010, we traveled to Sri Lanka, “The Pearl of the Indian Ocean”—a beautiful island country in the Indian Ocean with a spectacular coastline, diverse wildlife, an amazing history, and endless opportunities for adventure. We had a lovely holiday exploring the sparkling white beaches, turtle hatcheries, Buddhist temples (particularly the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic at Kandy), and watching the freely roaming elephants at Udawalawe National Park. Sri Lankans are absolutely the kindest people I have encountered across my many travels. Even as the country slowly recovers from its decades-long civil war, the generosity and hospitality remain vibrant in Sri Lanka, and I would definitely love to visit again.

However we all know, Protagonists and Antagonists are both essential characters of most stories. And thus this story👇

At that time, my seven-year-old son and I were on our way to the airport to catch a 7:00 a.m. flight from Colombo to Mumbai. The travel agency had booked a trusted local driver for us. Accounting for the three-hour drive from our hotel and the requirement to arrive two hours before departure, our taxi picked us up at 2:00 a.m. About 30 to 45 minutes into the journey, I realized something was amiss.

Raised by an alcoholic father, the odor of alcohol wasn’t new to me, so I immediately recognized that the driver was drunk. My son had dozed off in my lap. The driver switched on some vulgar music and began singing along loudly. I asked him to turn it off, but he either couldn’t or wouldn’t hear me. Through the rearview mirror, I could feel him staring at me intently. Terrified, I forced myself not to show any fear and avoided eye contact completely. I noticed two of the three mirrors were angled directly toward me; no matter where I looked, his eyes met mine.

​When I rolled down the window, pitch-black darkness greeted me outside. We were on an unlit highway, making it impossible to tell if we were passing through a forest or along a body of water. As the air inside the car grew cold, I tightened my arms around my son, praying for a police patrol car so I could wave or scream for help. Dreadful thoughts raced through my mind—what if he assaulted me, or worse, killed both my little boy and me?

While I was trapped in my thoughts, he suddenly reached his left arm over the headrest of the front passenger seat, pointing partly toward me while watching my reaction in the mirror. He continued singing with a disgusting smirk, trying to provoke a response. Because he had pushed his seat back, his hand was uncomfortably close to me. Just as the terror became unbearable, I saw city lights in the distance. We had made it. As soon as we pulled up to the airport, I grabbed my bags and, without giving him a single glance, took my son and rushed inside to safety.

I am not sure if I was able to convey the horror of the experience as vividly as I felt it. But I certainly didn’t let him get away with it. Once I was safely inside the airport, I immediately called the hotel to report him. The driver was subsequently arrested and lost his job.

​This was the absolute worst experience I have ever had—so close and truly spine-chilling. Yet, as you can see, none of it has dampened my love for travel. Every awkward or scary situation has only made me tougher, more confident, and a far more cautious traveler.

​Keep reading for more stories from my travels! ❤️

“LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING AT ALL” ~ HELEN KELLER

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