On my last evening in Maun I had a long and interesting chat with man from Barcelona and an older German traveller that I also met in Victoria Falls. Anyway, I went to sleep at eight to get ready for another day of travelling, and had a slightly weird experience in the night.

I have this thing that I’m very sensitive when I sleep so if somebody enters my room or gets too close, I wake up. So in the middle of the night I suddenly noticed a man standing between my bed and the bed next to me where my things were spread out. He wasn’t touching anything but clearly looking for something. Maybe he was drunk, or lost, even if that’s very unlikely as 2 o’clock really is way past bedtime in Africa. Even the lodge bar closes at ten.

Anyway, I had my valuables and camera on the other side, on the floor between my bed and a wall, so there was nothing of value that he could see. Then he suddenly looked at me and I’m not sure if he saw that my eyes were open or not, so I raised my head a little and he quickly walked off. I didn’t want to scare him or turn on the lights as I knew I had nothing to lose but I was very ready to do so if he had tried grabbing anything. I had either the option of naively and kindly asking if he was looking for something, or to scream. I think I would have done the first option not to make too much of a fuss or put myself in trouble. Anyway, I didn’t have to do anything, and when the mysterious person was gone I took my camera from the floor and slept with it for the rest of the night as if it was a baby.

These things never really happen in dorms and experienced travellers are generally not very paranoid about their belongings as there is some sort of mutual trust that we live by. But it’s still good to keep your things close and try to be aware of your surroundings. I don’t know where I got my sensibility from, but it has been very valuable for me when travelling alone or when going by bus. It’s really easy for me to fall asleep, but I’m kind of always aware of where I am anyway, so I don’t miss my stop, and I see you – so don’t try. Haha.