1 hour ago
A handsome man draped in a long white robe and red and white checkered head scarf (typical dress for the Arabian Peninsula) entered the pub and sat at the bar. He made himself quite comfortable in his surroundings and seemed to know most of the staff. He chatted them up while watching a soccer game on a big screen TV. I, on the other hand, continued concentrating on my food- greasy fries, oily fish and bitter malt vinegar. Nonetheless, that man came up and began talking to me. Actually, to be honest, he was hitting on me. I brushed him off, telling him that I was tired and only wanted to sleep. He walked off while I returned to my room.
One hour later, a knock banged my door. I ignorantly thought it was the turn down service so proceeded to let them in. To my astonishment, it was the man from the bar.
He aggressively came barging in. I instinctively backed up and ran my back side into a table. I lost my balance upon bumping into it and placed my hands on a fruit tray and fork to stabilize myself. Believe it or not, that fork saved my life.
Things began to heat up while thick tension filled the air. I yelled at him, “GO AWAY AND GET OUT OF MY ROOM!” but he resisted. “No,” he responded while pushing me, causing my face to slam against the wall. He then grabbed me and tried to kiss me.
I pushed him off again, angering him a little. His eyelids squinted and he stared at me with an evil glare, causing an immense fright to come over me. I honestly thought he was going to rape me; so I yelled at the top of my lungs for someone to come save me. My voice cracked and I backed up into the fruit tray again. Then I grabbed the fork and in one swift motion slammed it into his inner thigh as hard as I could. He screeched and stumbled to his knees.
I screamed again at the top of my lungs, knowing that surely someone must have heard me this time! He quickly got up and ran out the door, exiting my room, never to see him again.
After locking the door and regaining my breath I called hotel security. All they did is move me to another room. They didn’t even notify the police or anything.
It was, as you can imagine, impossible to sleep that night. Although I was safe and unharmed, that didn’t take away the fact that I had been attacked for the first time in my life. It was a long, agonizing, sleepless evening.
The next day, I left for Cape Town and got the hell out of Dubai.
I learned a great lesson from this incident- never leave home without a fork! No, seriously- you never know when someone is watching you waiting to attack. You have to fight back to survive and stay alive. No matter where you are, what gender, whatever, just fork them!
I still continue to travel as a single woman. I now, however, have a different attitude. I’m more aware of my surroundings. Though a place might seem secure, whether it be in my home town or abroad in a foreign country, I’m much more careful. This incident, nonetheless, by no means will stop me from traveling. My thirst for adventure surpasses the fear of being attacked. Everyone thinks I’m crazy for not burning my passport and quitting, but I know some of you out there understand why I’ll never stop going.
