Sheena's Travel Tip #3

Don't Threaten the Hotel Staff With Physical Violence.


Chinese take-away dinner from the biggest floating restaurant in London. Note that the London Arena pictured prominently in the background of The Lotus is now about 1/3 under demolition.

Not bad hot & sour soup. Pretty standard mix of BBQ pork, cashew chicken, shredded duck, etc etc. Then back to ABO (Sheenavision passim) for a couple of Pimm's cocktails.

But zut alors!

Walking into the hotel lobby around midnight, Sheena was unprepared for the megaton dose of Ugly American that awaited her and the other 30 people milling about the reception area. Clearly some consultant with Holiday Inn Guy hair and big bright white runners had had his fill of the charmingly coquettish air conditioning system. (It was 30 degrees celcius IN the room when I checked in Tuesday afternoon, but je digress...) Mid-rant, the hotel receptionist's phone rang, and sniper-tower-wound-up suburban guy grabs the receiver from the cowering desk clerk and slams it down. "Don't you pick up that phone again. You're talking to ME"...

Oh my.

The amazingly patient and now long off duty hotel manager sat Walmart guy down and calmed him down with a pint of Dockland's finest. Buddy insists that he will stay in the lobby all day and all night advising all other guests of his sweaty predicament until he puts the place out of business. He's a big shot with ******* Bank, so he's entitled to do these sorts of things.

Things are quiet now. I'm hogging free wireless and considering some Strongbow Cider. Watching Arseholio Hall snooze in the lobby chair 20 feet away.

He looks peaceful now.

Makes you wonder if he's such a dickhead in his own neighbourhood.