Phoenix Zoo
Have you ever been stranded at a place in a foreign country? How did you feel? Were you panic-filled, or were you calm and able to make rational decisions?
I was stranded at Phoenix Zoo in Papago Park, Arizona, USA, in January 2022. I had arrived in Phoenix from Accra, Ghana the previous evening and was looking forward to my two weeks’ vacation. Thus, I planned to do enough sightseeing to my heart’s delight!
When I arrived at the airport, I took a taxi to the hotel where I was staying. Before I arrived in Arizona, some friends had informed me that the public transportation there was not as available and efficient as that in other bustling states like New York. They told me that I would mostly have to order a Lyft (more common there than an Uber) to go places.
As such, the following morning, using the hotel WiFi, I downloaded the Lyft App on my phone. I decided to go to Phoenix Zoo after breakfast to spend the entire day there. I had read on the internet that it was the largest privately-owned, non-profit zoo in USA. I was therefore looking forward to this as while in USA about twenty years ago, I visited Los Angeles Zoo and had a great time there.
Hence, I ordered a Lyft and set off with great gusto to Phoenix Zoo. I started my tour of the zoo with a camel ride, as you can see below. That was my first time on a camel, so I was very excited. It was a comfortable ride.
Thereafter, I took my time to see all the animals and birds at the zoo. I saw a giraffe, a zebra, an African lion, an Asian elephant, a Bornean orangutan and flamingos, to name a few. After a long day, I was ready to go back to my hotel around 5.30 pm.
After exiting the zoo, I took out my phone to order a Lyft. Alas! There was no free WiFi service. My heart stopped beating for a second. I broke into a cold sweat. How on earth could I get back home? (Home being my hotel).
Still thinking, I walked into the car park. The zoo was on the outskirts of town. There were no taxis available, and I had no idea of the bus stop routes and schedules. All I could see were vast expanses of roads from afar. Walking to the nearest bus stop did not appear that appealing.
I therefore started to engage in self-recrimination. “Why did I even come here in the first place?”, I asked myself. “How could I have erroneously assumed that the zoo had a free WiFi?” I remembered a similar error of assumption at a sauna in Baden bei Wien in Austria some years ago. I consequently felt so foolish.
After a few minutes of panicking and engaging in self-blame and regret, I realised that this would get me nowhere. I had to calm down and focus on how to solve the problem at hand. I realised that what I needed was an internet connection to enable me order a Lyft home. The question was how to get it.
I saw a guy sitting in a truck at the car park. He appeared to be friendly and accommodating. Thus, I mustered courage and approached him. I told him of my plight, explaining that I was stranded without an internet connection to order a Lyft. “But how did you get here in the first place?”, he asked incredulously. I explained that I used the WiFi from the hotel.
To cut a long story short, he generously put on his mobile hotspot to enable me connect to it. I thanked him profusely, shaking with relief. I, therefore, successfully ordered a Lyft back home. Much as I loved seeing all those animals, I was only too glad to leave them behind. I had no intention of spending the night at the zoo, although this zebra looked so calm and accommodating:
The following morning, I went straight to a store and bought a local sim card. With that, free WiFi or no free WiFi, I was certain of an internet connection to order a Lyft wherever I went to. I was not going to allow the lack of an internet service to interfere with my long list of things to do and see in Arizona. How I missed the use of an Oyster card in London and the ease of travel it afforded!
Being stranded at Phoenix Zoo taught me how to think clearly in a crisis:
- Firstly, don’t panic!
- Secondly, focus on how to solve the problem.
- Thirdly, find and act upon possible solutions.
- Fourthly, don’t be afraid to ask for help!
Do you have any similar experiences of being stranded? Kindly comment by clicking on the chat icon underneath the heading. Please subscribe below to get posts delivered straight into your inbox: