Cairo & Montreal
My girlfriend and I had saved up our pennies for a trip to Egypt. The hotel in Cairo looked ok, but in the room the lights didn't work, then the airco didn't work, and then the toilet paper ran out and there wasn't any more. So I phoned reception, and soon a guy knocked on the door. "How many sheets do you want?" I tried to negotiate one entire roll, but he wasn't having that. Apparently we'd have to phone again once we'd used up our allocation. Luckily neither of us got 'gyppy tummy.

On another occasion I was travelling in Canada on my own, and trying to keep the costs down. In Montreal the youth hostel was full but they pointed me in the direction of a street with cheap hotels. The one with the best prices was called 'Love Hotel'. Being young and innocent, I thought the fact that you could book a room by the hour was a quaint Canadian custom. The receptionist looked at me oddly when I said I wanted to stay an entire night, and I was obviously on my own. The room itself was very nicely decorated, all in red and black, with a big bed and a big bath as well, but it did smell a bit odd. All the lights were very dim so I could hardly see to read. Receptionist looked at me very oddly again when I asked if the lights were working ok. Still, it was a very cheap night's stay.
(Smale is stuffed, Thu 27 Nov 2014, 13:02, Reply)