House Hunting in a Distant Land

Discovery

Lugging suitcases, carrying backpacks from airport arrival terminals to trains, through pavements, over bridges and finally arriving at a house (Air BnB) defines the sense of travel and purpose of life like no other activity. The chest swells with pride on sighting the carefully chosen shelter – a flower bed that would germinate myriad memories of travel.

Selection

Selection of an AirBnB is analogous to landing a date on an App. Till one arrives at the house there is no surety of how it would turn out. Amateurish pictures on the website don’t convey a thousand words. The selection of a perfect house is no easy task. It has to fit the criteria of budget, location, proximity to conveniences like metro/bus stn/ groceries etc, facilities and fixtures at property.

Excitement

The excitement before beginning a leisure trip is compounded by fervour of preparing for it similar to salivating on sight of delicious food. One of the exhilarating experiences is surfing for an accommodation on Air BnB. Air BnB is a whole world in itself which can throw surprises. Fortunately, I have so far always had pleasant experiences.

Decoding the Code

The home owners have various means of indicating directions and revealing access codes. One of the travails therefore is to find the accommodation and get inside the property by decoding the code at the end of a journey. My maiden experience at Paris in 2015 was the only time, when the owner (Guillame) received me at the metro and led me to his home. God bless him. Since then it has always been a house (treasure) hunt.

Navigating the Streets

The homeowners issue directions few days before arrival and they are communicable on AirBnB chat window. The instructions are often lost in translation despite best efforts from either side. A few instances which are now fond memories are a source of amusement and reminiscence.

Marseille 2015

We were driving from Winterthur, Switzerland to Marseille, France in 2015. Euro 2015 fever was running high and our hosts were anxious to hand over the keys and rush to a game. The google maps were not so refined as on date and internet was patchy and expensive. At the end of an eight hour drive we were eager to find our resting place for the duration. The two parties finally worked it out. The hosts left the keys wrapped in an aluminum foil behind a building block under a brick and inside a can. French fries is the only French that I can speak and the ordeal was rewarded by us finding the keys and access to the home while the owners could witness their football match.

Pippu Chu 2019

Pippu Chu is ski-resort in Hokkaido, Japan. We were driving from Chitose to Pippu Chu and were delayed due incessant rain. It was extremely cold weather exacerbated by rain. Hokkaido is scarcely populated with long straight roads and vast expanses of verdure which gave an appearance of driving into abyss. After driving on endless desolate roads in an unknown land google landed us at a dark patch. Lightening flashes through blinding sleets of rain gave glimpses of a hut amongst a grove of dark woody trees. There was not a soul in sight and it instantly reminded us of setting of a horror movie. I opened Air BnB, read instructions to enter the hut, found the keys and unlocked the door to a warm earthy hut. Hard work of finding the house was rewarded by ready to eat noodles left for us by the considerate owner.

Vienna 2023

I had a unique experience in Vienna while looking for an Air BnB. According to owner’s instructions the house keys were inside a key-box, mounted on a bicycle, parked on the street midway between the railway station and house. I scouted along my path for the landmark to find the cycle. To open the key-box on the cycle was one set of codes. After gaining access to the house keys, finally opening the house was another evolution.

Robberly Feeling

Even with most descriptive instructions getting inside an Air BnB house, especially when the owner in not available onsite, gives a robberly feeling. Fidgeting with the lock, key, electronic key pad is always a minor struggle. With neighbors and other onlookers, failing at one or two attempts is marginally embarrassing. Yet the overall joy when the door finally unlocks is elating.

Hunt Continues….

While the experience with Air BnB has been bitter sweet with fond experiences interspersed with minor hiccups of finding and gaining entry to a house, the joy in travelling is unprecedented. The hunt therefore continues…..

Readers may share own experiences while searching for a house during travels