A Ukrainian woman on her dream trip to Japan ended up living a nightmare when she discovered a man hiding under her hotel bed, thanks to a strange, "rotten" smell.
Natali Khomenko, a 32-year-old creative producer living in Thailand, traveled solo to Tokyo in late March to celebrate her birthday when her husband couldn't join at the last minute.
Khomenko returned to her hotel room on March 30 after a full day of sightseeing and collapsed onto her bed to relax.
"It was rotten," she described. "Like a dead animal but a sweet odor."
"I realized the smell was coming from under the bed," Khomenko told PEOPLE. "Without any bad thoughts I just leaned forward to check under the bed...I leaned forward and I just saw him. I saw the eyes."
@natalisi_ I found a man under my bed in a hotel room in Japan. This was supposed to be a safe solo trip. What happened changed everything. If you're a solo traveler, please share this. We deserve to feel safe — even in 'safe' countries. @apahotel @agoda #SoloTravel #TrueStory #TravelNightmare #HotelHorror #JapanTrip #SafetyFirst #TokyoDiaries #WomenTravelSafe #TravelSafetyMatters #HotelSecurityFail #APAHotel #JapanTravelTips #TravelerWarning #APAHotelRyogoku #APAHotelJapan #APAHotelExperience #FYP #ReelStory #Storytime #ShockingStory #RealExperience #GoingViral #SoloFemaleTraveler ♬ original sound - Наталі Хоменко
"He was very quiet," she noted. "It was only the smell that helped me to spot him."
Wearing all black, the man stared at her in silence for several seconds before screaming and fleeing the room. Khomenko, paralyzed by fear, said she thought she would be attacked. "I was just screaming and standing very stiff."
Hearing her screams, neighboring guests alerted hotel staff, who called police. "I was in panic mode," Khomenko said. A search of the room turned up a power bank and USB cable believed to belong to the intruder.
"I think he wanted to spend the night," Khomenko said, adding that the presence of a power bank suggests he may have planned to record her.
"Now I'm left wondering how someone could get into my room, how someone knew that I'm alone," she said on TikTok.
Hotel staff were unable to provide answers, reportedly lacking security cameras. Khomenko's request for $1,600 to cover her disrupted trip was denied, though she was refunded for the three nights she had booked.
Now back home, Khomenko has shared her story to raise awareness, especially among female solo travelers.
"It was an absolute violation," she said. "All my experiences, my birthday, everything was ruined."
Originally published on Latin Times
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