LOCKED UP in room.

machadinha

Well, yes, a padlock is more symbolic than anything else. I've seen them opened; it's surprisingly easy (easier than you describe even).

I guess to the average traveler that symbolism will suffice though. It's just to stop any swift action. Living somewhere, I'd definitely look into something sturdier. As in a lot sturdier (depending on where you live, no doubt).

ps In case of wires short-circuiting and/or on fire, I'm not at all sure how wise it is to release a fire extinguisher on them. Just a word to the wise. (Once they've short-circuited they should be dead. But there'll be a lag there, and I personally wouldn't take my chances.)

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Brisso

Know of one case where the bolt was engaged while a thief fished through a window for the occupant's'posessions with a hook and pole ... even though the (large and angry) occupant woke up during the theft, he could do nothing but shout for help ...

nomad

even i got locked in bathroom once. the handle was intact but it did not work. got scared for few minutes then noticed a used razor in the dust bin. there was some space between door and door frame. after few tries i was able to pull the lock back. all-round bad workmanship saved me that day. if they had done good work in patches( like not leaving the gap between door and frame) i would have had no option but to scream for help at 2AM.

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Rahul Verma
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Spirit of Havelock

These padlocks from Finland, would survive a bomb blast:

http://www.abloy.com.au/verve/_resou...78018 %7D.pdf

Expensive but SAFE

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Aishah

Very impressed, Khandoma, with your ingenuity! These outside bolts are also hazards for private homes. They are very common and many times I hear stories of children locking their parents inside! Locking your padlock outside so the bolt can't slide across seems a good solution.

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Spirit of Havelock

Hey Rahul, is that a picture of you in that bathroom?

Nick-H

Too many good stories! Everyone deserving ROFLs and/or gold stars for ingenuity

In older houses here, mortice locks are rare, it is nearly all sliding bolts secured by a padlock.

We did have a mortice lock with a latch on it here. Once we locked ourselves out in the garden because it latched shut, but after a short panic I found that the combination of a piece of cardboard and bad workmanship (gap betweeen door and frame) soon had us back in --- and we changed the lock to a non-latching model.

When we moved out of the last house (Ughhh... what a day of disasters, don't want to even think about it) I realised that I'd given the keys to the landlady without unlocking the main gate --- and our car was locked in! We manage to shout for the removal people to stop their lorry, and they opened the padlock with one blow from a hammer. It even locked again after we were out!

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nomad

that bathroom was lot better than this one.

nomad

i have this lock. and yes if lock wallahs of bombay cant't brake it, no one can.

i locked door of my apartment with this lock when i locked the apartment for 3 months. there was some water leakage in the building and the owner of the apartment had to open the door to see if everything is alright in the apartment. they tried to open then break and then cut the lock. after an hour they decided that its probably easier to remove the whole latch.

i am not sure if its the same brand but looks the same. and it was 800 INR.

Spirit of Havelock

I purchased a strange padlock in the Khasi hills once (Meghalaya). The key was like a long screw (it had no head to it). You had to wind the padlock up, almost like a clock, in order to get it to spring open or lock. It looked really cool as well, almost like something from the Middle Ages. I used to lock my garage with it here in Australia - come to think of it, I have not seen it for years though......... Damn, where did my Khasi padlock go!?

Khandoma

Catching up with this a bit late - it's Paris Packing Time here, sorry.

Karuna : yeah, I seem to have a knack for bathroom adventures. On the whole, it's always when you really feel relaxed and freshened up and blessing whoever invented the shower that things really become competitive, isn't it ? Leaving at the end of the week and kind of fearing more bathroom gigs...Will report.

Kristinm : My guess is you did, fellow gadget-lover ! A handbag alarm is essentially a panic button : press it and a very, very loud alarm sounds. It doubles as a door lock : pull a retractable thread from the little black box, stick it across your door (blu-tack, here I come), and if your door is opened then it'll ring. Loud. It's a little lightweight box, very cheap. Good for when you get locked up in rooms, and also for unpleasant situations : the alarm may (will) not attract any help from strangers, but will permanently damage the assailants' eardrums if they don't run away. I don't carry weapons nor mace nor any harmful stuff, as I have a different position on violence, and besides, my tongue usually makes more damage than the handbag alarm, but that is my feel-safe gadget. However, I remember that you are travelling with a child : make sure his ears don't get within 3 ft. of the thing, the sound is really powerful.

Aishah, believe me, I impressed myself a lot. I'm a literary person with the ingeniosity and scientifical knowledge of a baked potato. Well, India can bring the best or the worst in a Non-Indian person, and while I'm certainly not proud of me on a regular basis, I'll admit this bathroom incident (and a second one that Karuna refers to) made me a much more self-comfident person. Funny what a bucket handle can accomplish...

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kristinm

I want one of those!

Khandoma

You can get them online for a few bucks. Any store with a "travel" section will probably carry them. It's not a newfangled thing, I've had mine for 10 years. At worst I think you can find it at airport stores, in the 'travel pillow' section.
I did a quick search on Amazon.au for you, as I find they have surprisingly good deals on electronics these days, and they carry different models, under the names "traveler alarm", "bag protector alert", "mini mobile alert" and "safety signal alarm". (I typed the keyword "alarm" in the search box under "Electronics" and clicked on "security alarms"). Still, you may get better deals in stores near you, this is not a free ad.

As an afterthought, I'd like to say that India is indeed a much safer place than some make it to be. I've faithfully used that gizmo to secure my hotel doors, my luggage in trains and buses, my shoulder bag etc, for months. It was never needed. Obviously, the one time I didn't use it, in an expensive hotel in Agra, was the one time I did get robbed, but that's another story. When I came back to France and unpacked, I accidentally pressed the panic button, which launched an alarm that could be heard in Moscow, and I thought : oh, now is that what this sounds like ?
Again, it's a feel-safe gadget, mostly.
Enjoy !

kristinm

merci!

Khandoma

You're most welcome.