Scared for my life: Sri Lanka

Arriving in a developing country at 11pm at night and trying to find transportation for my estimated 2.5 hour drive to my hotel, I can say that being mugged/kidnapped and/or having my body parts sold on the black market definitely crossed my mind. I eventually took my chances with a private driver hired from the airport for a mere $65. (I might as well have lost a kidney)

I hopped into the car and we set off onto their "highway" which was no more then a two lane road with oncoming traffic. As we drove further from the airport, I started to notice the landscape change to a dimly lit road with buildings still showing tsunami damage and long stretches of just road. I firmly gripped my phone with Google maps on display making sure I was always heading in the correct direction.

We turned off the highway after about 15-minutes (way too early for my hotel) and my paranoia started to set in. We were on a dark side street, slowly moving forward. I noticed bright headlights behind us which turned off at the next street. I thought to myself, "Whats stopping them from pulling into a dark alley and mugging me, or worse?" Luckily we pulled into a brightly lit gas station, where the driver asked me to pay for the gas, which he would deduct from the total for the ride. I obliged, since, really what other choice did I have.

Then, I started noticing other things, the gas station had armed guards in fatigues with some sort of large rifles. I also noticed that the driver handed a small piece of paper to one of the guards. My paranoia started to get worse, I reached for my bag and pulled out my swiss army knife that my friend gave me as a birthday gift for my travels. What would that really do against guns? Probably very little, but it did make me feel better. Gas paid (and random parcel exchanged with armed man), we continued on our way. I was sweaty from the anxiety, exhausted and wanted to sleep, but I kept on noticing the driver looking back in the rear-view mirror at me. My paranoia kept me awake for what turned out to be a 5-hour car trip. 

I finally arrived to my hotel with all body parts intact, checked into my room and passed out. I awoke to this view on the back porch of the hotel:

Miles and points got me here, making it one of the best feelings in the world. Or maybe it was just being alive after that prior night