Above Board on the London Underground

There is little worse than losing your handbag — money, passports and airplane tickets included — while vacationing in a foreign country. And if the goods went missing on a subway, the odds of ever seeing that bag again are slim to none. So the recent and safe return of Suranganie Joseph's colorful tote was nothing short of a miracle.

After enjoying a bit of shopping in London the Sri Lankan woman and her two children boarded a train on the Northern line. They had plans to change to the Piccadilly line at Leicester Square, but when they arrived at the stations, she realized she was sans bag. Even worse, Joseph couldn't remember when she last saw the bag, but thanks to a bit of creative detective work by Leicester Square station supervisor Bob Khaira, they discovered she did in fact have the bag while on the Northern Line.

According to the London Evening Standard, Khaira cleverly scrolled through Joseph's daughter's digital camera and spotted the evidence. He then began calling other stations to see if a good Samaritan had perhaps been to work. Finally, some good news came at Woodside Park. An unidentified passenger returned the bag — amazingly everything was intact, including $3,800 in cash!

A grateful Mrs. Joseph told the Standard, "My whole life was in that bag. I am going to write to the High Commission for Sri Lanka and tell them just how good London Underground is."

And while we love an unexpectedly happy ending — especially the kind that restores our faith in humanity — this story surely makes an argument for some Travelers Checks.

Photo courtesy of Paddynapper, via Creative Commons, Flickr