Travel Mishaps aren’t always enjoyable, and it may not be very good at times. Most times it is a positive experience, and thus, it’s easy for us to focus on what’s positive. Here is the ugly part of my travel blog’s tagline. “I’ll share the good, the bad, and the ugly.” However, there are some events in my life that I would rather not relive.
On my second overseas vacation, I nearly passed out on the plane to Europe. Before I traveled to Europe, I started to feel sick, and on my final journey from Singapore to London, I became quite ill. I was so dizzy that I nearly passed out. The members of the crew treated me horribly. Even though I hadn’t had any alcohol, I was told that I was fortunate to have been offered water and that it was my fault for overdosing on it.
I was also chastised for going on a solo vacation. I was escorted out of the plane by paramedics when I landed at Heathrow Airport. It was a theatrical start to my first solo backpacking trip at 21, and I wouldn’t suggest it for anyone else.
In Turkey, sexual assault:
I had a great time in Turkey, but it was challenging to be a solitary female traveler there. I was continuously harassed by men who wanted to lift me. Although it was scorching, I made sure to wear long skirts or pants and t-shirts that covered my midriff. Although I donned a false wedding band and did everything else I could, it persisted. I would return to my room in a state of agitation because I felt I had to start behaving disrespectfully.
Anyone who attempted to chat to me, because no matter how harmless their conversation began, it always led to them asking me to come to their house. Young women should not travel alone to Turkey, the only country I’ve Travel Mishaps to where this is an issue. A long trek to an airline office was on the agenda on my final day in Istanbul. It was all on major highways, and I had no reason to fear for my safety.
I quickly realized someone was following me on the way home. I thought I had him pinned down after all my scurrying around. There came a point in my stroll when I was behind a bus that was blocking the road. Suddenly, he emerged from nowhere and grabbed me around the waist and between my legs, rubbing my genitals. He jumped back and started shouting at me when I screamed and yelled as loud as I could. He appeared astonished, to be honest, in Travel Mishaps.
Do males honestly believe that women desire to be treated in this way?
I sprinted along the street. When I got to the median, I sobbed for a long time amid a busy highway. Fortunately, I had a flight scheduled that night, so that I couldn’t have stayed any longer in Turkey. Today, I’m still overcome with emotion by the events of that day. This is a story I’ve only told a few people since recalling it makes me anxious. Worst trip ever. Not worth it.
Sofia nearly had me robbed:
I was strolling down the main street in Sofia, Bulgaria when I heard a zipper. Someone’s hand was in my backpack when I started to turn around. There were many young women around me, and my partner was a few paces ahead of me. It happened as soon as I screamed at the female. I screamed at my friend and the girls as the group slowly walked away from her.
Checked me to see if they had taken anything from my pal while I was there. We have launched a search for the young woman who had her hand inside the bag. It was difficult to determine if my luggage was empty or not because it was so stuffed. My companion was unable to go to the girl because of the protective circle around her. They had one of them in front of him, he told me afterward. To go around her, he walked around her. During this, an elderly Bulgarian woman started yelling at us in our native language in Travel Mishaps.
Everybody else either stood there and stared or walked away. It appeared like she was telling us to leave them alone. A robbery attempt or the persons who were complicit in it were both terrifying. At first glance, it appeared as if the older woman was also involved. Someone who tries to steal from you should at the very least flee. If she had stolen something important from you, you would not have been able to recover it from her in any way.
Gassing up in Ecuador’s capital city of Quito:
Regardless of what happened, it wasn’t pleasant! We were strolling around a market in Quito, Ecuador, on our second unpleasant Travel Mishaps adventure when we started coughing uncontrollably. I couldn’t believe how many people were coughing and falling to their knees as we were. Fortunately, we were able to respond swiftly and begin running as quickly as possible. We were fine and had stopped coughing once we had left the neighborhood.
Mexican-American border tensions:
When I traveled from Mexico to the United States by land in 2006, I encountered some difficulties. First, the Army sought to get us off of our coach and into their custody. The news that we would have to leave the country immediately reached us as we were on our way to the airport. After that, things didn’t get any better.
A US border crossing refused us an exit stamp from Mexico when we arrived, so we made our way back to the United States. That Australians aren’t subjected to visa requirements isn’t true. The fact that we had to back over made the situation worse. The next day, we had to go back to the Mexican embassy to collect our exit stamp and repeat the entire process. An exhausting 24 hours and a terrible experience have been summarized in this post.
In the links above, you can read the entire story in its entirety. On a Grand Canyon excursion, my companion had a sudden seizure: My then-boyfriend suffered an attack when I was on a bus with him. Neither he nor I had ever seen or experienced one before. It was a terrifying experience. The tour guide dialed 911, and paramedics and police were shortly on the scene in Travel Mishaps.
While he had tested, we ended up spending the night in the hospital and rearranging our plans to stay in the US for the rest of our vacation. After seven months of our adventure, we were close to canceling it all. Fortunately, he recovered, and we were able to continue our journey. However, those two days were the worst of my life.
Accommodation confusion in Kuala Lumpur:
A recent negative experience on a plane was the most recent. All of you who were present will recall what happened. We traveled from Bangkok to Kuala Lumpur and Manila last year; however, I booked our stay around the airport on the wrong night in Travel Mishaps. So when we arrived at the hotel, we discovered that we had completely booked it.
We also had a difficult time finding a place that wasn’t already full. Having an infant and two-year-olds in the car all day can be exhausting, so this may not seem like much of an issue. It was incredibly nerve-wracking to ride in a cab in the dark to yet another fully booked hotel. It was not one of my more enjoyable experiences as a planner, and it is one that I will not forget anytime soon. Another foolish mistake I’ve made ranks right beside this one.
On an expensive airplane trip from French Guiana to Brazil, I purchased two seats in my name instead of J’s, even though it was J’s birthday. When the Thai military staged a coup, I was in Bangkok. It’s unusual to wake up to the news of a military coup in the country I was visiting at the time. When you hear the term “military coup,” you can’t help but think of violence.
We didn’t know at the time that it wasn’t that big of a deal. As a result, we had no idea what was going on because all of the news stations had been shut down. Many people have commented on how envious they are that I could attend such a high-profile event. If it had turned out to be tense, I’m not sure how they would have felt. It was unquestionably a poor trip.
Seeing the Pyramids of Giza:
My Flashback Friday post on why I despised my visit to the Egyptian Pyramids has been one of my most popular posts. It was hard to enjoy Egypt and the Giza Pyramids since so many touts surrounded us. This was one of the worst Travel Mishaps experiences of my life, and I’ll never forget it.
Getting ejected from a Guatemalan chicken bus:
Until our most recent visit, I had always adored Guatemala on all of my previous travels there. Everybody was always attempting to take advantage of us, and it was highly frustrating. The clincher came on our final day in the country as we prepared to cross into Mexico. Again, the chicken bus driver tried to overcharge us, and we had to haggle to pay the correct amount once more.
He refused to drop the price, and we refused to pay, so we stopped the bus until we got off. It was a little disheartening that no one spoke up for us in this serious situation in Travel Mishaps. We were forced to pay the fare again when the following bus came past. We were thrilled to arrive in Mexico finally.
