|
Had my wallet stolen on a bus in Fes and was later driven around town by a friendly guy trying to find a police station that would report a theft (for insurance back home of course, I knew I'd never get it back). We tried about 5 stations with nothing but lazy cops who wouldn't even get out of their chair before giving up. The guy was nice though and we talked about regicide and how Iran is cool. I got some tea at his brother's house somewhere in the Medina, his brother had a foul mouth.
|
#
?
Mar 30, 2016 04:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 30, 2024 11:51 |
|
|
I travelled a lot with my family while growing up, so I had a few... interesting experiences over the years. A lot of these happened when we were used to take cruises. On my first cruise, I got an inner ear infection and had to go to the sick bay to get overpriced antibiotics. Apparently someone had died of a heart attack that morning, so young Spaced God was getting checked out on a table with a body bag poorly hidden behind a sheet. That was fun. The next cruise someone who was at the dinner table next to ours got in a fight with his girlfriend and jumped off. We felt bad for our wait staff because they told us everyone knew but didn't know what to say to the remaining family One cruise my dad had a seizure and we had to be hastily medivaced to Belize City when it was on lockdown due to a gang war. Driving through a gang war with an ambulance driver who has no idea where he's going while your dad is seizing up is not a fun experience. Getting stopped at a checkpoint with guns pointed at you while you get searched is also not fun. We got stuck in a hotel with a bunch of NYU sorority girls, so at least we got a lot of sympathy attention  (plus my dad was okay, which is even better). That experience pretty much poisoned the well for cruises though, so now we have property in Antigua, which is not known for gang violence... I think.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2016 03:08
|
|
|
Spaced God posted:The next cruise someone who was at the dinner table next to ours got in a fight with his girlfriend and jumped off. We felt bad for our wait staff because they told us everyone knew but didn't know what to say to the remaining family
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2016 08:36
|
|
|
He probably just faked his death there.
|
|
#
?
Apr 25, 2016 10:39
|
|
|
Got a case of the trots at the top of Erawan national park in thailand. missed the last bus back because i could barely walk without making GBS threads myself. Had to hold it in because we were surrounded by like the 7 most beautiful waterfalls in SE asia or some poo poo and the last thing anyone needed was a brown stream pouring down to the bottom. Missed the last bus so we had to pay 60 dollars to a songtaw to take us to our hotel which was almost 1hour and 15 minutes away because my dipshit girlfriend at the time couldn't book something to save her life. Sat front row at a Ping Pong show in Bangkok Took bad drugs in Buenos Aires. Ate like fourteen pretzels that I thought were on the table for free in Prague. Was too drunk to argue when the final bill showed me owing like 55 dollars. Most expensive tab my entire time there. Took bad drugs in Amsterdam. Took an AMTRAK train from Charlotte, NC through Raleigh and up to DC to save money. I flew back. Flew London to Delhi on the row of the plane with bulkhead seating. Indians walk around constantly so that was the aisle they used to change sides of the plane. Just nothing but indians crawling all over me for like 9 hours. was in a godawful play in Shanghai when I was in college. That was just more the embarrassment of it all.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2016 20:53
|
|
|
Casimir Radon posted:Did he die or did they never find the body? I don't think they ever found him, so I also assume that he died since we were a couple hundred miles from the nearest land.
|
|
#
?
Apr 26, 2016 21:01
|
|
|
FizFashizzle posted:Flew London to Delhi on the row of the plane with bulkhead seating. Indians walk around constantly so that was the aisle they used to change sides of the plane. Just nothing but indians crawling all over me for like 9 hours.
|
|
#
?
Apr 27, 2016 06:45
|
|
|
Almost got blown up by the IRA on the underground back in the mid-90s, can't recall exactly when it was as I was 9-12. *EDIT* Actually it might have been at the Heathrow rail connection, unsure if that's still the underground or what, but yeah I think it was there. We almost waited for 1 more train because it was getting full, but we squeezed in, IRA blew up the next train. Other than that, travelling has been a blast, you just can't be dumb. My brother and I have made some pretty dumb drunken mistakes, but in costa rica, we met a couple cute local girls and partied, danced, and fooled around for a bit at the bars, they invited us back to their place but brother was nervous they were going to do some funky stuff, probably not but who knows. Almost died whitewater rafting on that same trip in costa rica, it was the rainy season and the river we were rafting on was a foot or two higher than it normally was, turned the rather mild rapids into some sick stuff, we had a blast, but at some point we got tossed from the raft and the one behind us ran me over and almost drown me. Later we actually ended up saving a few of those people from almost drowning themselves. travel always and whitewater raft whenever you can, it's fun!
|
|
#
?
Apr 28, 2016 21:56
|
|
|
Thrown in jail in Mexico at smg-point, accused of being a drug mule by a Salvadorian in the same truck, kept in jail for several hours, marched to an ATM and asked to pull out $100 and let go. Had pocket picked same night. Years in Asia before and since, not a single violent issue directly with anyone. Border towns are all sketchy, but border town Mexico is truly the worst - and I've been to four of them in two states, several multiple times. I've been through way more sketchy border towns in Asia way more times and nothing other than low level scam attempts.
|
|
#
?
May 8, 2016 14:23
|
|
|
Got jellyfish tentacles wrapped around my face when I was swimming in Hawaii.
|
|
#
?
Jul 21, 2016 17:05
|
|
|
Just landed in San Francisco. Would say is airports and customs suck big time with 2 hour waits
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2016 07:44
|
|
|
Day 2 of my trip to Hawaii. Car was broken into in while at Pearl Harbor. A hotel card key was in one one of the bags that were stolen so when we got back to our hotel, we found that the thieves were able to locate our room and take even more stuff. Sucks because we were supposed to continue on to Thailand but our passports were stolen as well. Ended up just going home the next day.
|
|
#
?
Jul 22, 2016 14:54
|
|
|
birds posted:Day 2 of my trip to Hawaii. Car was broken into in while at Pearl Harbor. A hotel card key was in one one of the bags that were stolen so when we got back to our hotel, we found that the thieves were able to locate our room and take even more stuff. Sucks because we were supposed to continue on to Thailand but our passports were stolen as well. Ended up just going home the next day. That really sucks. How did they locate your room do you figure? Your hotel info on a print out in your bags or that some key cards are branded with a hotel's logo... was the room number written on the paper sleeve they hand them to you in or something?
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2016 06:14
|
|
|
Blackchamber posted:That really sucks. How did they locate your room do you figure? Your hotel info on a print out in your bags or that some key cards are branded with a hotel's logo... was the room number written on the paper sleeve they hand them to you in or something? I believe the keys had the name of the hotel printed on them and the thieves just went to the hotel, went to the front desk and pretended to forget what room they were in. Either that or they just tried every single room in the building. At least the hotel comped us a meal.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2016 13:11
|
|
|
I dunno about worst experience ever, but I'm transferring in the Salt Lake City Airport right now and holy christ what a dump. Like, I've visited the city by car and it was distressing enough, but this really takes the cake. I've been in cleaner and more welcoming Greyhound stations.
|
|
#
?
Jul 23, 2016 22:25
|
|
|
freddiestarfish posted:Well, I've been whitewater kayaking around the world for the last 2 years, so had a few interesting experiences, to name but a few: How hard is it on the body? I love the idea of kayaking but I'm afraid of my arms and shoulders falling apart and having a terrible time
|
|
#
?
Jul 27, 2016 12:09
|
|
|
Went to Greece to visit a friend working as a bartender. First day, drinks and beach all day, putting the drinks on a tab. I left my wallet in his locker thinking it'd be safe. Evening comes around, I have to pay around 70e (for me and another friend), locker is busted and all my money is gone (300 euros). Oh well. Couldn't leave the cash anywhere else really, we lived in a "shared" hotel room.
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2016 09:50
|
|
|
Mine came just a couple of months ago in Indonesia. We'd booked a 3 hour train trip between two cities in eastern Java, but got to the station and discovered the train was cancelled due to flooding. No big deal, there's a nearby bus station so we can catch a bus. The route takes 6 hours but we aren't in a huge hurry. First we got scammed by someone at the bus station - in Indonesia you buy tickets from a conductor on the bus; this "travel agent" guy stood just outside the door and sold us legit but double-price tickets. At least it was only $16 instead of $8, but not a great feeling when we realised. Secondly, the bus was configured for six seats abreast with an aisle. I took a window seat, put my backpack next to me and my wife sat a couple of rows back in a window seat. The seats were designed for Indonesian frames, not Western frames, so sitting normally meant my knees were jammed against the hard plastic seat in front of me, and the recliner knob was sticking into my buttcheek. And because I couldn't move closer to the window (I have broad shoulders), the seat would stick permanently in the recline position. Thirdly, the bus filled up after about 3 stops, so I had to have my backpack and my shoulder bag sitting on my lap. Fourth, we were heading westerly so I was in the sun (and thus sweating with no air con) constantly. And to top it all off, it was the last day of Ramadan meaning that literally everyone was on the road travelling, and that there was constant traffic. The "6 hour" bus trip ended up taking 27 hours, with no breaks. I couldn't sleep because of the awkward way I was sitting, I couldn't eat or drink because we hadn't brought supplies, and I couldn't piss because I'd sweated out most of my body fluid. And I couldn't commiserate with my wife because she was a few rows behind me and I couldn't turn around to see her  That was 2 1/2 months ago, and I've still got bruised knees and a sore back 
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2016 11:51
|
|
|
I guess my story pales in comparison, but I once waited 2 hours for a taxi outside an airport, and had to stand up in line the whole time in 30 degrees heat. I came out of Manila airport and there was just a shitload of people and a shortage of metered taxis. I refused to pay 5-6 times the price for a private van, so I kept thinking "it can't take that much longer" while standing in line... but it did. I eventually went into a sunk cost fallacy, thinking both "it can't take that much longer" and "I've been standing in the line for so long now". Thankfully I had a bottle of water with a tiny bit left so I could wet my mouth occasionally. The taxi finally arrived, smelling like cigarettes, and didn't attempt to scam with the meter at least.webmeister posted:And to top it all off, it was the last day of Ramadan meaning that literally everyone was on the road travelling, and that there was constant traffic. The "6 hour" bus trip ended up taking 27 hours, with no breaks. I couldn't sleep because of the awkward way I was sitting, I couldn't eat or drink because we hadn't brought supplies, and I couldn't piss because I'd sweated out most of my body fluid. And I couldn't commiserate with my wife because she was a few rows behind me and I couldn't turn around to see her
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2016 12:10
|
|
|
webmeister posted:Mine came just a couple of months ago in Indonesia. We'd booked a 3 hour train trip between two cities in eastern Java, but got to the station and discovered the train was cancelled due to flooding. No big deal, there's a nearby bus station so we can catch a bus. The route takes 6 hours but we aren't in a huge hurry. Jesus, i would have just boarded the next bus and forfeited my tickets for better seats. Or take a private taxi. If you are poor and have no options yeah then bus is the only option. But traveling with your spouse? Ugh
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2016 13:16
|
|
|
Not really an option unfortunately, since you're just sitting in standstill traffic on the highway most of the time! And a private car for that long would've cost a fortune This was the kind of thing we were dealing with, though in a different part of Java: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-36748008
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2016 14:37
|
|
|
I once took an overnight bus in Vietnam (16 hours I think), the chair was far too small and I couldn't rest my head, plus I had the air con unit (that didn't work) leaking in my head all night preventing any sleep. That was horrible but I can't imagine that 27 hour trip :o
|
|
#
?
Sep 2, 2016 20:14
|
|
|
How many non-terrible stories ever started with "I/we got on a bus?" Maybe 1% of all stories that start that way? If you're lucky.
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2016 00:09
|
|
|
PT6A posted:How many non-terrible stories ever started with "I/we got on a bus?" I went to Indiana
|
|
#
?
Sep 4, 2016 07:51
|
|
|
webmeister posted:I took a window seat, put my backpack next to me and my wife sat a couple of rows back in a window seat.
|
|
#
?
Sep 5, 2016 18:01
|
|
|
She sat there herself, I didn't put her anywhere! Originally she sat in the seat behind me, but moved another row back because my seat was permanently reclined and not giving her any space. It makes more sense that we spread out because the bus was pretty empty at first, so we could have luggage on spare seats etc.
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2016 03:21
|
|
|
Oh my god so you guys could have sat together? Once you see people piling on you guys didn't move seats?
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2016 03:54
|
|
|
caberham posted:Oh my god so you guys could have sat together? Once you see people piling on you guys didn't move seats? Yeah we could have. Not our best moment, but in our defence at that point we didn't know we'd be on the bus for another 24 hours
|
|
#
?
Sep 6, 2016 04:36
|
|
|
webmeister posted:And to top it all off, it was the last day of Ramadan meaning that literally everyone was on the road travelling, and that there was constant traffic. The "6 hour" bus trip ended up taking 27 hours, with no breaks. I couldn't sleep because of the awkward way I was sitting, I couldn't eat or drink because we hadn't brought supplies, and I couldn't piss because I'd sweated out most of my body fluid. And I couldn't commiserate with my wife because she was a few rows behind me and I couldn't turn around to see her I took a bus on Sumatra a few days ago. Your story is making me drink my beer a little faster.
|
|
#
?
Sep 10, 2016 13:37
|
|
|
Boot and Rally posted:I took a bus on Sumatra a few days ago. Your story is making me drink my beer a little faster. Tomorrow is Eid al Adha by the way. I have no idea how it is in Indonesia, but don't take a bus or travel far if you don't have to and don't want a fun, terrible experience story. I went to Tunisia just 3 weeks after starting this thread and had one of my top 5 worst travel experiences. Visited my fiancée during Tunisias Independence Day, decided to go south for the long weekend. Didn't book anything except hotel in advance. Got an illlegal minibus (with like 7 other people) after being unable to buy any ticket in Tunis ("our system is down no one can buy tickets!") which took us to a town an hour out of our way but closer. Illegal minibus, despite looking alright, was poo poo. Driver goes at 150 kph but bus breaks down every 5 minutes, some issue with spark plugs. Anyway there's a poo poo ton of traffic most of the way but he zooms all around including on the shoulder to try to make up for the lost time. Wait around for an hour trying to get a minibus in the closer town, bus station filled with hundreds of frustrated Tunisians trying to get home for the weekend. Eventually we try to get a taxi for the hour drive to our destination, but it's out of zone and illegal. Eventually get a taxi driver to find a local who is from the town were going to and could pretend to be going home (if stopped by cops and taxi license checked). So our 3 our trip took about 9 hours and cost us double. Not nearly as bad as the other guys experience--no overloading and luggage fit in the back fine. and at least we could bitch about it with our fellow passengers, but still gently caress traveling on national holidays. Especially national holidays you didn't know about until a day before. Saladman fucked around with this message at 00:28 on Sep 11, 2016 |
|
#
?
Sep 11, 2016 00:17
|
|
|
Lot of people got the shits it seems. One thing I've come to appreciate when travelling is Coca Cola, if I eat anything that I don't really trust I'll just have a Coke with it and 9 times out of 10 it will work out. Coke will kill any bacteria it seems.
|
|
#
?
Sep 21, 2016 08:14
|
|
|
Mr Shiny Pants posted:Lot of people got the shits it seems. One thing I've come to appreciate when travelling is Coca Cola, if I eat anything that I don't really trust I'll just have a Coke with it and 9 times out of 10 it will work out. To be fair, I got the shits from a restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale that was fairly upscale and recommended by family. You can get the shits anywhere, you just have to hope airplane travel isn't on the schedule for that day. If liquor didn't kill whatever caused it, I doubt Coke would stand a chance. EDIT: I have either bad or amazing luck, depending on how you look at it. I'll eat questionable poo poo all the time and never have a problem with it. I've got food poisoning from upscale and/or famous restaurants on three or four occasions, only once from a slightly dodgy place (which, nonetheless, I used to eat at several times per month). PT6A fucked around with this message at 00:50 on Sep 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2016 00:48
|
|
|
The only time I've ever gotten the shits on vacation was at a fancy-rear end burger place in Auckland. And I have eaten at some sketchy, sketchy places. My husband got really bad gastro from a creperie in Paris though, it must have been the chicken since that was the only thing in his crepe that wasn't in mine. He couldn't leave the apartment for three days, it was too risky.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2016 03:41
|
|
|
Only time I've gotten food poisoning was at an earth muffin Eco super green love farm outside Stockholm (upscale fairly expensive even by Swedish standards). That's what I get for going off my otherwise hard diet of GM foods and saturated fats. VVV: Thanks, I just laughed out loud at my username and post combination after reading your post. Saladman fucked around with this message at 15:21 on Sep 22, 2016 |
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2016 09:21
|
|
|
Nice work, Salad Man.
|
|
#
?
Sep 22, 2016 15:06
|
|
|
In Spain my cousin wanted to buy coke. I went out with him and the dealer asked for more than he wanted. My cousin refused, the dealer pulled out his phone and threatened to "call his friends" if we didn't buy it. My cousin paid for it and we booked it out of there. Noticed two kinda sketchy dudes sitting at a cafe nearby. Not sure whether they were his guys or what, but the coke was apparently more than half baking soda. In Amsterdam, did hash out of a hookah and then went and got a nice steak. Only fancy meal of our entire trip. I got woozy from the smoke as we were walking back to the hostel and barfed it up. Ate mcdonald's like a half hour later and that stayed down. I have never been so insulted by own digestive tract.
|
|
#
?
Sep 26, 2016 23:20
|
|
|
I developed an Achilles' tendon strain in York and I'm in the Lake District now . Fought through it to at least see something and took a bus to and fro but I'm laying up for the rest of the evening. Real shame, it's nice here. Also almost certain I got painted by a speed camera on the way here. I actually pissed tons of people off by driving so slow generally but I doubt I kept my speed 100% perfectly within limits like I'm apparently supposed to,so that's another thing to worry about . If I could name one thing about the states I like better it's the lack of speed cameras every 50 feet. You're tacitly allowed to just go with the flow of traffic and if you are nicked , there's no surprises because a cop is right there writing your ticket .
|
|
#
?
Oct 26, 2016 17:52
|
|
|
caberham posted:My worst experience is actually going to West Lafyette Indiana. Everything there is just so weird. holy poo poo, thats basically my loving hometown. well, its actually a podunk town with less than 1500 people half an hour away but still. i go there basically everyday everything here is loving weird
|
|
#
?
Oct 27, 2016 23:08
|
|
|
Eating fish in a Seoul restaurant the night before traveling. Woke up feeling off. Salmonella poisoning hit full force 1 hr into the 14.5 hour trip back to Atlanta. I died out my rear end and mouth for 13 hrs straight.
|
|
#
?
Nov 6, 2016 18:29
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 30, 2024 11:51 |
|
|
Ah travelling in Indonesia! My partner had a work conference in Yogyakarta so we went together and made a long weekend of it. We couldn't fly direct from Sydney so had to fly to Jakarta first then get a domestic connection. Our bags got checked to the final destination, we got off our international flight at Jakarta but couldn't transfer through to domestic flights without having our luggage scanned at security. Except our luggage hadn't been returned to us because it was checked through as a transfer. We, along with a bunch of other Aussie transfers, had to go back to the baggage hall and have a chat with the Indonesian baggage handlers through the flaps covering the belt where the baggage belt enters the public side. Imagine a lot of Indonesian men squatting, smoking cigarettes surrounded by luggage on one side. Then imagine a lot of Aussies needing to connect to other flights and needing their bags NOW waving baggage tags at them and shouting their names, flight numbers and final destinations to these guys who had limited english. Utter confusion and chaos sorting out who's bag was who's and getting them to pass you the right suitcase. We retrieved our bags, ran through security to our gate to find that our connecting flight was delayed. And at a different gate. It's Indonesia. The flight to Yogyakarta was delayed 3 times and changed gates twice more. It was normal, all domestic flights were delayed and had frequent gate changes. My flight home (on my own) was via Bali, the pilot had to take 2 tries to land the plane there as he overshot the runway the first time. At least you can hit the bar at Denpasar airport and drink wine.
|
|
#
?
Nov 19, 2016 14:32
|
|
