A little twist: what was the worst travel experience you've ever

[babylonsister]

had, and why?

[mike_c]

1. traveling in central america with my ex and my teen-aged daughter....

That was like-- 10 years ago? That sounds about right. Very bad chemistry between them, hard to say who was less mature about it. The hostility went on for WEEKS, and the ex's response was to stay drunk 24/7. That trip had it's high points, but there weren't many of them....

[Longhorn]

2. Traveling with my mother in Germany.

I met her there when she was returning from a church trip to Israel. She wanted to do some genealogical research in the Frankfurt area and since we had lost my father just a few months before, I thought I'd hang out with her. I went with no agenda but to be helpful to her. I didn't even check out sightseeing opportunities because I didn't want to be disappointed if she wanted to do something else.

I arrived a day early and met her at the airport with a car I rented. She wanted to go to the hotel and rest and slept most of the day. (Since I had done the same thing my first day, I had now wasted two days in the hotel room.) That evening, we drove around a little -- I was going too fast or not fast enough, I didn't stop when she wanted me to in order to take a picture, etc. The next day, we took the train into Frankfurt. I mentioned that as we looked around, I would be watching for things to bring home for my family. Big mistake! If she suggested something and I didn't buy it, she was pissed. I was trying to be low-key about it but she acted as if I had dictated that the itinerary of the day would be shopping. I decided to buy several singles of German beer for my husband and she complained that the bag would be too heavy, even though I was the one who hauled it around. She was confused about which train to take back -- when I told her which one I thought we should take, she was pissed that I was right. She was pissed that I was right about the time difference, too. :shrug:

We took every dang meal in the hotel and since it catered to business travelers, there wasn't a lot of authentic German cuisine on the menu. My mother snored every night so I couldn't sleep. On the day we finally headed out to the countryside, I was apparently the lousiest driver known to man. She even got mad when I missed a turn and SHE was the one with the map! We had spent an hour in a department store finding the right map but then she decided she didn't feel like driving to the town where she thought our family was from.

The only bright spot of the trip is when we went to an old church to look up birth records. The secretary didn't speak a word of English but we somehow communicated and she let us look at these 150-year-old books. We didn't find our family (it turns out, they were from somewhere else) but it was still cool!

My mother has apparently made comments to my siblings implying I was the difficult one -- I have honestly tried to figure out what I could have or should have done differently and I just can't figure it out. No, I'm not perfect but I can usually admit it later when I realize I was being testy or inconsiderate. I was as patient as I am capable of being and it wasn't enough. I will NEVER travel with her again. Since then, my SIL and one of my brothers have taken separate trips with her and had similar experiences.

I am so glad that my husband and I are going to Germany this summer so that I can erase that bad trip from my memory, hopefully replaced with a great memory! (Mr. Longhorn and I get along just great, even when we travel. :) )

[lebkuchen]

16. If you need any suggestions, let me know.

There's plenty here to erase that bad memory. :)

[Longhorn]

17. That's a nice offer!

Thanks! :hi:

We're going as part of a traveling polka band and won't have many choices but the itinerary looks great so I think we're going to have a good time. :)

[lebkuchen]

18. There's SO much more than Frankfurt

Leave there asap and enjoy the country. Try to find a winefest.

gute reise!

[WolverineDG]

3. Travelling to Paris with my SIL

Almost the exact same experience as Longhorn w/her mom in Germany. SIL was confused about the Metro, would argue with me about which way we should go, then bitch when I'd say "let's take that one, it goes to X" & before I could say "because that's one stop beyond Y where we want to get off so we know it's going to Y" she'd yell & say "THAT'S NOT Y." The one time I said "Ok, fine, you make the decision on which way to go" we ended up on the opposite side of town. WThis, somehow, was all my fault.

We were at the Louvre (which now has some sort of mall attached). She wanted to go shopping, I noticed an internet cafe, so thinking she was going shopping, I paid for an hour. She came into the internet place, sat behind me & bitched for 10 minutes straight. She huffily got up & said "I'M NOT WASTING MY TIME HERE. I'M GOING SHOPPING. I'll see you back at the hotel." Like she needs a damn buddy to go shopping in a tourist trap?

I either walked too fast or too slow, didn't go around that person, but went around someone else. The people were rude (well they were, TO HER). She didn't want to go anywhere alone, but wanted to go shopping all the time. Oh kill me now, please. She spent well over the customs limit on some stupid shoes, crabbed at my restaurant choices (I didn't notice her making any suggestions at all), and complained that we "hadn't seen enough of Paris." Well, hell, we'd spent most our time at the DAMN SHOE STORE! We were on the wrong train to Versailles (we weren't), we weren't walking in the direction of Versailles (we were), we got the wrong ticket to get in (we didn't). By the end of the week, the only thing keeping me from pushing her into the Seine was the fact that there were witnesses.

As if this weren't bad enough, the trip home was on the Air France flight from hell, which I've mentioned on DU before & I don't want to relive that trauma.

dg

[Longhorn]

6. I'll go to sleep with a smile on my face

imagining my mother traveling with your SIL! :D

[WolverineDG]

8. Oh man

talk about living in hell. should we tag along & heckle 'em? :evilgrin:

dg

[babylonsister]

10. Between your and Longhorn's account, I'm

having fits over here. I know, it's funny to me but must have been hell while you were going through it. And I did read your airline nightmare in the lounge; I decided not to chirp in as my DH works for CO. :hide:

[WolverineDG]

11. I don't have a problem with CO

I actually prefer to fly them. It's Air France I loathe with purple passion.

On edit, I had a similar experience on a transcontinental CO flight. The seat belt sign was off & there were about 3 of us in line for the bathroom. Right before the guy ahead of me could get into the bathroom, the light came back on. DAMMIT! I gotta go! The CO flight attendant approached the line & said "OK, I have to say this, you need to go back to your seats as the seat belt light has come back on. But I understand you've been in line for a while, so please, get back to your seats as soon as you are done." See? Nice & polite. No banging on the door, yelling, harrassing me to my seat. Everyone happy.

dg

[LuckyLib]

20. Why on earth do these people travel? Travel puts you out of

your elementary by definition. If the world has to spin your way every second of every day, stay HOME! Seriously, some folks should never travel and I respect those who know that about themselves. Others begin to figure it out when after many trips, they can no longer find anyone who wants to accompany them.

[Longhorn]

21. You would think that, wouldn't you?

But honestly, those kind of people really do believe it's everyone else who has the problem. They do not figure it out and they never will. :shrug:

My husband and I traveled with my in-laws to Hawaii and they are just the opposite. We went with the attitude that the most important part of the trip was spending time with them -- there will be time (we hope) for another trip to Hawaii. So we didn't get to spend any time at the beach but that's okay. They didn't want to climb Diamondhead so we did and they waited at the hotel. They didn't mope about it or make us feel guilty. They were happy to share our enjoyment, especially since it was our first trip to Hawaii. I would travel with them again in a second! :D

[tinfoilinfor2005]

32. I can relate to all of your horrible expreriences except for one:

I've flown them all and Air France was the best flight I've ever had. I'm sure that it was awful for you, but compared to any other airline, Air France was pure heaven for me. Wonderful comfortable seating, the best food on any flight, and one to one comfort from the staff. I did have a total nut job sitting next to me...he was a George Bush fan and tried to explain to me why Bush was right on the money about the middle east. He himself was from the area so I was interested and truly listened to his reasoning until about ten minutes from take off he started to scream like a little girl. I asked him what was wrong and he yelled, "We're all going to die!" I thought about calling the flight attendant because he was making me nervous, as well as the people around us, but soon it was obvious that he wasn't a terrorist...just a very frightened flier. But immediately the Air France flight attendant came our way and calmed him down and gave him a small bottle of wine. He drained it and fell asleep for the remainder of the trip. Bless her, I wish all of her crazy travelers are so easy to subdue. Anyway...my flight with them was wonderful. Sorry you had a bad experience.

[Obamarama]

4. This one had me afraid of flying for YEARS afterwards....

In 1999 I was 3 hours into a 13 hour flight to Tokyo. Down the aisle comes a teenaged girl with her mother behind her, both with very concerned looks on their faces.

All of a sudden, as the girl was the length of about three rows in front of me she brought her hands over her mouth and let loose with a projectile vomit that truly belonged in The Exorcist. Because she had her hands over her mouth, it sprayed passengers on both sides of the aisle and about three rows back...which, of course, is where I was sitting.

Then she stops and stands right there and continues to puke all over the aisle. Meanwhile, all of us that were sprayed are grossing out beyond belief, a few people started puking themselves.

IT WAS HELL.

Of course, up until that time I had always checked my bag and so had nothing to change into. Some nice guy a couple seats back was my size and he loaned me a shirt and pair of khakis from his carryon. I FedExed them to him when I got back home.

After that experience, I ALWAYS pack a change of clothes to have with me in the cabin and I tend to try to get the window seats, lol.

[Longhorn]

5. Yikes -- I'd take traveling with my mother (or WolverineDG's SIL)

ANY TIME over a flight likes yours! So sorry you had to experience that! :hug:

[babylonsister]

9. Ouch! That does sound really...pukey!

After that, I too will pack a change of clothes!

[Inland]

7. It seems that one's own chosen traveling companions

ends up ruining the trip most often, which I guess makes sense, since they are with you the entire time. Other than imprisonment or injury, most other items are short term.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

12. The worst vacation experience was showing my ex-bf around Tokyo

It confirmed for me why he was my ex, because he acted like a walking stereotype of an Ugly American.

First, in those days, there was basically one way to get from Narita Airport to Tokyo directly--the Keisei Skyliner train. So I gave Ex explicit instructions for how to find the Skyliner and buy his ticket and told him I would meet him at the terminus. I timed my arrival at the station to coincide with roughly two hours after his flight landed and proceeded to stand there for three hours (no place to sit) watching train after train come in and let off crowds of travelers.

I finally gave up in disgust.

That evening, he called me at the rooming house where I was spending the summer. He was at his hotel and explained that he had asked some guy at the airport how to get to Tokyo Station (NOT the station I had told him to go to), and the guy had not spoken English well, so he hadn't quite understood the instructions (Hey? How about READING the written instructions I sent you?), and he had ended up taking the grand tour of suburban Chiba and Tokyo on the slow trains.

Okay, so I go to his hotel the next morning and take him to Meiji Shrine. We're resting in a sort of food court, and Ex wants to get change for a 10,000 yen bill. He has studied a little Japanese, so I give him the phrase for asking someone to break a large bill. I watch as he goes from booth to booth at the food court, inspiring bewildered looks and arm-waving from the vendors. He comes back:"You gave me the wrong phrase."

Yeah, I had lived in Japan, had been teaching Japanese for years, and I gave him the wrong phrase. Like hell I did. Turns out he had been going around saying alternately "Please write this out" and "Please fish for this" instead of "Please break this." I could have forgiven him for mispronouncing the phrase, but to assume that it was my fault?

We move on to lunch. He wants totally traditional Japanese food, so I find a restaurant that serves it. I explain the menu, he orders what he wants, and then he adds that he wants milk with his meal. The waitress gets all flustered. It is not good to disappoint a customer, no matter how weird his request. I explain that pure Japanese restaurants don't serve milk, and that his choices are water, beer, tea, or sake. He starts in saying that restaurants should anticipate their customers requests and that he's never heard of a restaurant that didn't serve milk. I tell him that he has just encountered his first one.

He still wants that glass of milk after lunch, so we head to a Western-style coffee shop, where he orders the drink known as "ice milk." He discovers that it tastes like hot milk that has been cooled with ice cubes. He is not pleased.

The one thing he's happy about is that we see Sengakuji Temple, where the 47 ronin are buried. This is in line with his RPG view of Japan.

A trip to Nikko the next day passes without incident, but I'm very happy that he wants to leave for Kyoto the next day. We go to the office that books minshuku (J-style bed and breakfast) and inquire about accommodations in Kyoto. He starts asking me whether each suggested minshuku has Western-style toilets. He goes on long and loud about how he can't deal with Asian toilets and will get constipated if he has to put up with them for the next three days.

I was REAL happy to put him on the train to Kyoto that afternoon.

[blindpig]

13. My pard almost died.

We were on a birding/reptile hunting trip in May of 2002 in Panama. It had been a very productive trip, saw and caught all kinds of cool stuff. The only kink was that one of the guys my bud had invited along from his neck of the woods was a bit of an ass. We had set out to road hunt the area north of Limon when my friend who was driving started acting out of it. He has type 1 & 2 diabetes. When we got him into the back seat he started to have a bad seizure. I was scared as hell, not knowing what to do. The ass, who was a Sheriffs Deputy for Maricopa Co Az said, "I know what to do, I'm a first responder!" So he go out my bud's kit and gave him a shot of insulin! He came around for a bit then sunk into oblivion. We were driving like hell toward Panama City when we spotted a rural clinic along the side of the road. The folks had barely more English than we had Spanish but with effort we got him into the exam room where it was found that his blood sugar was 16! They put him on a glucose drip. The clinic was barely equipped but those folks saved my friend's life. The cost of their services came to about three dollars. Because he had no insurance he was transferred a hospital for the indigent in Panama City which was something like a Civil War field hospital. During his seizure he broke his tail bone and fractured 2 vertebra. What a fucking nightmare.

Epilogue: The ass is no longer in public service but a rent-a-cop. My bud is still recovering but after two horrid years feels human more often than not. And you can bet your ass that I know what to do in case of any diabetes related problems!

[tinfoilinfor2005]

33. OMG, reading this a long time after the fact

but it gave me goosebumps.

You guys rock! The experience must have been incredible, but wow, what a heart-stopping thing to go through!

Thanks for telling us the story of that ordeal...hope your lives are still good to this day. :)

[Patiod]

14. Wow, my experiences look FINE

Every damned time I'm in the Detroit airport, the weather does something to keep me there an extra night. I've finally gotten to the point that I know I'm detouring to the airport Marriott, working out, ordering wine, having a good dinner served by the NICEST waitresses in America, crashing, then taking a 7am flight home, so why not just relax? Although once there was a tornado and the sky turned green, which was kind of scary (Michigan=tornado country - who knew?)

Our last trip I was severely anemic, and even though everything else was planned to the last tiny detail, it never occurred to me that altitude might be a problem. Hint: if you're severely anemic, a vacation at 8500 is probably not a good idea. Spent one night hyperventilating and tachycardic. Not either of our idea of fun. But I have a very patient and understanding SO, and we took it easy that trip, so it turned out OK (although I wish our ranch had offered oxygen....)

[fudge stripe cookays]

31. Yikes!

So, what you're saying is....eat lots of liver and spinach before that trip to Everest?

;-)

[FM Arouet666]

15. The worst ALWAYS has to do with the airlines, airports, or security.

I have a tendency toward road rage and airport rage. I admit it.

The airlines have become intolerable. I fly international two to three times a year and have done so for the last five years.

Food service is out for all domestic trips, unless you pay. Alcohol was once free internationally, no longer the case with U.S. carriers. I try to book a two or three hour layover when returning to the U.S., grabbing your luggage and plodding through customs is a model of inefficiency. I never check bags unless I am returning with excess baggage, and only check what I don't mind losing. TSA 'Transportation stupidity association' needs more manpower and better training. Not to bash too strongly, TSA has improved over the years, a traveler who is prepared for the security check can proceed fairly quickly.

My last trip, Amsterdam-Paris, I was delayed and missed my connection to Amsterdam, the return flight was canceled, I spent the night in Charles De gaulle. Merde!

[mike_c]

19. I agree about the degradation of air travel....

I've gotten to the point where I simply don't fly very often domestically any longer. I used to fly several times a year and I just don't any longer. I don't attend national meetings unless I absolutely have to, and the major reason is that air travel has become so bloody unpleasant. I haven't gotten on an airplane in three years now-- the only international travel I've done in that time is to Mexico and I can drive there. Air travel has become so unpleasant that it simply removed itself from my list of first tier options, and second or third tier as well. I have to have a pretty compelling reason to book air travel these days.

[spindrifter]

22. I´m having it now!

I´m in Buenos Aires, staying at a hostel that is by far the noisiest I ever experienced. the people staying at this place couldn´t possibly have eardrums. they have the MTV plus their own boomboxes on to the max past midnite. The only hope we have is that tomorrow we leave. nd fortunately, all planes leaving for N. America leve at the 9-10 p.m. time span, so we don´t have to get up early. I don´t expect it to be a problem , as they will all be drunk and maybe more, and don´t go to sleep till mid morning anyway.
I know--pay more that $7.50 a nite. Oh, well.

[babylonsister]

23. I hope you will give us a Just Back Report on Buenos Aires.

Did you enjoy your trip? What was the weather like, people, prices, etc. Did many people speak English? Inquiring minds; I think I'd like to visit, but would love to hear your take on it!

[bikebloke]

24. Party hostels

That was the big thing in Australia. Folk would travel from hostel to hostel getting pissed and watching Neighbours. Then the owners couldn't understand why all the non-partyers were always checking out the next morning. I was bike trekking, so sleep was more important. That's why I tented most of the time. Cheaper, too.

[XemaSab]

25. Lesser Slave Lake from Seattle

Via Jasper, Banff, Yoho, Mt Revelstoke, Calgary, the Okanagan, Canada's Glacier, Elk Island, and Edmonton. And a few other places.

All in a week.

We saw some fantastic terrain, but I feel like I spent a week in the car watching fantastic terrain speed by me at fast forward.

We spent about 1/2 hour in each of the parks. It was really astonishing how much I saw, and how little I saw, all at the same time.

[chascaz]

26. Take your pick from these 3 stories...

#1 - About 15 years ago, flying on Continental airlines to the south pacific somewhere, i think. They fed me bad chicken, and I got violently ill.

#2 - About 2 years ago, coming back from Uganda, I got Campy Lobacter virus, and nearly died by the time I got back (about 35 hours of travelling, total). I arrived back on a Friday, completely "blocked up", when I could poop, it was very little and liquid (with blood). The hospital put 1 bag of IV fluid in me, and I barely survived the weekend. I went back on Monday, and had 2 more bags of IV, and they FINALLY gave me some antibiotics. (they wanted poop samples over the weekend). I nearly died, couldn't eat, couldn't poop.

#3 - about q week ago, on my way to Indonesia, they put some fat-ass gas bag in the middle seat, me at the window. He farted for the entire 14 1/2 hour flight to Hong Kong, and I had about 3/4s of a seat to squeeze into. Why don't the airlines make people get business or first class, or 2 coach class seats if they need that much room?

Happy Travels - :)

[On the Road]

27. Even Bad Travel Can be Rewarding

but I did have a hard time three years ago visiting a cousin in Brussels. My 13-year-old daughter and I took a side trip to Mont St. Michel. I immediately became violently ill on the train, and didn't recover for for three days.

We rented a car for the day from St. Malo and had to take a stick shift which was really painful. We got to Mont St. Michel at low tide, with mud flats extending for hundreds of yards in all directions. On the way back, my daughter slipped and fell into the mud. There was not even a napkin available for her to wipe off with. I still have pleasant memories of that trip, though, and I hope she does too.

But this is a good question. I used to hold an English practice group for foreigners, and one of the popular round-robin questions was "describe something bad that happened while traveling."

[jannyk]

28. Benidorm - Spain

In the early 1970's. My boyfriend and I were both 18 and there for 2 weeks at a nice all-inclusive hotel. Then came the 'historic' thunderstorm, which flowed down the mountains, through the streets to the ocean taking all in its path.

Cars, sidewalks, streetlights, underground utilities all washed away. No running water - we were issued a bucket to take to the rooftop swimming pool for toilet flushing. No cooking capacity - no electricity - nada. Washed out some of the runways at Alicante airport too, so leaving wasn't an option. But, being 18, we survived, ate at roadside stands and lived to tell the tale. Don't think I'd be so flippant about it now I'm in my 50's.

[Violet_Crumble]

29. Last month. Hong Kong to Sydney flight. Drunk German backpackers n/t

[fudge stripe cookays]

30. The 2nd trip I made to visit reprehensor in Calgary...

when we were still an internet relationship. It was for Christmas 1999, and we had an amazing Millenium celebration.

A day or two after New Years, we got to the airport, and were having a leisurely coffee at Timmy's (Tim Horton's for the non-natives), when he went to check my flight. He came back white faced and stressed.

There had been a flight # change, and my flight was boarding. RIGHT NOW. Totally embarrassing for someone like me who is always at the airport two hours ahead of time! And if you've ever been through the Calgary airport (especially at Christmas with everyone coming back from Banff and Jasper), you know it's insane during the holidays.

I had't filled out a customs card yet or anything! Plus, I had two incredibly heavy suitcases (that didn't roll) and a purse, and I couldn't carry everything at once. I had to drop off my luggage cart before entering customs, so was dropping stuff all over.

Then I got to the metal detector, and some good ole boy ahead of me was joking with everyone and taking his good sweet time walking back and forth through the machine, taking one questionable item off at a time then walking back through. I finally snapped and said, "WOULD YOU GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY! My flight is LEAVING!" He wisely stepped aside to avoid having his head bitten off (it was pre-September 11, so people weren't as anal back then), and I hotfooted it as fast as I could through the gate and onto the LAST seat remaining-- the shittiest one on the aisle next to the bathroom.

I was SUPPOSED to have the window. I always get the window. But when I turned to complain to the guy who had the window seat, I noticed that he had a broken leg (probably broke it skiing near Banff or somewhere). Guilt-ridden, I clamped my mouth shut and let him keep it. I cried quietly the rest of the flight, because heading home meant another 5 months without reprehensor, and I knew it would be lonely. I wanted to crawl up in the corner and hibernate, but EVERY TIME a person went to the lavatory they grabbed the back of my chair to steady them as they headed back up the aisle, so I was getting jerked all over the place.

Then, to top it all off? This was the ONLY time my luggage has ever missed a flight (because I was so late boarding). Yup, I had none of my favorite clothes for at least 2-3 workdays, and I had to buy some new grooming products because my toothpaste and everything were all packed. No makeup-- no nothing.

GAH. What a horrible flight.

[fudge stripe cookays]

34. Oh and I forgot the topper...

I got home to find that I had evidently misplaced my phone bill and not realized it.

They had turned off my phone when I got home.

I couldn't figure out why, and how to go to a pay phone at a nearby convenience store to call him and let him know I got home OK (but my luggage didn't). Then had to cough up the big bucks the next day to get the phone turned back on.

Not fun.

[LSK]

35. racing a strong storm system/tornados in Wyoming

It was a beautiful morning/early afternoon as I was visiting Fort Laramie National Historic Park in eastern Wyoming. When I left, I was heading east and wanted to check out Scottsbluff in Nebraska. However it started to get really cloudy and darker and darker to the west behind me. When I got to Scottsbluff, it was really black behind me and I heard there were tornado warnings in the surrounding counties. So I hauled ass west to North Platte, all the while looking at the black sky behind me. When I finally got to a Holiday Inn in Northe Platte, Nebraska, it was raining but only rained with a little thunder.

But seeing that Black as hell sky and hearing tornados were in the area was pretty unnerving.

[riverwalker]

36. death in Bhutan

A tourist died in our hotel in Bhutan, in the middle of nowhere. He just collapsed in his room next to mine, not found until hours later, cold and dead. No 911 in the Himalayas.
I am a nurse and had to check him over, the local doctor came and said Yep he's dead alright. His German companion got hysterical, spoke no english, everyone running around for a translator. Chaos.