Worst Things that Happened to Me While Traveling

Many travel blogs tend to only focus on the positive aspects of travel. This is understandable, as this is what most people want to read about. Most of us want a visual escape or something uplifting to fill our imagination. No one wants to hear about the time you got sick or when you were mugged. However, these experiences are the reality of travel. You are out seeing the world. Of course you will discover things that make you sad or sick to your stomach (literally and figuratively). Instead of pretending these things don’t happen, I think they should be embraced. After all, one of the greatest gifts of travel are the life lessons we learn along the way. Through every mishap, or day from hell, there is a valuable lesson. So, here are the worst things that happened to me while traveling and what can be learned from it!

Running out of Money in Cuba

Years ago, I went on my first solo trip to Cuba. Two major challenges of traveling Cuba at this time included no wifi and no ATMs accepting American cards. So, what Americans do is bring cash since we can’t withdraw cash or use our cards for payment.

Being the 23 year old I was, I failed to manage my money properly and found myself down to my last $6 for my last two days while in Vinales Valley. With no way to withdraw money, no travel buddy to rely on, and no wifi to ask family for help, I was in quite a bad situation.

When I ran out of money, it forced me to use the very little Spanish I knew, go into more local areas, and buy things the local way so I could pay things at the CUC (local) prices.

This was actually awesome, and a much more culturally fulfilling experience. I got to see a more authentic way of everyday life in Havana instead of the tourist version. But $6 is still $6, and I was down to my last $2 by the last day.

When you Run Out of Money Overseas

I basically accepted that I’d starve, and only use my money for bottled water. Since I had no money to spend on any paid activities, I spent my last day wandering around Havana just talking to people. This ended up being the best day of the trip.

I met people who within seconds invited me into their home for their child’s birthday party, where they overfed me amazing homemade food. Shortly after, I was invited by another family to have dinner in an upscale restaurant. I met amazing people all day who had very little, but still eager to offer me something. A group of musicians I met didn’t even have cups for their rum, and drank from an empty cigarette carton. Even they tried to offer me the little snacks they had, which I declined, but the kindness didn’t go unnoticed. It was overwhelming how much generosity I was shown by complete strangers, so much that I will never forget that day.

Life Lesson: People are generally kind and help is always there when you truly need it.

Flood in Vietnam

My first time in Hoi An started as an amazing trip. This is easily one of the most amazing places in Vietnam.

Unfortunately, I visited during what I didn’t realize was rain season in Central Vietnam. One day started off beautifully sunny, but by midday the river began to rise. It happened so fast. Somewhere upstream there had been heavy rain, and suddenly my rental bike and I were cornered by rapidly rising waters.

The locals however, are too used to this. Within minutes I saw people coming through what was a pedestrian street, on boats. They picked up the tourists and gave us life jackets. My bike did not make it, but I was not penalized by the rental company later on.

Later in the afternoon the flood got deep enough that had I tried to stand in it, in some areas I’d have to swim. The bottom floor of my hotel was flooded, and was only reachable by boat. Even the next morning, I had a car pick me up, but he could not reach me due to the flood. I had to come to him by boat instead.

A Nightmare for Me, is Normal Life for Locals

What really struck me in this situation, was that after speaking with the locals, they said this is normal and it happens every year. They are just expecting their city to flood, and have to live with these conditions. I rowed by house after house that was submerged under water on the first floor. It still pains my heart to realize people live like this, but somehow still find ways to thrive and persevere. Especially as a first generation child of Vietnamese immigrants, it hits closer to home realizing it could have easily been my life.

We take so much for granted. If we knew the challenges other people face and still find ways to live happily, the problems we have seem so small.

Life Lesson: Be grateful for the privileges and conveniences we take for granted.

Spider Attack in Greece

This may not be considered a “worst thing to happen” for most, but for me it was. Long story short, I have a hugely irrational fear of spiders. They scare me so much, I’d almost considered not traveling to exotic places, because that’s where I envisioned waking up to a spider on my face.

Whenever I’d slept in a jungle hut in Southeast Asia, or in camp in the wilderness in Africa, I was always on edge about potentially gigantic spider encounters. This was a real cause for anxiety for me, which I am embarrassed to admit.

So naturally, the one and only time a HUGE spider has ever jumped on me, was in the bathtub in Mykonos. It’s the last place I’d have expected it, especially because I was staying in a very nice hotel. It happened so fast, and my natural reaction was to scream my ass off and run out of the bathroom naked. You can imagine my friend’s reaction. It took our friendship to another level, if you know what I mean.

Through this ordeal, I faced one of my biggest travel fears. What was comical was it was in the last place I’d have expected it. All those days and nights spent worrying about encountering a spider, and it happened anyway. This is a reminder that fear is a nonsensical emotion. No amount of worrying or avoidance could have stopped the situation from happening. And when it did, I was totally fine.

Life Lesson: Fear is the most useless emotion, and even when faced with our worst fears we can survive

Motorbike Accident in Indonesia

Then there was the time I was hit by a garbage truck while sitting on the back of a motorbike on Lombok. We were on the way to Tiu Kilep, the most anticipated waterfall of my month long trip to Lombok. After an hour and a half on the bike, a garbage truck on our left failed to see us, and tried to make a right turn.

The whole situation is almost hilarious in a way. The garbage truck was covered in Hello Kitty stickers, and I remember seeing it come at us in slow motion. I thought “Of course this is how I’m going to die. By getting hit by a Hello Kitty Garbage Truck”.

Well, he hit us, and the damage was done but we weren’t critically injured. He ram into our left side, and we flew off the bike far enough to avoid getting ran over. Up until this point, I’d been traveling Southeast Asia for months. I had become too comfortable with riding on motorbikes, and ignored the dangers. It’s hard not to when most travelers use motorbike, it’s just the normal way of getting around.

After that situation it reminded me that I’m not invincible and that safety should be taken seriously. I had side and leg pain, plus bruising for the rest of the month, but I was lucky to be alive and not badly injured.

Life Lesson: You are not invincible; safety should be taken more seriously.

Car Crash in Namibia

The only near death experience I’ve ever had was in Namibia. We had just picked up our rental car in Windhoek, the capital, and had been on the road for only a couple hours, on the way to Sossusvlei Desert. We were on a particularly treacherous stretch of road that was covered in large loose gravel. At some point, the driver lost control of the car at high speeds, and we spun out of control.

Luckily, Namibia is a very desolate country, and there were no other cars or large objects nearby to hit. If there were, I don’t think I’d be here today. Instead, we flipped over and landed off the road in the desert.

Again, it all happened in slow motion. Not to be cliche but I did have the “life flashing before your eyes” moment. As the car was flipping over, with glass and sand flying all around, I thought about the fact I wasn’t ready to die. I thought about all the things I didn’t do yet. It was a very eye opening split second that felt like ages, and when it was over, I was so happy to be alive I cried. Although this was easily the scariest moment in my life, I had a new appreciation and perspective on life. It really can be taken away at any time. The fact I walked away from that, and lived to see the sunset that day made me feel like the luckiest human alive.

Life Lesson: Appreciate and enjoy life everyday, it really can be gone in the blink of an eye.

Lockdown in South Africa

Although almost dying in Namibia was the worst physically scary moment in my life, getting stuck in South Africa alone during the first lockdown was the most psychologically tough. The couple weeks leading up to this were just insane. Flight to the US were banned from South Africa, catching an unnamed upper respiratory viral infection and being told to quarantine, all the while watching world borders close on the news.

This all came to a climax when South Africa was due to go into total lockdown in 3 days. At the time, it was unclear what this meant, but having to quarantine, I did not get a chance to fly home before the lockdown. By the time I got to the airport, my flight was canceled, followed by the closure of the all the airports in South Africa.

The person I was traveling with made his flight the day before, so I was alone. So, I was at the airport, amidst panicking tourists also grappling at the non-existent chance of getting a flight. It was pure chaos, but I was alone and had to figure out what to do. I basically had a couple hours to book an apartment, get there, and go to the supermarket to buy supplies before entering the 100 day lockdown, which was regarded as one of the strictest in the world. It was the most stressful day of my life.

65 Days Alone

I made it, but the months that followed were a true test for my mental state. There was no way of going home, and was stuck in a global pandemic alone. If I allowed my thoughts to stray, I started feeling utterly panicked and trapped. At the time, it was scary not knowing where this would lead, and not knowing how long I’d be stuck like that.

Honestly, I am damn proud of how well I took care of myself in this time. I used this time to work on myself, my mental health, my fitness, and my blog. I learned how to cook better, took online courses, and really showed up for myself in ways I never have. It was a real lesson in self care and self love.

Life Lesson: I am a capable and resourceful person. I trust myself to get through anything life may ever throw my way. I love me.

And that wraps up this review of the worst things that happened to me while traveling. These incidents don’t even mention the numerous minor inconveniences that come up during travel, like food poison, getting robbed, or getting sick to name a few. But throughout these things, you learn to become more resilient and easy going. Things that would have ruined my day before hardly phase me anymore. Thats the greatest lesson travel teaches you. To embrace every experience as part of life, and to find the positives in any situation.

And you? What’s the worst thing thats happened to you while traveling? Let me know below!