#1

I walked outside and realized I lived in oklahoma. Went right back in the house. Terrifying.
#2

A long time ago, 1982, I was flying to Thailand from the United States. We had a stop in Belgium and then at Dubai airport. There was a lot of tension with Iran at the time so security at Dubai was very tight. We were going to be allowed to get off the plane but were warned not to take any photos. I stuck my small instamatic camera in my inside jacket pocket, rather than leave it on the plane as it was being cleaned and serviced.
The plane stopped on the tarmac and a set of rolling steps was used for us to leave. Armed soldiers were on either side of the line of people going into the terminal and we were marched, at a very fast pace inside.
When we were allowed to get back onto the plane it had been moved to a typical gate we could enter from inside the building. Each person was being patted down before being allowed on. As a solder was patting me down his hand hit my camera. He began shouting at me in Arabic, I didn’t speak the language so, I did not understand what he was saying. He motioned to my pocket, indicating he wanted me to remove what was there. I slowly swung open my jacket as he pointed his weapon at my chest and took the safety off. I figured I was in trouble for having a camera, as we were warned to not take pictures. He continued to talk very fast as I very slowly reached into the inside pocket of my jacket and pulled out my camera. As soon as he saw it was a camera he made a spitting sound, turned away from me and waved at me to get on the plane. No big deal, I guess, well other than having an agitated soldier point a weapon at my chest with the safety off.

#3

So… there were scary roadtrips for sure (flash floods, forest fires, etc) but this… for me personally was scariest. It was Christmas day, we were headed back to Canada. We were in Georgia and there was a problem with our hotel room it hasn’t been cleaned there were chicken bones on a plate in the bed and pee on the bathroom floor… just gross. So they got us a room at a sister hotel about 2hrs away. We went there, were completely exhausted so after checking in we went to get dinner. By this point it’s like 10pm, the only place open was a wafflehouse (kind of like depressing denny’s for those that don’t know the brand). We went in and, to put it lightly, everyone inside seemed like someone should do a wellness check in them (e.g two teens were clearly strung out, there was a filthy screaming baby that looked like it hadn’t been bathed in weeks yet the parents had new IPhones, a domestic violence situation was going on, etc). Everyone stared at us as we sat down. After about 10minutes the police show up… in my head it’s because of the methheads screaming and throwing things or the woman actively scared of her skinhead bf. The officers said a quick hello to a methhead, ask them to say hello to their mom and then came right over to us. They sat down at our booth blocking us from being able to get up. Now, my mum is black; my dad is white and I’m visibly mixed. Everyone in the diner is white including the cops. They wanted our names, our addresses, our car info, our ID’s, our room info. Where we are staying, how long and if we had firearms. They made it incredibly clear that we were not welcome in their town and that «people like [us]» should be cautious in this area. They suggested we be careful «flaunting [our] lifestyle.» They asked for our food to come out to go and did not leave until we had left. When our food came they stood up and put their hands on their holsters and told us to have a good night while we grabbed our things and left. As we went outside I could see a confederate bumper stick and trump pence bumper stickbon the police vehicle. We ended up begrudgingly staying over in town as it was too late to leave and the hotel owner was really sweet (originally from macon). We had promised the officer we’d be gone by 8, we left at 7am the next day and did not look back. I love Georgia but that experience was the last time I went to into the mountains in rural georgia. Like I literally didn’t sleep that night, They were so… scary that I thought I was not going to survive the night. He made me feel like he was disgusted that I even existed and it was truly disturbing.

#4

Someone pointed a gun out the window of their car at my then girlfriend (now wife) and me. They pulled the trigger but gun wasn’t loaded. They laughed and drove away.

#5

Went on a trip with my sister last year to see a show three states over. Middle of the night we stopped for gas and this kinda seedy looking gas station. I wanted to wait til the next one but sister didn’t think we’d make it much further.
So we try to pay with card and of course the machine doesn’t work, meaning we’re gonna have to go in to pay and there’s no way either of us is going alone, so we walk inside together and ask the girl at the register to put 20 on pump 3. And while we’re standing there these two guys off to the side make some comment about a two for one special. It takes me a moment to realize they’re talking about me and my sister, not a product, and the cashier responds before either of us can.
«Look I’m not dealing with your sh*t tonight. Why dont you go harass them at pump 3 and get the hell out of here?»
We’re both extremely shocked. I mean, seriously? We’re hardly the only people in here and your just gonna throw us AND our car to these creeps because your tired??
My sister looks these guys dead in the face and tells them if they come near her f*cking car, she’ll hit them with it. They seemed to back off.
I stood with her while she filled the tank, we moved to hop in the car, and from behind us one of the guys got his phone out and shouts
«MTY huh? Like Mitty or like Empty?» We ignored him.
It was only a few hours later, when we stopped next, that I realized what he’d been referring to.
MTY. It was the letters on the end of her license plate. Which I’m almost positive he’d taken a picture of.
She ended up changing her plate real soon after that trip.

#6

Many years ago I took a trip with my girlfriend to Paris. It was something we joked about on our first date and we made it happen 2 years later. We were both in our early 20’s and it was the early 90’s. We scrimped and saved for a year and we rented a couple rooms in a very, very old apartment building to spend a month there.

The day of the flight to Paris, we were both excited and scared at the same time. Neither of us had ever been on an adventure like this. The plane took off and we were on our way.

About an hour into the flight, the pilot came on and made an announcement in French. People on the plane started to look around nervously and I could tell what ever it was, it wasn’t good.

I asked my GF what was said because she was fluent in French and I could barely ask where the restroom was. She told me that there was a small problem with the plane and that we were turning around to go back to San Francisco. I tried to remain calm, cool and collected but on the inside I was freaking the f*ck out.

When we got back to SF and landed, ALL OF THE FIRETRUCKS AND AMBULANCES we’re on the tarmac. We were able to land and everyone inside the plane started clapping and cheering because weren’t dead.

We had to wait on the plane for 4 hours while they fixed the issue. That s*cked but, again, we weren’t dead and the champagne was now free.

After things were fixed, we took off and the rest of the flight was uneventful.

Turns out that there was some sort of issue with the landing gear/system. If they would have continued with the flight, we’d have, at least, made it to Paris before we crashed and died.

The rest of the trip went nothing like we had planned but that’s a story for another time.

#7

Years ago, my cousin received tickets to a Kiss concert for his birthday and took me along as we were only born 6 days apart and were best friends. I lived about 40 minutes from our hometown and the concert was another 2 hours and 15 minutes from my apartment so he was going to pick me up on the way and then spend the night at my place before going home. His engine blew on the way down to get me and my uncle had to come bring him their ‘extra in case someone needs it beater car’. This put us 30 minutes behind schedule so we decided to take a shortcut to shave off some time and we ended up lost in the ghetto of a major city. I was wearing a red bandanna on my head and my cousin is heavy metaled out driving a beat up old person car and turns out we were in Crip territory and people were staring us down hard. We had to stop at a light and a man approached openly carrying a gun. He told us he was doing us a favor, because he could tell we were just two lost white kids, and let us know what territory we were in and that I needed to lose the bandanna, etc. He then told us how to get out of area and back to the highway. We were so scared for a few minutes and then it turned to being grateful that we were approached by a Crip with a conscious. And yes I left the bandanna off the rest of the night!

#8

I was in the Air Force from 84 to 90 then Reserves from 90 to 96. During my reserve time, we were traveling from Youngstown Ohio to RAF Upper Heyford in England. Flying in a C-130 we needed to stopover in Lajes Field in the Azores.
About an hour outside of Lajes we hit some terrible weather. If you have never flown in a C-130, there’s not really seats. All the gear is on pallets in the center line of the completely open fuselage and there are pull down «seats» along both sides of the plane facing the middle.
The weather got so bad I was afraid the pallets would come loose and crush us. Now the C-130 is an AWESOME aircraft. Stable, can fly just about anywhere, it’s even the largest plane to land on an aircraft carrier and is even equipped for snow ski landings. It’s a beast.
We’re on final approach and bouncing up and down, side to side and I’m thinking «THIS IS IT! THIS IS HOW I DIE!»
We hit the runway so hard and was tipping at about a 30 degree angle I thought we were going to flip. The pilots did a great job but we still went off the runway and had to do an emergency exit into the storm.
I was never so glad to put my feet on the ground.

Trouble was, we had to get back on the plane the next day to complete our journey. Not THAT was rough!

#9

Driving from Massachusetts up to Maine to visit family. The weather reports said there might be flurries along the way, but nothing to worry about. When we left our house, there was a light drizzle. Not far up the highway, it began to ice, then snow. Suddenly, there was a lot of snow and we watched cars and tractor-trailer trucks spin off the road on all sides. Since the weather forecast hadn’t seen this storm coming, the roads were untreated. I just focused as hard as possible on stying in what I hoped was the center lane as the weather got worse. I didn’t dare pull into the breakdown lane and stop for fear of being hit. The snow got heavier, turned to ice and back to snow again. Based on where we were, we knew our only escape hope was to make it to Rt. 1 in Kittery, where we knew there’d be places to safely park + food and motels. My wife kept giving directions from her phone that mapped with my memory and we just kept moving until we reached a parking lot in Kittery and were safe. Once stopped, we both broke into tears from the experience. When we looked at the weather map on our phones, an ice storm surrounded us and all we could do was wait until it ended. Finally the warm front came north enough that we could head back home.

#10

In the start of July 2016 I had to go to Istanbul Turkey to repatriate the body of my late brother in law who had died from Dengue fever while on route to Denmark from Uganda. Landed in Atatürk airport at a terminal that had been bombed on the 28th of June killing 45 (plus 3 perpetrators) and injuring 230. Cloth had been put up to cover the damage building. So that gave some cause for concern…

Fast forward 5 days to the 15th of July. All matter regarding my late bil. taken care of, I headed back to the Airport to return to Denmark.

There was a strange feel to the city that morning. And as I arrived at the airport I realised that a military coup was full swing!! Everyone scrambling to the gates. And as we took off we saw tanks smashing the fences to the airport and very visible gunfights too. Crikey!!!!
But in the air we went. And landed in Frankfurt a couple of hours later visibly relieved.

I was tired, it had been 5 challenging days. I just wanted to pass security and find my connecting flight to Denmark. And passing security is always a bit of a hassle due to numerous implants in my body. I basically light up like a Christmas tree when going through various metal detectors and scanners.

But… Remember that bombing on the 28th of June?

Going through security my Carry On tested positive for explosives!
12 seconds.. That’s exactly how long it takes for 2 stern looking German Police Officers armed with machine guns to materialise and pin you to a wall.

I didn’t catch my connecting flight until I was released some time later, now practically glow in the dark from all the x-rays and scans.

#11

We were going to my Grandparents’ house and right in the country, the car stopped like, dead bolted. I was terrified it was 8 pm and the starting signs of civilization were 70 miles away… Until the kind passerby or rather the Good Samaritan helped us get that car started again.
PS there was no cell service.

#12

Years ago (pre-COVID) I was visiting a friend in Niagara Falls NY and we took the walking bridge into Canada for a nice night out. (I was born in Canada but moved to the US as a child.) On the way back, a young customs agent asked me at the border back into the US “Where were you born?” I say “Canada.” He then asks “How long will you be visiting the US?” I reply “I live here.” I had recently gotten married so when he went to look me up in the computer, my name wasn’t found. And neither was my maiden name! He then asked me for my green card, to which I responded that I’m a US citizen who was naturalized, and he didn’t believe me! I told him I can prove it, my mother is American. Then he looked HER up, and couldn’t find her either! Mum has been married three times and after being detained for almost two hours we finally discovered that in the citizenship database they have her listed not under her birth name, or her current married name, or even her first husband’s name, but under the last name of my father (husband 2). It might not seem very harrowing, but for two solid hours I was terrified that they weren’t going to let me back in!

#13

Not my story, but my brother’s…

I have three younger siblings (one sister and two brothers). My whole family went on our annual trip to South Dakota. We decided to hike up Mt. Coolidge. The hike is about a mile and a half up a twisty gravel road, so sight is limited. Since we all walk at different speeds, we all got somewhat separated from each other. I was way ahead of everyone. At some point, my brother (F) looked back to see how far behind the other four people were. F only saw my dad and other brother (D) walking together. F continued up the mountain. Eventually, me and my two brothers met at the top of the mountain. F asked D where our dad was. D had absolutely no idea what F was talking about. D said our dad was at least a 1/4 to a 1/2 a mile behind us the whole time. Our dad eventually made it up the hill and confirmed that he had never walked with D. To this day, F insists he saw a ghost walking beside D. Creeps me out because we were in the middle of the Black Hills in the middle of no where.

#14

the only time i kind of panicked was when i was in the Caribbean and decided that i wanted to learn how to scuba. after taking the classes we go off into that beautiful clear blue water. since this was for beginners we weren’t going to go more than 40-50 ft under. there were about six of us newbies with the dive master. prior to going under the dive master goes over all the safety issues again, including covering what kind of sea creatures we may encounter. it was fascinating to be able to look down above the water and not see a single fish but as soon as you are under water there were just schools of different species, all colorful. as you can imagine, we were all excited once we were under. i was at the back of the pack following along with the others when the person in front of me accidently kicked me in face, knocking my mask off and my regulator out of my mouth. i manage to get the regulator fairly quickly back in and, thankfully, i had been able to catch my mask before it was out of reach. so, i take the time to get the mask back on, get the water out of it, and adjust the fit and get ready to go when i realize that i am all alone in this deep blue. i look around and see nothing but a few fish and the water is so clear you can see out quite a way. but, in my panicked mind, i thought, holy c**p….i am in someone else’s home and there are things bigger than me out here. i finally calm down and see some bubbles coming over an outcropping of rock and coral and flippered my happy butt over to the rest of the group. it may not seem like a scary moment to some but when you are not in your natural environment, you are warned that sharks are in the area (but normally don’t bother you…yeah, right), you’re a scuba virgin and you feel like you are lost it is not a moment of calm. but i still intend to go back and do it all over again.

#15

I accidentally walked off a cliff. I fell into water, so I was fine, but I seriously wonder how braindead I was that I casually walked straight over a cliff! The other tourists were not impressed.

#16

We were staying in a cabin in Shenandoah National Park and decided to drive the length of Skyline Drive. It’s a beautiful drive with incredible vistas into valleys below. We got to the end and turned around to start making the drive back to our cabin about 50 miles away. Suddenly a very dense fog descended and night began to fall. I white-knuckled that long, scary drive going about 15-20 miles an hour barely able to see the tail lights of the car in front of me on some pretty steep curves. What was most terrifying was when the taillights would disappear and I would think they just drove off the edge. Then they would reappear again right in front of me. I could hardly see the sheer rock walls beside me. Imagine diving with your windshield painted. When we finally saw the entrance to our campground area I felt the most relief I’ve ever felt in my life. The drive back took almost two hours and I was vividly and painfully alert for every single second of it.

#17

Many years ago. Driving in a Toronto neighbourhood at like 5pm or sth. Guy cuts me off, I utter something to myself, he sees me through his mirror,gets out of his car with a machete on his hand. I drove off in like 1 second

#18

Malaria in Malawi in 22 years ago. At the time Malawi was the 3rd poorest country in the world. Nicest people in the world though. They were still reusing needles in Africa at that time in some places. Spent 4 days in the hospital with a Quinine drip. Apparently, they thought I was going to die. I was out of it most of the time. I wasn’t scared, but my husband still will not tell me the sights he saw in the hospital. We were newlyweds and this man slept on the hard floor every night to make sure they used new needles. He also cleaned the hospital room and private bathroom with bleach before he would let me leave the bed, once I was able to. I am alive because I was a tourist and could afford to pay for the hospital and my husband made sure they used new needles. I owe him and those African doctors my life. I never really had thought about white privilege before but now I will never forget it. I still have survivor’s guilt over it.

#19

Stopped at a diner in a very small town on my way to TN. Waited for the bathroom for 10 mins as the door was locked. Finally asked the waitress if maybe no one was in there and she explained that unfortunately some truckers will fall asleep in there. «They’ve been on the road for hours, hun.»

Long story short…guy was dead on the toilet. No one was shocked except me. It was as if it happened on a regular basis.

#20

(I am a US Navy Vet.)

At the onset of September 11, 2001.
Operation Enduring Freedom

Backstory:
I was deployed from my East Coast Command (Yes, I was stationed in DC when 9/11 happened) to my West Coast Command (a *Boat* SHIP/ Aircraft Carrier Nuclear Power). They (the Boat) had already set sail, for (the coast/off coast) Afghanistan. With our Battlegroup.

Made it to the West Coat:
I had to check in with the Base Admin office. Base Admin, sent message to my Boat, letting them know I had checked in and my estimated travel time.
I was issued my travel vouchers, my airline tickets, travel money, updated orders. Along with my travel briefing (Traveling While Active Military, during War Time.)

What Happened While Traveling:
1st/2nd Airport (US)
We (there was like 40 of us traveling together) made it to the US airport.
The Yeoman that made the travel arrangements did NOT pay attention, while booking our flights. Said Yeoman, first of all, overbook the flight by over 100 people on the first flight (1st delay by 10 hours). We had to go back to Base, and wait for our flight. No, we did not want to wait at the USO in the airport, due to other military personnel flying through and needed the space more than us.

3rd airport (Overseas).
Boarding the Plane.
This big commotion started. We were so confused, at the fuss going on. We have been traveling all day.

Mistakes were made. We were booked on a flight going to Afghanistan, instead of Bahrain. They got up from their seats and started running toward us, to fight. People were hurt. I was more unsettled/irked than scared. We had to have the people from the local US Air Force Base to come get us, rebook our flights. They (USAF) had to call the nearest Naval Station to get this Clusterf*ck settled.

We were still HOURS away from getting to Bahrain, and our Boat.

Finally, made it to Bahrain.
So, we board our Helicopter, to take us to our Boat.

Helicopter, decided it was NOT having it that day. We get over the water. We see our Boat, in the distance. The Pilot is like we have to turn around, NOW.

Helicopter starts shaking and we smell smoke. We SEE SMOKE. Pilot tells us not to worry, he and his crew has it all under control. We LAND back on base safely. I sit on the ground, ( with several others) until one of the crew from the helicopter comes over and sits down with us. He starts talking with us.
I look at him and say: I am not moving from this spot, until someone brings me a phone (cordless), so I can talk to my mother. I just saw all of my 28 years of life flash in front of me.

He cracks up laughing and says I will pay for your call and food if you just come with me. You all, are blocking the other Helicopters from landing. (did not realize we had sat down in the landing area for the helicopters)
I look up, and sure enough, there are like 3 of them, waiting to land. LMAO.

Note: I tried to keep out as much of my personal information as possible. If you are doubting my recalling of this. I am ok with all of that.

#21

Finding out emergency door on plane could have flown off in the air, I was seated in that seat

#22

Getting heatstroke and passing out while on a stopover in St Louis. Being a pasty limey I had no idea what being in 30 degree heat was like back then, but of course now it’s the norm every summer even over here

#23

Travelling from a remote Aboriginal community in outback Australia in a Cessna 206… the pilot was a little nervous … calling up on the radio and slowing the engine .
We eventually arrived at the our home airstrip. I asked the pilot if there was a problem … he took me to the front of the plane and grabbed hold of one of the two propeller blades which just flopped around loose in its housing .
The only thing stopping the propeller from flying off was a retaining ring.
Pilot reckons it was touch and go there and we had only just made it back.
Almost had an underwear mishap right there and then.

#24

Once went to my friends house (lives in the middle of yeehawville) but on the way there in one of the neighboring towns, we went down this one street in which people started to get closer to the car in which i realized they had knives and baseball bats and horrible things of that nature. So i then told my parents to go a decent chunk faster than they were to avoid being jumped or whatever they planned to do, we then passed them and one began waving their knife around like a trophy, we all are still ok today.

#25

When I heard children playing and laughing outside my hotel room. At 3 a.m. And it happens many times at different cities, different hotels. Since then I’m struggling to trust my own hearing, especially in the late night.

#26

A high school teacher would take students abroad every summer. In Paris, the bus stopped for a souvenir run. We were told to be back in ten minutes. I was late, and the bus left without me. My teacher had four students, including me. The other group who shared our bus had 24 teens and three adults. The leader of the other group was the one who noticed I was missing, an hour and a half later. They went back to the shop, but Montezuma got me, and I’d gone to find a bathroom. Afterwards, I had an ice cream, got on the subway, and rode to our station. I went to our hotel and filled out my travel diary. Why scary? I didn’t speak a word of French. My teacher knew I’d be sensible, and kept calling our hotel room. The phone’s ringer was broken. She heard the rings on her end, but the phone in the room didn’t ring. Since I didn’t answer, I obviously wasn’t at the hotel, so I had to be lost in a huge city, in a foreign country, with no language. Those were the longest three hours of my teacher’s life.

#27

I went to Minsk in 2017. The trip itself was fine, beautiful city and the people were lovely, even entertaining my sorry attempts to try to speak Russian.

The scary part happened the morning I left. I’m type 1 diabetic and had a very low blood sugar episode in my sleep, woke up incredibly confused and had to drag myself to the shared kitchen of the guesthouse to try to find something with carbohydrates. (I’d bought snacks the night before but was too confused to find them when waking.)

The other guests, who spoke no English at all, heard me making noise trying to get food at 5am and came to help me, getting me juice and bread. They then helped me get cleaned up a little and made sure I had my stuff together for the flight.

The taxi driver to the airport was nice, but only accepted cash, which I didn’t have so it was a mad dash to the ATM at the airport and then to meet with disability services to get me to the plane. I was out of it the whole time, still coming back from waking up with my sugar so low, and it was just a terrifying experience.

I’m very lucky everyone was so kind to me. Managed to make the flight and got a free sandwich on the plane when I explained I’d been having blood sugar issues.

#28

Rural highway. Five years old. Have to pee. Mom pulls over. Find a bush. Before I finish, she drives off. I wait. And wait. Start thumbing it. 10 minutes later, catch a ride. It’s Mom.

#29

I went to Glasgow once. I remember it much as one recalls a dream… or a nightmare. I was on a budget flight to Norway, when a storm hit and forced us to ditch in Glasgow Prestwick. I was stranded, and it’s so hilly up there you can’t get any signal on your mobile phone. It looked bad…it looked like I was going to have to spend the night in Glasgow. The cabin crew suggested we all go out and club it. I had no option; it was that or one of there B&Bs. I figured it’d be safer on the streets.

For the first time ever I saw the Scotch in their natural habitat, and it weren’t pretty. I’d seen them huddling in stations before being loud, but… this time I was surrounded. Everywhere I went it felt like they were watching me; fish-white flesh puckered by the Highland breeze; tight eyes peering out for fresh meat; screechy, booze-soaked voices hollering out for a taxi to take ‘em halfway up the road to the next all-night watering hole. A shatter of glass; a round of applause; a sixteen-year-old mother of three vomiting in an open sewer, bairns looking on, chewing on potato cakes.

I ain’t never going back… not never.

Dirk Dagless, Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace.

#30

Traveling to the US for work two weeks after 9/11 … besides that I just became a father and developed fear for flying instantaneously. Took me 10 years to get rid of it

#31

I went to Canada and the people were not nice. For example, I smiled at a cashier while buying a jacket and he made a rude comment about me. Nothing really mean, but… where have all the nice Canadians gone?

#32

Easy. Not sure if ‘travel’, but once I was on vacation with BFFs and they decided upon this huge water park with a near vertical water slide. Sounded pretty bad for me, who had fear of heights, the kind where you black out and stuff. Plus fear of deep water. The slide had both.
I literally was pushed down the slide by the CROWD because they were angry I was blocking up the line. I literally flew right out of the TRACK and nearly landed on a big doggo and its owner, and the dog jumped a meter.
It sounds funny now but definitely scary at the time. They were fine, but because the protective stuff had flown right out of my hands I had a few bruises and stuff.
The safety coach said I was too light.

#33

My grandfather passed away unexpectedly. He lived in Arkansas, we lived in California. We mounted a family convoy to head out there. My dad, cousin, niece and I rode with my sister and my uncles and aunts drove their vehicles. We had pulled over at a very nice rest stop in Texas. We spent a good 1/2hr, 40 mins there. My cousin had opted to stay in the van because she had undone her pants top button and had painted her nails (She’s an adult) We all tell her she should try to get out and go to the bathroom cause it will be a long drive to the next stop. she declines.

We load up and head out. No sooner than we get past the point of no return on the on-ramp, she pipes up that she has to go!! She has IBS and was claiming an episode was a rumbling. I got on the walkie talkies we were using to advise that we’d have to take the next off ramp.

We did, and there was only a sketchy looking road side thrift store. We pulled up, she jumped and ran in. This was the type of the place that had a black velvet John Wayne painting, a bunch of ancient cowboy boots and a party/ disco light show projector in the window. After a while, the uncles got worried and went in to check on her. They came back out and said the place was a real flea trap, but that she should be ok. About that time she comes hauling a**e to the van, jumps in and starts screaming at my sister to ,»GO GO GO!!!» We peel out and get back on the freeway, my sis is checking side and rear view mirrors to see if we’ve been followed.

We are all freaking out asking her what the heck happened. She explained that the bathroom had a sign admonishing people to not throw anything, including toilet paper into the toilet. She figured she wasn’t about to throw the paper she used to clean up after her explosive IBS ordeal into the trash and figured what harm could it really do? Wrong question. apparently her fecund deposit backed up the toilet and it was threatening to over flow. So, she did what any rationally terrified person might do, flushed it again. this time it did over flow. She reached down to put the lid down and I guess the toilet had held a tenuous grip on its wax ring that it now completely let go of so all of it it just went spilling across the floor headed for the door. She yelped and ran, closing the door behind her and raced the smell of her treachery out of there.

I have nothing but the deepest sympathy for the owners of that shop.

#34

when I was 8/9, I went to Japan with my family for summer vacation, and when we boarded, I asked if I can go to another seat close to a window, and my parents said yes. Turns out, a perv had a seat next to me, and for the whole trip, he kept creeping me out. When the flight was over and we were in Japan, even the hike up Mt. Fuji didn’t cheer me up!

#35

Driving through the Daintree rainforest, northern Australia, in the dark. Fog so thick you couldn’t see 5 metres in front of you, signs every 500 metres saying «watch for cassowaries», a windy road, no headlights to follow… so many insane moments where we were less than a foot away from the edge of this road. This lasted about 45 minutes.

#36

This is probably not as exciting as others, but my experiences with travelling have always been smooth sailing so this particular experience got me good.
L o n g story simplified, I found myself walking through a dense Russian forest with a bunch of local kids when I was around seven. My Russian was supbar at best (I grew up in Canada and only spoke Russian with my family) so I don’t know why I was dragged into the expedition in the first place. I vividly remember my grandfather telling me it was the day before the longest day of the year, and since we left later in the afternoon I felt uneasy about how long we’ve been walking and how long it would take to get back. At one point a boy was ready to call quits, only to get laughed at by the others. He and I looked at eachother, having that mental agreement that we were on the same page, and turned around to head back together.
Turns out, not only was that part of the forest untouched by the locals but was actually prohibited to enter because of war stuff that happened in the area. A search party went out when the boy undoubtedly told his parents where the rest of the kids went, and when my grandfather asked me if I knew anything I played dumb and told him I hung out in the garden with my great-grandmother all day.
To my knowledge, all the kids were found and brought back *the next fricking morning*. Only God knows what went down throughout the night and I’m glad every day I decided to turn back when I did.

#37

was not really traveling but i did travel a bit
1984, Honduras sitting on lowered tail ramp of a chinook helicopter with my m-60 machine gun at about 300 feet in the air when pilot decided to swiftly turn right i slid on my butt from the middle of the tailgate to the left side with my butt cheeks trying to clamp on to a rivet as i slid

#38

Flight to China at 18 to stay with a host family. My first time ever travelling all by myself. I was supposed to call my host once I landed at Beijing International. So, I pop up at that (crazy huge) airport, whip out my cellphone (specifically got a phone card for China) and call the number my host family gave me – only to get a automatic message saying «Your phone call has been [unintelligible due to heavy accent]»
So I’m standing there at a huge-a*s airport in fricking China, speaking only like four words of Mandarin, and can’t call my host. The solution was (luckily) unspectacular: After briefly panicking I turned to the airport personnel and they called the number for me. All turned out well in the end and was one of my most treasured experiences in life

#39

2016 – Traveling to India from US for work. Was taking an Arab/Middle Eastern airline. Checking routes on one of the flight websites showed flying over Syria. But before that was checking one of the other airlines in my alliance and it showed flying over Ukraine (after MH17). Was like WTH? Found the right flight path on Arab/Middle Eastern airline and my fear subsided greatly. (And yes, Arab. The airline is based on the Arabian peninsula).

#40

When my brother and I were little, he ALWAYS got sick on trips; to the beach, mountains, grandparents, anywhere. So one time we took a train to Charlotte, North Carolina and my brother got sick. We didn’t want to leave with him sick, especially on the train, so we stayed another day. Not bad, extra vacation riiight?? Well, the train the next day had issues, so instead of leaving at noon, we’d leave at 3pm. Okay. It would be a three hour train ride back, fine. Normal. We ate dinner at 6 usually, so eat later than ususal, we can eat snacks right?! Alas, the train was fixed other than one thing . . . the headlights. So as it got dark the train slowed down. Like, really slow. At midnight, we finally got off at the stop before ours and took an Uber the rest of the way.

#41

So my now husband and I were traveling to my dream destination – Moscow for NYE. It was a surprisingly warm week for their winter (around 0°C daytime) and the weather was to worsen the night we flew back. Our flight was in the wee hours so we Ubered to the airport and waited for our flight. While we waited, the temperature plummeted. It was around 3am when the blizzard came in. I cannot explain the cold to anyone who hasn’t felt -30°C on their skin (yes, no matter how well dressed we were). When we finally boarded, the plane was put on standby to unfreeze 2 times before it was granted takeoff (they threw some pink foam all over the plane). Back home days later and I saw on the news (something about the Kremlin) an aerial of downtown Moscow, and even the Moscau river was frozen solid. Dodged an ice bullet there…

#42

Flying with my kids (almost 3 and 18mos) to meet grandparents for first time (from Australia to Kansas City). It was December 19. On final approach/touchdown saw fire trucks, rescue, ambulances racing down runway next to us. We made it down OK, without ever knowing what was wrong. I never heard a planeful of people get so quiet. Not a creature was stirring…

#43

In Mexico at a seaside resort, I almost drowned in the neighboring ocean with my brother and mom. There was a way to get to a shallow area more out into the sea with clear blue water, but the waves pushed me into a deep area with 2-4 foot waves that almost drowned my family and me. Thankfully, a kind samaritan saved my mom and brother while I HAD TO SWIM OVER.

#44

Once on my first trip to NYC with a very successful salon, the others decided they wanted designer knock off bags. I didn’t want any part of that. But I was outnumbered. Followed a suspicious character who told us he can help and were let to what appeared to be an abandoned building and we’re robbed at gun point. Everyone brought several hindered dollars each, except me. I had cards and my stuff wasn’t stolen.

Best «I told ya so» walk I’ve ever had.

Talk

#45

In the Chech Republic we had a minor caraccident. Police came, luckily they spoke German (we are Dutch) and they wrote down our story. Then an ambulance came and they and the police stared to demand money. They wanted us to sign all kinds of papers but all of a sudden they do didnt speak German anymore. Things got a bit heated. They threatened to take our car and my husband. We paid a lot of money and months after it turned out they claimed we wrecked the other car for thousands of Euros.
Maybe not scary but I felt really helpless.

#46

Just got my license and was going to visit our mother three hours from home. I was driving my brother’s old old junk car that he had got running again. He was a whiz at this but wasn’t old enough to drive it yet, so I was the driver. We had to go through the Pine Barrens which is basically a very long desolate stretch of highway. Right in the middle the headlights went out! Pitch black middle of nowhere! (No phones then and we hadn’t passed any houses or other places we could walk to for help.Lot of panic on the part of my sister and me! Not my brother. He got out and tinkered around for quite awhile and like magic we had lights again! (He grew up to be a great restorer of vintage cars.)

#47

Boyfriend (over 50) and I (almost 50) and I vacationed in Mexico several months after we met. We boarded the plane but we were not seated together.

I was in an aisle seat and a man and his two young sons were behind me. My seat was kicked a few times before we ever took off. I turned around to give the kid a look and a woman across the aisle and a few rows back piped up “you’ll live”. Hello mom ?

I sucked it up. The kicking continued, occasionally. Later in the flight I turned around and asked the man to please get the kid to stop, that I had back pain.

He got angry and leaned toward me, fussing with a German accent. I really wanted to get just as angry, but thought it best not to embarrass myself. I called the flight attendant. The kicking mostly stopped.

We arrived in Cancun and the wait to get to customs was at least an hour and a half. Really long.

On to the resort!! It was beautiful! Lovely!! Our room was on the second floor, overlooking the beautiful infinity pool!!….and had a stench in the air that smelled of sewage. They didn’t have any other rooms, it was the week before New Years.

We were enjoying ourselves. The nightlife, boyfriend loved to dance. Nice restaurants.

Boyfriend wants to swim with the dolphins.

We decided to rent a car. Rental agency is located in the lobby. Easy. Inspection of the car with the agent. Boyfriend points that the car has a spare on the wheel. Agent shows him, “See, the tire is here in the trunk. No problem.” So we take the car.

It is a long way, including many speed bumps, from the resort to the highway. Highway speed limit is about 55mph. Holding hands, nice!!

Coming in to the first town, cars stopped at the traffic light, boyfriend yells, OMG we don’t have brakes! Suddenly we were stopping. Tires squealing, black smoke and the smell of burned rubber. Passengers of the other cars looking at us like we’re crazy.

Boyfriend was scared sh*t less and only wanted to take the car back to the resort.

The agent listened to our story and told him that he just had to push the brake, and the car would stop.

I talked him into trying again later that afternoon with a different car. We were careful and had a lovely afternoon. He swam with the dolphins. Took a tour of some nice condos and had a late lunch at a really nice sister resort to ours.

We did have a wonderful trip.
And.
I started getting ill on the plane going back. Yep. Food poisoning/something made me really sick at both ends.

* Boyfriend had pumped the brakes to get us to stop
* A mechanic friend told us that the smaller spare tire affected the Anti-lock Brake System. The ABS wasn’t reading the braking signal.

#48

So I was really young and my family was traveling. I had to go to the bathroom, I went with my mom and when I came out I saw a man that looked like my dad.I ran over to him and he was holding a bag I looked in the bag and said «what’s in the bag dad». I looked up to see a strangers face. I was terrified I ran back to my mom and the man never said anything.

#49

I’ve already told my experience with riots in Palestine, so I’m going to go with my #2 travel story.

Driving all the way from Bari to Ancona on my own in January 2017. There was some massive snowstorm a few miles before Pescara – power shutdowns, highways closed, avalanches, the whole shebang. I was stuck on some by-road for hours, and it was pitch black out there.

When power returned they finally reopened the highway to Ancona. It hadn’t been plowed or salted but who cares about safety as long as the tollgates are running?

#50

I walked into my garden and saw a red back spider. my mum killed it by dropping my little brother’s diaper on it. I was scared of the garden for 2 weeks after that

#51

We were moving to hawaii and there was a «shooter» (overheated computer) on the airport and we were delayed for 487947287794871 hours (5 hrs, but same thing!) and our friends had to the same bit in a janitors closet

#52

Went to Knoxville Tennessee and saw a homeless man screaming and talking in tongues/j actually I did see a large homeless population and it’s sad, terrifyingly sad, but my friend saw a man in New York get shot in the leg from her window so…

#53

landed pie airport in Florida thinking it was Orlando. it’s partly an island. lol

#54

Driving an expensive rental car by myself up the highest mountain on Maui. The road that winds up Mount Halelakea (sp?) was the steepest road I had ever drove on, and it was my first time driving on it. I decided to drive myself and save money by not going on a tour bus. I turned around halfway up the mountain because the road, though smooth, was frighteningly steep, and I did not want to my the rental car, or my first trip to Maui.

#55

When I was Young, my family couldn’t find the car keys and i was around 5 at the time, so they looked around for 2 hours before they found it under the cap i was wearing.

#56

When I was in 7th grade, I was in a plane to japan and already 2 hrs out over the ocean when the captain came on the PA and informed us that the plane was losing hydraulic fluid and that they had lost two engines.
They turned the plane around and flew 2 hrs back to San Francisco and the whole time no one knew if we’d be able to land/stop when we got there since the hydraulics were needed for effective landing and stopping.
We had to circle overhead while airport firefighters preemptively sprayed the runway with fire retardant foam. I guess there was a chance we would burst into flames on landing??
Luckily we landed, taxied, and deplaned safely but a little while after we got off apparently the landing gear gave way and the plane collapsed. Our flight made the news in San Francisco and in Japan.

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