Ups and Down – My Best and Worst Experiences Whilst Travelling
Advertisement
Published: July 30th 2014
I like to take risks when I travel, but while I've enjoyed many incredible experiences, some of which I will never forget – the risk has also backfired from time to time. Here are some of my worst travelling experiences (so far). I’ve also included two of my best at the end, just to prove I do have a good time sometimes haha.
The Worst
The Three Day Delay in Marrakech Whilst the thought of a three day extension of a Moroccan holiday may seem like more of a positive than a negative, the real world repercussions were not so great. I had to miss three days of work and felt incredibly guilty for letting my understanding boss down, even though it was not my fault. The airline (not naming names here) eventually reimbursed the costs of the extended stay but it did require a fair amount of chasing. Also, I had not budgeted for this extra stay so couldn’t really splurge as I love to do on holiday – it was three very modestly spent days.
The Torrential Floridian Rain I love a good tropical storm and was one of the few holidaymakers excited by
">the incoming rains when I landed in Florida a couple of years ago. For the first day I planted myself on my hotel balcony and watched the incredible rains and winds cascade down around me. However, when this rain did not cease until my last day in Florida, I felt somewhat short-changed. The flights, hotel and park passes for me and the boyfriend did not come cheap, especially when all we could do was sit in the hotel room and occasionally run to the shop for supplies. One day would have been great, six not so much.
The Putt Putt Bike of Doom The relaxed motorbike rental laws of Vietnam mean that travelling around the beautiful country can be incredibly cheap and simple. Unless you get the ‘Putt Putt Bike of Doom’ as I did one unfortunate afternoon in Da Nang. A drive up the east coast of the country seemed like a pleasant way to take in the beautiful sights and it was, for the first hour. Luckily for me, the front wheel decided to detach itself when I was slowing down so I didn’t hurt myself. The only damage was to my pride as I had to chase my roll-away front tyre past bemused locals. I’m quite certain the macaques I found near my bike after a pit stop had something to do with the loose wheel.
The Best
Sydney by the Sea It is no secret that I am not the most comfortable at sea, so coming into a port is always a welcome sight for me. Combine this with the incredible beauty of the Port of Sydney and you have one of my favourite sights in the whole world. One of the abiding memories of a South Pacific cruise (the one I booked for my parents,
from Cruise1st) is arriving in Sydney at sunrise. The beauty of the scenes managed to cajole me up on the deck, an achievement in itself. I spent the remainder of the day in the city enjoying the shops, museums and galleries as well as the famous Opera House in an almost dreamlike state.
Meeting a Whale ‘Meeting’ may be a slightly generous term for waiting hours to catch a glimpse of a whale, but the experience was still something I will never forget. The size and beauty of the humpback whales I witnessed off Chichagof Island in Alaska on a
Huna Outfitters tour completely blew my mind. It is hard to appreciate their sheer scale until you come face-to-face with the incredible creatures. Chichagof Island and its surrounding waters are truly blessed when it comes to wildlife as I also came close to bears and seals in one unforgettable day.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.105s; Tpl: 0.01s; cc: 9; qc: 56; dbt: 0.0497s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
