Stressful Travel Experiences

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Did you see this? From Travel Pulse: With a pool of 2,000 Americans, they discovered that one in four Americans expect something wrong on every single trip they take, and often, those travel fears come true. The study also found that the average American traveler experiences 240 stressful travel momentsin a lifetime.







The study also discovered that one in seven Americans believe they are travel cursed, and of those who feel cursed, 73%!f(MISSING)eel that they are travel cursed for life.







In what ways do travelers feel cursed? Forty-five percent revealed that a delayed flight ruins their plans, while 27%!p(MISSING)ointed out that annoying passengers are a cursed experience. A quarter argued that long security lines are contributors to their travel curse. Losing luggage, canceled flights, bad turbulence, and flat tires were other travel scenarios mentioned by the subjects.









They say that twenty percent of us, ONE in five, say they have cancelled their trip and stayed home!! Fully 76%!o(MISSING)f us say that traveling with someone else really help alleviate the stress. And 55%!s(MISSING)ay that free food and snacks also help.









If this is true, I may have more "bad" times ahead. I can honestly say that, in all my years of travel, both business and personal, I have only felt rather desperate or stressed ONCE! You will recall that I missed my train in Ekaterinburg, nobody would help me, nobody spoke English, and I thought I would have to go to the airport, and fly to Moscow. In the midst of all these big Russian ladies yelling at me, a young Russian man came up, spoke a few words of English to the furious clerks, and helped me get re-ticketed, though second class, to Moscow.









Missing a flight, running out of a reserved rental car, or hotel room, yes, they have all happened to me more than once. Getting stuck overnight at a strange airport, having my wallet (credit card) stolen, getting injured or sick, stressful!









But I doubt if any of those things would stop me from continuing to travel. But having been on the road so much, I have learned to "expect the unexpected". And I always tell myself that it could be much worse. Worse would be still working full time, and waiting another 50 weeks for another two week vacation!









I guess it is just simply a matter of comfort level. Having experienced some travel "setbacks", the next one that happens will be just a minor perturbation. But that does not mean I am not bothered.









What bothers me the most? Really, just little things, like sitting on the tarmac on a delayed flight, lost baggage, bad food, stinky seatmates, getting lost, missing a train.









After so many great trips, taking so many chances, I just "roll with it" so to speak. It is part of the travel experience. And as long as I am not hurt, beat up, or robbed, I consider myself most fortunate.

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