21 People Confess Their Most Horrifying Travel Experiences

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When you’re traveling, there are certain things that you have to worry about — time, money, lodging, and site-seeing (duh). What you often overlook, though, is the fact that you might be shoved between a crying toddler and a sick, elderly woman all while battling a raucous case of food poisoning. I’m talkin’ — out both ends while you sit and cry in the tiny airplane lavatory and hope that one day your bowels and gag reflex will soon chillax.

The ability to travel is definitely a privilege, but sometimes it comes at a cost. Like, you may think you’re getting the dream Disney World vacation, but it turns out — your parents were just trying to butter you up before they told you about the divorce. Now you’re weeping while a huge log carries you down a watering hole abyss into the next sh*tty part of your life!

So just be thankful whenever you travel and it goes slightly swimmingly — because you’re just one explosive diarrhea attack or seventeen reruns of Forest Gump on a delayed flight to Hong Kong from having the worst experience ever. I feel for all of my brothers and sisters who had to manage a breakup while abroad or deal with a crying baby vomiting on you on the tarmac. #praying4you

These 21 people had traveling horror stories that you won’t believe:


1.

I work at a military school. This experience happened to one of my students: One August, his parents told him to pack enough clothes for a two-week vacation in the Bahamas. They would be flying out the next day. Instead, they flew with him to military boarding school, where he was enrolled, in-processed, and had his head shaved. He stayed through the school year. Insult to injury: His parents continued on to the Bahamas without him.

2.

My parents got into a huge fight and decided they wanted a divorce on the second day of a week long vacation at Disney world. It was the most awful week of my life.

3.

An elderly woman died three seats over from me after 1 hour into a 7 hour flight.

4.

Food poisoning in the Dominican Republic two days before my flight home. My first instance of it I shit and puked so hard at the same time I blacked out on the bathroom floor. 10/10.

5.

The trip was great for me, and everyone else involved until the end. Went to Jamaica with a 40+ person wedding party. When we got back to the states people started texting in circles that everyone had HOOK WORMS in their feet and legs. Only about 5 people didn’t get them and I was one of the lucky few. Some people had the hook worms travel all the way to their knees.

Written by Laura McNairy

Laura is a freelance writer for TFLN. She likes to write about what she knows best — dating, sex, and being awkward, but usually in the opposite order. She is the Assistant Editor and videographer for Peach Fuzz, a sex-positive nudie magazine in ATX.