Let’s be realistic here. When it comes to travel, things go wrong. Things ALWAYS go wrong. There really is no such thing as the perfect trip, the perfect destination or the perfect year…and if anyone else is telling you there is, it’s bullshit.
One thing I take pride in when it comes to this blog is that I’ll tell you the good, the bad and the ugly. And I probably won’t sugarcoat it for you. While I may not have written about all of these moments, I probably shared them in some shape or form on social media. Some of these moments were funny, some were painful and some made me want to cry.
Whether they resulted in me laughing, crying or breaking down completely (and irrationally!) below are my worst travel moments of 2016. My job won’t look *quite* so dreamlike after reading this…
If you have some funny or difficult travel memories you would like to share, please leave a comment!
I cracked my head open and broke my front tooth
My own little Koh Tao horror story. Barely 24 hours on Koh Tao (an island some people refer to as a slice of paradise and others believe to be an island where everything goes wrong!) and I fainted trying to turn on the fan in our dorm. I cracked my head open on the corner of a bed, knocked out my front tooth, then went unconscious. I woke up to my hair matted in blood, a huge bump on my head and a gash in the back on my head. Great start to my time in Thailand!
I was homeless in South Korea
One of the absolute worst travel moments of the year was coming to the realisation that the hostel I had booked and paid for, but simply could not find after 3 hours walking in the rain, actually did not exist. Everything else was booked up, I had no internet on my phone, and I simply broke down and cried in a cafe. My snapchat followers saw it all, every last tear. Two locals came to my rescue and bought me a hot chocolate, and then the cafe owner let me use the internet to contact an old friend to come rescue me!
I deleted all my drone videos
After I bought my drone this summer, I shot some of the most amazing footage of my life around Ireland. I *thought* I had transferred it all to a USB so deleted all my files. Turns out they had never transferred. I cried, again.
I lost all my drone videos
More drone videos, mainly of Switzerland, Albania, Slovenia and Greece….gone forever. How does a tiny micro-SD card just snap in half? When you accidentally drop your laptop on the floor, that’s how. No tears, just head bashing.
I had diarrhoea in paradise
I think anyone who reads my blog has, unfortunately, read about this. That time I was invited to a 5 star resort in the Maldives and had the worst stomach cramps of my life. You can read more here.
All my snaps deleted
For someone who loves social media as much as I do, and was working so hard to show my followers my experiences in the Maldives, the day all my snaps deleted was the day I lost all interest in Snapchat. My videos of paradise, my boat trip, dolphins jumping along side the boat, jumping on to a pristine sandbar, funny photo shoots on the beach. All gone forever. I cried like a little baby, and explained my devastation to my followers, but from that day on I don’t snap like I used to.
Refused visas in Egypt
It all started with not being able to get out hand on US dollars while in Egypt. What a fiasco. When we eventually got our hands on the dollars, the Ethiopian and Sudanese embassies still refused us those much sought-after visas. No visas resulted in an untimely end to my dream trip through Africa. Honestly there is so much more to write about this, and will need to wait for another day, but suffice to say this was the worst thing that happened to me in 2016.
Severe Delhi Belly ruined me
One of my most vivid memories from my trip to India on the Kerala Blog Express, one which I have not written about, was that I had the worst Delhi belly for almost a week. On two particular days the cramps and pain was so severe I had to miss some activities and just curl up in bed….never too far from the toilet! When I did go out with the group, all I could think about was “Where’s the nearest toilet?”
My drink got spiked
Getting your drink spiked is never a pleasant experience but it’s that bit scarier when you are travelling solo through Thailand. For me I was at a hostel on Koh Phangan and went out with 2 guys for some drinks. After the first drink we ordered, that the guys bought, I started to feel very dizzy and sick. They tried to persuade me to stay, dragging me on to the beach to dance, but I just ran straight back to the hostel where I proceeded to vomit for the next 24 hours.
My GoPro was stolen
My new GoPro was stolen from my bag on one of my first trips of the year – resulting in no GoPro footage for the remainder of the year. I’m unsure of exactly which airport it was taken out of my bag, so let’s just say somewhere between London, Sri Lanka and India. Note to self: NEVER put valuables in your checked luggage!!
Verbally abused in Morocco
My relationship with Morocco has, and always will be, a bit of a love hate one. I LOVE the food, the landscapes, the surfing, the magical blue city, and the people (well, most of them!). I hate the abuse I get no matter who sensible I am dressed. The cat calling, the vulgar comments, the marriage proposals and camel trades. This January was the worst as I was solo and had one man follow me 20 minutes across town, almost as far as my hostel, saying he liked my “body shape” and wanted to do unthinkable things to me. Not sure I’ll ever go back without a male friend, or at least a fake wedding ring! I’ve also written some tips for other female travellers going to Morocco.