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Old 08-11-2017, 06:26 PM   #1
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Default funniest travel mistakes

even the most experienced backpacker makes mistakes and sometimes they are funny/ Anyone got any funny ones to share?

Here is one of mine...

I was returning to the UK (I was living there at the time) from China. I was Beijing airport when I was worried my passport might get lost or stolen so I decided to put it in my checked baggage safely. This seemed like a great idea...until I got to the passport line at Heathrow and realized I did not have a mu passport with me! I explained it to the guard who was sympathetic, the matter was resolved and I got in.
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Old 08-13-2017, 03:48 PM   #2
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Ooooo,... you got lucky! That shit won't fly in many airports today, especially in the US.

I was in Paris asking the receptionist if there was an extra room available. She didn't speak English and I didn't speak French, so being typical American at the time, I said "Dzoo yoo have an extwa woom?" (in my most French accent), and my friend just looked at me with that "you big dumbshit" look! haha...


Hey, it was my first trip anywhere and it was before the internet as we know it....
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Old 08-18-2017, 01:43 AM   #3
 
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Hanging my purse on the back of a restaurant chair in Paris. It was stolen!
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Old 08-18-2017, 09:09 AM   #4
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Originally Posted by johnexplo View Post
Hanging my purse on the back of a restaurant chair in Paris. It was stolen!
That sucks! I was at an internet cafe and hung my jacket on my chair while I was surfing online. Then I felt my jacket brush against my leg. I look back and there are two teenagers sitting behind me, one acting like he was on the net and the other just sitting there trying to act all inconspicuous. I checked my jacket pocket and discovered that my cell phone was gone. I stood up and got in their faces and they kept denying it. One guy walked away as the other guy and I got into a heated discussion. I almost thumped this kids head, but people in the cafe told me to calm down and that they called the police. The police arrived and and checked him, but he was clean. Turns out the guy that walked away and acted like he was innocent (and never engaged in the discussion with us) had my phone.

They work in teams, gang. Watch out!
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Old 08-18-2017, 10:31 PM   #5
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Not so much a mistake, but along the lines of Tony's story.

My last time in Europe, I was in Prague. It was my last day and I was gonna catch a night train to Krakow. So, of course you don't want to have to carry your stuff around all day, so figure I will just put it in a locker at the train station Hlavni Nadrozi. Take care of that easy enough, and had a couple postcards I was going to mail out, and thought there was a post in the station. Go walking around looking for it, have the ear buds in, walking along.

I feel someone grab my shoulder, which happens in Europe at least to me. Someone wanting to ask you something or what not. So I turn and it's this guy, shorter than me but built like a brick shithouse. I pull my headphones out, and he is trying to grab me and speaking in czech, something about money and going with him. I don't trust people, so I naturally push him away and back away. He keeps coming at me. I try to tell him I only speak English, but he doesn't seem to speak any English. He keeps trying to corner me, but I keep back away in the walkway. He says something about the polizei, and I say yes, get the polizei. But he doesn't do it. So I'm really starting to feel like he is just full of shit, but not sure how to get away enough to actually find the police, which is amazing because they are always walking around the station. As he's trying to grab me, I finally push his hands away and tell him "to quit fucking touching me." Which seemed to work, but he was still trying to corral me. So I end up back by the line of stores they have and end up in this sports apparel store. I walk up to the guy at the counter and go, "who the hell is this guy and what does he want." The poor guy behind the counter doesn't know english too well, so he calls the other guy over who knows english. There is this whole conversation that goes on.

Apparently this guy is private security for one of the other stores and says he saw me steal something. I say I wasn't in any stores and didn't steal anything. They tell him this, and it seems like a good 30 second pause, and he decides to leave. I thank the guys for their help and go about my day.

That's my most exciting story in Europe. I guess the guy was legit, but definitely think keeping my wits about me helped to prevent myself from getting strong armed by some security guy.

Still love Prague though.
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Old 08-19-2017, 06:02 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Sijuki View Post
Not so much a mistake, but along the lines of Tony's story.

My last time in Europe, I was in Prague. It was my last day and I was gonna catch a night train to Krakow. So, of course you don't want to have to carry your stuff around all day, so figure I will just put it in a locker at the train station Hlavni Nadrozi. Take care of that easy enough, and had a couple postcards I was going to mail out, and thought there was a post in the station. Go walking around looking for it, have the ear buds in, walking along.

I feel someone grab my shoulder, which happens in Europe at least to me. Someone wanting to ask you something or what not. So I turn and it's this guy, shorter than me but built like a brick shithouse. I pull my headphones out, and he is trying to grab me and speaking in czech, something about money and going with him. I don't trust people, so I naturally push him away and back away. He keeps coming at me. I try to tell him I only speak English, but he doesn't seem to speak any English. He keeps trying to corner me, but I keep back away in the walkway. He says something about the polizei, and I say yes, get the polizei. But he doesn't do it. So I'm really starting to feel like he is just full of shit, but not sure how to get away enough to actually find the police, which is amazing because they are always walking around the station. As he's trying to grab me, I finally push his hands away and tell him "to quit fucking touching me." Which seemed to work, but he was still trying to corral me. So I end up back by the line of stores they have and end up in this sports apparel store. I walk up to the guy at the counter and go, "who the hell is this guy and what does he want." The poor guy behind the counter doesn't know english too well, so he calls the other guy over who knows english. There is this whole conversation that goes on.

Apparently this guy is private security for one of the other stores and says he saw me steal something. I say I wasn't in any stores and didn't steal anything. They tell him this, and it seems like a good 30 second pause, and he decides to leave. I thank the guys for their help and go about my day.

That's my most exciting story in Europe. I guess the guy was legit, but definitely think keeping my wits about me helped to prevent myself from getting strong armed by some security guy.

Still love Prague though.

That's kind of scary seeing how much us travelers are at a disadvantage without knowing the local language. He could have been part of the mafia (which is un-organized crime and much more scarier).

Sounds like you did the right thing in standing your ground and getting back in his face. Good stuff!
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