Worst Travel Experience?

[LE_Ram]

Had the (mis)fortune of flying WizzAir a few months back - luckily I read up on the baggage rules and paid for priority so I could take my bag on board, but we were delayed around 30 mins due to the volume of people who hadn't, got to the gate, and were then charged to take their bag on.

It's not awful but that's mine - what's everyone else's worst travel experience?

[Turk Thrust]

Well my job involved flying to less developed countries so have lots of experiences. But the one that stands out involved flying South African Airways to Joburg and then pick up a flight to Lilongwe in Malawi. I arrived in Lilongwe ok but my luggage didn't. IT was a Sunday and I had to give a speech at a conference the following day and all my clothes were in the missing luggage. My driver suggested going to a street market to buy some clothes. I did with some trousers that were 6 inches too long and concertined round the ankles. A yellow shirt fitted except for the sleeves which were incredibly long. Topped off with a 70s kipper tie in neon green this was the outfit In which i attended the conference. Lots of strange looks  

My luggage arrived the day before I was due to leave. I went back to the UK via Joburg again and when I arrived at Heathrow my luggage was missing again. When I went to lost luggage counter they said "don't tell me, you've come from Joburg". Apparently it was a running joke that about 40% of all flights from Joburg involved lost luggage. My cases arrived at home the following day. 

[Anon]

I was once trapped in a very hot train for 6 hours on the east coast mainline due to a breakdown and the rail network being unwilling to shutdown any of the rails to allow the passengers to be evacuated. I was also on a schedule as I had a flight to catch. I missed it handsomely, but the airline rearranged everything for me without even asking for any additional fee.

Hull Trains = Tommy tank. Do not use.

Air China = Top lads and lasses.

[Mucker1884]

"Mafaway"  (That's a play on the old "Ramaway", early 80's... this was a minibus arranged through the Mafaking pub, Normanton)).

Midweek night match.  Winter.  Cambridge away...

Lost 3-0. 

Straight to the local boozer for the last hour.  Get back to minibus (on-street parking)...

Literally on it's side.  One side window smashed.  All 4 tyres let down!

By the time it was righted, the tyres pumped up (took it in turns with a foot pump), and a visit to the local nick for the driver to put in his statement and (presumably) get a crime number, it was getting on for 1am before we set off.

Freezing fog.  Driver could just about see to the end of his nose.  Seemed like 30mph all the way home.  Muggins here was last to board... which meant the seat nearest to the broken window, and therefore took the brunt of a freezing cold constant blast.  Took me 3 days to thaw out!

Think we got back to Normo about 4am!

 

...Happy days!

[Sith Happens]

Red arrow to Nottingham. 

[Boycie]

Pride Park to Wembley verses QPR Road rider.

Damn this thread!

[Parsnip]

Javanese mini busses. Massively overloaded, drunk drivers, break neck speed, near miss after near miss and lots of people die on them all the time.

But they were cheaper than taxis and i was always skint in them days.

Never again though.

[SillyBilly]

2+ hours in an ambulance in Southeast Asia with acute appendicitus. It was a converted Toyota Hiace van and the roads weren't great. Had better evenings.

[ilkleyram]

Another Rams related tale. 26th October 1976 - train down to Brighton to watch us draw 1-1 in a night time league cup match. Leighton James scored. The Goldstone Ground was a tip even then and the away fans terrace was open to the elements. The train back was even worse.  Broke down god knows where in the early hours. No explanation and no heating and freezing. Caught the first bus of the day back to Mickleover for the first and only time in my life. 

A taxi ride back to Beijing airport also looms large. It wasn't so much the fact that the hard shoulder was open to two way traffic on both sides - you got used to that - it was the driver nearing the end of a 24 hour shift and drifting off with his foot still firm on the accelerator. Mrs Ilkley and I ended up talking very loudly to each other to keep him awake. Never been so glad to see an airport.

[ramit]

On my first trip to Philippines, a few days before we were to be wed in her village chapel i got the worst food poisoning of my life.  i thought i was a goner for sure.  How i hung onto that blessed motorcycle rider and stayed on the bike carrying my limp body to the local medical center i will never know.   Received a drip of some sort there, but still convinced i was about to die, i asked my wife to be, to move me to the family home.  There i received a home remedy of strong bean soup for two days until i recovered. 

On the second trip, my father came along with us and he and i went on excursions while wife and son stayed in village area.  We traveled by native boat to a beautiful little island named Apo, off the coast of Negros Oriental and slept in a hut.  We went snorkeling first day, but it was midday and although i will never forget the undersea beauty i saw there i will never forget the pain afterward either.  My back and the backs of my calves burned very badly, especially the right one.  Father had little sympathy for my condition and marched me around nonstop.  The mosquito's and sand flies were zeroing in on the area and making things worse.  Once back on the mainland, four days later i finally went to a hospital. The doctor, after examining my glowing red leg and checking her computer, started eyeing the steel cabinet on her left.  No, i said firmly, you will not saw off my leg.  Startled, the doc replied, you were not supposed to see that.  So much for that visit.

Again, it was family remedies that healed me.  Some big leaves mixed with something an old lady chewed up strapped to my leg for a few days and i began to heal.  i love the Philippines and can't wait to get back there but the place tries to kill me every time.   Maybe next time eh.

[Spanish]

13 hours ago, ilkleyram said:

Another Rams related tale. 26th October 1976 - train down to Brighton to watch us draw 1-1 in a night time league cup match. Leighton James scored. The Goldstone Ground was a tip even then and the away fans terrace was open to the elements. The train back was even worse.  Broke down god knows where in the early hours. No explanation and no heating and freezing. Caught the first bus of the day back to Mickleover for the first and only time in my life. 

A taxi ride back to Beijing airport also looms large. It wasn't so much the fact that the hard shoulder was open to two way traffic on both sides - you got used to that - it was the driver nearing the end of a 24 hour shift and drifting off with his foot still firm on the accelerator. Mrs Ilkley and I ended up talking very loudly to each other to keep him awake. Never been so glad to see an airport.

I went also, can't recall it breaking down it was v slow though something like a milk train that stopped at every station.  Remember getting back to chadd and then almost straight off to work.  Terrible game as well

[ilkleyram]

4 minutes ago, Spanish said:

I went also, can't recall it breaking down it was v slow though something like a milk train that stopped at every station.  Remember getting back to chadd and then almost straight off to work.  Terrible game as well

You're probably right Spanish. Whatever happened it took an age and I do remember being frozen and wandering about the bus station at dawn. You're right about the game too.

[Spanish]

12 hours ago, ramit said:

On my first trip to Philippines, a few days before we were to be wed in her village chapel i got the worst food poisoning of my life.  i thought i was a goner for sure.  How i hung onto that blessed motorcycle rider and stayed on the bike carrying my limp body to the local medical center i will never know.   Received a drip of some sort there, but still convinced i was about to die, i asked my wife to be, to move me to the family home.  There i received a home remedy of strong bean soup for two days until i recovered. 

On the second trip, my father came along with us and he and i went on excursions while wife and son stayed in village area.  We traveled by native boat to a beautiful little island named Apo, off the coast of Negros Oriental and slept in a hut.  We went snorkeling first day, but it was midday and although i will never forget the undersea beauty i saw there i will never forget the pain afterward either.  My back and the backs of my calves burned very badly, especially the right one.  Father had little sympathy for my condition and marched me around nonstop.  The mosquito's and sand flies were zeroing in on the area and making things worse.  Once back on the mainland, four days later i finally went to a hospital. The doctor, after examining my glowing red leg and checking her computer, started eyeing the steel cabinet on her left.  No, i said firmly, you will not saw off my leg.  Startled, the doc replied, you were not supposed to see that.  So much for that visit.

Again, it was family remedies that healed me.  Some big leaves mixed with something an old lady chewed up strapped to my leg for a few days and i began to heal.  i love the Philippines and can't wait to get back there but the place tries to kill me every time.   Maybe next time eh.

food poisoning?  I have ate all over the World but only had it once.  Travelling back to bahamas from Miami and went to a Mall foodcourt in Fort lauderdale for a chicken sub.  By the time it was due boarding I was struggling to leave the toilet.  Wife delayed the transfer bus until I could risk the 'sprint' to it from the toilet.  Held on as the plane took off only to hear the captain announce that due to air turbulence everyone will need to remain seated (double jeopardy for me!).   Carefully explained my predicament to the air stewardess who flatly refuse to allow me to go to the loo until I explained the consequences of her actions which would more than likely result in the plane being grounded until the cleaning crew could make my seat reusable.  Plane landed with me still in the 'cupboard'

[Spanish]

2 minutes ago, ilkleyram said:

You're probably right Spanish. Whatever happened it took an age and I do remember being frozen and wandering about the bus station at dawn. You're right about the game too.

likely we met on that train I guess

[TimRam]

Did a motorway trip to see Derby in a cup tie v Sheff Wed. Long before mobile phones. A few minutes after I left Sussex, my mate called parents (lived at home then) to say the game had been called off. Reached garage in Midlands to fill up. Broke down. Not a good day out.

[AdamRam]

Quite a few for me

Arriving in China with no battery on phone on a last minute business trip organised by others. Driver nowhere to be seen, no idea where I was staying and early hours of the morning, couple of hours later and locating him having a little charge thanks to someone I had to bribe with English cash I was off on way to hotel. Turned out it was 3 hours away, and when finally arriving I had to pay another bribe as they had booked me in for wrong day and due to it being a bank holiday there were no rooms. Stayed in some staff quarters but it was a bed.

Saudi was also fun, my trip coincided with the annual trip to Mecca, never seen so many people when I got off the plane, and I was quite shocked when after 10 minutes to be frog marched by 6 guys with guns to the front of the queue. Next morning another early flight and went to sit in my seat, lady next to me picks up a massive water bottle and places it in my seat. She doesn’t look at me, not even an acknowledgement, I speak to an attendant who tells me nothing she can do, I sat in several seats that journey including the ones used by the flight attendants

Plenty more but bored you enough ?

[Gritstone Ram]

I went to Cuba and stopped in a brand new hotel that had just opened. The hotel had between 2500 & 3000 guests and out of that 90% were French Canadians who are very obnoxious. The food halls were massive but everyone queued for eggs for breakfast but by the time you got them everything was cold. The hotel couldn’t deal with the high number of guests stopping and all the food was cold. 

At lunch a 60 minute queue appeared at the only restaurant that cooked hot fresh food and that was fried chicken.

To top it off we were there for 2 weeks and things didn’t improve.

The Canadians tipped for every drink they had which I found bizarre. A lot got very drunk and we’re falling over at around 5 o’clock in the afternoon.

To top it off I got the poops twice and it was the kind that gave no warning and the first thing you knew was when it was running down your leg. Went to the beach that smelt of sewage. There was nothing to do outside the hotel either. 

I was glad to get home.