Although travel is usually full of positive experiences, stressful situations are sometimes unavoidable. Delays, lost passports and cancelled credit cards are just some of the issues bound to boost the blood pressure of even the most seasoned travellers. This week our members share experiences that have stressed them out while travelling – and they have certainly been through a wide variety of hair-raising experiences.
One member tells of a phone call they received at the airport, just before boarding an international flight, advising that their only credit card had been cancelled. Another member recalls a similar problem that sent the stress levels skyrocketing, but in that case a replacement card was sent to the destination and received in under a week.
Another member tells of an embarrassing situation where his mother-in-law had lost her passport ahead of a long international flight. They had searched everywhere, and even began making arrangements for a temporary passport to be issued mid-flight. After repeatedly berating his mother-in-law in, our member discovered that he had the passport all along. It sounds like it was a very long flight indeed for this member!
A wide range of other mistakes, mix-ups and other stressful situations are discussed. For one member, a forced seat change was enough to produce steam from both ears. In this case, the new seat was vastly inferior. But to add injury to insult, the seat had been carefully selected many months in advance only to be nabbed by another passenger at the last minute. For another member, trying to re-issue invalid train tickets at the last minute was not a fun experience… and doing so in a foreign country with a limited ability to speak the local language did not make matters any easier.
There are always steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of these kinds of stressful situations arising. But some events are completely outside a traveller’s control. It’s times like these where nothing can be done other than to go with the flow and to try to see the positive side.
Share your hair-raising travel experiences HERE.
