12 People Who Got Into an Awkward but Funny Situation While on a Trip

Traveling is a great way to see new countries and meet different people. We love traveling for new emotions and experiences, but sometimes things don’t go quite as planned. In these stories, people share their embarrassing moments that turned into fun memories.

• The 5 of us decided to go to the coast by train. I was unlucky: I ended up in a different compartment, without friends, and on the top berth. On the first day, we celebrated the departure, and at night, waking up with a terrible thirst, I went to get water.
  So, I’m climbing down, and suddenly hear a wild shriek! I freaked out, fell and bruised my arm. It turned out that I had stepped right on the face of my neighbor who was peacefully sleeping on the bottom berth! I still feel embarrassed when I remember it. © Overheard / Ideer
• I was traveling by bus in rural England. I knew the stop I needed to get off at, but I wasn’t sure if I was getting close. Instead of asking the driver, I asked some locals sitting near me if they thought my stop was next. I got a shrug and a polite, “I think so.”
  So I got off, put in my headphones, and started walking like I knew where I was going (I most certainly did not, it was in the middle of nowhere). It took me a minute to realize the bus was following me at walking speed and the driver was shouting at me.
  Took my headphones from my ear to hear the driver shout, “This isn’t your stop, you have another 45 minutes.” I should have trusted the driver in the first place to tell me when to get off, but instead made a spectacle of myself. © prettyprincess93 / Reddit
• My most awkward moment happened to me in Stockholm! I was 21 at the time, traveling from the US. On my first day, around 8 p.m., I was walking back to my rented house in the suburbs. It was dark, I was tired, and the key (they’re weird in Europe, not like in the States) wouldn’t fit in the lock.
  I’m standing there fiddling around, and then a girl opens the door. I was happy, I said, “Thank you!” thinking I’d seen her in the morning. She looked at me like I was crazy and clearly didn’t understand English.
  Then a man came out and asked, “Can I help you?” I explained that I lived here but couldn’t open the door. He was surprised and said, “You’ve made a mistake, this is not your house!”
  I checked the address and it was the wrong house! They were identical, even on the inside, so I didn’t realize straight away. I was SO embarrassed for basically trying to break into this poor family’s house! © little_baby_ / Reddit
• I was flying internationally with my assistant to install a sculpture in a gallery. I packed frantically, last minute, remembering just before I left that I needed a little black dress, stockings, garters, heels and makeup for the opening of the show. I threw it all in my suitcase on top of all the stuff that was already packed: carpentry tools, cordless drill, clamps, etc.
  The assistant and I checked in together and swapped suitcases accidentally. As we were waiting to board, a voice comes over the loudspeaker asking Mr. Assistant to come to security. Since we were under a pretty tight deadline, missing the flight would have been bad.
  I quickly mentally reviewed what I had packed and commanded assistant to claim any and all contents as his own and call me if there was a problem. “Did you pack your bag?” “Uh, yes, of course.” “And the entire contents belongs to you?” “Yes, definitely.”
  After digging past cocktail dress, pumps, stockings and garters, the offender was discovered. Always remove battery from cordless drill before putting it in checked luggage. Best assistant ever kept a totally straight face and we didn’t miss our flight. © pnut / Reddit

• I was on a bus from Dublin to Belfast and was starting to feel ill. It was my first time on an intercity coach bus. I couldn’t take it much longer and was feeling I needed to vomit.
  I asked the bus driver to pull over on the side of the motorway. He did, and I quickly did my stuff behind some shrubs. Barely wiped with tiny leaves, then retreated to the bus in embarrassment.
  Minutes later, I realized there was a toilet on board. Pretty sure I stank terribly. Lovely. © billythekid**6 / Reddit
• Airport screening. A woman is asked to open her bag. She pulls out a toy car and innocently says, “It’s a toy.” The staff member says, “What’s inside?” The woman blushes, “Oh, I guess you can’t have that.”
  Everyone around tensed up, and then she pulls out raw sausages from the back of the car. The airport worker was confused, “Do you know that raw meat is not allowed in hand luggage? All right, come on in.”
• In Uzbekistan, I bought a samsa with potatoes and checked with the seller, “Are you sure it doesn’t have meat?” He nods, “100 percent!”
  I ate it and marveled, “How can ordinary potatoes be so delicious?” And he replied, “They are not ordinary. They’re full of lamb fat.”
• In the States, you can pick a banana bunch apart and only buy a few, not the case in Japan. I learned the hard way.
  I only wanted one banana, but all the single bananas were too ripe, and I’m picky with my bananas. So, I tried to go through the check-out lane and the cashier stopped at my banana, she looked at it, then called over another woman who took it after a long conversation with lots of pointing at the broken stem.
  Then one of them went to the wall of bananas and found the bunch I’d taken the single banana from. She then returned with both, speaking in Japanese and showed me many times that that was where it fit and held her hands up in an X, to tell me no.
  I had to buy the whole bunch. I ended up with about 12 bananas. I was so embarrassed. © uuuumno / Reddit

• I flew to Athens and booked a room in a hotel overlooking the Acropolis. I arrived later and was told, “You’re late, the room has been canceled.” I asked to find a similar room for any money, they gave me a key.
  I went in, and there was a strange guy lying there. It turned out that the urgent booking implied a shared room with several beds. But in the end, we became friends with him and walked around Athens together for a couple of days.
• I got on an early morning flight. I then thought it was smart to order a coffee. I started watching a movie on my brand new Apple MacBook Pro and was awakened by the person sitting next to me tapping on my shoulder to show me that I knocked my coffee over, completely soaking my laptop. I was also 21 and an idiot. © Unknown author / Reddit
• Madrid, Spain. Not a big deal, but I still was really embarrassed at the time. I ordered a ham and cheese plate at that famous Museo de jamón restaurant. I read reviews that the staff was rude, so I didn’t know what to expect (Spoiler: they are).
  The place was packed and after 10 minutes of paying me no attention, this guy takes my order. I then just paid him right away so I wouldn’t have to wait on him again after my meal. When I finish my plate and leave, he screams at me in Spanish that I was leaving without paying.
  The whole place just stopped and everyone looked at me. Somehow, my 3 years of high school Spanish came rushing back to me, and I was able to yell back at him that I already paid him 10 euro. He stares at me for a few seconds and then tells me to go. © Unknown author / Reddit
• So, I’m a heavy sleeper and I like to cocoon myself in the blankets when I’m by myself. Anyway, on our honeymoon, my husband went to go get breakfast while I was still sleeping, and I woke up to the hotel maid ripping the bedding off of me. I thought it was my husband being stupid, so I sat up and aggressively threw the covers off of me.
  Needless to say, I wasn’t expecting an older Hispanic lady at the end of the bed, and she thought the room was empty. So, she screamed, I screamed, and then she literally ran out of the room. I’ve never been more confused. © OneMoose9 / Reddit

And here are travel stories that seem straight out of a novel.