12 Travelers Whose Worst-Case Scenarios Actually Came True

Münster and Munster are two different cities. Hotels with the same name could be on different ends of the world. Some people learned these truths the hard way, and these 12 travelers know exactly how it feels to face your worst travel nightmares.

• My first ever solo trip (age 18), I had checked my bag and went to the gates (pre-TSA). Right after sitting down, I heard my name being paged and told to return to ticketing.
  When I got there, my bag was sitting there next to a security guard. I walked up and told them my name, the guard asked if that was my bag, and I said yes. He asked if I could open the bag, and please show what was making a buzzing noise inside.
  I opened the bag, and somehow my electric razor had turned on and was buzzing. I apologized for the problem, the guard said that it’s not uncommon, so don’t worry. © Unknown author / Reddit

• Put my keys back through the letterbox of the Airbnb as requested. A few minutes later, realized I needed the keys to access the garage where my rental car was parked. Took an hour and a half for someone to appear and let me in. Got to the airport just in time to see my plane take off. © RedundantSwine / Reddit

• My dad once made reservations for a very nice hotel in Spain in a central location and was bragging about how cheap he got the rooms and what a good deal it was. He and my mother go to check in, and they say they don’t have any records of him booking. He pulls up the confirmation email on his phone to show them and realizes he had somehow booked a hotel with the exact same name but in Chile. © gentlybeepingheart / Reddit

• Asked the TSA agent if they could expedite my secondary screening because my flight was boarding. They slowly emptied my entire backpack one item at a time and asked me to identify each item.
  “That’s a flashlight.” “That’s a battery.” “That’s a phone charging cable.” “That’s an a/c USB charger.” “That’s a nail file.” “That’s another battery.” “Those are headphones.” “That’s a deck of cards.”
  Once they had everything removed and spread out on the table, they decided I wasn’t a security risk and told me to collect & repack my belongings. © Any_Move / Reddit

• Me and some friends wanted to go to the Panzermuseum in Munster (Germany) in the early 2000s, so we planned a trip by car (from the Netherlands). After arriving and a night in a hotel, we couldn’t find the museum. Finally, we asked someone; turned out we were in Münster, not Munster. 280 km off. © KenFromBarbie / Reddit

• Had to pick up a family member who was on a train. She lives in another country and is blind. So instead of having to stress over changing trains midway, my friend and I drove out to the station to get her.
  The train stops, but we can’t spot her getting out. Then my buddy points through a window and says, “Is that her?” Panicky, I walk aboard to check. I see it ain’t her, and the train starts closing its doors as I race back towards it.
  I don’t make it in time, and the train starts moving. My friend calls to tell me he’s got her with him and that he’ll meet me at the next station. © messeboy / Reddit

• When I had just arrived in the Philippines, I couldn’t find my friend. A cop (or perhaps a security guard) asked if they could help. I told him what’s going on, and he offered to call my friend, which I accepted. We make contact with my friend, and I find her.
  The cop extended his hand, which I took as wanting a high five. So I gave him five and ran off. It wasn’t until later that I realized he wanted a tip. © iamsiobhan / Reddit

• So I refueled my rental car at a gas station in Australia. I got to know Australians to be very outgoing, so when the girl at the counter asked me, “Where are you from?” I reckoned she wanted to have a little chat and started to talk about myself. But she was like, “No, haha, I mean which gas pump?” © 3dGrabber / Reddit

• Was panicking, I lost my bag, looking all over. Was sure it was stolen. Walked up and down, talked to people, asking if maybe they saw who took it. Talked to the police finally. Wanted to report it stolen, as it had my laptop and other important things in it.
  Finally resigned that it was gone, and I’d never get it back, I adjusted the bag on my back and stood there staring at the wall. Grabbed the straps, stood there again. Finally pulled it off my back. Took out my laptop and sat down.
  The worst part: I kept adjusting the straps during this whole incident, and it never even clicked in my brain. © mikusmikus / Reddit

• I recently took my 5-year-old great-granddaughter to the beach. Before heading home, we walked along the boardwalk and got in line to get ice cream cones. When it was her turn to order, the woman in line in front of us still hadn’t decided what she wanted.
  After a few moments of waiting, my great-granddaughter said, “Come on, lady! Make up your mind! Please! While I’m still young!” © Unknown author / Reddit

• Went to a temple as part of a photo tour. The guide told us to be quiet and respectful while the Monks did prayer, but we could still take photos. Along the sides of the wall were folded chairs stacked against each other.
  While I was backing up to get a wider shot, I bumped into someone, tripped, and grabbed the closest thing I could, a chair, and they fell like dominoes and echoed as they clanked for what felt like an hour.
  On the bus ride back, the tour guide raged about ignorant tourists. A couple of folks stared at me, but I was really happy no one said anything. © Mang0fueg0 / Reddit

• I was flying alone with my 1-year-old daughter. About an hour into the flight, she started crying. I reached into my diaper bag and realized with a sinking heart: no diapers. They were in the checked luggage.
  I considered asking the flight attendant, but I didn’t want to make a scene. So I took extreme measures. I asked for a stack of napkins and wet paper towels.
  I took her to the cramped airplane bathroom and gently cleaned her with warm water and paper. I folded napkins as best I could and created a makeshift diaper, using a pair of her leggings to hold it all in. It wasn’t pretty, but it worked.

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