15 Times a Trip Went Off Script in the Most Memorable Way

What’s great about travel is that we end up in unfamiliar situations and meet new and sometimes extraordinary people. The heroes of this article went on a trip from which they brought back not only magnets and other souvenirs but also various stories.

• I fell in love with a completely unromantic guy who didn’t know how to express tenderness. I dated him for 4 years forgetting that romance even existed.
  We decided to go to the sea. We went scuba diving. My boyfriend ordered a photo and video shoot. Everything was very interesting and beautiful.
  About 10 minutes into our journey into the sea depths, he swims up to me and, somehow managing to get on one knee, offers me a ring box. I clumsily nod “yes” to him. He puts the ring on my finger.
  The cameraman captured it all. I cried at the bottom of the sea. © Ward № 6 | Anonymous stories / Telegram
• Once, my friends and I went on a big trip in 2 cars to the European Football Championship. Everything was really cool, and then on the way home, one of our crews was running out of gas. And there were no gas stations in sight or expected.
  We were already thinking about somehow transferring fuel from one car to the other, or going ahead to persuade gas station workers to fill a canister, but decided to see how far the “horse” would go on its gas remnants.
  We were absolutely amazed when their car, with the low fuel indicator lit, managed to cover 30 miles and just barely make it to a gas station.
• I am nearsighted, so I wear contact lenses, but sometimes I’m too lazy to put them on.
  And so, on the last day of the trip, my husband and I were at the train station. Early morning, we’re sleepy, I’m without lenses, and we’re waiting for the train to arrive. And then I realize I need to go to the bathroom because the train is old, and the sanitary zone will last for 2 hours.
  I dash to the station restroom, show my ticket (which allows free entry), rush into an open stall, and walk out feeling much calmer. I glance around and through my blurry vision see 2 people standing nearby, speaking with some discontent.
  And then the kaleidoscope of pictures comes together — it’s men standing at the urinals, arguing about me. I’m in shock at myself as I dash out, the ticket lady gives me a disapproving look, and my husband is laughing because he saw from afar that I had turned into the wrong door. © Workplace stories / VK

• My younger brother went on his first single journey ever. Instead of taking a plane or a train, he decided to hitchhike... My parents and I were really worried about him, constantly trying to keep in touch, but one day he suddenly disappeared.
  He stopped answering calls and messages, and there was no other way to contact him — we had no idea where he was. We even thought of going to the police, but then he called us himself.
  Turned out his phone had just run out of battery. But it seemed he had vanished into thin air! © Not everyone will understand / VK
• One time, my friends and I were traveling across the country, and during a train ride, we met a group of young people who were also on vacation. A beautiful girl approached my friend and asked him to swap seats with her, so she could be with her friends. He agreed, as he was the only one in that compartment and didn’t fit into ours, so he didn’t care where he slept.
  We spent 2 weeks traveling the country, and our final destination was a small village in the east. And guess what? We met that same girl there! What are the chances of such a twist of fate? 2 weeks, different plans, travels, a tiny village in the east!
  We told our friend it was destiny, that he should go and introduce himself, exchange contacts with her. He plucked up some courage and approached. Do you know what he said to her? “So, how did you sleep on the train?”
  He awkwardly exchanged a few words with her and came back to us. What a fiasco. © Not everyone will understand / VK
• My husband and I often go on vacations in different countries, and we always stay in amazing hotels. My favorite moment in these journeys is entering the room after it’s been cleaned and waiting in anticipation for what I’ll find on the bed...
  Yes, I’m talking about those, the towel animal figures. I’ve seen all sorts! Swans, crocodiles, monkeys. Every time, I feel immense delight in seeing them. Sometimes, I even play a game with housekeeping personnel — I leave my hat and put glasses on it, and they mostly go along with it, making towel elephants or frogs wearing glasses for me.
  In general, to anyone who finds themselves in a hotel, I highly recommend the towel animal stress relief! © Not everyone will understand / VK

• Once, I was flying on a plane in a window seat. In the 2 seats next to me were a mom and her daughter, about 6 years old. We didn’t bother each other, everything was calm. At some point, I dozed off.
  When I woke up, I turned my head and was genuinely stunned, to say the least. The girl was calmly sitting on the aisle seat, either drawing or reading — I don’t remember exactly — but her mom was doing yoga in the middle seat!
  I have no idea how she managed to contort herself in that seat, to lift both her legs up with an absolutely impassive face while supporting herself with her hands on the seat in front. The sight, upon waking, was, to put it mildly, astonishing. © Ward No. 6 / VK
• I was in Berlin. After a long day of exploring, I just wanted some food quickly and without much fuss. I found a pizza place where I could order at the counter and grabbed a paper menu to look over the options.
  The #9 has veggies, pepperoni, the works, and looks delicious. The guy behind the counter looks at me expectantly and says something in German which I’m hoping means “what do you want?” I’m still playing it cool and casually say “9” with a smile.
  The guy looks super confused and asks for clarification. Again, I just say “nine,” thinking that maybe he didn’t hear me before. He again looks super confused and I just gesture to the menu and repeat again: “nine.” More confusion and he looks at me like I have 2 heads.
  Finally it clicks. I’m in Germany, and “nine” in English sounds a lot like “nein” in German. I’ve just been happily saying “no” to this guy and his questions. I realize my mistake, apologize in English and use full sentences to complete the rest of the transaction. © Emergency_Kitten7 / Reddit

• I was studying abroad in Scotland from the US in 2016 and I was traveling around during break. I was on a plane from London to Glasgow, and I was the only woman on the plane except for a couple of flight attendants.
  The entire plane was an Irish men’s rugby team, all in their mid-twenties and like 90% ginger. It was a sea of rowdy redheads yelling, drinking, doing team chants and cheers the entire flight. It felt like I was being punked as soon as I realized. So genuinely hilarious, and one of my favorite “well that was new” experiences from my time there. © AK_1418 / Reddit
• Once, my daughter and I went on a road trip through the Caucasus countries. We were driving in a remote area in Armenia, and an old man was standing on the side of the road, hitchhiking. We stopped, and he asked for a ride to his village.
  We picked him up, got there, and he said, “I can’t let you leave without a treat!” and invited us to his home. As it was about Caucasian hospitality, practically the whole village gathered there. We were sitting, drinking tea with all sorts of delicious treats, feeling full already.
  We said, well, thanks for your hospitality, but we should be going. To which the old man exclaimed, “What do you mean? We just had tea, now lunch is coming.”
  And then they really brought a bunch of new food, and we realized we got stuck. We ended up participating in a multi-hour village feast. Incredibly delicious, but too much food.

• My parents went on a honeymoon to Hungary, and it became a part not only of the family archive but, quite literally, of history. They took a tour of the Esterhazy fortress-museum, and there was an open book lying on an unremarkable pedestal in one of the galleries.
  The guide explained that this was something like a guest book for feedback and suggestions — and directed the group further. Without thinking twice, my parents wrote there that they really enjoyed this tour.
  Later, a scandal broke out. The fact is that this book was signed only by kings, dukes, princes, etc. That’s how my parents wrote themselves into world history. © Not Everyone Will Understand / VK
• After a week of comparing everything to The Lord of the Rings, I walk into the airport bathroom and there is this kid, maybe 5 or 6, crouching on the sink splashing at the running water making the Gollum noise. Until his mother came out of the loo and told him to get off. © Bones_McGinson / Reddit
• I took a tour bus to Belgium alone. When it was time to get back, I was stuck (some concert), so I missed the bus. My backpack and stuff were in the bus. I only had my phone and wallet.
  I panicked, went to the train station, bought a ticket to Amsterdam (I was staying there). My phone was dying so I asked this girl in a shop, “Can I borrow your charger? You won’t believe me if I told you what happened,” then we talked. Turns out she too was left behind by the tour bus. © peachy-grey / Reddit

• Funny. From Colorado. Drove to California. Stopped at a light, and the guy behind us is honking and yelling. Oh, geez. What could we have done to annoy this guy?
  We escape and drive like crazy people all over LA. He finally trapped us, jumped out of his car, and dashed to the driver’s side window. Makes roll down the window motions.
  “Hi! Saw you guys are from Colorado. I’m from Littleton. Where y’all from?” Turned out to be a nice guy just being a little homesick. © WemblysMom / Reddit
• I went to a bathhouse in China, and after the bath, I was supposed to get a massage. They took me to some room where there were 2 Chinese women. I don’t speak Chinese, and they don’t speak English.
  So I pointed at my legs and said, “Massage?” They exchanged looks and kept sitting. I repeated, “Massage, massage?” pointing at my legs. They ignored me.
  I thought, well, maybe someone else was supposed to do it. At some point, I realized that we were sitting in matching pajamas, and I accidentally asked the guests to give me a massage. © sofism_my

Do you have your own travel stories? Share them in the comments. And here are travel stories that seem straight out of a novel.