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In a recent interview with Bored Panda, the OP admitted being quite surprised about the amount of responses the thread received. “People’s answers were so interesting and cool to see,” they said, adding that they loved how much interaction everyone had with each other.
“I was surprised to see how many responses there were, a lot of people had some crazy experiences,” u/ujin- continued. “The most surprising thing to me was the community responses, and how most people respected and showed care to those problems.”
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The OP shared that they came up with the question after thinking about something many people have experienced, but don’t speak about that often. “Vacations are memorable, but bad occurrences are even more memorable. So combining those two together makes a really good attention grabber. But other than that, I was also genuinely curious because I’ve had a couple bad vacation experiences myself,” they said.
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Discussing scary vacation moments, the OP shared that they’ve experienced quite a few themselves, ranging from almost missing cruises, to getting attacked by monkeys, and slipping off cliffs. But there was one that stood out the most:
“I was somewhere around 14 years old, and was playing on the beach with my brother. We met a couple other boys from our cruise and decided to play with them. They decided to build a ‘water fort’ with large rocks to make a circle around us. These rocks were sharp and heavy, and they were very rowdy.
My brother left to help my mom, and that’s when they decided playing baseball with the rocks was a good idea. Turns out my head was going to be the bat… because they threw the gigantic sharp rock straight at my forehead. For a second, it hit me and I didn’t feel anything. I even asked if I was okay and they said I was fine, until the blood started to pour out.”
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“It started bleeding out like a waterfall and everyone ran away so fast, so I was alone bleeding out on the beach. I remember running into shore screaming for help from random beach goers while trailing blood all over the sand,” the OP continued.
“Eventually someone nice took me to see the paramedics, because I couldn’t see at all from the blood. When I got there, they tried to wash and stop my bleeding but the wound was pretty deep. Not to mention the medical bills in a foreign country were going to cost a whole mansion if I needed anything.
“Hours had passed when finally my parents showed up, finding me when my brother tracked down the teens that abandoned me to ‘die’. By that time, the bleeding lessened quite a bit but I was woozy and had a gauze on my face. My mom was rightfully mad at those kids for ditching me after injuring me, and immediately scolded them and their parents; I love my mom. It turned out okay but I needed to leave the gauze on for the rest of the cruise, and have a scar on my head from it to this day.”
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While foreseeing something as unexpected as kids playing baseball using your head as a bat might not be possible, some dangers can be—and should be—anticipated and prepared for.
According to Dr. Heather J. Gibson, travel risk is multidimensional, so it can be divided into the macro risks, which are destination-specific and are likely to be outside of the control of the traveler (such as getting caught in a natural disaster—be it a hurricane, an earthquake, or something else—political unrest, or t*******m) and micro risks, which are more manageable for the tourist, such as health risks (getting the necessary vaccines for the country they are visiting, knowing if the water is safe to drink, being sun and heat safe, and taking similar precautionary measures).
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Other things one can do in order to have a safe and pleasant trip, according to the expert, are being mindful of local laws and customs that might get you into trouble if you break them, and registering with your own country’s international traveler program. Knowing about any potential crimes that tourists are subject to (for example, pickpocketing or areas of town that are not safe at night) might also come in handy, as well as doing some research about how to reach your hotel safely (particularly if you are arriving late at night or by yourself).
“A lot of this is common sense, particularly for the experienced traveler,” Dr. Gibson suggested, adding that travel insurance—particularly to cover the unexpected costs—is also a good idea.
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Prof. Gibson suggested that some of the most common risks for people on vacation typically relate to their health and well-being, whether it’s food poisoning or breaking a bone, which is why she advises familiarizing yourself with the local medical facilities in the destination you are traveling to and taking a basic first aid kit with you.
“Petty crime is another common risk, as pickpocketing, as well as losing purses, phones, or passports is pretty common,” she said, adding that it’s beneficial to have a backup plan. “Know your credit card numbers and who to call. Carry a copy of your passport. Know something about the local laws and customs.”