Actually, this trip has been fun, with no major incidents. In the past, I have found myself in some seriously crazy situations that have left me with some pretty entertaining stories to share back home.
We were conned in Thailand and then followed by none other than the police whom we went to report the scam to and were clearly involved. We were held up at gun point in Peru at an Inca ruin. Our U.S. green cards were stolen in an elaborate scam in Costa Rica and we were stranded in the desert in Jordan. In Vanuatu, a Pacific island, we drove the car into a sand bank off a deserted road and Gavin had to find villagers to rescue us. Gavin was even once marched around Budapest at knife point late at night forced to go from ATM to ATM. Once in Greece, a group of us rented a pension over Shabbat. One of the girls mentioned that we were Jewish to the owner five minutes before Shabbat and he insisted we “Jews” leave. When we refused as Shabbat had come in, he brought his uncle, brother and nephews to help forcibly remove us from his establishment.
So on this trip, the most dramatic moment was when I tried to take a photo of Gavin in front of a fish monger holding up a large eel. There were two soldiers standing close by and they insisted that they see my photos and were rather threatening. I had the back of one in the frame and he forced me to delete the photo and go through my 300 other photos to make sure there was no evidence of soldiers in my photos. Boy, did I learn my lesson.
I guess we LOVE the thrill of travel! Yes, I have had stuff stolen–from sunglasses to computers but we have also had amazing experiences. I guess for Gavin and I our travel philosophy is comparable to eating delicious cherry pie. There are pits in the cherries that distract but ultimately the pie is so delicious it’s worth it.
We always have large tables of Shabbat guests and we always have stories to entertain. One that was more funny than scary was when my friend Susan and I managed to spend three nights at Club Med in Corfu before being caught. The security guard came to get us at breakfast and removed any possessions we had including junk jewelry, hair clips and sunglasses in front of a packed dining room. My friend Susan refused to leave until she had eaten seconds of food, based on the premise if she paid for the food she was going to eat her full! Disclaimer: We were only 18 at the time.
Now that we mainly travel with kids, we have less dramatic stories and I look forward to a time when we can take them with us for travel off the beaten path.
Metroimmas, share your travel stories with me here.
Originally published: December 8, 2010