Most of us can oftentimes drift into thoughts of travel while stuck at home wondering when the world is safely opening up.
Setting off with a bag of essentials, and whatever cash we have in our accounts sure sounds nice, but what about when we arrive? The world is a big place and it's doubtful it'll have gotten less dangerous since a worldwide pandemic halted it.
Reddit user, u/g_1234, wanted to hear about your horrifying experiences when alone when they asked:
Solo travelers, what is your creepiest travel story?
Venturing Into The Unknown
When you travel, you're stepping into someone else's domain as a guest. This means you must walk with respect, with an open mind and clear eyes, because if you don't, then something lurking around the corner might just be waiting for you.
Stepping Into The Wild Frontier
In argentine patagonia, almost got hunted by a puma.
It was dusk and I was overlooking the lake when I heard rustling behind me in the tree line. I kept staring for a while before I saw it and thank god I didn't make a run for it as it would've been my initial reaction. Instead I started yelling and cursing and throwing rocks at it as I had been told to do by the locals, and it left me alone.
That night I kept a fire lit until late in the evening and then went to sleep with a flashlight on and my knife at hand (and that's not to sound bad-ss, I never used it to hunt and I was scared as sh!t).
Stranded Alone In The Black
I drove into Death Valley National Park without any place to sleep for the night. I just thought it's a big touristy area and there's probably tons of hotels there. It was 9PM and just getting dark and it was hot as hell. I did find one hotel but it was full, and my car was starting to run out of gas and I did not have any cell phone reception. My rental car overheated and I was stuck in the immense heat in the dark of the night at about 11PM. Finally the car cooled enough that I was able to start it again and drive out, it was scary as hell though because there was nobody in that entire national park except for me.
Sounds Like A Fun YA Adventure
I got locked in a museum once. Security guard didn't do the proper rounds when locking the door. Thankfully I ran into one of them when trying to get out. Was in there for nearly an hour after it closed (didn't realized it was closed for nearly 50 minutes - so I wasn't in a panic mode). Was kinda creepy seeing all the exhibits off, no staff anywhere. Just 2 security guards who I guess worked late for instances just like mine.
And Sometimes, It's Not Always Nature
I was staying in a B&B in Donegal, Ireland where every room on the floor shared a bathroom. I went in one morning to pee and there was a man with his pants around his ankles asleep in the bathtub. The soap dish and towel rack where all torn off the wall and it appeared he had fallen over while relieving himself and fallen in the tub. While struggling to get out with his pants down he had torn things from the wall. He then proceeded to pass out. I woke the man and helped him from the tub after which he proceeded to hug me and declare me his hero. And this is how I ended up embraced by a drunken Irishman with his pant around his ankles.
Creepy Feeling In The Back Of Your Mind
They say, "trust your gut." That when you're out on your own, and you get that sick feeling in the back of your stomach or when you start to sweat just above your brow, you should listen to it. Run from wherever you are, because usually trouble is about to strike like lightning.
Trust Your Gut And Get Out
I was traveling Eastern Europe when I was 17. I went to a club in Prague and was making out with an Australian guy. Things were getting pretty hot and heavy when he told me that I was the same age as his students and he always wants to have a thing with one of them. Turns out he was a high school teacher. Even though he was only 22-23 I still found it super creepy and begged off.
Gathering People Is Always Bad
I was in Hanoi. I'd just landed in the city and had been in Vietnam for 4-5 days at that point. I had just had some Cha Ca in the old quarter, and I flagged a taxi to take me to hostel that someone else had recommended to me. Big mistake.
I think the distance was like 3km, and when we reached our destination the cab stopped near a few other taxis. The meter said 36.000, which to me is pretty clearly thirty six thousand. The cabbie however refused to take my money, saying it was three sixty thousand.
I argued for a few minutes, then I looked around to find myself surrounded by 3-4 other cabbies, all looking at me like I had murdered their grandmas. Mind you, this was on a busy street at like 7 PM, and other people either did not notice or decided not to intervene.
So I stopped arguing and just coughed up the money. I know that's pretty tame but that's my creepiest travel story, and I have actually travelled quite a bit.
Follow Her
I was walking through Paris looking for the closest metro station to go back to my hostel. I was trying not to look lost, but I was very lost. There was this intersection shaped like the hub of a wheel, and I knew the metro was on one of the streets radiating out from it, so I started going down the streets one by one.
As I went down one particularly deserted street I passed two men sitting in a doorway. In French one muttered to the other, "a woman", and they both got up to follow me. Luckily I could see the train a block ahead, so I checked my imaginary watch and started running. I made it before the train left. I don't know how far the men followed me, but there was hardly anyone at the station so I'm glad the train was there.
We're Always Watching You
Had a layover in Moscow, flying from Seoul to Barcelona a few years ago. Aeroflot, of course.
Standard economy ticket, nothing special.
We land as usual, and are leaving. Cabin crew and pilot were thanking us as we left. When I got to the door, the captain looks at me and grins. "thanks for flying with us Captain (last name)." I was a military Intel guy at the time, and it seemed apparent they wanted me to know I was being watched and tracked.
My phone immediately started blowing up with Russian phone numbers calling it once I cleared security and hid out at a different terminal than my follow on flight. Never been to Russia before, no friends or family. Super weird.
Horrible People Are Everywhere
The last thing you should probably know about traveling alone: there are horrible people everywhere.
This. This Is What Women Deal With.
Was waiting outside the train station in Salzburg by the fountains to head back to Vienna. It was nighttime and I wanted to people watch and be outside.
Some guy kept walking in my view, whistling. He then approached me asking what's my business and I kept my answers very blunt, not really interested and keeping my guard.
Mind you, I was a 20-something-year old female at the time. He tried to lean for a kiss when I was not interested and definitely said NO when he asked. I shoved him away and started walking fast to the train platforms in hopes he wouldn't be behind me
This. This is the bullsh-t creeps female solo [travelers] have to f-cking deal with. I can't even sit outside a public, well trafficked area, by myself waiting for a train without being approached
Locked Up For The Night
Traveling in Cambodia. Went to a club with a group of new friends from the hostel I was staying at and hopped on a bus early the next morning to head to the beach (about an 8 hour drive). Later that night one of the girls from the hostel arrives off the bus. Turns out the night before she left the club by herself and got into a tuktuk. The tuktuk driver took her about an hour out of the city and locked her in a shed.
She screamed for hours until an old Cambodian man found her, took her to his house and was able to find out where her hostel was by using Google translate on his iPad. Her took her back to the hostel and she proceeded to take the bus 8 hours to where we were and get blackout drunk. I can honestly say, even before this story, Cambodia is the one place I will never go back to. From the moment I crossed the border from Laos I was on edge and crossing back into Thailand I felt immediate relief.
Hey! This Isn't Your Room!
Waking up to my hotel room being burgled. Was real annoying.Thankfully the only thing taken was my petty cash before I woke up and chased him
A "Shortcut"
Had some dude try to haul me off my first day in Berlin.
He stopped to ask me a question when I was in Tiergarten, and proceeded to grab me by the wrist and refuse to let me go. I had told him I was going to Alexanderplatz and he started dragging me out of the park, telling me he would 'show me a shortcut' that he insisted would only take five minutes to get there (for those of you that have never been, it's at least a 30 minute walk.) I was so panicked I didn't know what to do and couldn't even scream, all I could think was that he was going to take to somewhere where no one would be able to help me.
I had a friend who I was staying with in the city text me at the right time and managed to beg off and say she was waiting for me back at Brandenburger Tor station, which was the opposite direction. He only let me go if I open mouth kissed him goodbye and gave me his number, which he made me call so he was sure 'I had the right one.' He was pulling me towards the holocaust memorial, so after he let go I rushed to it and hid in it so he wouldn't follow me.
Funnily enough that night was the first day of the 2014 World Cup. I was still really shaken, but still wanted to watch the game. I also wanted to go somewhere where I could talk to people in English because I was very 'f-ck dealing with Germans' at that point. I ended up at an Irish bar and the Irish bartender is now my husband and we live in Berlin.
Always Have An Umbrella With You
Travelling in Asia at the time. I got a tuktuk to go to the center of a village with a young driver. We started driving and he turned around while telling me he wouldn't take me to the center of the village because he knew a better spot in the jungle - a place he and his friends loved... I told him no, I want to go to the center of the village and that's it. He got angry and sped up while I was considering my chances of just jumping out. But then he also grabbed my arm in a tight grip so I knew for sure no good would come from the situation.
Luckily for me I had an umbrella with me and with my free hand I started slamming him with it as hard as I could till he stopped the vehicle and he offered me to "take me to the center of the village. lol. No. I ended up walking 3 hours to the village. I had planned one more day there and was constantly confronted by people that I was the girl who attacked the tuktuk driver offering me rides. Pretty sure they were his friends.. I strictly stayed in busy areas till I was able to take a train out. F that situation.
The urge to travel after the world is safe to open up again is strong. You'll see things you've only read about and have encounters no one else could have unless they follow that urge, take it with them, and leave what they know. With that urge, though, comes great risk. Be safe if you do.
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