A friend of mine used to say that some journeys are best afterwards, or at least certain stages of certain journeys. You know, things that are quite fun to remember and talk about. But which are not quite as fun at the time ... Some such travel memories below. Do you have any travel memories that are best afterwards?
Disease and cold in Trosa
Sometimes everything goes wrong! As brand new motorhome owners, we go to Trosa. We have absolutely no idea how the car works. It's cold inside, the fuse blows and water leaks all over the floor. I have a migraine and Peter is cooking dinner. I only have time to take one bite before I vomit on the couch ...
In Siberia without food
The train from Irkutsk (Siberia) to Ulan Bataar (Mongolia) takes about a day, but we don't bother packing food because there is a restaurant car on the Trans-Siberian railway... or so we thought. Luckily we met some Norwegians who offered us alcohol, hard bread and cold caviar.
Fleeing unrest in Kenya
And then there was Kenya: There is unrest in the country during the 2007 elections and we finally manage to escape in a taxi between burning car wrecks in the slums. We crossed borders on foot, hopped on a local bus in the Tanzania and get off ... somewhere. There are no vacant hotels, but there is a vacant ... tent.
Pumita says:
Haha, as many as possible! E.g. the one I link to, a bit funny afterwards but at the time I couldn't stop laughing. Your Norwegian diet is absolutely wonderful. 😉
06 December 2010 - 21:46
Annelie says:
Kalles is really a saviour ;)!
Hugs from Singapore!
07 December 2010 - 1:34
Ninny says:
Hahaha yeah doesn't sound like the most fun moments - right then....
Yes, when we went after Rulla-Bärra, we went by boat and had to carry bags with only the essentials... because it wouldn't take long to go home again... Absolutely sure to also find a small shop or at least a petrol station with some fruit, yoghurt, etc. but hmmm forgot that it was the All Saints' weekend and apparently the petrol stations were closed - so we were hungry and really thirsty before we went to bed in the evening, didn't even have water to brush our teeth...
Ate chips and salted liquorice for breakfast... while waiting for an archipelago ferry that was cancelled because it was a weekend... cold as the heating did not work - not funny then - now you laugh at it and your stupidity!
07 December 2010 - 9:48
Ama de casa says:
Of course, there are many things that are more fun to think back on than when you are there...
It's mainly when things go wrong, of course, but (so far, pepper, pepper) it has always worked out and then it becomes a "fun" memory 🙂.
07 December 2010 - 10:09
whole says:
When my friend and I lay in a tent and froze on St Thomas, not everything was rosy. We had sent most of the warm clothes home to make the back lighter...
07 December 2010 - 13:56
Anders and Birgitta says:
When we were entering the too low tunnel in Marseille with the camper van, we could not stop laughing, especially when the TV antenna rolled away on the road and they had to close off the entire descent to the tunnel so that we could leave against the traffic. We often return to that memory and can now laugh about it. After all, it went quite well, a new antenna was purchased and the satellite dish could be repaired by replacing a plastic part and the skylights could be polished nice again. However, the incident made me afraid to go into tunnels that I think "look" a little low when they are not.
07 December 2010 - 15:41
admin says:
Pumita, read the story you link to! Sounds like a nasty experience. You feel small and helpless when you get into trouble and are far from civilisation. Glad you were lucky and that it worked out!
Ninni, typically one of those stories that is more fun afterwards! Not fun to be hungry and thirsty and everything is closed. But in retrospect, it is possible to laugh at the misery ...
Helga, yes definitely more fun afterwards than just then! Freezing is not fun...
Anders and Birgitta, it's fun to come back to these memories and laugh at them! Guess it was more of stress and anxiety at the time... Also comes to mind when we were going to Sopot in Poland last summer (in a long queue) and suddenly see that the tunnel is only 3 m high. We had to stop in the middle of the queue and everyone was honking and shouting... Also more fun afterwards!
😉
07 December 2010 - 16:54
Alexandra says:
Kalles caviar can save many moments! 🙂
07 December 2010 - 17:28
June says:
One of my sickest memories elsewhere was when we were celebrating New Year's Eve far out in the wilderness in the mountains and a friend of mine slipped and cut her arm open at 1.30 in the morning ... It was really bad, she had managed to cut like a V just below the armpit and there was a really big piece of the arm just hanging down. You could see all the layers of skin, flesh and fat, and then the muscle just inside. Eew! Since we were in the middle of nowhere, we had to send a helicopter ambulance for her. However, the paramedics were so weird and funny that already an hour after the incident we were aware that it would be one of the best memories ever 😀.
A: Thank you! It is in Tunisia 🙂 Oh what fun to go to Morocco, it is a destination that is on the list. But when I went to Tunisia this summer, it was far too hot in Morocco, otherwise I might have bitten it already. Hope you have great fun!
07 December 2010 - 18:01
LeiaMia says:
Oh yes, we have many such memories! The first thing that comes to my mind was in Uganda two years ago, when it had rained and we got stuck with the jeep in a swamp in the pitch darkness with two terrified Ugandan children in the back seat who were travelling by car for the first time in their lives... We weren't so cocky then, but afterwards you can laugh about it. Well, we did get out in the end!
07 December 2010 - 20:40
admin says:
June, sounds scary! But nice with an ambulance helicopter and relaxed staff. It's amazing that something like this, which is really not fun right when it happens, can still be a good memory afterwards!
LeiaMia, it doesn't sound fun to get stuck with the car like that, and in the dark! And the poor children had a dramatic first car ride... But of course, these things are always nice and fun to laugh about afterwards, when you know that it went well.
😉
07 December 2010 - 21:01
Marie says:
But wow, you were involved in some weird stuff! But these are the memories that remain afterwards. Great!
09 December 2010 - 23:05
Diana says:
Oh my goodness! You experience a lot when you are brave and dare to try things. I myself am so cowardly that I almost don't even dare to take the local bus abroad. Haha! How was Ulan Bataar? I saw that name when we flew home from China and became so curious about it that I had to google it.
10 December 2010 - 9:07
admin says:
Diana, we only spent about a day in Ulan Bataar and about 2 days on the Mongolian steppe. But I would have liked to stay longer.
Ulan Bataar was an Asian city with a mix of modern and old: new shopping centres, old Chinese buildings, aunties sitting on every corner with a phone that you could call from if you paid her some coins.
If you go there, you should also visit the beautiful steppe. Lovely to go horseback riding there and to stay one night in a yurt.
10 December 2010 - 9:18