Solo Travel - What was your scariest travel moment?
May 25th, 2008, 04:17 PM
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 10,190
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Solo Travel - What was your scariest travel moment?
For me, it was while visiting the Toronto Islands. I arrived on the islands about 10 a.m. and within an hour, a local guy had attached himself to me. I spent about 3 hours just walking around and around trying to convince him to go his separate way. Finally he did.
By then, my feet were killing me, but I wanted to take a sunset photo of the Toronto skyline from the island, so I found my perfect spot to take the photo and got comfy with a book. People came and went as I read and the sun finally started to move lower in the sky. Another woman came and sat. As the sun started going down, we both started taking photos. After a bit, she said goodbye and headed off.
I thought at that moment that I should go, but I decided to wait just a bit longer for the sun to go under, and kept on shooting.
The next thing I know it's night, there are very few lights, there's no one around, and I'd been reading a Toronto-based vampire/werewolf novel. Seeing vampires and werewolves behind every tree, I hobbled as fast as my sore little legs would take me, freaking at every little sound, scared I was going to miss the last ferry off the island. Finally, I reached the ferry and civilization. I don't scare easily, but that one just sparked my imagination.
How about you?
By then, my feet were killing me, but I wanted to take a sunset photo of the Toronto skyline from the island, so I found my perfect spot to take the photo and got comfy with a book. People came and went as I read and the sun finally started to move lower in the sky. Another woman came and sat. As the sun started going down, we both started taking photos. After a bit, she said goodbye and headed off.
I thought at that moment that I should go, but I decided to wait just a bit longer for the sun to go under, and kept on shooting.
The next thing I know it's night, there are very few lights, there's no one around, and I'd been reading a Toronto-based vampire/werewolf novel. Seeing vampires and werewolves behind every tree, I hobbled as fast as my sore little legs would take me, freaking at every little sound, scared I was going to miss the last ferry off the island. Finally, I reached the ferry and civilization. I don't scare easily, but that one just sparked my imagination.
How about you?
May 25th, 2008, 07:54 PM
#2
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 45,322
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yikes Toeds, that does sound scary and stressful. One reason I don't read stories about vampires/werewolfs, lol.
I can't think of any real scary moments while on a trip. The few I had were closer to home. Stopped at a red light around midnight where there were gangs on two different corners and all of the fellows were staring at me and the red light seemed to take forever to go green. And one time while on BART late one winter evening a group of hoods came into the car I was on which was pretty vacant. They looked ready to cause a problem but thankfully nothing happened. I was apprehensive however. That was the last time I took BART when it was dark and I was by myself.
I can't think of any real scary moments while on a trip. The few I had were closer to home. Stopped at a red light around midnight where there were gangs on two different corners and all of the fellows were staring at me and the red light seemed to take forever to go green. And one time while on BART late one winter evening a group of hoods came into the car I was on which was pretty vacant. They looked ready to cause a problem but thankfully nothing happened. I was apprehensive however. That was the last time I took BART when it was dark and I was by myself.
May 26th, 2008, 07:37 AM
#3
I've been very lucky in that I have no traveling solo scary moments to report... beyond small things like getting lost (Paris) or finding myself in a part of town that seemed not really where I belonged (Amsterdam). But nothing (knock wood) that was beyond simply being a bit intimidated by a new situation or where I did not speak the language.
May 28th, 2008, 05:28 PM
#4
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
You know, the scariest moment always seems to be the night before I leave, when I think "can I do this? will I have fun? I'll be alone, what if something happens?" But once I start the actual trip, the excitement of a new adventure overwhelms any fear and I enjoy every minute of it.
May 28th, 2008, 06:21 PM
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 10,190
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
LI - Not too stressful, but definitely adrenaline-pumping! When I got back to the hotel, I was laughing at myself over it, but it did get my feet moving quite quickly. 
Suze - not an axe murderer in sight on any trip??
RedK - Welcome to the Solo forum (OK, it's not called that, but we're trying...). I get that fear too, often it's connected to the "will my house burn down while I'm gone" fear.
Suze - not an axe murderer in sight on any trip??
RedK - Welcome to the Solo forum (OK, it's not called that, but we're trying...). I get that fear too, often it's connected to the "will my house burn down while I'm gone" fear.
May 28th, 2008, 07:10 PM
#6
toedtoes - after a memorable night reading "Day of the Triffids", when I was afraid to turn the bedroom light off, I'm a bit careful about where I read scary books!
RedK - I second the welcome to another solo traveler.
Scary moments: Well, I've had a couple of somewhat upsetting incidents on night trains, one in Siberia and one in Ukraine. This is from my trip report on the Siberian one (bear in mind I'm a female):
"By the middle of the second afternoon I had the compartment to myself until, well after a stop, the provodnik (male attendant on the day shift) came by to announce the arrival of another passenger. A youngish man with only a carrier bag for luggage, he leaned over me to declare that he was going for vodka. I was annoyed: it seemed likely that I would be woken by a drunken return in the middle of the night. In fact, he reappeared in about an hour. He shut the door, which I promptly reopened, sat down and leaned across the table, talking in a persistent and over-friendly manner. When I failed to respond in kind he reached over to touch me. I lost my temper and told him to get out, then hunted down the provodnik to insist that he be moved - I felt that the lone German man next door would be a more appropriate companion.
At first I thought that I had overreacted. Then I found that he had bothered the young Aussie men further along to the point that they also threw him out, I noticed the waitress in the dining car telling him to get lost, and the last I saw of him he was wearing handcuffs and being marched off by two security guards."
RedK - I second the welcome to another solo traveler.
Scary moments: Well, I've had a couple of somewhat upsetting incidents on night trains, one in Siberia and one in Ukraine. This is from my trip report on the Siberian one (bear in mind I'm a female):
"By the middle of the second afternoon I had the compartment to myself until, well after a stop, the provodnik (male attendant on the day shift) came by to announce the arrival of another passenger. A youngish man with only a carrier bag for luggage, he leaned over me to declare that he was going for vodka. I was annoyed: it seemed likely that I would be woken by a drunken return in the middle of the night. In fact, he reappeared in about an hour. He shut the door, which I promptly reopened, sat down and leaned across the table, talking in a persistent and over-friendly manner. When I failed to respond in kind he reached over to touch me. I lost my temper and told him to get out, then hunted down the provodnik to insist that he be moved - I felt that the lone German man next door would be a more appropriate companion.
At first I thought that I had overreacted. Then I found that he had bothered the young Aussie men further along to the point that they also threw him out, I noticed the waitress in the dining car telling him to get lost, and the last I saw of him he was wearing handcuffs and being marched off by two security guards."
May 29th, 2008, 06:45 AM
#7
Nope, no serial killers either, toedtoes.
The ironic thing is I HAVE had scary things happen to me (years ago I was attacked but able to fight the guy off, on two separate occasions crazy males in cars picked a fight because they didn't like the way I was driving, one threatened "if I had a gun..." & this was for driving to slow thru a carwash out in the 'burbs ;-)
Point being, guess I'm safer traveling solo abroad, then living in my own home town -lol.
The ironic thing is I HAVE had scary things happen to me (years ago I was attacked but able to fight the guy off, on two separate occasions crazy males in cars picked a fight because they didn't like the way I was driving, one threatened "if I had a gun..." & this was for driving to slow thru a carwash out in the 'burbs ;-)
Point being, guess I'm safer traveling solo abroad, then living in my own home town -lol.
May 29th, 2008, 06:50 AM
#8
thursdaysd wow- now that's a good story with a great ending (the handcuffs part).
RedK, Another friendly fodor's welcome to you.
and last but not least, thanks for starting the thread toedtoes.
RedK, Another friendly fodor's welcome to you.
and last but not least, thanks for starting the thread toedtoes.
May 29th, 2008, 07:00 AM
#9
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 141
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Traveled solo to Tunisia, decided to take a little stroll through the Medina. It was an amazingly beautiful place. Than I realized I was lost. A single female lost in a giant maze, can't speak the language. As all the streets started looking the same, I could feel my heart starting to beat faster and faster. It took me a good 15 to 20 minutes to get someplace that looked familiar.
Uh, won't do that again.
Uh, won't do that again.
May 31st, 2008, 04:27 PM
#10
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2006
Posts: 10,190
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thursday - I like that story! Excitement, mystery, suspense and a happy ending!
Shangrila - I hope it won't keep you from getting out and about, maybe just have a map tucked away in a pocket or purse?
(edited to correct Shangrila's name that I misspelled
)
Shangrila - I hope it won't keep you from getting out and about, maybe just have a map tucked away in a pocket or purse?
(edited to correct Shangrila's name that I misspelled
)
Jun 7th, 2008, 09:15 PM
#12
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 9,285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Finding myself in a bed with a man in Karachi Pakistan, against my will, and going to lock myself in the bathroom and staying there all night. 1989.
Most recently, last October I stayed in a hostel in NYC arriving at midnight to a 4 bunk bed room that was already full with three other people. As I climbed into the last bed, I realized the occupant beneath me was a young man and the rhythmic motions that ensued beneath me were probably his "sleep aid."
Most recently, last October I stayed in a hostel in NYC arriving at midnight to a 4 bunk bed room that was already full with three other people. As I climbed into the last bed, I realized the occupant beneath me was a young man and the rhythmic motions that ensued beneath me were probably his "sleep aid."
Jun 7th, 2008, 09:31 PM
#13
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Ewww and lmao at the "sleep aid".
The only thing I can think of was while I was sitting a little too close to the edge at the Cliffs of Mohr some guy came up behind me walking back and forth for quite sometime. There was a lot of space around so I got a an uneasy feeling that he surely had some ill will planned for me. He was really only a few short feet behind me, one little nudge and I would've been a pile of broken, shattered bones at the bottom of the Cliffs. He eventually left. *whew*
I guess I can also add walking back to my guesthouse in Dresden at night, a little late in a rough looking area. Coming across people was a little unnerving. I know there are still little wanna be nazi's running around.
None of this has stopped me from traveling. =P
The only thing I can think of was while I was sitting a little too close to the edge at the Cliffs of Mohr some guy came up behind me walking back and forth for quite sometime. There was a lot of space around so I got a an uneasy feeling that he surely had some ill will planned for me. He was really only a few short feet behind me, one little nudge and I would've been a pile of broken, shattered bones at the bottom of the Cliffs. He eventually left. *whew*
I guess I can also add walking back to my guesthouse in Dresden at night, a little late in a rough looking area. Coming across people was a little unnerving. I know there are still little wanna be nazi's running around.
None of this has stopped me from traveling. =P
Jun 7th, 2008, 09:41 PM
#14
Join Date: Jul 2007
Posts: 9,285
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Your story, Tzarina, reminds me of a habit I've picked up as a solo woman traveler....I avoid sidewalks in dark places. If uninhabited and dark, I prefer to walk on the streets and stay away from the sidewalks so no one can leap out from the bushes and grab me. Perhaps paranoia, perhaps savvy proactive maneuvering?
Jun 7th, 2008, 10:25 PM
#15
Join Date: Dec 2005
Posts: 578
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Yeah, I'm pretty attentive of my where abouts and I walk with gusto even if I have no idea where I am.
I've been meaning to pick this book up ever since he was on Oprah.
http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Gavi.../dp/0440226198
I've been meaning to pick this book up ever since he was on Oprah.
http://www.amazon.com/Gift-Fear-Gavi.../dp/0440226198
Jun 13th, 2008, 12:49 PM
#19
My scariest times have been things more along the lines of getting very sick or injured when I was traveling alone, rather than anything that was done to me by someone else or because of the location I was visiting. Sick, alone, in a strange hotel, in a city you don't know can really do it to you (or to me anyways).
Jun 14th, 2008, 08:45 AM
#20
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 172
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
As a 22 yo, I was led off a train in rural Thailand by a man holding a machine gun and told by gestures to sit on the bench on the platform. Luckily, there was a monk who spoke English there who told me (after 10 or so very long minutes) that I'd been on the wrong train and that my train would be right along.
