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The "stealing" thread reminded me of an experience with a pair of truly miserable traveling companions and, specifically, the habit one of them had of whistling Ravel's Bolero incessantly, over and over, all day long....as I wrote on that thread, not just the repetive theme but the background Morse-code-like rhythm (yes, I know the rhythm's supposed to be something else, but Ravel claimed the piece was an exercise in music mathematics, so there you are). <BR><BR>Anyway, you can imagine how nerve-wrackingly annoying it was to hear the single-note whistling endlessly, esp. in an already difficult traveling arrangement.<BR><BR>So what is the worst habit of a traveling companion that you've ever had to endure?

Beth

It is so true you don't know someone until you have traveled with her/him. Turned out my best friend reads billboards non-stop, talks incessantly and snores like a truck driver. I was doing all the driving on only hours of sleep each night. Sadly, I had to stop traveling with her.

Suzy

My sister has a bladder the size of a walnut. I went to England with her and felt like I was on the "Loos of London" tour.

naked

My (no longer) best friend,when we went to Acupulco, had this awful habit of walking around the room(casita) naked,with the drapes wide open.I am sure the pool guys were happy but I was miserable.

Josie

My traveling companion had a habit of waking me up in the middle of the night with a booming fart.

never again

once I had to share a room with a horribly loud snorer (whom I didn't know beforehand - it was a group tour, another reason against them). I never really got over jetlag as I never got more than 4 hours of sleep any given night, including my first night in... makes for rather fuzzy memories!

bettyk

Most of the above problems could have been solved or mitigated by a good pair of ear plugs. Never travel without them!

Lana

My best girlfriend and I travel together, but it is taking her longer and longer to get ready in the morning. The makeup alone is about 45 minutes, then when she starts to redo her nails, I go down to breakfast and start my day and she joins me later. She is sweet, but my hints fall on deaf ears.

JOdy

MDH doesn't really have any bad habits that annoy on trips but he says I have one that annoys him! I get up really early wherever we are ..and I never know which section of the suitcase I've put things I need in..so it's ZIP ZIP ZIP ZIP...says it drives him crazy when he's still trying to sleep. I know I could just leave them unzipped the night before but I never remember to do that!

never again

nope - snoring went beyond ear plugs. and a pillow over the head (mine not his)

amy

We used to be best friends with another couple...until we travelled with them.<BR>She is, was, and always will be a delight. He is charming on home turf; he drove us nuts on the trip. He only wanted to do what he wanted to do, including what/where eating (he "got ill" at restaurant food because he only wanted to sit in the motel eating KFC).<BR><BR>But that we could have lived with. We had plane flights from hell going and coming, with all kinds of delays landing, taking off, emergency stops...you name it. He played solitaire six hours going and five hours coming back.<BR><BR>I still hear it in my dreams: trilllll, trillllll, trilllll, slap, slap, slap, trilllll, trillll, trilll.<BR><BR>The only saving grace was that in hour five on the way home, a big football player type in front of him stood up, leaned over the seat, and said, "I'm a patient man, but if I hear that deck of cards in any way shape or form one more time, you will be eating them."

nancy

This thread is so funny! I decided to try out a whirlwind Europe trip a few years ago to find out if I could travel alone - that is, without knowing anyone else ahead of time. I was assigned a very nice lady who had read nothing and had no plans - advantage, I could drag her around to places I wanted to see. But...she was soooo disorganized. She had those quickie all-in-one cameras stuffed in every possible pocket and they kept falling out everywhere. She always had difficulty finding items in her 2 suitcases so that delayed our ventures out. When we got go the airport to go home, she couldn't find her tickets. By then I was so exasperated I'm sure I let her know but stuck with her until she got it together and located her tickets.

BeatChick

My ex-best friend, in spite of the fact that we discussed prior to the trip that it is NOT okay to use flash photography in a cathedral that is performing mass (it's okay - I understand), used FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY in Notre Dame during Sunday Mass (but I wasn't sure when I'd get to come back). AND SHE COMES FROM A STAUNCH ITALIAN CATHOLIC FAMILY!!<BR><BR>Her behavior absolutely drove me nuts. She was the typical ugly American. I can't believe I never noticed this once in our 5 year friendship.

cantsay

My mom is in her 70's and I try to take her places but she steals. Towels, faceclothes, ashtrays, hardboiled eggs and apples at breakfast. Trust me she has a million bad habits- the smoking (and putting the cig butts out and discarding in various potted plants, etc), talking with her mouth full, never listening to a word I (or anyone else) says, saying stupid things too loudly like (and I promise each of thesse phases has come out of her mouth) "LOOK at the funny little midget!" or "Aren't little chinks so cute" but the stealing really puts me over the edge. I find various items after the fact. <BR>(Her constant humming of a non-melody and tapping her finger nails on everything wear on me too).<BR><BR>Thats it- I'm traveling by myself at least once this year..........

Daughter

My Mother and I have great fun travelling together but she packs A LOT and seems to like re-shuffling it around her suitcase in the middle of the night. <BR>On the last family trip, the four of us had less luggage than she did!<BR>then there was the time she woke me up with the suitcase (zip zip rustle rustle) in the middle of the night... "Oh sorry dear did I wake you up?" I couldn't believe it when in the morning I realised I'd told her "I don't care what the HELL you're doing, just do it quietly with the lights off!" Thank goodness we both have a sense of humour and could laugh about it.

mlm

I'm sure I drove my friend crazy with my small bladder, but she drove me flat batty with her luggage-management policies. I put everything in one roll-on and one over-the-shoulder carryon, and my raincoat (which doubled as a bathrobe) was either on my back or in my luggage. I had a small shoulder bag that traveled in the carryon. Friend, however, had a roll-on, TWO carryons, and a large-capacity shoulder bag, AND she refused to put her raincoat in the luggage "because it'll get wrinkled." <BR><BR>Whenever we had to make our way with luggage from point A (train station) to point B (hotel), she would take 5 minutes to arrange all straps and bags, walk about 100 ft., stop and rearrange them, walk about 100 ft., and stop again -- complaining bitterly the whole time about how much she had to carry and how I should wait for her, for pete's sake. After 8 weeks of traveling with her, I began to be truly unpleasant about just walking ahead and assuming she'd catch up eventually. She never did learn to pack her raincoat.

Shanna

SNORING!!!!!!!!! Just about anything else I can endure, but not getting sleep makes me terribly cranky. Although I'm not fond of the "Whatever you want to do is fine with me" companion. Besides feeling like you're carrying all the responsibility for the vacation, they invariably complain that they aren't doing what they want, this restaurant is too expensive, why are we looking at all this old stuff (in a museum!), etc.

TheCenterOf

This thread makes me think of my brother-in-law, Don. He is loud, obnoxious and an embarrassment wherever he goes. He thinks he is a hilarious story teller and if the joke gets a few laughs the first time.....well, that same joke will be repeated at least 5 more times. At a restaurant or at a group function he monopolizes all conversations with long, boring stories that everyone at the table must silently listen to. If you don't - watch out - here comes the sulking and attitude, which ruins everyone's entire evening. <BR><BR>Needless to say, family vacations are usually very predictible.<BR>

Hmm

The Center: I think I know your brother-in-law, or several of them.

Mary

We WERE friends with a very nice couple until we met in Paris for a driving trip. We flew out of different cities and met at the airport in Paris. They had arrived a bit earlier than we did and had already rented the car, and put in their luggage, leaving us little room. Mid day I suggested my husband drive for a while to give the man a rest, and he informed us that we were not on the rental agreement because there would have been an additional driver fee that he felt was too high. We sat in the backseat the whole trip like their children. We went where he wanted, stopped when he wanted, etc. When we would try to escape in a town big enough to have a rental office where we could add our names, the office would be closed every time. The wife would not contribute any ideas so we all four saw what he wanted. <BR>We did run away from them and eat at our own restaurant choices, because he wanted to eat cheese and croissants in the room.