23 Apr 2020

Everyone knows how fab gap years are. Gallivanting across the globe, indulging in self-discovery, free as a bird.

But the horror stories are typically glazed over. I mean, you can't have a rainbow without a little rain, right?

Truth be told, my gap year had quite a lot of rain but hey, those ended up being the best stories to tell. Here's just a handful of my embarrassing misadventures.

 

1. I accidentally sent a guy to court

Let me paint the scene. A day was spent in euphoria as I pranced around Liverpool, England, getting giddy from all the Beatlemania. To me, it was heaven on earth.

But my spirits vanished as we got to the train station, ready to head off to our next destination. My train pass was missing. See, my mate and I had bought unlimited train passes that'd get us anywhere around the UK for a month. They were pretty expensive but we definitely got our money worth... until I'd lost mine. 

We searched through my suitcase, went back to the hostel, retraced our footsteps of the whole day. Hours later, we gave up and explained the situation to reception at the station. I was told that if I talked to the Britrail Police, I may be able to get some money back.

So my mate and I trekked over, explained my story to Britrail Police and the man said: “there’s not much we can do”. I was defeated. 

Suddenly, an angel entered the room. “Hang on, is this your train pass?” this glorious stranger asked. He was holding it in a sandwich bag as if it were evidence.

Shortly after being reunited with my very expensive train pass, I was questioned by two officers and was told that a seedy guy had swiped it and tried to re-sell it. He'd apparently been caught doing a lot of dingy things and was finally being sent to court. 

They wanted me to come to the trial, but I'd be in Berlin by then. Lmao, peace.

2. I got a bug stuck in my ear

There I was, fast asleep in a hostel in Thailand with a belly full of delicious food and a heart gushed up from meeting so many fab locals. Suddenly, I catapulted out of bed from an insane buzzing in my ear. It was a bug! And it wouldn't reverse out of there.

I was wailing around like a headless chicken, trying not to wake everyone up in the hostel dorm. After a while, I hopped in the shower to try and wash it out.

Unfortunately, I ended up killing the bug. RIP. But the kicker is that it died in my ear. Yep, I could still feel it in my ear. Basically, my ear had become a bug graveyard. Great.

The next morning, I asked the hostel owner where a pharmacy was so I could get my hands on ear drops. The owner hardly spoke any English so I put my Year 10 drama skills to the test and acted out a bug flying into my ear. Behind the owner was an old Thai man that was pissing himself from laughter as he watched my once-in-a-lifetime performance.

The bug finally came out after a few days, but left me with some serious PTSD. 

3. I had $2000 stolen from me

I was staying in a hostel in Ireland, wearing my underwear as my clothes were all in the wash. I checked my bank balance online and immediately entered shock mode. I had $2000 missing on my travel card.

I wrapped myself in a blanket and sprinted to the reception. People were out partying and a group yelled for me to join.

"I HAVE TWO GRAND MISSING!" I yelled in anguish, sprinting down.

Reception helped me contact my bank but the guy over the phone was obviously new. He was flipping through pages, unsure, and just kept saying "man, that sucks." Yes, I know! So, can you help me?!

Few months down the track with a pretty hefty sum missing from my pocket, I was reunited with my $2000. My bank had somehow traced the money to New York. I'd never been to New York so that remains a mystery but oh well, I got it back!

Truth be told, in the moment of these horror stories, I was panicking. But writing these stories, I’m cackling. There will always be crappy and chaotic moments whilst travelling, but a lot of the time, they're the funniest anecdotes.

Honourable mentions for horror stories include bed bugs in Austria, sick in Switzerland and getting lost more times than one can count... it was the best gap year I ever could have asked for.