Hi friends, and thanks for stopping by to read Someone Once Asked Me What Happens When Things Go Wrong When You Travel aka travel disasters.
I’m sure you’ve read travel blogs where every traveller posts sunsets, cocktails, and pristine beaches where palm trees sway.
Nobody ever posts themselves sitting on the floor of an airport eating crackers beside Gate 14 after discovering their bank card no longer works.
Someone once asked me what happens when things go wrong when you travel.
I laughed.
Because eventually you stop asking if things will go wrong and start asking whether this particular disaster can be solved with cash, WiFi, or snacks.
Is now the time to talk about how Latam Airlines cancelled my flight from Trujillo to Lima three hours before departure? Crap like that leaves you with angry shakes and scrambling to make alternate travel arrangements.
Let’s chat about what else to expect when you travel.
You will become capable of solving minor crises in flip-flops.
You will discover that panic burns valuable phone battery.
You will learn that airport WiFi can sense desperation and shuts down.
You will develop the ability to cry internally while smiling politely at customer service agents.
You will discover there are very few travel problems that are improved by carrying more luggage.
You will eventually have a banking issue while standing in a country where your phone number no longer works.
You will learn the emotional importance of backup credit cards. Wise is my extremely unreliable back up card.
You will say things like: “Well… at least I still have my passport.”
You will spend shocking amounts of time trying to connect to WiFi in order to fix the problem that prevented you from buying more WiFi.
You will discover that “24-hour support” and “helpful support” are not the same thing. Yeah, I’m looking at you Latam!
You will become weirdly calm in situations that would have destroyed you ten years ago.
You will learn how to repack an entire suitcase in under three minutes while sweating aggressively.
You will have at least one moment where you stare at a bus station sign like it personally betrayed you.
You will realize that being “flexible” sometimes means sitting on your backpack for six hours eating melted chocolate.
You will become emotionally attached to portable chargers.
You will learn that every experienced traveller has a story involving tears, exhaustion, and questionable sandwiches.
You will discover that missing transportation by thirty seconds can alter the emotional trajectory of an entire day.
You will accidentally book something for the wrong month, wrong city, wrong airport, or possibly wrong country.
You will eventually have one perfect travel day immediately after a complete disaster and wonder if the universe is mocking you.
You will learn that most travel stories become funny approximately three days later.
You will realize that reality looks a lot less glamorous than Instagram suggested.
You will question if the email or WhatsApp you received from your hotel is legit or if a scammer hacked their reservation system.
You will have language mix ups. Your translator app can sometimes go crazy and say something completely different than what you intended.
You will get on a wrong bus.
You will become deeply grateful for water pressure normally associated with a weak garden hose.
You will learn that “hot water” is sometimes more of a hopeful suggestion than an actual amenity.
You will stop reacting when the showerhead is directly beside the toilet.
You will instinctively look for a garbage can beside every toilet and feel immediate panic when there isn’t one.
You will become weirdly skilled at showering without getting your hair wet because the water temperature cannot be trusted.
You will learn to appreciate accommodations whose plumbing sounds only mildly haunted.
You will discover that flushing toilet paper can instantly transform an ordinary evening into an international plumbing emergency.
You will rejoice when you can eventually say: “The WiFi works, the bed is clean, and the shower is mostly functional.” …with genuine gratitude.
You will stop expecting perfection and start celebrating survivability.
You will quietly feel superior every time another traveler is panicking over SIM cards while your Airalo eSIM connected three countries ago.
You will eventually become the person helping younger travelers figure out mobile data while wondering when exactly you turned into the competent adult.
You will learn that toilet seats are apparently optional in some countries.
You will realize that “included breakfast” can mean anything from a full buffet to one lonely bread roll and instant coffee.
You will become strangely comfortable with dogs barking continuously from 2 AM until sunrise.
You will eventually accept that somewhere, somehow, a rooster always knows where you are.
Because experienced travellers aren’t the people who never have problems.
They’re the people who keep going anyway.
Because travel doesn’t teach you how to avoid problems.
It teaches you that you can survive more than you thought you could.
Travel turns you into a more confidant person because somewhere between the missed flights, dead phones, scams, wrong turns, and public meltdowns…
you become surprisingly hard to scare.
Published by Cheryl @ The Lifestyle Digs on July 2, 2026.
