One always likes to be prepared before heading anywhere unfamiliar, but what do you do if your preparations aren’t quite as spot-on as you would have anticipated? You probably just made a mistake.
While mistakes are wonderfully normal, many can be embarrassing or cringe-worthy. Some travelers on Reddit and BuzzFeed’s community shared embarrassing things they’ve done in foreign countries.
The poster shared their story first
The user who first wrote on r/travel asking about people’s embarrassing travel stories started with theirs, sharing that they once held up the line at the cashier in Switzerland because they thought their veggies would be weighed at the till like they are in Canada rather than by the veggie stand.
One person accidentally cursed in French
An exchange student shared that they had accidentally used “I don’t give a f–k” instead of “I don’t care” in conversation with a friend in France and only found out about it when they were back in the US.
Another did something embarrassing as it looked like they were trying to bribe an officer when they handed him their passport pouch with money still in it.
A user made a confusing mistake in Indonesia
One Redditor shared that it took them “four days and many confused looks” to find out that they had been saying “until you die” instead of “see you later” in Bahasa Indonesia.
Time differences can be confusing, a user shared that they’ve shown up to hotels a day before their actual reservation more than once.
A greeting card mistake and an airport mishap
A user shared that prior to becoming better at English, their mother handed her boss a greeting card that said ‘with sympathy,’ thinking it meant something like ‘with appreciation.’ This was an honest mistake!
Another person briefly shared, “Turns out SJC is NOT the airport code for San Jose, Costa Rica. Rather, it’s San Jose, California. I figured this one out too late.” Oops…
Glass can sometimes just be air?
A traveler in Russia had a confusing conversation with the person behind the deli counter. They thought they needed help to reach the prepackaged meat, but the glass counter was actually “just fresh air.”
One person booked a hotel in 2024 instead of 2023 when they had been travelling to Vegas for a festival, yikes.
Someone high-fived a guard
One traveler in the Philippines accepted the help of “a cop (perhaps a security guard)” to find their friend. When he extended his hand, they high-fived him, only to later realize he had been asking for a tip.
Another had to cut a hole in their blouse so they could get through airport security because their salesman had forgotten to remove the security tag.
Dipping sauce as soup
A traveler shared the hilarious time they drank their dipping sauce in a restaurant in Kyoto, thinking it was soup.
Another shared that their friend had said, “Estoy embarazada,” thinking it meant “I’m embarrassed,” when it actually means “I’m pregnant” in Spanish. Now, that’s a serious miscommunication.
Another Spanish miscommunication
One person thought their coworker had overshared when they said they were “constipado” but later found out the word just meant they had a cold.
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A Redditor shared that after weeks of anticipation, they found out they had booked a hotel in St. John’s, New Brunswick, not St. John’s, Newfoundland, which are a 24-hour drive apart.
Someone’s father booked a hotel in a different country
A user shared that their dad had made really cheap reservations for a hotel in Spain, only to later find out the reservation was actually for a hotel in Chile. Change of itinerary, anyone?
Someone also booked a redeye flight and completely missed their departure date and the conference they were heading to. Oops.
A user suffered serious dehydration
Although they were told tap water was unsafe to drink on a trip through South Asia, a user had one glass from their hotel’s water cooler. This caused about 30 trips to the bathroom and dehydration.
Another person found out they were yelling “Soup!” instead of “Stop!” at taxis in China. LOL!
