a most paranoid traveler...
By Cutie18f
@Cutie18f (9551)
Philippines
April 20, 2013 7:02pm CST
First off, I hate traveling, but I had to do it again because of family reasons. I had to go to another island which means I needed to travel by boat or by ferry boat and take the long road trip. However, I had to save time so I opted to take the big boat which sails midnight and arrives at dawn. I just bought an economy ticket which means non-aircon and with many people. Anyway, the deck assigned to me was in the middle of all the other decks. That means to say I have to pass through many people's decks before I reached mine. Well, the first thing I looked for were the life jackets. I am glad that life jackets were right there on top of my deck. I tried to sleep but could not since there were kids on a nearby deck so I decided to go to the red section, my deck was on the green section, to look around and to see if there were vacant beds there and indeed I found around 4 vacant beds. I decided to transfer. While there,I noticed that there were no life jackets near the decks. I looked around and saw a huge box far from the decks which contained the life jackets. Oh my. I felt uncomfortable so I went back to the green room but transferred to another deck away from the noisy kids. Then while I was trying to get some sleep, I noticed a bad smell. I looked around and saw that near me was someone who looked like he didn't bathe. I had to transfer again to another area. Oh boy. It was an exhausting trip for me.
7 responses
@julyteen (13252)
• Davao, Philippines
21 Apr 13
That would be your interesting and memorable trip happened in your life. Next time better travel by plane to avoid any inconvenience and lessen your time of trip. Everytime I sail by vessel I always book in the tourist area than staying in the economy.
@emily7339 (1337)
• Malaysia
21 Apr 13
I am sorry that you had an uncomfortable travel by boat. Travelling is surely the most tiring especially in a boat. I will never be at peace having to be on the water for so many hours 
. I hope you will get a more comfortable trip back home 
.
. I hope you will get a more comfortable trip back home .
@wolfie34 (26771)
• United Kingdom
21 Apr 13
I am not a good traveller at all my friend, you are travelling with strangers, and you have to sit near and be around people who have bad habits, who are too noisy, have screaming kids, they are unpleasant, or they won't leave you alone. It's very rare that I will go on a boat, or a plane, because for me it's like being on a floating or flying prison, there is no escape, you are stuck with these people and you can't get away from them. I tend to try and find somewhere on my own, if it's not too crowded, but you can bet your bottom dollar that there will always be someone who doesn't respect your personal space.
@nanayangel (7879)
• Philippines
21 Apr 13
Hi there Cutie18f!
I am sorry to hear about your travel experience. It would be so hard not to be able to get enough rest when traveling. That is actually one reason why I like traveling by plane since the travel time is much faster and I would not have to worry much about not being able to rest since I only have domestic travel experiences so usually, the longest travel time would be one hour. I hope that you'll have better experience on your way back home.
@cowboyofhell (3063)
• Philippines
21 Apr 13
It sometimes help to think that anything vacant tells a sign. Anywhere vacant there seems a story behind like a haunted house. So, next time you see vacant places, start wondering why because the surprises are unknown until you find out the hard way. No life jackets? Smelly person? Don't go to that vacant area. I see the back of the bus empty of passengers and I sat there. When we were along the zigzag roads going to Baguio, I threw up so bad but thankfully the passengers at the back alighted before it occurred. I should stay where people stay next time I thought.
@LegalAlien (641)
• Serbia
21 Apr 13
There is no place like home... :)
Glad you survived the trip :p
@maximax8 (31046)
• United Kingdom
21 Apr 13
I am sorry that it was an exhausting trip for you and I wish you better luck next time. The bad smell must have been awful. There should have been more life jackets just in case.
I traveled to Colombia in 2011. The flights there had delay, missed connections, some lost luggage and mostly delayed luggage. I was with my disabled son and my daughter. We took a boat trip for a day out and I was sea sick. I hated the dangerous transfer from the big boat to an over crowded tiny boat. I felt so scared.
I decided to come back to the city by bus, taxi and river boat for a very short traveling distance. It was a real adventure and we got back to the city very late indeed. I will never forget that day out.
