#TTOT Round-Up: Worst Travel Ever

Every Tuesday it's Travel Talk on Twitter! Follow the #TTOT tag to see what all the commotion and Tweets are about! There are two sessions to join, one at 9:30am GMT and the other at 9:30pm GMT.

Here's the round-up of this week's #TTOT: 

Q1: What's the worst you've ever felt ripped off? Were you able to rectify the situation? (submitted by Travelogged)

• LadyEz: Thailand Taxi telling us that police plant things on you & you face the death penalty 
• LATravelWriter: Passport stolen in Cambodia & Police wanted $150 bribe to give it back
• GreenGlobalTrvl: Got to hotel room in French Quarter after 13-hour drive, it was the size of a postage stamp. We complained, ended up in a suite! 
• mapthegap: In San Diego, I booked into a hostel but didn't have bed - they thought I'd be ok on the floor! 
  
• MalloryOnTravel: Every time I fly with Ryanair or any other supposedly 'budget' airline 
• kymri: Every time I need to use wi-fi or internet from a 5-star hotel room
• PicsLyrics: Paying to bring you photocamera inside temples. I respect rules, but the bigger the room, the higher the pay....say what??
  
• beforeiam35: Summarized: Cabbies are scum
  
  

  

  Not happy about the cab scam in Bangkok

Q2: What's the worst tourist trap you've been suckered into? (submitted by LuggageFree)

• amzkiz: Any time an 'authentic' tourist experience ends up in a gift shop
• toniwonitravels: Phuket as a whole. The 2nd u get there ur a cash cow 2 them & they know it. Only thing that stays the same price is a McDonalds 
• missemalise: I almost got suckered in2 having "lunch" with an artist near Sacre Coeur who wanted to "draw" me. Damn those charming foreign men!
• karazidesign: Agra Agra Agra.. yes, the Taj Mahal is amazing and all, but it's so annoying to try to get through all the crazy touts 
• traveltherenext:: The camel riders at pyramids of giza kept moving their camels into our video/photo then asking for $10
• KelseyIvey: La Ramblas in Barcelona. 1 Your lucky if you come home with your wallet. 2. Your charged to take photos
  
• LiveShareTravel: Bangkok, told Grand Palace shut and ended up in Tuk Tuk drivers brothers tailor shop
  
  

  

  Is the Taj over-rated?

Q3: Enlighten us: What have you learned from a bad travel experience? (submitted by athomeaway)

• CryptoPete: Watch 'Midnight Express' before thinking of smuggling drugs 
• kgoingglobal: There are good people everywhere. Left my daypack on a bus to the airport in Budapest & got it back w/ nothing missing!
  
• hyperren: Even the most carefully planned trip can go not quite as planned. The trick is to roll with the punches, and relax 
• jbranigan: Who takes a laxative in Mexico? My former brother-in-law. BIG mistake
• cenciaaa: A smile will get you out of some strange situations 
• hecktictravels: Bed bug bites will scar if you scratch them too much
• middleseatview: What doesn't kill you will make you stronger (& a better traveler!)
• Boz23: Be careful about advice from others - if I'd listened I would never have gone to Istanbul and it was fantastic! 
  
  

  

  Never underestimate the kindness of strangers

Q4: What travel destination was the biggest let down or disappointment and why? (submitted by lydiaschrandt)

• HollyGalbraith: If I had to choose one Goa India springs to mind...very average beaches & bus loads of tourists with loads of rubbish
• traveldudes: White cliffs of Dover... They go to Eastbourne to make movies about Dover 'cause cliffs are brighter! 
• theroamantics: Plymouth rock- moved there in 8th grade & discovered locals called it the pebble! 
• FruiHolidays: I was disappointed to discover that Sherlock Holmes didn't actually live in what is now the Sherlock Holmes Museum, but next door
  
• ChristyCamren: Pisa. My fault. Quick turnaround trip Climbed the tower then left town. Should have spent extra time in Florence instead
• waegook_tom: MOSCOW. Unfriendly folk, dirty, stuck in a room with the social reject from my grade (schooltrip). Too many church tours didn't help 
• eurapart: I'm with Cerys: "London never sleeps, it just sucks, the life out of me and the money from my pocket." Catatonia
  
• mobilelawyer: The Trans-Mongolian was a huge disappointment for me
  
  

Q5: What is your most hilarious travel fail? (submitted by travelingeditor)

• AllyToullec: I crashed my moped in Koh Pha Ngan right into a giant sign that said "Come and see the monkeys closer". Did it
• jkheaton: Makes me think time in Rosarita Beach, MX, when twisted ankle, BF almost thrown in jail
  
• BudgetTraveller: Ending up in a bed bug flea ridden bed & breakfast in Bastille, Paris. I was red itchy like a lobster for few days
  
• mapthegap: I saw a tiger pee all over a teenage girl, in a nature reserve, during my trip to China
• Xplore724: Asking bus driver in Columbia to stop...desperate to pee...had entire bus of people walk past me because they had to go too!
• FearfulGirl: Going horse-riding in NZ, leaving my backpack open and losing my DSLR + wide-angle lens. Still trying to find the humour, though
  
• fishgowander: Sleep walking in Italy..jumping from top bunk into a wardrobe & waking up w/blood on my face & 6 randoms staring. Cringe!

And there you have it, "Worst Travel Ever"!

Next weeks #TTOT topic is: "Round The World Travel" submitted by LifeOutofaSuitc. Submit your questions HERE! And don't forget to tune follow the #TTOT every Tuesday at 9:30am and 9:30pm GMT!

As always, a HUGE travel community thank you to our #TTOT hosts and organizers: traveldudes, roniweiss, toddwassel, traveldesigned, insidetravellab, WildJunket, tbloggersunite and mobilelawyer!

Have you got anything to add? 

© Connie Hum 2011