To ask what the scariest thing ever to happen to you abroad was?

[RainbowBriteUk]

Mine was unknowingly walking in to a cafe where only men where allowed in the Balkans and they just all stared. Some quite icily. I just turned on my heel and walked out!

Turkey was horrific! I saw a lot of old men perving on young Chinese girls wearing shorts. The teenage girls loved the attention but it was disgusting and rapey.

Most of these experiences are horrific. Travelling isn't safe. A lot of people want to travel the world, kids want to travel and tour the world...why is travelling the world seen as some sort of adventure when it can be unexpectedly unsafe, there's sexual assault, murder, people getting robbed and what not...plus police in those countries are piss poor at their job...corrupt etc ...err no thanks. I'd rather visit somewhere local in the UK.

@TheSockMonster sorry did u say u had no horrible experiences? Everything u described are not horrible experiences but horrific!

My friend went to Saudi on the teach English ESOL thing. They didn't pay her the wage she was promised and she had to give them her passport upon arrival When she did want to leave etc they refused to give her her passport back and wouldn't let her leave. She said she found men in cars exposing themselves to her and her friend in their long white robes. She found it shocking. Somehow she managed to get her passport back. She was threatened that if she left she wouldn't be allowed back. Yeah she's banned from going to Saudi again because she even though she upheld her contract and they didnt. They couldn't take it that she was wanting to leave and didn't do what they said.

I'm on holiday abroad at the moment. I'm old, quite dodery and alone. I fell over in my apartment at 10pm. It was gone 1:00 pm the next day that I was found. Dr insisted that I go to hospital to get exrays and a mri scan. I'm bruised and cut everywhere, stiff as a board. Then the hospital Dr said " do you know you've got a small tumour in your brain".

Looking on the bright side, the tumour is v small and I may well never have known about until it was too late if I hadn't fallen

Living in Tanzania and naively made some friends in Dar Es Salaam who were going to take us to see some live music. We pulled up in a side street while one of them smoked a joint. Meanwhile a Police car turned up and arrested us and drove us round for about an hour until we paid a bribe. It was all a set up.

Also in Tanzania, I also got stuck on a coach leaning sideways off a mountain side in the mud in the rainy season. On the back of all the coaches it's printed 'In God we trust'. Well I suppose you have to as it's not the driving!

@user1471453601

I'm on holiday abroad at the moment. I'm old, quite dodery and alone. I fell over in my apartment at 10pm. It was gone 1:00 pm the next day that I was found. Dr insisted that I go to hospital to get exrays and a mri scan. I'm bruised and cut everywhere, stiff as a board. Then the hospital Dr said " do you know you've got a small tumour in your brain".

Looking on the bright side, the tumour is v small and I may well never have known about until it was too late if I hadn't fallen

Bless you @user1471453601 you have my sympathies, what a stress and worry that must have be. I hope it isn't anything untreatable.

@RAFHercules

When I was 17, I went to Spain with my friend on holiday (1989). One night she went off with a lad that she had met in a nightclub. She had a BF at home so hooking up with someone else wasn't ever in the plan. I was so worried about her and thought she had been kidnapped. I started to walk back to our hotel to report her missing as I knew people there. I was quickly surrounded by a gang of Spanish lads on mopeds touching me up. I was absolutely terrified. A lovely Dutch lad appeared and chased them off, he insisted on walking me back and promised that he would help to find my friend. He walked me right back to my hotel room, then pulled out a knife, pushed me inside the room and well you can imagine the rest. Friend returned in the morning bragging about her one night stand and wondering why I was "sulking".

I’m so sorry @RAFHercules

Was having to stay in a grubby motel all on my own in downtown Birm and

Try again - downtown Birmingham Alabama in USA and witnessed a drive by shooting

@faithfulbird20 I think after reading all the harrowing ordeals some people have endured it didn’t seem so bad! I escaped very lightly.

I’m glad to hear the way women and girls are treated when visiting Morocco has improved since the 90s. We quite often visited Islamic countries so were used to covering up and respecting local customs. Yes, I’d had unwanted attention in those countries but nothing like I experienced in Morocco. My Mum experienced it too, even though she would have been early 40s at the time, married and travelling with her husband.

With my dad in Barcelona on the metro escalator when he was pick pocketed - the thieves worked in pairs with one in front of my dad dropping an item near the top and stopping to pick it up. This left my dad wobbling around trying not to crash into him and left his pockets free to be picked in the distraction by an accomplice behind him. My dad was not young at the time perhaps 70 and I was terrified that he was about to tumble to his death. Thankfully I managed to steady him and get him to safety but the bastards got away with a few hundred pounds of cash!

My dad got robbed in a market in Rajasthan, india. He didn't even know until he got back to the hotel . Realised the guy that was behind him pushing and shoving slipped his hands in his pockets and stole about £300. My mum and dad tried to hide it from us because we were very young about 6 and 3 (sister). But it ruined our holiday. I wish I could keep cactus in my pockets.

Travelling in South Africa, was at traffic lights, a bakkie pulled up, next to me then as the lights changed, blocked me. Some chaps with guns dragged me out of the car and stole it and my money.

Was driving a hire car. Went up a mountain and skidded on what seemed to be oil on the road and nearly went off the cliff edge!

Helped by a lovely local who was passing by. But my god, it really could have been my end!

I have quite a few scary ones, but sad to see others have had similar experience to me in Tangier.

Men, men in charge of dodgy transport, and dodgy men in charge of transport are a common thread amongst all my scariest moments abroad.

I got grabbed by two men passing in a van one evening on the street as we (4 girl friends) were walking back to our hotel. Grabbed with enough intent for it to be an attempted abduction, they tried pulling me through their window. If it hadn’t been for my friend beside me pulling me back they would have succeeded.

I got away with enough anxiety over van men to last a lifetime and a bruise on my arm and breast.

Sad stories here.

Mine was self inflicted but scary. Tried to cross 6 lane highway in Moscow the evening Russia had been knocked out of the Euros. Got half way then traffic reappeared on both sides with crazy driving. I was stuck standing on the middle line thinking I'd die until, thank god, a driver stopped.

My god these are traumatising to read let alone experience.

The worst thing that has happened to me abroad was my suitcase not making it to my destination which I am now super glad for.

Went to New York and saw 2 men shot in the head. The shooter calmly walked off and I ran to hide in a shop nearby and called the police. An officer asked to speak to me and a couple of other witnesses and told us "We've been expecting it, so don't worry" whatever that means. Perhaps the scariest part was that the police brushed it off and didn't even take note of anything. I've seen a lot of corrupt police before but American police are the worst.

I was 16 and helped my relative organise part of a wedding in France. The day of the wedding, just after the ceremony the bride committed suicide by jumping off the roof in front of her groom, guests, staff, and me.

@Antinerak
😟
They are both such sad experiences.

I went to Morocco in the 90s with my then boyfriend and I can honestly say I didn't experience groping or anywhere near the level of horror some of the PPs have mentioned, but I was very modestly dressed and saw other western female tourists being ogled and hissed at by the men. They were wearing skimpy clothes though, which was a) stupid and b) disrespectful in a Muslim country.

I was flashed by a sad looking man outside the walls Marrakech and he was so pathetic looking I started laughing. Mainly, I was just ignored, as a woman, and all conversation was aimed at my BF, despite me being the one who did most of the talking, being much more proficient in French than him. So I'd say something, the reply would be directed at BF and I'd then reply, the whole time being ignored by the person I was speaking to! Sexist twats.

Some of these stories are so awful.

to all of you who were raped, sexually assaulted or had other terrifying and traumatising experiences.

@Tarcietiger

With my dad in Barcelona on the metro escalator when he was pick pocketed - the thieves worked in pairs with one in front of my dad dropping an item near the top and stopping to pick it up. This left my dad wobbling around trying not to crash into him and left his pockets free to be picked in the distraction by an accomplice behind him. My dad was not young at the time perhaps 70 and I was terrified that he was about to tumble to his death. Thankfully I managed to steady him and get him to safety but the bastards got away with a few hundred pounds of cash!

I had a similar experience in Barcelona on an escalator down to Sephora 14 years ago. A group of women were riding ahead of me, one stumbled falling onto me, I'm sure my pockets were picked as I supported her. Fortunately my cash and cards were in a money belt under my clothes so they didn't get anything. Probably why it seemed ages to get her upright. I'm so naive it took me years to realise what had actually happened.

I'm so very sorry to everyone posting who has experienced assault or rape.

I can honestly say I didn't experience groping or anywhere near the level of horror some of the PPs have mentioned, but I was very modestly dressed and saw other western female tourists being ogled and hissed at by the men. They were wearing skimpy clothes though, which was a) stupid and b) disrespectful in a Muslim country.

Get tae fuck with your victim blaming. Pretty sure the people on this thread describing their experiences did not deserve it for being "stupid" and "disrespectful". Especially the ones who were children at the time.