Staff Feature: International Travel Mishaps
Most people would agree; international Travel is exciting, eye-opening, and full of adventure – but immersing yourself in a foreign culture does not always run as smoothly as planned! This week, we will hear a story of “when traveling goes wrong” from Ellie Kremer, our Operations Manager! Have you ever experienced mayhem while traveling abroad? Has COVID-19 impacted your travel plans this year? Tell us your stories in the comments for a chance to be featured here on our blog!
The Monkeys
After graduating from university, I embarked on a 6 month solo backpacking trip across south east Asia. While the trip was absolutely phenomenal, it was not without a few hiccups! About two months into the trip, I found myself on a three night cruise through Ha Long Bay, in Vietnam. One of the excursions off of the ship was a trip to Monkey Island, one of the limestone karsts that was inhabited by a large population of wild monkeys. As an American from Cincinnati, Ohio, the concept of hanging out on a beach, surrounded by adorable monkeys, sounded like a dream come true! Upon anchoring just off the shore of the island, I eagerly jumped into the sea to make my way to the home of the monkeys.
Once reaching the beach, you could immediately see the motion in the nearby trees, cause not by wind, but by a large family of monkeys, swinging through the trees. I was overjoyed! I noticed a small booth nearby where a local man was selling bananas for tourists to buy and feed to the island’s inhabitants, and got out my wallet to purchase some treats for my new friends. Immediately, the nearby monkeys noticed my ongoing transaction, and came down from their perches to say hello. I set down my wallet on a nearby table, broke the bananas into pieces, and placed small bits directly into their outstretched hands. While I was distracted by these seemingly adorable primates, though, some of the family had other plans for my visit. With my back turned to my wallet, a monkey jumped onto the table and snatched it right up. I watched in horror as a monkey, holding my wallet (which contained a few hundred dollars in cash, as well as all of my bank cards) ran off into the jungle, and leapt into the trees.
I began to panic. The ship I had sailed in on was set to leave Monkey Island within 20 minutes of the incident. I ran back to the tour guide, and he said there was nothing he could do, we had to move on. I franticly ran to the banana man, who told me, in very broken English, that this is just something that happens with monkeys – and there would be no retrieving of the wallet. At the last second, I wrote down my name, phone number, and hotel I’d be staying in once back in Hanoi. I had very little hope, and didn’t know how I’d finish the rest of my 4 months of traveling.
Three very long days later, I received the most incredible phone call of my life. The banana man had found my wallet on the beaches of Monkey island, and he was arranging for it to be delivered to my hotel in Hanoi via the next tour group that came through! When I got the wallet back, all of the cash and cards were still inside, untouched. I was able to finish my travels through Asia, and I still carry this wallet with me every day. Traveling is a wild experience, but at least it always makes for an incredible story.
