Move aside meditation. If you really want to reset an overburdened mind, travel.
But despite its near-miraculous powers to relieve stress, awaken your inner child and pile drive you with happy chemicals, travel has a dirty secret: it’s sometimes maddeningly frustrating.
From airport queues that snake for miles to snoring hostel roommates, there are plenty of little niggles that can ratchet up the stress levels if you’re not prepared for them.
With that in mind, here are six things that routinely leave us seeing red on the road.
Any you can add?
Airport security checks
For obvious reasons, airline security check are a necessary evil. But there’s something about emptying all of your loose change into a grey plastic tray first thing in the morning that makes you want to turn around and go home.
But at least you didn’t forget about the removing-your-headwear requirement like this poor woman. At least she saw the funny side!
Finding out it’s closed
Spontaneity is a vital component of travel – but it does have its downsides. Exhibit A: you’ve thrown caution to the wind and set off on a wild adventure to enjoy a popular tourist attraction. As you arrive, however, you’re confronted by a large ‘closed’ sign.
Fortunately, these travellers kept their composure. Remember, it’s all about the journey.
Snoring dorm mates
The unwelcome rumble of a dorm mate’s nasal passage is as familiar to most hostel-users as a disappointing ‘continental’ breakfast and a queue for the showers first thing in the morning.
But never has it been described as hilariously as this traveller’s account of trying to sleep through snoring!
A guy at this hostel’s snoring sounds like a pug, drowning in wasps, with a vacuum cleaner nozzle up it’s ass, gargling gravel and pop-rocks, being played through the static of an fm radio on the deck of a haunted ship sailing through a sea of screaming opera singers. #humblebrag
— Ignacio Lopez (@comedylopez) May 6, 2018
Empty-seat anticipation
You’ve settled in for a long-haul and next to you is one of the most coveted prizes in travel: an empty seat! But as other passengers slowly file on, will it last? Or be clutched away at the last moment?
This couple’s hilariously tense wait sums up the feeling perfectly – although you’ll have to wait for the end to see if they bagged the prize.
Speaking of which…
There’s a reason why being surrounded by empty seats on planes and buses is such a bonus. And that reason is passengers like the one below.
Seriously though, is there anything as maddening as having to feel someone’s bare foot press up against your elbow while you’re trying to take in some in-flight entertainment?
Baggage-carousel enthusiasts
And finally, what article about travel annoyances would be complete without the addition of those overly-enthusiastic people who crowd round the baggage carousel as if it were the the first stop on their travel itinerary?
Take a step back, people, please! Remember, your luggage doesn’t disappear forever if it completes a whole cycle.
