World’s Worst Travel Destinations

Paradise Lost

Appearances can be deceiving © phuketthailandtrip.com

To celebrate the publication of our new book, World's Worst Travel Destinations, we are holding a Worst Travel Experiences Competition.  If you think you have a traveling story to tell, when nothing went quite to plan, then tweet your experience for the chance to win a copy of World's Worst Travel Destinations.   

Here's one to get you started...

Sun drenched afternoons spent with a good book in one hand and an ice cold cocktail in the other, listening to the sounds of rippling waves and rustling palm leaves -  you can be forgiven for your tropical island preconceptions.  This is a story about how paradise fell from grace as the glorious Thai island, Koe Phi Phi, became the backdrop to a disastrous weekend.  Sit back, relax and put your passports away, travel to the tropics if you dare.

It all began as I ran barefoot along the beach, I couldn't believe my luck, everything was so beautiful, not t mention tranquil. Oh how things would change.  This dreamlike reality came crashing down as I cut my toe open on a rock. I will spare you the details, just know that after hobbling to the hospital with my foot wrapped in a plastic bag, I had a full bottle of alcohol poured over said foot and was encouraged to look at the beautiful landscape as the procedure was carried out. The rippling blue sea somewhat failed to calm my nerves.  Eek! It goes on…   

© Cico Books

The bus broke down on the way to the airport.  Picture a group of dishevelled Brits pushing a bus along a motorway, all the while I was hobbling on what was kindly dubbed the ‘hammer toe’.  We finally arrived at the airport, when I realised I had left my passport back at the hotel. I wasn’t going anywhere.  Cue an onslaught of even more unfortunate events.  The next twenty-four hours saw me buy more flight tickets (business class were the only seats left), take a very expensive speedboat ride back to the hotel to retrieve my passport James Bond style, make it back to the main land after the boat ran out of petrol, buy a mouldy sandwich, survive a road collision, limp into the airport, buy a second sandwich which was then stolen and finally flop onto my oh too expensive plane seat.  What a twenty-four hours!  Life is stranger than fiction. 

You might hear that tropical islands are relaxing, but don’t believe it.  Phi Phi island is not for the faint-hearted traveller. You have been warned.

- Anonymous Intrepid Traveller. 

Think you have a story to rival this one?  Then tweet it in and let us know your worst travel experiences to win a copy of World's Worst Travel Destinations.  #WorstTravel

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