I really don’t like talking about my bad travel experiences, as I always try to focus on the positive sides of traveling and the countries I go to. But sometimes bad stuff happen on the roads, and I also want to be honest about that, so people don’t think it’s all just picture perfect Instagram posts with no suffering.

10 Worst Travel Experiences Of 2019

The year of 2019 is coming to an end and I’ve had an incredible travel year, where I’ve visited more than 45 countries, new and old ones.. It sounds pretty much perfect, right? Well, not totally. These are my 10 Worst Travel Experiences of 2019!

10. No Phone For 1 Week In Somalia And Eritrea

I had some amazing days in Somaliland, Somalia and out of a sudden my phone goes out (Iphone X), and I can’t open it again. I try everything to recover my phone, but there’s nothing to do. My phone is dead! I’m the type who plans pretty much everything on my phone, so not having it to navigate/plan stuff was incredibly hard for 1 week of travel around Somalia and Eritrea. You can read the full story below by clicking the link.

1 Week In Somalia And Eritrea With NO PHONE

9. 20 Hours Delay In Delhi Airport, India

Because of high tensions between India and Pakistan my flight with Air India (one of the worst airlines from my travel experiences) was delayed. They kept on delaying the flight with 1 hour at a time, so I had to wait in the Airport, because of the insecurity if we were able to go. I ended up waiting for 20 hours, and I just made it last second to some work I had to do in Denmark, because of this crazy delay! Really not nice!

8. Getting Attacked By 2 Gangsters On A Beach Club in Belize

I had a really nice time in Belize City and doing islands hopping in Belize, right until I went to a Beach Club in Caye Caulker Islands. Two drunk guys (probably on drugs too) pushed me super in the back randomly when I was standing in the bar, and I turned around and asked “what are you doing?” I asked as politely as I could, but the second after they were straight in my face threatening me, so I took one of the guys and threw him into one part of the club and the other guy into a wall 5 meters away. They pulled up a knife each, but some people and the security came in between and threw them out of the club. They were apparently known for being bandits and making a lot of troubles in the night life. My adrenaline was pumping and at that time, and I wasn’t scared at all in the second! Nothing happened after and I had a good time still in Belize, super beautiful country! I’m really not the aggressive type normally btw 😜

7. Spending 3 Days In San Pedro Sula, Honduras (Most Murderous City in The World)

Going to San Pedro Sula is an INTENSE experience. I did 2,5 days there, in what was the World’s most murderous city, until Caracas in Venezuela surpassed it recently! You can read about my time in San Pedro Sula here:

My 3 Days In San Pedro Sula The Most Murderous City On Earth

6. Getting Detained For 5 Hours in Ivory Coast

I was detained in Ivory Coast for 5 hours after taking a photo of a flag pole in Ivory Coast that a local Ivorian guy had just taken a photo of seconds before me without any problems. When I took the photo the police yelled “no, no, no!” and took me to the Police Station for 5 hours, where I had to talk to so many different Police Officers.. I threw a water bag in the ground of anger to show them I’m not an easy target to rip off and I’m not soft (that’s how things work in Africa sometimes), and after I slowed down, kept my patience and explained myself well, and therefore I managed to not pay anything. I didn’t do anything wrong and I was really mad about what the police did!

Read how it was like to travel West Africa below.

West Africa Solo With NO Car and 0 Flights Taken!

5. Near Death Experience in Monrovia, Liberia

I have taken between 1,500-2000 motorbike rides on my travels, but I’ve never tried anyone like this. Read about the MOST SCARY RIDE EVER here below!

Near Death Experience In Monrovia Liberia

4. Hotel Shaking Because Of 3 Rocket Attacks, Aleppo, Syria

I had an amazing time traveling around Syria for 1 week, and to be fair the capital Damascus in the south feels even safer than most European capitals. But when you get adventurous (like I usually do,) and travel around a country like Syria, bad things can happen. I haven’t told so many about this, because I want to spread a positive image of Syria and because I had an amazing time in Syria, so I haven’t felt the need to mention it. But since these are my 10 WORST travel experiences, I will do it now. Rocket attacks. 1 of my nights in the north of Syria in Aleppo was intense and I couldn’t fall asleep that night after what happened.

I could literally feel 3 rocket attacks at my hotel, with ISIS less than 20 km west of the city. I went that time ISIS-Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was still alive, so it was an intense time in the north of Syria.

Check out my 100% honest video about Syria and the condition of the country here.

YOUTUBE VIDEO – Is Syria Safe? (DENMARK-GUY)

3. Crossing The Most Scary Border Crossing EVER

You can’t believe how crazy this jungle border crossing was. They had closed the original border, so the only way was through the jungle in the night. Read about the story below!

The Scariest Border Crossing – From Guinea Bissau to Guinea

2. Losing My Passport In China

In terms of my most difficult moment of 2019, it was losing my passport in China after coming back from North Korea. I had to stay in China for 1 week extra, and the process of getting an emergency passport was unbelievably hard. My own embassy was unable to help me, and I had to go to 20 different non-English-speaking Police Station, go to the Chinese Embassy and many other Government places in order to get my emergency passport to fly home. This is a process I wouldn’t even wish for my worst enemy, SO DON’T LOSE YOUR PASSPORT IN CHINA AS A DANISH CITIZEN! Or wherever you’re from! I did however try to enjoy my extra week in China as good as I could and got to see some new cool stuff on my 4th visit!

Positive mindset ALWAYS!

1. Caught In Shootings And Explosions In Liberia

I’m writing this 6 months after the episode and to be fair I still have the pictures in my head after what happened this specific day in Liberia. The day where some villagers blocked the only International road to Ivory Coast. I remember all the details, and it’s probably a trauma I’ll have for the rest of my life. Running for my life, seeing two people get shot. It’s something you really don’t want to try!

You can read about the story and all the details here:

Caught In Shootings And Explosions In Liberia

2019 – What A Travel Year It Has Been!

I’m writing the article from the slums of Luanda in Angola, which is said to be Africa’s new hotspot for kidnappings and I forgot all about mentioning a terrorist attack in Mali on my 2nd day there (140 killed), only 30 minutes away from me. I have 2 countries, which are considered dangerous left of 2019, and I hope to not add any more stories to this list.  It was hard to write this article of my worst travel experiences, because I’m a positive guy who loves to travel, and I want to inspire other people to travel more and see the beautiful World of ours. But I also want to show you guys my honest travel experiences, what comes with visiting 130 countries over 7 years of lots of traveling. What comes with being an adventure traveler, and not a tourist who just visits resort or luxury hotels in safe areas, or just sets a foot in a new country and say “hey, I’ve been there now.” That’s really not interesting for me. Traveling to 130 countries on FULL ADVENTURE MODE is not as easy as it might look on Social Media Platforms!

Stay Safe And Travel The World With No Fear

I haven’t told you the thousands of amazing memories I had this year in this article, remember that please. Take care everyone and safe travels always! Never let fear decide anything in your life!

Gustav

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