What has been your scariest experience?

[Chicken Drummer]

I would say when climbing a tree and thinking I would fall out of it

[Sorensen]

Falling asleep while driving in the rockies. Was convinced I died for a few days after.

[Fencers]

I have taken the wrong bus and train abroad before and become so thoroughly lost I thought I was gonna die/be kidnapped. One of the scariest times was taking the wrong bus in India and ending up in the desert.

I was also left at like a mountain roadside stall in the jungle in Ecuador with NO ONE around and it was close to sundown.

In Africa, I was also sent to the wrong bus and almost crossed over the border from Algeria to Niger.

Half of these experiences were from clueless travel assistants or when I fall asleep while traveling- like in Algeria and Ecuador.

I no longer do back-to-back travel days when traveling out of the US and Canada because the risk of falling asleep is too great from sheer exhaustion. But I was young and reckless once.

[Shadowferal]

In Africa, I was also sent to the wrong bus and almost crossed over the border from Algeria to Niger.

Half of these experiences were from clueless travel assistants or when I fall asleep while traveling- like in Algeria and Ecuador.

I hear stories about Algeria that discourage any notion of traveling anywhere in that country. The one village the guy was telling me about...no women were permitted outside...and the lady with him, the menfolk in the village were "licking the air" at her...he supposed it was an obscene gesture...

...sorry I'm riding out a bout of depression and tend to get a little...typey.

[Santti]

Are you compiling all of this personal information to dox people or something? Or is it just a bot doing bot things?

I'm asking because it's weird as fuck to have 280+ posts on a forum, all which are a new thread with a new personal question about people.

[XDurionX]

Are you compiling all of this personal information to dox people or something? Or is it just a bot doing bot things?

I'm asking because it's weird as fuck to have 280+ posts on a forum, all which are a new thread with a new personal question about people.

If i was polite i'd say it's getting awkward...but it's well past that stage....

[Fencers]

I hear stories about Algeria that discourage any notion of traveling anywhere in that country. The one village the guy was telling me about...no women were permitted outside...and the lady with him, the menfolk in the village were "licking the air" at her...he supposed it was an obscene gesture...

...sorry I'm riding out a bout of depression and tend to get a little...typey.

Believe it or not, I have rarely had any kind of direct hostility toward me while traveling. I am cautious by nature and tend to stick to well-known tourist-friendly paths in certain areas of the world. I do a lot of research generally before visiting too.

For all the crap tourists give to Africa, some of it well-deserved I'm not gonna lie, overall it's a pretty wonderful place to see. I haven't even had any serious issues in Arab countries as a woman, an American and a Jew.

I'm low-key and respectful on the road I guess.

[Templar 331]

One day I thought it would be a good idea to buy a motorcycle. Never driven one before and thought "why not learn now?" Bragged to everyone at work I was getting one. Bought one, took it home and fell over repeatedly trying to drive it. It hit me that this wasn't going to work since I kept getting scared and locking up. Called the dealer asking if I could take it back and he kept avoiding the question. Went to look at the contract to see if there was any return policy, found out I had been strapped with several thousand dollars worth of stuff I wasn't made aware of. With every vehicle I've bought I was shown the final bill of sales before I signed anything. This time I thought I was signing the final bill but it wasn't. It had the payments and total cost of the bike on it, but wasn't the final bill. I electronically signed other papers after that thinking they were for other things and those were on the contract. But not the one with the physical signature.

I said screw it I'll figure it out later after I calmed down. Went to use the restroom before bed and my whole body started shaking. I thought I was sick but I wasn't running a fever. I realized that it was fear. Every time I thought of the bike my shaking would get worst. The only way I got over it was to tell myself "You don't have to ride the bike!" Still had a time getting to sleep that night. When I woke up I was doing good until I got to the parking lot at work when my stomach started to act up. I called in a sick day and went home. Everyone in the office was shouting into the phone "have fun driving that bike!!"

I got home and sat in front of the toilet for a hour and a half. Went to work the next day and almost had a repeat of the sickness. I realized that day and the one before I was having a panic attack. I was so scared and embarrassed that I couldn't face my coworkers and explain to them what had happened. And sure enough most of them were to dense to understand. I had a few that saw it from my perspective and wanted to help, but most laughed and made comments.

This may not be what most people consider as "scary" but this was the most scared I've been in my whole life. Realizing I've been screwed, that I screwed myself, did it in front of everyone I know and that there wasn't anything I could do to fix it. I could learn to ride the bike but one of the reasons I was having trouble is that the bike is waaaaaaaaaaaay to big for me. Something the sales rep should have said and stopped my dumb ass but he was too busy seeing dollar signs.

[Ashleyxoxo]

Exams, that shit was always scary traumatizing.

[Shadowferal]

Believe it or not, I have rarely had any kind of direct hostility toward me while traveling. I am cautious by nature and tend to stick to well-known tourist-friendly paths in certain areas of the world. I do a lot of research generally before visiting too.

For all the crap tourists give to Africa, some of it well-deserved I'm not gonna lie, overall it's a pretty wonderful place to see. I haven't even had any serious issues in Arab countries as a woman, an American and a Jew.

I'm low-key and respectful on the road I guess.

Well you know better than some...

Tamanrasset Algeria...letsee..he said as the waited to top off their jerricans with water that was almost too acrid with minerals, they had some delicious mango (?) nectar...people (all men) were " some of the most gratuitous hostile fucks and creepy as hell..."
"But the nectar was good..so that's a plus."
*shakes head*
..."not worth it at all..."

Well..alrighty now.

[Tuor]

Overturn inside a truck whille working... I wasn't driving.

[Adam Jensen]

The moment as a fresh Airman Basic in Basic Military Training when the bus arrives at Lackland AFB for the first time and the drill sergeant came on.

"You have exactly 10 seconds to get off my goddamn bus."

It's the fear of not really knowing what to expect for the next 8 weeks, or if you have what it takes to get through it all, which I did. But those initial moments? Terrifying.

At the end of it all, I found myself waiting for the bus to go to tech school. The same drill sergeant comes up to me and my fellow airmen going the same way, and says, in a much calmer, friendlier tone, "you have exactly 10 seconds to get on that goddamn bus."

[Roxinius]

about 6 years ago on valentines day i was working out on my enclosed patio for about an hour and i stepped outside after i finished and not 2 minutes later the roof collapsed

[PokeKitty]

When I was a young kid like around 6 years old, me and my family went on a mountain camping trip, after the trip, we take the bus, then the bus lost control and fall down because it was raining and dark. My head almost hit the chair, but my mom did everything to protect my head. One person on the bus ear got cut and another guy broke his ribs, it was hard to remember.

[Shinra1]

Working for a company that discriminates against minorities including women. I was once invited to a board room meeting to give a presentation about a recovery trajectory for an underperforming health service and I was shocked to not see a single woman or person of colour represented in the top echelons of the organisation. I knew that senior leadership was mostly white old men but until I saw it for myself it didn't really hit me.

[Powerogue]

Sticking with the time that large black dog pinned me to my bed, completely paralyzed, and just stared into my eyes with a sad look on its face before vanishing. I did not find out for months after that "sleep paralysis after watching Prisoner of Azkaban" was the actual, far more sane explanation. You are awake during those, it's nothing like a dream.