Today I’ve got an article from John Miller about 5 of the Funniest Packing Disasters Travelers May Face! If you’re after some Travel Packing Tips, maybe look away now!
I hope he has a tip on how to get your Priapus statue home from Turkey without making border security laugh too much!
He’s previously appeared here when he wrote Top 10 Bizarre and Scary Tourist Attractions in Europe and Camping Tips/Mistakes.
John is a travel blogger and adventurous traveller. Find his blog at Pretravels.com and follow him on Facebook and Twitter.
Here it is!
Have you ever had a packing disaster? Arrive at your destination to find your luggage is not the way you had packed it (and maybe it’s containing something you didn’t quite expect – possibly illegal?).
It’s a funny story when you tell it, and even funnier if it has happened to someone else.
Here are some of the funniest packing disasters travellers have faced on their holidays. See if these stories have happened to you and hope you were packing light at the time!
The Broken Zip
A suitcase and/or backpack goes through a lot in its lifetime, loads of trips, being thrown around, sat on stood on and packed full to the brim. But there’s only so much one poor suitcase can take!
When you see that bag that has split open on the way to the plane, the underwear and clothes spilling out onto the runway, you pray that it’s not yours. Then you spot your favourite pair of pants flying away from your suitcase which has popped open at the zip and regret cramming in that extra pair of shoes. Epic packing fail.
How to avoid this disaster: First of all, don’t pack your bag to bursting. Make sure you secure your suitcase properly and use a luggage lock to keep the zip closed. Another way to protect your clothes is to use travel packing cubes to keep your luggage compact and safe inside your suitcase.
The Big Leak
Have you ever been on holiday and tried the best bottle of wine? You might decide that you just must take a bottle home with you to remind you of your trip. You think nothing of packing the bottle of red wine in your suitcase with your clothes and other souvenirs check it in.
So, you get off the plane and get to the carousel, where you spot your case looking a little different than before. Red liquid leaking, dripping through the fabric, hinting of what has happened inside. Any whites that you possess have suddenly turned pink. Other travellers smirking and staring as you drag your bleeding bag from the conveyor belt. Why did it have to be red wine that you decided to take home?
How to avoid this disaster: Pack breakable items in bubble wrap or newspaper and seal anything that can leak in a waterproof bag. This at least saves the rest of your luggage if your bottle of red wine breaks! But definitely don’t leave the wine behind.
The Popping Bag
Talking about bringing things that might break along in your luggage, have you ever brought snacks along in your carry on to enjoy on your flight? I think that’s something we’ve all done at one time or another.
Your bag in under your seat starts to make noise, bang pop! – oh no there goes the packet of crisps you were looking forward to. You peek into your bag to find a salt and vinegar explosion, then you take out your drink and when you take a sip it squirts all over your face. Yes, the pressure of the cabin has got to your bottled water too. Ok, just sit back and enjoy the rest of your trip. Here comes the hostess trolley, a glass of wine please! Secretly hoping your hotel has a vacuum you can use that will work on crisps.
How to avoid this disaster: Try to avoid bringing pressurised items onto the aircraft for this reason. But if you want to bring your own snacks, maybe put them into a resealable, reusable container rather than in its original packaging.
The Misplaced Ticket
You’re organised, you put everything in the correct place and know it’s all ready for your trip there and back. You have such a great holiday, enjoying every moment, then it’s time to go home. Right where’s that return ticket?
That ticket you put in a safe place is now no longer to be seen, you put it in a safe place you are sure of it. But now you can remember where that safe place is! Damn it! Ok so what do you do next? Without a backup, you end up paying for a reprint of your ticket at the airport. Back home and getting ready for your next trip a few months later, you come across your ticket in that secret compartment you used for safekeeping.
How to avoid this disaster: Nowadays it’s easy to keep track of your airline and tour tickets online, sometimes having an app to store your tickets electronically. It’s a good idea to have a print of your ticket as well as an electronic version to avoid paying extra fees.
Soaked Cases
Your flight is delayed and you are waiting in your seat looking out of the window watching the luggage being loaded onto the plane. The rain is pouring down and because of the delay some of the bags are just sat there getting wetter and wetter.
When you arrive, you pick up your sodden bag and realise yours was one of the ones which were waiting in the rain shower. Picking through your suitcase it might take a while to get your clothes and other items dry, and just pray the electronics still work! Lets hope you have a big room to hang all out your things to dry.
How to avoid this disaster: Another situation where packing cubes, particularly waterproof ones would prevent your clothes and items getting damaged. The other option is to make sure your suitcase or bag is waterproof to protect your items inside.
Have you even had a travel packing disaster?
Whether you are packing for a winter trip to Iceland or a spring trip in Croatia, packing disasters can strike at any time. Have you experience any of the disasters above? Or do you have your own packing disaster story to tell?
Sometimes no matter how organised or prepared you are something can go wrong. As long as you have a sense of humour you can get through it and make it a funny story to tell.
See more at my silly post about travelling light!
And the person who needs a chiropractor after lugging all their crap around!
Thank you.. I ve been lost ticket because i have big bag hehe