What is the most lucky expierience you have had while travelling? One that probably very few people have had the opportunity to feel, one that you were in the right moment in the right place?
pic related, goat sacrifice ritual in Nepal I was invited to while volunteering in a rural village.
This is really cheesy, but accepting who I am. I won't go into details cause this ain't a blog, but traveling has made me more whole as a person
I went on a national park boat tour near Seward AK and we saw every fucking possible thing there was to see.
It felt like I was living in a brochure for a day.
We bumped into family friends while vacationing in Canada. And I had my first date on a vacation in Georgia. We live in Ohio.
>>1078062
Good for you, anon. Any sort of happiness requires at least a little cheese.
>>1078032
>very few people have had the opportunity to feel, one that you were in the right moment in the right place?
I had a more than a few unplanned private tours just by being very interested in something and chatting up someone who very luckily was in the position to give me a tour. It can be talking to a clergy or parishioner at a church, or at the next table at dinner. You never know when it might happen, where someone changes their plans and decides to entertain you instead. Just adore whatever it is you actually adore and don't be afraid to talk to strangers.
I talked to a woman's child in a N1 gas station near Reykholt, Iceland. The child was excited about something, cute as an icelandic postcard dressed for the cold, with braids and a stuffed animal. I was in line to ask the cashier a question, and then both the woman and the cashier tried to help me find some steam vents I was searching for...and meanwhile, I asked the woman's girl what she was so excited about, and she was going to see the annual sheep roundup!! I was invited to do that instead, just follow her Land rover. And so I did. I took off in a trail of rocks and dust offroad, all the while going faster and faster and hearing rocks ding the undercarriage and windshield (worrying about the rental car agreement, haha). Came to a valley a few miles later, where horses, caravans, people dressed in riding gear, families, must have been a good 2 dozen cars. The woman rolled down her window alongside me, and pointed for me to drive up a little rise ahead to get a good view....and oh my, did we! Sheep coming down from the mountains, with riders all around corralling them, thousands!...like something out of the Old West, and all the icelandic horses all around them kicking up turf and dust, tails flying, riders dressed in full english style. This was the endpoint, where they were all to be put into trucks, sheared, slaughtered, brought home, dunno.
>>1078032
I don't have any really good ones, but this was kinda fun and totally unforeseeable I suppose:
>Heading into remote village in the Chinese Himalayas, accessible only by foot.
>Finally meet another foreigner heading there, Amerigan.
>We hike in.
>When we arrive he mentions that he was also hoping to rendezvous with some other guys he had met in town.
>Guys turn up.
>Suddenly go from being alone to party of 6 foreigners, plus an elderly Chinese couple who speak perfect French (husband was Chinese ambassador to France).
>Find a guest house to have some drinks.
>Owner gets music and booze.
>Owner brings out the home-made wine.
>People start getting drunk. Singing.
>The whole village has already gone to sleep.
>Noisy foreigner party continues.
>Owner is confused and embarrassed. Wants to close house.
>Amergian getting rowdy
>Owner disappears, probably goes to sleep.
>Remote Chinese village in the Himalayas has just experienced its first taste of Western debauchery.
>mfw I thought I was gonna explore the village alone and have a peaceful authentic time.
pic related
>>1078086
What ethnicity were they?
I haven't been too lucky so far, but im relatively inexperienced travelling as well (18). Regardless I'd have to say seeing a traditional wedding procession in meiji shrine in tokyo by complete chance. It was a rainy day, so not too many tourists, and just beyond where tourists could enter in i saw the priest and a procession of people pass in complete silence with absolute seriousness. If anything, the light shower made the moment more special seeming.
>>1078265
Who, the Chinese? They were mostly Tibetans.
I was hurrying to catch a local train, missed it, got on the next one and met my favorite singer.
She signed my notebook and took a selfie.
Was a pretty good evening.
I was hosted for a week in Casablanca by a guy I met at a rave I went to for New Year's. Left the place with people asking me to actually move to their neighbourhood.
Also danced at a gypsy wedding celebration in a Bulgarian ghetto. Being picked up while hitch-hiking by a member of parliament in the Netherlands after smoking a joint. Hitch-hiking with Turkish police while smoking a cigarette.
I feel extremely blessed, considering I'm only 23
>>1078062
Would like to hear your story though.
>>1078318
he was wewy sad and trawweling made him find happines and wuv :))
>>1078032
I was invited to a goat sacrifice in the Philippines and I feel terrible for declining, but there are some things I just don't think I can handle.
It's a shockingly sheltered attitude, I know, but I just don't like seeing animals being slowly and brutally killed for superstition. If it was quick and painless I might have done, but they killed it over the span of ten minutes, for which it screamed almost the entire time. I can still hear it now.
I'm fascinated by the rituals and all that kind of thing, but seeing animals being slaughtered isn't something I want to see again.
I'm not even a vegetarian.
Smoking weed and playing music with some Iranians in the middle of the desert as the sun went down
Hitchhiking sets you up for this kind of experience on a regular basis
>hitchhiking in Morocco
>get picked up by two Casablancan college students
>I tell them where I want to go, they say "hell that sounds nice, we'll take you there"
>they change their plans and we spend two days driving into the desert during sandstorm season
I have a vivid memory of hiking through the sand dunes at sunset passing a bottle of wine between the three of us and singing songs about scorpions.
>>1078367
Oh, I also got adopted by a Berber village in the far south. Not a very interesting story, though. Berbers will adopt anyone.
>>1078369
How was the hash?
Met a Mongolian shaman while visiting a few gers in the country side of Selenge. He channeled a horse spirit, ate raw liver, and told me my future.
Near 15 years back - incident happened in Bali. Let's just keep; it confidential between myself and Balinese authorities. But, I was forced into working undercover in Denpasar to catch a Singaporean-Chinese Triad official. Yes, he was nailed & by myself and the Bali coppers. Well,
My friend who is a successful businessman in Bali felt sad about my forced forced labor. Thus, took me and his wife and 2yrold to a week in Australia, all expenses paid. May never get back to Down Under.
>ride in Mongolia with two horses
>in the evening be completely tired
>poorly knot the reins to a tree
>hear wolves howling
>horse with most of the food and shelter building stuff runs away, probably scared
>don't hear a thing
>get on horse to find other horse
>leave half of my stuff there
>can't find him
>can't find camp anymore
>left with horse, two wool covers, three days of food, water filter, steel canteen, two knives, collapsible shovel, camera lens, notebook, pen, and minimal clothing
>have the horse lay down on the ground
>sleep in between his legs in front of a fire I managed to lit with the camera lens
>ride for what seems to be days, taking refuge each night near my horse pal
>horse seems sad when he looks at me
>obviously understands what's going on
>when I sit to rest, he would come to me and put his head on my shoulder
>horse eventually steps into a burrow and breaks his front leg
>bleeding heavily
>bandage it as well as I can
>stay still for 2 days next to my dying horse, feeding him and bringing him water
>he eventually dies
>wolves far away looking at me
>decide to bury my horse pal so they don't get to eat him
>struggle a whole day to dig a hole
>still not deep nor large enough
>have no idea how to put it there
>hungry as fuck, thinking about eating it
>go to the nearest river
>no fishes anywhere
>wait in ambush outside of burrows for hours
>dig them out hoping to find some newborns
>find nothing
>eat grass
>leave horse pal behind
>see wolves in the distance approaching my friend
>cry all day
>completely lose track of time
>become half crazy and write several pages of nonsense in the notebook
>finally run into nomads who came to my help
>they had found my other horse
>have 100 Mongols cry by hearing my story
>they tell me I did good
>there is nothing more humble than being eaten by wolves, so the soul can joy Tengeri in the eternal sky and live forever
>drink vodka and sing all night to honor the horse
I'll never forget you my horse friend.
>>1078427
that's the most retarded shit i have ever read on /trv/
>>1078032
>staying near Jokulsarlon, Iceland. 5 hour drive from Reykjavik
>GF is tired in hotel room but I am wired from energy drinks and driving
>Take a hipflask of Stolichnaya vodka and a cigarette and walk outside along a road in the middle of nowhere in the dark
>Come to a barn with an open door and lights on
>Strafe the door, hear lots of sheep
>Think "fuck it"
>Walk in
>Icelandic farmer turns around and looks at me holding a hipflask with a cigarette
>"....I just wanted to say hi to your sheep"
>"You're welcome"
>awkwardly walk around his barn while he works sipping vodka and smoking
>finish smoke and leave
Wonder if that guy thought I was a sheep fucking serial killer
>>1078062
Gay experience at a hostel?
>>1078440
lol what the hell? was he eyeing you the entire time too?
>>1078032
>dirt biking in southern Cambodia
>chance upon a cow race
So each rider has two bulls and a cart. Two carts race each other. Race is run in "series" i.e. one bullock cart lines up behind the other bullock cart. A pole is tied between the back of the first cart and the front of the second cart. If the pole drops, the front cart wins. If the pole stays up, the guy at the back wins.
We were in the middle of fucking nowhere, and there must have been 1,000 people watching this thing. Bookies walking round taking bets, crushed sugar cane drink cart and snack guy cutting through the crowd, the whole lot. Some locals set us up where we could get a good view and take photos.
Shit was fucking cool.
>>1078427
This is either an incredibly beautiful story or an insanely autistic lie.
Just wanted to let you Anons know I've enjoyed all your stories ITT. Here are a few of mine. May elaborate if anyone cares.
>turn up in Sicily the night the locals have some holiday where they party and sleep all night on the beach.
>book trip for Edinburgh, Scotland on New Years Eve having known nothing about Hogmany
>Wind up on a put crawl in Rome with a bunch of costumed Australians on "Van Tour"
>take solo birthday trip to Amsterdam and end up in the middle of gay pride parade\weekend
>Driving on back roads of Bavaria/Austria and get stuck in some kind of traditional cattle hearing event
Actually this happened constantly in Germany. They have so many fests in the spring and summer and so many holidays that not even the locals know what they're celebrating
>being super hungover and then lucky enough to get stoned with a bunch of hostel mates in Paris and then getting lost on the metro on the way to the Arc D'Triumph while every single train we got on had an amazing singer or musician.
I have really, really good travel luck.
>>1078427
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rmo3fKeveo
>>1078519
>book trip for Edinburgh, Scotland on New Years Eve having known nothing about Hogmany
Fucking lol, welcome to Scotland.
When I was 17 and backpacking solo I showed up in Zurich on the day of Street Parade. I shall blame that experience for any premature hearing loss, but it was fun.
>>1078283
ok, thanks
Being hosted by a dude in a village in kyushu, didnt know his dad was a buddist priest. Ate awesome dinner and got drunk in a temple.
>>1078322
How in the world did they kill it that it took ten minutes?
Not mystical or hard to believe, but I have a story of luck.
My buddy and I went to Las Vegas two years ago. We're two broke ass, cheap bastards. We were lucky throughout the whole trip. The best was on our last day. We decided to sight-see for a few hours before our flight back home.
We walked around and found ourselves in The Venetian. Beautiful hotel. We got lost and ended up in a private area of the hotel where only guests are allowed. We decided to follow a group of pretty young women to the swimming pool where there was a line forming to a private pool. The music was playing and we could tell it was a day time pool party. We got in line. When we approached the front of the line a sign read $50 entrance. My buddy and I were about to say "No way, goodbye!" BUT we overheard a man standing in line in front of us telling the bouncer he was here for "Dave's party." The bouncer put a green bracelet around the man's wrist and let him in.
So naturally, my buddy and I approached the front of the line and told the bouncer "We're here with Dave's party." Sure enough, the bouncer slapped a green bracelet on us and we were let in. Free.
I shit you not, this private party was a fucking HAREM of gorgeous women dancing and sitting poolside. And it was an OPEN BAR. My buddy and I sat on the edge of the swimming pool with our legs in the water, drinking our free drinks and dancing.
After a little while, a group of very pretty Australian women approached us and began talking to us. We danced, talked, and eventually started to make out. After a while, they invited us to their fancy hotel room. They were beautiful. My buddy ended up fucking the redhead in the main bedroom and I banged her friend on the bathroom floor.
We put our clothes back on and said our goodbyes. On the plane trip back we realized the women we had sex with were the same group of women we first saw at the pool whom we followed. Funnest trip of my life so far.
>>1078085
Nice
>be Americunt in Amsterdam closing out last 2 days of solo backtrip trip across EU
>dump stuff at hostel locker and proceed to smoke and enjoy this beautiful city
>check internet for local shows, find out a concert I'm dying to see is tonight
>shit self
>oh no it's sold out
>check Dutch stubhub
>tix avail
>U.S. credit card not accepted on Dutch stubhub
>back to hostel, tell staff member of my plight
>offers to buy my ticket on his card
>you beautiful human
>was already impressed by the Dutch, now I see them as saints
>grab stuff to check into room
>walk in, two aussie girls already here and down to party
>one seems really down to party
>I tell her about my plans for the night, she wants in
>Aussie card denied on Dutch stubhub
>a different staff member gets HER a ticket
>Dutch are now demigods in my eyes
>hang out with carefree wonderful Aussie girl all day
>go to show munch some fungus we're on cloud nine
>meet more nice locals
>packed nightclub
>Dutch men make paths for me and my date to walk through crowd
>literally blown away at these people's manners
>go back to Hostel with Aussie, hook up, enjoy life
Nothing spectacular just was a perfect day and perfect close to my trip
>be in Georgia last year
>trying to climb Mt Kazbek
>tweak hip in mountain hut, can't walk uphill
>start talking with random Georgian guy
>find myself in the company of a whole bunch of Georgians before long
>cue evening of music, traditional chanting, toasting and homemade booze
>end up dancing through the corridor on Johnny Be Good at 1AM
>a week later in Mestia
>day trip to Ushguli
>return to find our German friend quite drunk
>he's been randomly invited to a wedding across the street
>says he promised to return in an hour
>partycrash traditional Svanetian wedding with five people
>lots of food, dancing and some chanting
>spend evening talking to locals in extremely bad Russian
>get fed shot after shot of local firewater
Realized I was getting extremely drunk just in time, and left before I lost control. Had an in-depth conversation about Star Trek despite knowing very little about Star Trek shortly after. That's what happens when you down a bottle of chacha by yourself in a short timespan. Amazingly, I woke up without a hangover.
>two days later in Zugdidi, on the way to Tbilisi
>swear not to drink again for a while
>looking for a place to eat
>get stopped by random Georgian
>David the Georgian is drunk and curious
>30 minutes later, we're in his basement consuming copious amounts of whine while he does party tricks and tells stories of his maffioso past
>pic related
He made us drink about two bottles per person in an hour. Having to take the night train after that was certainly interesting. Again no hangover though.
Tl;dr: went to Georgia. Shit like that always happens there.
>Be in a balloon over the Serengeti Plains
>See lions chase down and kill some gazelle
Was fucking badass
Bumping because this is an epic thread.
>miss flight home from Amsterdam to USA
>stuck in Iceland for the weekend
>go to hostel
>meet fellow american at hostel
>we both meet two swedish girls
>the four of us go out drinking
>the next day we rent a car and go on a road trip to southern Iceland
>we spend hours together, simply talking about our different world views
>come back to the hostel and fall asleep
>we all depart the next day and never see each other again
and
>be in europe for the first time
>friend's parents live in Madrid, so we crash there for a while
>go to Holland and Germany
>come back to Spain, but friend's parents moved to Pamplona
>the running of the bulls festival begins as soon as we return
>proceed to watch bull fighting and run in the running of the bulls
>never felt so alive in my life
I was in Scotland walking from the bus stop after visiting Glasgow and I met this group. They invited me over and we smoked weed, drank a shit ton of buckfast, and sang songs. I also got a tour of the beginning of northern Scotland for free and did some hikes.
I also went to Iceland to visit an old friend, but she ended up having a boyfriend and not telling me until it was too late. I was homeless for a while with no money, but I met this girl whose parents were on vacation and I stayed with her for 4 days. I ended up cooking for her.
>>1078322
How can you still hear it if you declined the invitation?
Calling shenanigans
Unfortunately I don't have a lot of these stories but I've got one that was kinda cool.
>in Sweden with two friends
>not really planning anything other than going around Stockholm to look at stuff
>by chance we meet a pretty wealthy old Swedish dude while drinking
>he invites us along for a skiing trip for free after a lot of talking and a LOT of drinking
>we told him about us not having a lot of money so he lets us sleep in their cabin
>meet his wife (a bit of a bitch)
>meet his twelve year old daughter who could already speak perfect English although she apologized for her "poor English" after each sentence
>also meet his four year old son who was a boss
>drinking and skiing for the first time in our lives
>general great time
>even found a couple of 17-18 year old's who shared their weed with us
>standing on some random Swedish mountain on a snowboard baked out of my mind wondering how I got there
>probably the single best moment in my entire life
>keep riding and keep drinking the entire evening having a blast
>now late at night
>heavy buzz still going
>walk of the patio to take a piss against a tree
>looking out into the darkness, lightly swaying
>see yellow eyes
>it's a fucking wild wolf looking back at me
>I'm standing here, literally dick in hand
>don't know what to do other than to back away slowly
>once I get some distance between us I run back to the patio as fast as my sore legs would carry me
>get back to the patio, tell friends
>scared shitless, thinking the wolf was chasing me
>realize he had just stared at me the whole time not even attempting to get close to me
>wolf bro didn't even wanna eat me
>feel bad since the wolf was apparently a nice guy and I felt guilty for spurting away from him
I know it's not that interesting compared to some of your stuff but I haven't traveled that much and for me it was an epic 24 hours
>>1078680
Partially slit its throat. Didn't want it to die until the ritual was complete. They rub the blood on whatever they want to bring good luck to.
>>1078032
Went to a National Park in Brazil that is famous for it's wolves sanctuary, at night i sat at the stairs of the sanctuary eating, had a wolf come out and eat from my hand.
Even the priest was surprised, because they normally are shy around visitors and only eat from the main priest hand as they are already used to him. Pic related, it's the wolf species
>>1078032
>visit rural regions in Georgia
>climb up large hill, visit church on top
>georgian family sees me taking photos
>tries to talk to me
>i gather they think i am american
>take some photos with them, bid my farewell
>walk down hill and towards the village
>on the way down, jeep passes me
>it's the georgian family, they are asking me to get in
>talk some more, admit i'm actually not american
>they are OK with that, invite me to eat the food they packed for their day trip
>it's ok i guess (some cheese bread, georgian staple)
>they invite me on a litte tour
>they drive me to another church close to the georgian-russian border, p cool
>talk to the 2 younger brothers in the family, nice guys
>they drop me off at my guesthouse
it was cool
>>1079844
You saw a wolf and think thats lowkey? Please, thats badass.
>>1080005
Good for you, expected a mugging desu.
i had a threesome with these late 20s american girls in Austin who were super hot
don't think i'm gonna get much better than that
I was mistaken for a celebrity at a restaurant once in Wuhan, China. They gave me a lot of free food and drink and took dozens of photos with me.
>>1080565
No you're mistaken. This is the normal reaction when seeing a white man.
>>1080565
Which celebrity, and do you even resemble that celebrity?
>>1080574
The guy from Jurassic Park (and Parks and Recreation). They hadn't seen the movie, but they had seen the commercials/posters. I suppose I look a little like him.
>>1080576
Jeff Goldblum?
>>1078032
That's one thing.
>Alone in my car.
>Sunset Country.
>Dust storm sweeping the fields.
>I'm trying to get out of this predicament by driving on a countryside road, with the car rolling on broken branches and buckets of sand hitting my windows... until I found an adequate shelter.
>Good Friday.
>"It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining" (Luke, 23:44-45).
Maybe not unique because of the place, but unique because of the time of the year and the conditions I was in.
>>1080623
I think he meant Jurassic World, so Chris Pratt.
