First Holiday Abroad..Absolute Nightmare! How Was Yours?
By Janey1966
@Janey1966 (24170)
Carlisle, England
March 29, 2010 5:23pm CST
My very first holiday abroad was with my parents to the "old" Yugoslavia in 1986. My brother stayed at home looking after the cats as he "didn't fancy it!" On reflection, he definitely made the right decision staying at home.
The first disappointment was the 'plane. It wasn't the biggest in the world and a chain-smoker sitting next to me with a camera around his neck proudly told me that it was bought "second-hand from Sweden!" That would explain the sellotape sticking the wings to the body would it? Yes, it was that bad!
For some reason our neighbours told us that it wouldn't be too hot so don't take skimpy clothing! Haha! It was about 90 degrees plus the whole time and when I disembarked from the 'plane my skirt stuck to my legs, giving me an idea of what to expect.
My Dad (wrongly, it turns out) thought we were in Zadar for the first week and Rab, an island for the second week. Halfway through our coach journey to our hotel, the coach stopped and a representative told us that we would have to stay on the coach until the end, disembark and wait for a taxi-driver who would take us to Rab Island.
So, there we were, stranded in Zadar when a taxi-driver finally turned up. Dad had a thick jacket on and was sweating buckets by this time. The driver did not utter one word of English and when we were on the jetty it was difficult to determine where we actually were. When we finally arrived at our hotel the driver expected money, so my Dad obliged and so this continued for the rest of the week as the language barrier ensured we all got ripped off on a regular basis.
Back in Zadar the second week I got badly sunburned on my back and to cap it all, caught an ear-infection, probably from the dirty pool at the hotel.
The whole two weeks we were miserable as the food was horrendous. My Dad asked for fish and got one along with its head still attached. He told the waiter he couldn't eat a fish with its eye staring at him. He was offered something else (ghoulash I think) which he declined lol. The only holiday where all of us LOST WEIGHT!
Both places are now part of Croatia and I really hope they are slightly more commercialised than in the 1980s..oh, and if you go on a boat, shop around as they all charge different prices to go to the same destinations!
My poor Dad, he couldn't wait to get home!
So have you had similar holiday horrors?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rab
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zadar
7 responses
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
30 Mar 10
You always have interesting hilarious tales to tell Jane! 
What on earth made your parents decide to go there? Wasn't it a war torn area at that time?
I hear that Croatia has some very nice scenery and that it is fairly welcoming to tourists these days. Maybe you should return to get a nicer perspective on the place! 
I have only been overseas once and that was for a long six month round the world trip which took in seven countries. The only bad thing that happened was having my $500 camera stolen at a rental car depot in San Francisco.
China was the only place where I had language barrier difficulties, but we overcame them by finding translators. We did get ripped off on taxi trips, but we did not mind as it was still really cheap! 
What on earth made your parents decide to go there? Wasn't it a war torn area at that time?
I hear that Croatia has some very nice scenery and that it is fairly welcoming to tourists these days. Maybe you should return to get a nicer perspective on the place!
I have only been overseas once and that was for a long six month round the world trip which took in seven countries. The only bad thing that happened was having my $500 camera stolen at a rental car depot in San Francisco.
China was the only place where I had language barrier difficulties, but we overcame them by finding translators. We did get ripped off on taxi trips, but we did not mind as it was still really cheap! 
@RawBill1 (8531)
• Gold Coast, Australia
30 Mar 10
I first saw something touristy about Croatia about ten years ago on an Australian travel TV show called Getaway. Awesome show! It showed something similar to what you are describing and I was surprised by the beauty of the country. Previously I had only heard bad things on the news with war and such.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
31 Mar 10
Parts of it are beautiful, no doubt about that. Can't remember seeing any beaches though. We did have a boat trip out by yet another person who couldn't speak English and he ate at a posh restaurant and we didn't! There was another trip too but we made the mistake of travelling back on the wrong boat so were charged again hehe lol! My Dad hates going abroad. However, when he went back to Ibiza one year a proprietor remembered him, Mum and their grandson from a previous trip. Now, that's impressive! I like Ibiza too; went with Mum and her grandson in 1999 and it's a lovely island. Very diverse. Hot too without being oppressive. If you ever visit the Balearic Islands Ibiza would come top of the list followed by Majorca, then Menorca (I haven't been but my parents have and hated it) LOL!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Mar 10
It was recommended by our neighbours who no-one takes any notice of anymore, thankfully!
I reckon if we'd gone to Split (which is also in Croatia) it would've been better as I think it's on a lake isn't it? Lots of water there anyway! If I ever go back (highly unlikely) Split is the place I shall go. I have also seen a nature documentary about a place they call paradise, that is in Croatia too and it really is majestic..on two levels and one of them floods, then it all springs to life with different wildlife, rather like the Amazon but greener. Fabulous! My jaw dropped all the way through the programme but I can't remember the name of it, unfortunately!
That's a shame about your camera. I once dropped mine in a Spanish resort called Calella (with there with my mate Caroline and it was a year after Yugo, brilliant holiday) so I had to buy another one. It was dirt cheap and included batteries and film. Bright yellow too. Still got it at Mum's somewhere!
Yes, so at least I've had holidays since then that have made up for the Yugo disaster.
@JenInTN (27514)
• United States
31 Mar 10
Awww..what a bummer that you had a terrible vacation. We look forward to them so much and then when it turns out to be a flop, well, it's just plain disheartening. I did let someone else book a vacation for me once and it turned out to be black bike week there. I didn't have a terrible time but I did stand out a bit.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
31 Mar 10
Well I have had great holidays since then. I suppose I had to experience the bad to appreciate the good, you know what I mean? Fortunately, I've not had a worse holiday than the one I mentioned...you really must explain to me what Black Bike Week is, I haven't a clue lol.
@ElicBxn (64169)
• United States
30 Mar 10
Happily, all my abroad experiences have been pretty good. Paris was the biggest disappointment, but if you are only really there 2 days, and the day it rained it was also the day when all the museums are closed... well, doesn't make for the best trip...
@BarBaraPrz (51811)
• St. Catharines, Ontario
30 Mar 10
What possessed your parents to go there in the first place?
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Mar 10
Recommendations from the lovely neighbours! Didn't take any notice of them after that because they must've known what it was like (really) but chose not to come clean about it!
@maximax8 (31042)
• United Kingdom
2 Apr 10
My family went on short breaks to France when I was a child. Those were all very nice journeys. When I was thirteen years old I saved up to off traveling. By the time I was fourteen years old I had saved enough money to go to Greece. My mom booked a holiday to Spetse Island and we got to see Athens as well on that lovely trip. I remember the warmth of the sea and seeing the beautiful looking Greek architecture. The weather was very hot indeed and I went home with badly sunburned shoulders.
I visited Croatia, Montenegro and Slovenia in 2003. I had a wonderful trip. I eat a vegan diet so I was fine with the food there. I did chat to a lady in Slovenia that complained the fish on her plate had a face. I suggest that these days Croatia is a superb destination. I flew to Trieste in Italy and then took a bus to Dubrovnik. Now I think there are reasonably priced and decent direct flights.
The low parts of my traveling have been getting sick and falling down a drain in Malaysia. Malaysia is a lovely country. I got attacked on a lonely beach in the Maldives. I am an independent traveler and I look in travel guide books to find suitable accommodation. I like it when I can do self catering.
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
24 Apr 10
Wow, you are very brave, travelling on your own. I'm amazed that you got attacked in the Maldives, that couldn't have been very pleasant.
Yes, if I ever went back to Croatia I would most definitely try Dubrovnik which was heavily attacked in the recent war wasn't it? Have you any idea what that National Park in Croatia is called? Apparently, it was the only area of land the Serbs and Croats didn't fight over and the documentary on it was breathtaking. Lots of water and it floods...a bit like the Amazon...different wildlife depending on the time of year. I also remember an amazing waterfall. Gorgeous, serene place.
I really wish I could remember the name of it!
Yes, if I ever went back to Croatia I would most definitely try Dubrovnik which was heavily attacked in the recent war wasn't it? Have you any idea what that National Park in Croatia is called? Apparently, it was the only area of land the Serbs and Croats didn't fight over and the documentary on it was breathtaking. Lots of water and it floods...a bit like the Amazon...different wildlife depending on the time of year. I also remember an amazing waterfall. Gorgeous, serene place.
I really wish I could remember the name of it!
@dawnald (85137)
• Shingle Springs, California
31 Mar 10
There was the waiter in France who talked up this wonderful meal, so we ordered it. When it showed it, turned out to be guts in mustard. To this day I don't know if it was really a delicacy there or if he was sticking it to the evil Americans!
@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
31 Mar 10
"Guts in Mustard" mmmm, yummy lol. Hubby wouldn't have had it because he hates French Mustard, it's gotta be English!
@marguicha (230334)
• Chile
30 Mar 10
The elegant way to serve fish is with the head in the plate if it´s a small one. You just leave it aside.. Language barriers can cause problems but that doesn´t only happen in one country. Im glad I know English as in the US there are few places where you can get people to understand, let alone speak, Spanish so when I have gone there I have no trouble.
But it seems you did have your share of troubles. I think you had a lot of bad luck. Im so sorry.
I dont remember having such a bad time at any trip Ive made. I was lucky!
. Language barriers can cause problems but that doesn´t only happen in one country. Im glad I know English as in the US there are few places where you can get people to understand, let alone speak, Spanish so when I have gone there I have no trouble.
But it seems you did have your share of troubles. I think you had a lot of bad luck. Im so sorry.
I dont remember having such a bad time at any trip Ive made. I was lucky!@Janey1966 (24170)
• Carlisle, England
30 Mar 10
Well, I can laugh about it now of course but at the time we weren't laughing that much. In Yugoslavia (as it was known then) the East Germans would run riot and no-one would bat an eyelid. I think the locals were scared of them as they always ran around in groups. None of them would speak the "lingo" either. So everyone was speaking different languages. Usually, in holiday resorts (especially those that were booked from British holiday companies) there are some staff within the resort or the hotel(s) that would speak a little English. Nobody did!
This is why I admire people that can speak lots of languages as it must be extremely hard to do so.
