My Airport Nightmare Unfolds
So there I was, chilling at Bangkok airport waiting for my connecting flight when my phone suddenly exploded with texts. Opened them and bam – news alerts about massive protests breaking out downtown near my hotel. Roads blocked, metro shut down, total chaos. My connecting flight? Cancelled. Baggage claim looked like a zombie apocalypse with people screaming in five languages.
First thing I did? Grabbed my neck pouch. Always keep emergency cash split between dollars and local currency – learned that after getting pickpocketed in Barcelona last year. Ran to the bathroom locked myself in a stall and counted: $200 USD, 5,000 Thai baht, and my backup debit card wrapped in tissue paper. Felt my pulse finally slowing down. Never travel without that secret pouch.
What Actually Saved My Butt
Made three moves immediately:
- Called my travel insurance hotline shouting “HELP!” (thank god I paid extra for coverage)
- Stomped to the airline counter showing my cancelled ticket – argued until they rebooked me 8 hours later
- Downloaded offline maps showing ALL hospitals near the airport since protesters were moving closer
My phone died right after. Karma must’ve heard me laughing at people who carry power banks. Luckily remembered seeing charging stations near Gate C7 earlier – sprinted there like my life depended on it (it kinda did).
The Real Scare Came Later
Was finally boarding the rescheduled flight when some guy collapsed near me. Crew started shouting for a doctor while I froze like an idiot. Then remembered my first aid training from REI last summer – pushed through shouting “I know CPR!”.
Turned out he just fainted from dehydration but during the madness I left my passport at the medic station! Had to sprint back through security waving my boarding pass like a madman. Security guard laughed his ass off when I pantomimed passport shapes with trembling hands.
What I’ll Never Travel Without Again
Sitting on the plane finally, I wrote this actual checklist in my blood-stained notebook (paper cuts count right?):
- Write insurance number ON your luggage tag – typing it takes forever when panicking
- Carry local sim cards – bought emergency ones at 7-Eleven when my roaming failed
- Photocopy passport in every bag – saved me during that passport retrieval drama
Was drinking terrible airplane coffee when realization hit: emergencies don’t care about your itinerary. That Bangkok Hilton? Never made it there. But I survived using scraps of common sense and pure stubbornness. Should’ve practiced shouting “WHERE IS HOSPITAL?” in Thai instead of just “hello” though.
