Bizarre travel disasters that happen during a holiday
Whenever we’re on a holiday, it’s pretty common for travelling mishaps to happen. But apart from the usual misplacing of valuables, there are bizarre misfortunes that can befall you at times. From a freak snowstorm in a tropical country, to getting your bag thrown off a cliff by a mischievous temple monkey – here are 6 of the weirdest travel disasters that have happened and can happen to you too when you’re overseas:
1. A freak snowfall in a tropical country
Snow in the Sahara Desert. Source: The Telegraph
When we’re travelling to a tropical country, the last thing we’d pack is our winter gear – but lo and behold, snow fell on the French island of Guadeloupe in March 2016, and bemused tourists in the Caribbean were left shivering.
While they were lucky that the snow melted away within the same day, there’s no guarantee that everybody will be just as lucky each time. With snow falling even in the Sahara Desert these days, it’s best to be prepared with a contingency plan at hand – winter is coming.
2. A house fire back in sunny ol’ Singapore
That’s you trying to convince your family that house fires are very real. Source: GIPHY
Imagine getting a phone call from your neighbour while overseas, saying that your house caught fire. We’ve probably all scoffed at how ridiculous it sounds, but with over 180,000 calls related to fire incidents made to the Singapore Civil Defence Force last year, that electrical switch that you left on before heading to the airport now seems like a dangerous fire hazard. Yikes.
3. An emergency plane landing from a bird strike
Source: Business Insider
Unbeknownst to many, birds can cause your plane to make an emergency landing. And as unbelievable as it sounds, these ‘bird strikes’ are not rare at all.
They happen at least once a year, and while they usually don’t pose any significant danger to the plane itself, the pilot will almost always make an emergency landing to ensure that the plane is damage-free. Much to the chagrin of the passengers aboard, this means a delayed flight, and in turn, delayed travel plans.
4. A jellyfish sting at the beach
That infamous jellyfish sting in Friends is very real. Source: GIPHY
Behind the glass of the aquarium, jellyfishes may seem quite pleasant, unassuming, and peaceful creatures however a jellyfish’s sting can pack a punch. Tread carefully when you’re at a beach overseas, because their tentacles can sting you, even when it’s detached, or when it is dead.
They’re poisonous and painful, and some are even life-threatening, like the ones by a box jellyfish – between 20 – 40 people die from it each year in the Philippines alone.
5. The unexpected bankruptcy of your travel agency
Source: Konsortium.com.sg
It’s not every day that a travel agency closes down and files for bankruptcy. But sometimes it does, as do airlines, hotels, and restaurants, which instantly turns your trip into a disaster – especially if you’ve got no insurance to cover for the unexpected cancellation of plans.
Case in point: Konsortium, a travel agency that specialised in coach trips to Malaysia, closed last year, and package holders who didn’t have insurance had to deal with the hassle of approaching the Small Case Tribunal for money claims.
6. Losing your valuables to a monkey
A monkey at Uluwatu Temple making off with a bottle of Pepsi. Source: @jhokystevanus
If you’ve interacted with monkeys before, you’ll know that these intelligent and nimble critters are capable of snitching your valuables.
In fact, the brilliant monkeys at Bali’s Uluwatu Temple figured out that if they steal from tourists, they can demand to be given food in exchange for the return of those items!
But if you’re less lucky, the furry pickpocket might just make off with your valuables instead, or even throw them off a cliff on a whim.
Protect yourself from travel disasters of all sorts with PolicyPal
From a travel delay caused by an emergency plane landing, to an unfortunate stay at a hospital overseas thanks to a passing jellyfish, there are lots of unexpected ways to put a damper on your holiday.
To ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible even with all these bumps in the road, travel insurances that cover these peculiar emergencies are needed – enter PolicyPal, a mobile app that acts as one-stop insurance viewing and buying platform!
Available for both Android and IOS, the app has travel insurance plans from up to 7 established companies for you to browse through leisurely without the pressure of an actual insurance agent hovering around.
Plus, the coverage they provide will be all listed clearly in bullet points so that it’s easy to scan through, and you can make both enquiries and claims via the app! Here’s an added bonus – when you purchase a travel insurance through PolicyPal, you’ll get 15% cashback.
Some of the benefits of the plans include:
- Up to S$20,000 worth of claims for unexpected trip curtailment (Ergo TravelProtect)
- Coverage of up to S$10,000 when your house is damaged while you are away. (Chubb TravelPro Enhanced)
- Insurance claims of up to S$2000 for travel delays (Sompo TravelJoy)
- Reimbursement of a maximum of S$2 million for overseas medical bills. (Chubb TravelPro Enhanced)
- Insured up to S$1500 for delayed luggage (MSIG TravelEasy)
- Insured up to S$8000 for lost luggage (Ergo TravelProtect)
Here’s the highlight – PolicyPal is giving away 80 basic travel insurance policies for FREE from 26th March – 8th April! To stand a chance to win one, all you’ll have to do is to simply:
- Like and share this post on Facebook, which must be set as public
- Share your weirdest travel emergency in the comment section below
- Fill in your trip details here.
The policies are capped at S$50, and for travel plans that cost more, a $50 credit will be sent to your PolicyPal account instead.
Do take note that your travel period has to be between 20th April 2018 and 10th October 2018, and that each travel insurance plan is limited to 1 individual only! The winners will be announced on PolicyPal’s Facebook group on 11th April 2018.
Note: For more information, refer to PolicyPal’s Terms & Conditions here, and make sure that all your submitted details are accurate.
