Competition: win over £450 of brilliant summer reads

Taken for a ride in Bangkok

On our way to Australia for the holiday of a lifetime, my husband and I stopped off in Bangkok for five days and had a very unfortunate experience with a taxi driver.

We had been warned by our son who lived in the city for a while, to be careful of the taxi touts and to only use official taxis. I rang the hotel before we left to check the going rate for a taxi from the airport to the hotel and was given the price that we should expect to pay - 600 baht the currency of Thailand (about £12).

We arrived in Bangkok in the early hours and soon found ourselves in amongst milling crowds and very demanding touts as we expected. We went straight to the official taxi stand and gave the name of the hotel where we would be stopping and we were then given an official ticket with the name of the hotel written on it. The luggage was placed in the boot and we set off through the traffic clogged streets of the city to our hotel. I asked the driver why his meter wasn't working and he said that it was broken. We should really have not got into this taxi because of the meter but we did know in advance how much we would be paying as this too was written on the ticket. We arrived in one piece at the hotel which was a 5 star which we had booked before we left the UK. It was really impressive as it was set by the Chao Phraya River which flows through Bangkok. The taxi driver was keen to be off, perhaps in search of another job and literally stood over my husband as he opened his wallet and took out the 600 baht to pay him. With the money in his hand, he soon disappeared and we thought no more of it.

We settled into our room, explored the hotel and its grounds which were full of orchids, tropical trees and plants and then we had an early night as we were tired after the journey from he UK.

The next morning we went into the nearest shopping area as I needed some items from a chemist. We found one and we selected the goods. My husband took out some money to pay the assistant and she said,
‘‘Haven’t you got any baht? Those are Australian dollars.’’
My husband returned the dollars to his wallet and used baht to pay for the goods. He had the two currencies in different sections of his wallet and he knew which was which - or so he thought!

When we returned to the hotel my husband said,
‘‘If I tried to pay for the goods in dollars, what did I use to pay the taxi driver?’’

At this point he came out in cold sweat and the realisation dawned upon him that he had perhaps paid for the taxi in dollars and that meant that the short taxi ride had in fact cost over £300 not £12 as it should have done. We both felt very low at this point and my husband felt cross with himself because of the mistake he had made.

We discussed the problem over breakfast the next day and I said,
‘‘We aren't taking this, let's try and get the money back.’’
‘‘How?’’ said my husband.
‘‘I have the ticket with the amount we should have paid in my bag. We can go and speak to the manager at the reception to see if he can help us to recover the money.’’ I replied.
When we told him what had happened, he was very shocked and said,
‘‘Don’t worry we will get the money back for you.’’

Still not feeling very confident that we would ever see the money again, we set off into Bangkok to see the beautiful gold painted temples and explore the city which took our minds off the problem for a while.

When we returned to the hotel, we found a letter in our room from the manager asking us to call at reception. We did not know at this point whether he was going to say that all was lost or whether he had recovered the money. The manager soon appeared all smiles and much to our surprise, said that they had recovered the dollars and paid the driver in bahts. We were surprised, shocked and relieved all at once. The manager was even apologetic that such a thing could have happened in his country. The Thai people are very polite and in most cases eager to please and do the correct thing. He said that the head of security at the hotel knew the taxi drivers and it was he who had recovered the money.

So how did my husband make such a mistake? I think you could put it down to tiredness after the long journey from London, unfamiliar surroundings, the heat and the feeling that he was being rushed to pay by the driver. We had in fact separated our money off and I had an equal supply of the two currencies in my purse but even so, it would have been a bad start to our holiday and a very expensive mistake.

We have since written to the hotel to thank the manager and his staff for their help as this event could have ruined our holiday and we will be a little more careful the next time we travel to far flung places!

Driving through the Dolomite mountains in a camper van on a dark Saturday evening in September 1995 in very heavy rain when the van decided to break down and refused all efforts to make it go. No sign of a house nearby, so we left the van and walked the mountain roads until we found one. This was in the German speaking part of the Dolomites, luckily, and I managed to say to the nice lady who answered the door "Mein auto ist kaput". She understood immediately and asked us in and made us a cup of tea. We were very wet and bedraggled by now. Then she telephoned a breakdown company and a large low loader came and took us and the van to a garage some miles away. This was a Saturday evening, but we were allowed to stay on the garage forecourt until Monday morning when the garage opened. It took them two days to sort the problem and send for spare parts. Then came the question of paying for it, - the whole thing was very expensive. So they held me as hostage, - in a friendly way, - while my partner drove to the nearest town with a bank to organise the money.
They made many jokes about how he might never return to pick me up and I would be stuck in the Dolomites for ever,
but luckily he did. And on we went.

I went to Spain on holiday when I was a teenager and the handsome hotel barman asked me out! I went home pregnant!

However every cloud has a silver lining we've been happily married for 41 years now!!!!!

Sailing in the Channel Islands one year, we were directed into a berth in Th St Peterport marina. We queried its depth but were told by the harbour staff it was ok for our Sadler
Woke up the next morning and fell out of my bunk! It was too shallow and we were listing at an acute angle.
The berth was too shallow!
The harbour staff tied us up so that we didn't fall right over, and next high tide apologetically moves us to a deeper berth.
No damage except to our pride passers by were pointing to our boat and laughing at our plight!

My holiday disaster was on a canal boat where the fridge door holder where you store your wine was broken. Reported it but the company said they could deal with it. After we set off and started to cook we found that the oven door didn't close properly.

However after a couple of days we started to smell the toilet and the seal had broken on it. We rang the company and they weren't interested. We had a smelly holiday not pleasant.

We were driving to Champagne for a long weekend break, we were just approaching the toll at Reims when the car engine cut out. French motorways don't have trucks to tow you off so we had to push the car off on to a sliproad. Eventually a tow truck took us to a garage and arranged a hire car, just slightly bigger than Noddy's car. It was a bank holiday and the mechanics just gave us the Gallic shrug and couldn't possibly tellus when it would be fixed. We had to book extra days in the very expensive hotel and wait and see. After the fourth day of visiting the garage the mechanic told us that the nut that held the fan belt on had come off. They did not have a replacement so would have to contact the car manufacturer. We ended up having to cross the channel as foot passengers and we had already missed our original crossing by three days. The car had to be repatriated on a transporter and took about another week. My husband went to our local garage to complain because the car had been serviced the day before departure. The holiday ended up a fiasco for the sake of a £5 repair.

Some years ago when our son was about 12 we had a wonderful holiday in Tunisia. We had a midday flight back on hottest day of the year. We boarded after an hours delay and were ready to take off when two people decided not to fly due to ear infections. So we lost our slot whilst their luggage was unloaded. We then sat and sat and sat on runway waiting for a slot but then a man collapsed and needed oxygen. The doors were opened to allow medics access and were kept open, so air conditioning wasn't operating. Plane got hotter and hotter to point where people were collapsing and some people getting hysterical and children crying. The young men on flight stripped down to their Calvin Kleins. Cabin crew ran out of water. Captain (from his air conditioned cockpit) kept saying air conditioning would be on shortly, but we knew air condition can't be on whilst doors are open and there were medics in and out. Things deteriorated and several more people needed medical attention. Eventually some of the men informed crew that if we weren't bussed off shortly we would all walk off plane. Within minutes busses arrived. When we got back to terminal my husband wrung his teeshirt out it was so wet. We eventually got back on a flight, but I believe we left several people behind in hospital. Horrible experience.

I still cringe when I think about our holiday disaster.

It was many years ago, our daughters were 10 and 5 and we were at Centre Parcs. It was our last day and I wanted to try their pancake house. We didn't have a lot of money and the girls weren't interested so we went in and let them play outside where we could see them.

My pancake had just arrived at the table when I heard the commotion. My eldest daughter had her sister by the hand and was dragging her through the restaurant, every few steps the little one stopped and vomited. Over herself, other customers and momentously --- in someone's handbag that was hanging on their chair!!

I lept from my seat and rushed over and pulled her towards the toilets but she managed to vomit on at least 3 other people AND the waiters shoes on the way through.

My husband - bless him - did not look up or move from our table but continued to eat his savoury pancake . When asked later he said ' Didn't see the point in wasting it'.

I never did get my pancake !!

Worst holiday ever was years ago on a package tour to Tunisia. You weren't encouraged to leave the hotel and if you did take a taxi there was no guarantee you'd find another to bring you back. You couldn't bring food or drink into the hotel from outside either as they had security who searched your bags and they tried to confiscate my bottle of water - in 40 degree heat!!!To top it all I got food poisoning and we cut the holiday short by a week.

Whilst on holiday in Gran Canaria, we went to a local zoo to watch a birds of prey show. At the end I was standing at the edge of the mountain watching some vultures that hadn't returned. I stepped back and fell, fully clothed in a pond. Hilarious...but I was soggy all day!

My honeymoon in Barbados - I arrived but my case didn't !
All my honeymoon clothing and toiletries travelled the world until it eventually arrived back to me on the day before we left !
Luckily the airline were very kind and gave me an allowance for clothes and necessities but still.........
Have been left with `suitcase not arriving fear !'

We went to France with five small children and the car sprung a leak in the queue for the ferry. We got to Dol and the car was taken off to be repaired on the back of a pick up truck. We had to stay on the camp site for the first four days. The boys were delighted- swimming, paint balling and golf range kept them busy!

Spent a beautiful week in Italy driving down the coast, bought my mum a new video camera to record it. She pressed record by mistake when the lens cap was on so we ended up with about 40 hours of black and audio of us chatting and as soon as we got anywhere interesting it switched off!

trip to Jamaica ,took an old suitcase of school supplies for a local school . When customs asked would I be leaving anything in the country I said yes,and they proceeded to tip out the entire overstuffed suitcase , and ask questions about each item (bought in £ shops )
In the meantime customs came to a standstill and excited holidaymakers were held up for over half an hour as the Resort was contacted and so was the recipient school .
Eventually we were told we could go , but couldn't repack the suitcase , so odd items were stuffed in an old carrier bag and we ran for our onward transport , forgoing the chance to wash or change after our ten hour flight.
An hour and a half later , we arrived at our Posh resort.............Sandals , and disembarked with immaculate Canadians and ultra smart Americans,Scruffy ,unchanged ,hot and sweaty, carrying our good luggage,a very old suitcase for the school and a torn and flapping Asda carrier bag full of Pencils and notebooks. We looked a fright as we accepted a damp cloth and a glass of fizz in reception . We had a wonderful holiday though , and would love to return

Big not bit!

My holiday disaster was when my kiddies were little and DH decided to borrow the camping equipment from my sister in law in Shropshire. We travelled to her house from Liverpool, DH decided to have a snooze so I asked where the stuff was and was handed the garage keys and told it was in a bit blue bag. I found the bag (eventually) and heaved it into the car. Later that afternoon we set off for South Wales, we had booked one night in Mid Wales to break the journey and arrived about 6pm. DH pulled the blue bag out of the boot of the car and asked where the tent poles where. I replied 'In the blue bag?' Oh no they weren't, apparently there was a second bag with them in which no-one had mentioned. Back to Shropshire we went, collected said poles and DH decided to drive straight to South Wales. We had to stop in the early hours of the morning as he was too tired to drive safely any further and slept in the car. Was teased about it for years afterwards by sister in law!

We went to south of France end of June. Everything went wrong at the airport. Suitcases were not checked as we were a few minutes late. They say we have to take the,,with us but they went through them and all our stuffs(over 100ml and more were thrown away - from 4 suitcases. By that time, we were rushing to the gate with our big suitcases, hand bags 2 little kids - we were the grand parents to the gate. They tell usWE COULD NOT BOARD. We lost so may items which we will have to buy again when we reach our destination. The worst thing we have to book another floor flight which would go to a different airport, so hire another car - longer drive. It was a nightmare and we lost so much money as we have to buy every single tickets (4 adults and 2 kids). Not a good start at all. X

I love travelling but our family always ends up in unfortunate situations when doing so. One of the worst has to be when we went to Turkey, my mother in law and I decided to go on a spa trip. The 'thirty minute' bus journey there ended up being over 2 hours, we were on there in the boiling heat with no air condition and we ran out of water. We got there finally, the lovely mud baths that we were promised made my skin itchy I think it was an allergic reaction which has never happened before. The other things in this spa were covered in mould and were just very unclean, we decided we wanted to leave early but when we went to find out the bus times we had just missed the bus and there wasn't another one leaving for 2 hours. Both of us were close to tears at the end of this trip, couldn't of been worse.

Went to France towing a caravan. Found a site but it was not open so. We followed a French family who said they knew of a picnic site we could all use, by now there at least 3 other caravans. We stayed there the night only to be woken up by the local gendarmes who banged on our doors and told us it was illegal to camp on a picnic site. They let us go but fined all the French families!.

Went
out for a meal, it was a ferie day so only set menu. Electricity in restaurant kept going off, first course came OK Parma ham etc so cold. Next course not properly cooked and it was very pink, cold gigot de mouton. Sent it back said it was inedible, did not want it reheated. Offered steak that was ok. Meanwhile second course for friends was langoustine, came with shells on smothered in sauce they were not keen to pick through sauce but managed. As electricity kept failing the meal went on for hours. We left very late only to find, back at the camp site the gates were locked so we had to climb over the gate.That night there was a huge storm and the tent next to us was flooded out so we had to take in the two people who were just lying in water!
Altogether a disaster albeit
, at times
a very funny one!

I had heard of delhi belly, and turkey trots, but i hadn't heard of Montezuma's revenge. Food poisoning in Mexico isn't pretty - and lasted about a week and a half.

On our first camping trip to Cornwall it rained for 13 out of 14 days. Our campsite turned into a quagmire with streams of water running through it and under our tent. Fortunately we had our wellies with us and the tent had a sewn-in groundsheet. Motorhomes had to be towed off the site by a tractor. In the end we went home a day early as hubby reckoned that otherwise we wouldn't get our vehicle off the site.

I went with my family to Costa Del Sol and we decided to go for a little walk the first night there. Somehow we found ourselves far away from the hotel and right in the middle of where all the locals live. It took us 3 hours to find our way back. That's what I get for not paying attention. :P

On the way back from Wales I got completely and utterly lost as there was a road closure and I just couldn't get back on track. The satnav was useless as just kept trying to get us back onto the road that was closed. After 2 and a half hours I was only 38 miles away from the holiday home. The journey ended up taking 7 hours in total and I had a toddler and a baby in the back. bloomin nightmare!!

We were on a short break near Lake Garda with my daughter and her friend who were both 14. My husband after studying the map decided that we would go over a mountain range and head back to the hotel. He was somewhat pig headed when it became apparent that the 'pass' was not suitable for motor vehicles and was determined that we would drive it. Quite early on we passed some cyclists who looked somewhat flabbergasted....not surprising as it was a narrow unmade track with loose rocks and gravel .i had to keep getting out and shifting rocks out if the way so we could continue upwards, and each time we stopped, we then had to do a fairly hairy hill start with wheel spins and gravel/ dust flying all over the place.The hairpin bends were terrifying with no protection from the sheer drops but we actually got to the point where we had to go on as there was absolutely no way you could turn round and to reverse back would be suicidal. I think it is the only time in my life that I have been truly terrified and absolutely furious with my husband...especially as we had my daughter's friend with us and it was before mobile phones were the norm. After what seemed like hours we emerged over the top smelling of hot rubber and only able to get the car into first gear and nothing else. We ground slowly back to the hotel in stony silence.......

About 37 years ago I was 12 weeks pregnant when I came into contact with Rubella. The results of the test to see if you had contacted the disease (which could be devastating to the health of the baby) took 2 weeks to come in so we decided to go away for a few days to take our minds off things. We went to Scarborough. On the journey up we had torrential rain and thunder and lightening. During this downpour our ancient car decided to coast to a gentle stop in the fast lane of the motorway! We left it as near to the central barrier as possible and ran over to the hard shoulder aware that drivers could see hardly anything in the rain. A police car came by a few minutes later and roundly berated us for leaving the car where it was but did apologise when he realised we had had no option. He towed the car onto the hard shoulder and the AA got us going again.
The rain continued into the next day and whilst coming out of a cafe I fell down a step and twisted my ankle. By the middle of the afternoon I was in such agony that I went to the local A and E department. I had to have an X-ray wearing a lead apron to protect the baby. I had only sprained my ankle but we decided to return home that day as I was in too much pain to enjoy anything!
Luckily we had a lovely, healthy son 6 months later!