Dunedin, New Zealand
We climbed the steepest street in the world, Baldwin Street. Once we reached the top, we turned around and looked down the slope of our 401(k).
Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
I walked into the washroom of our camp site and noticed a sign on the wall that said "Please Do Not Defecate on the Floor." So I went in the sink instead.
Broome, Australia
We classified Cable Beach as one of the most beautiful beaches in all of Australia. One part of the beach was nude, and the other part we never got to see.
Bali, Indonesia
Immigration denied us entry because we could not produce evidence of our intended departure. This crushed our dream of fleeing from the riches of America to sneak into Indonesia and live as impoverished, illegal aliens.
With the Bali to Java ferry docked in the harbour, tourist threw money overboard and watched as the local children dove thirty feet off the side of the ship to collect it as payment for such a feat. So fed up with Indonesians at this point, I thought about simply handing them the money and then pushing them off.
Singapore
We rented a seedy hotel room in the downtown area and noticed ants crawling over the carpet, walls and bed sheets. I called management and they nodded in agreement that something needed to be done, so they changed the sheets. We changed hotels.
Phucket, Thailand
Here we stayed at the cheapest hotel on our trip - $2.85 a night. Instead of leaving mints on the pillows, management left cockroaches. I'm just kidding, there were no pillows.
Guangdong, China
The SARS virus killed numerous people in the province of Guangdong. Chinese scientists conducted various test to determine if the "dong” portion played a role in spreading the disease.
Putoshan Island, China
Lonely Planet warned about drinking the water in spite of its delightfully yellowish color.
Beijing, China
So the day came when we boarded the train to Moscow. At the station, we hooked up with a Frenchman and an Englishman who were also taking the Trans-Siberian Railroad...
Trans-Siberian: At the China and Mongolia Border
...a Mongolian customs agent entered our compartment and noticed that a Frenchman, an Englishman, and two Americans boarded a train to Moscow. She asked, “Is this some kind of joke?”
Erica’s peeled, worn and ragged passport came under question by Chinese customs officials. They released her once they all agreed that a forger would have done a better job.
Trans-Siberian: Siberia, Russia
The fabled stories of harsh Siberian winters came under scrutiny when the beer, sold in kiosks outside on the train station platforms, was suspiciously warm.
Krakow, Poland
I walked up to the counter and asked for a round-trip bus ticket to Auschwitz. The lady looked at me straight-faced and said they only sell one-way tickets.
Istanbul, Turkey
After three hours of El Al "hospitality" in a back room at Ataturk International, airline officials x-rayed our bags for the fifth time when they determined that, following a short walk from the interrogation room to the departure gate, we may have constructed a bomb when both our Israel security escorts blinked simultaneously.
Jerusalem, Israel
Since conventional weapons became harder to smuggle onto buses and into buildings due to heightened security, Palestinian suicide bombers began frequenting Mexican restaurants hoping to develop explosive diarrhea.
