Troubles That Make Us!

And there have been a few! But we're learning to embrace the bad and the ugly along with the good!

Here are some of our top troubles between 2016 and 2018!

LEGOLAND Windsor, 2016

LEGOLAND was the reason we were in Windsor. We'd taken a small three-carriage train from Slough, which took six minutes to reach Windsor and Eton Central. We went to the taxi stand outside the station. When we said we were headed to LEGOLAND, the taxi driver looked puzzled, "Isn't LEGOLAND closed on Tuesdays?" There was a moment's pause, and then ShNaajh burst into tears!

Even though we'd intended to visit LEGOLAND the day before precisely because it used to be closed on Tuesdays, for some reason we postponed the visit, completely forgetting that very important bit of information.

We returned to Windsor in 2018 and visited LEGOLAND.

It's a collage of two separate photos.

Budapest, 2018

Our train to Vienna was from Kelenföld station at 8:55 pm. I forgot to change the 'pm' to 'am' when I bought the tickets online months ago, and the train company refused to change them to day tickets.

Kelenföld station looked rundown, and platform 15 was deserted. The platform guard came out of his office just before the trains arrived and went back in as soon as the trains left. Our friend had done a bit of research and told us that the train would stop at Kelenföld for two minutes only. Two minutes doesn't seem like a lot of time when you have to spot your coach as the train arrives, run (with your backpacks) alongside the train so you can get to the coach as soon as the train has stopped, join the line of other passengers, who have appeared out of nowhere just before the arrival of the train, wait for passengers to alight and then board the train.

Thankfully we managed all of the above and were off to Vienna!

Vienna, 2018

We checked into the Airbnb probably around 11:30 pm (or later). It was a small flat in an old Viennese building. It wasn't easy to open the heavy front door to the flat without making any sound that didn't seem deafening in the dead quiet of the night, but we succeeded. As soon as we stepped inside, we noticed the 'rules' - they were everywhere! Most of those rules were expected, but some cracked us up: '...try if possible not to take loud showers after 9 PM', and 'Please respect the quiet hours that apply in this residential building and try not to slam the door', but especially, 'Tenants of this building are living here for over 20 years and know the rules. Any wrong rubbish disposal will lead directly to us.'

Soon after we checked out of the Airbnb, the host sent us an image of pencil marks on the wall of one of the rooms. She was upset that ShNaajh had damaged the wall! She hadn't - I asked her even though I knew she hadn't. (How? That's a story for another time.) The marks had probably been there for a while and the cleaner perhaps only just noticed them. I hope the host believed me - she did give me five stars.

Paris, 2018

After a long wait at Charles de Gaulle, we arrived at our Airbnb, which was on the top floor of a six-storey, liftless Parisian building. It was a hot day and we were exhausted. The climb was slow but we got there. We turned the key, but the door didn't open! A panicked call to the host and we are taught the trick - pull the doorknob towards you before you turn the key! That 'key' detail should've been in the check-in information!

Climbing six storeys every day for five days did make up for all the cheesy crêpes we had!

Paris is also the place where we drank the most expensive water ever! We learnt to ask for tap water after paying €8 for bottled water at a pizzeria near the Eiffel Tower. The pizza cost less!

Brussels, 2018

We arrived in Brussels at about 9:30 am. That was five and a half hours before our Airbnb check-in. The host had said we could leave our luggage and go sightseeing, so we weren't worried about having to carry our backpacks all day.

However, when we got to the Airbnb, we realised that the property hadn't been vacated yet. We messaged the host and asked where we could leave our luggage - no response! We called our friends in Brussels, whom we were going to catch up with during our stay anyway, and they came to the rescue! They drove us to their home, fed us and then took us to Calais - a place we wouldn't have visited had they not driven us there!

They dropped us back at the Airbnb sometime between 9:00 and 10:00 pm and we discovered to our horror that the place hadn't been cleaned since the departure of the previous guests.

We called the host, who lived close by, thankfully. He was very apologetic and arrived within minutes to fix up the place. We had a pleasant stay afterwards, I must admit.

Glasgow, 2018

We arrived at Glasgow Central Station from London and headed to a counter to find out which ticket would be best for our three-night stay in the city. We spotted a station staff outside the counter and sought his advice. He was a very nice man who was willing to help, but my ears were completely unprepared for what they encountered. As soon as the man started talking, I found my gaze dropping from his eyes to his lips. Even then I barely understood what he said, but when Rakesh proceeded to buy three tickets from him, I hoped that he meant they would cover all modes of transport.

But they didn't! We realised that after boarding a bus to our Airbnb. The driver probably took pity and let us travel for free, but we were so embarrassed that for the rest of our stay, we just walked to and from the city centre. It was 30 minutes each way!

Sugarloaf Reservoir, Victoria, 2018

The plan was to hike the 15/16 km circuit. Perhaps a little ambitious with an 8-year-old but doable, especially since there were two pairs of adults - yes, two of our very dear friends joined us. We took plenty of water, and food.

It was Boxing Day. We started the hike at 9:10. The first half went as planned - we followed the orange markings and reached the top of the hill. We saw several kangaroos on the way!

We kept going but soon realised that we were walking away from the water, and the markings had disappeared! We still kept going and in about three quarters of an hour came to the fence encircling the reservoir. We were at Gate 5. The gate was locked; there was no path ahead. So we turned left and went up Finks Road, hoping to be back near the water eventually. After another hour of walking - by then the sun was HOT - we got back to the fence but further away from the water. We decided to follow the fence, which was then running parallel to Muir Road, so that we could take Ridge Road and finally Simpson Road back to Saddle Dam Picnic Area, where we'd parked. We made it to the crossing of Muir Road and Ridge Road, and then a scary thought hit our friend. What if we followed the fence all the way to Simpson Road only to realise that we couldn't cross over to the road because all the gates were locked? We decided to head back. It was 12:45. We'd walked 8 km.

The walk back was slow because a subplot had been developing since the start of the hike. ShNaajh got several mosquito bites on her feet the evening before, and they were turning into blisters. I dressed the biggest one on her left ankle but was a bit worried to see that both her feet were SWOLLEN. The sun was burning, and her feet were really hot in those hiking boots.

She kept going though, and we made it back to the car park at about 3:45. We drove straight to Papparich to treat ourselves to a sumptuous meal. We'd earned the calories.

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Do you have any trouble-story to share?