5 horror stories from students on exchange

Posted On 04 Apr 2016

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Travelling can be a dream come true, but it can also turn into a hellish nightmare in the blink of an eye. While bad travel experiences make for fun anecdotes, it’s a lot less fun when you’re the protagonist of the story. Graphic artist Lim Pei Yi illustrates the horror travel stories local and foreign exchange students recounted to Lifestyle writers Goh Pei Xuan and Sherlyn Goh.

ALPAC-UP MY BAGS

Currently on exchange at University of California Berkeley, United States of America (USA)

GRAPHIC: LIM PEI YI

My friend and I went backpacking in South America over the winter break. On our journey, we stayed on an island on Lake Titicaca (located on the border of Peru and Bolivia). We went for a walk along the area in the morning and passed by a cute alpaca grazing by the pathway. I was so amazed that I went closer to take a video of it but while I was trying to do so, the alpaca gathered some cud in its mouth and spat in my face.

As told by Amber Tan, 21
Second-year student
Renaissance Engineering Programme, NTU

HOTEL OR BROTHEL?

Currently on exchange at NTU

GRAPHIC: LIM PEI YI

During recess week, my friends and I went to Penang, Malaysia, and when we arrived at our hotel at about 2am, the hotel staff told us they didn’t have our reservation even though we booked it weeks in advance. We were stranded with no place to go, so we decided to head to a bar. The bar owner learnt about our situation and directed us to a place to stay for the night. But it turned out that the place was a brothel. Fortunately, we managed to find another hotel after refusing the “accommodations” offered at the brothel.

As told by Ogulcan Selcuk, 22 Third-year student
Middle East Technical University, Turkey

RISING TIDE

Currently on exchange at NTU

GRAPHIC: LIM PEI YI

I travelled to Bintan with my friends during the Chinese New Year week and stayed at a resort on stilts out at sea. On our final night, the tides were high and water was coming in through the floor of our room. We had no choice but to evacuate to the hotel’s restaurant — a hut one metre higher than the rooms. That night, we had to sleep on the restaurant floor. It was a really scary experience. I would still consider us lucky though. I heard some people had to swim in the water to get their stuff from their rooms because the boardwalk was gone in the morning.

As told by Rebecca Johnson, 20 Second-year student
Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA

ROLLY POLLY

Currently on exchange at Tampere University of Technology, Finland

GRAPHIC: LIM PEI YI

I was on exchange in Finland when my friends and I thought we would take a trip to Inari in the north. We decided to try out riding on a snowmobile and rented one for two hours from a local shop. After getting the hang of it, we got a little too confident. We rode the vehicle to its maximum speed — straight into a massive pile of snow. We flew off the snowmobile and ended up rolling all the way down the hill. Thankfully, my friends and I did not get hurt. I still laugh at myself for it but I would do it all over again.

As told by Shaun Kam, 24
Third-year student

THE GREAT CHASE

Currently on exchange at NTU

GRAPHIC: LIM PEI YI

I was at a hawker centre in Chinatown, Singapore, when I noticed packets of tissue paper displayed prominently in front of a stall. Impressed that the stalls gave out free tissue paper, I casually reached out to take a packet

from a hawker stall and went off. The stall owner, a Chinese lady, chased me down relentlessly and started yelling angrily at me in another language, likely shouting profanities. She then snatched the packet of tissue away from my hands indicating that I was stealing them. It was only then that I realised that those packets of tissues had to be paid for. I was left gawking in confusion.

Sydney Edwards, 21
Third-year student
A. James Clark School of Engineering University of Maryland, USA