10 big stupid things tourists do on holiday

Nature does not find human behaviour funny at all! If someone experiences a journey, he can tell something. This is how the German poet Matthias Claudius wrote about travelling. But does it always have to escalate like this? Today we know the most distant destinations from television or the Internet. Thanks to new technologies, anyone can travel anywhere cheaply and tourist flows are growing. So more and more people will accompany us on our itineraries, whose behaviour will cause a shake of the head every now and then.

We are still impressed by the mystical wonders of the world when we visit them. But even more interesting in the media is the idiotic behaviour of tourists, who just leave us speechless. We have collected some travel stories about the most annoying behaviors of tourists in all their clichés. Some of them are so amazingly stupid that you just have to tell them on. Click through. Shake your head is guaranteed!

1. tourists at the Turtle Watching

Aren’t you completely stunned by the picture, too? In September 2015, the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment Trade Union reported on its Facebook page that hundreds of tourists stood in the way of the turtles and many of them returned to sea without laying their eggs. The reptiles didn’t stand a chance. The ignorant vacationers trampled the nests partly and some even used the tanks of the animals as seat stools for small children. It had to be comfortable …

The protected area was guarded only by two park guards and on that weekend they received only help from three policemen of the National Police who could not control the situation. Tourism completely escalated. Although visitors are only allowed to enter the beach with a licensed guide, many have entered the unauthorized access point. Associations of travel companions and municipalities now demand more help from the authorities and better controls. Don’t stop the tourists …

2. roasting marshmallows over the volcano

Pretty hot business, don’t you think? The adventurer Simon Turner and his colleague Bradley Ambrose had to climb a full 400 meters into the depth of the crater to be able to perform this sensation. His friend filmed the whole thing to capture it for humanity. Turner describes in one of his interviews: “It was a fantastic experience, incredible, I felt like I was on Mars. His eyes were still glowing with enthusiasm. Turner sits very casual and cool with his Flip Flops in front of the volcano. But this action was certainly not completely harmless! He wore fire-resistant clothing, but the temperature in the volcano was about 1,093 degrees Celsius, but it would have melted too!

Very brave in any case, Mr. Turner. But who researches something about Turner, finds out fast that Simon Turner is an experienced volcano researcher and this expedition to Marcum Crater in Ambrym, Vanuatu has already made 12 times. Together with his colleague Bradley Ambrose he had to rope down an almost five kilometer long stretch to the lava lake and to the edge of the crater the two daredevils only dared to wear a protective mask. A professional at work after all! Please don’t imitate it!

3. drunken British steal penguin

This is crazy! In the movie “Hangover”, drunks wake up in a hotel room with a tiger. Drunks might have woken up here with a penguin. Not quite. We describe in more detail: Two British tourists from South Wales came drunk from a beach party in April 2012 in Brisbane, Australia. They had the idea to break into the nearby Sea World and swim with the penguins. The two 20 and 21 year old British had previously drunk one and a half liters of vodka, according to their own statements. When they emptied a fire extinguisher in the shark tank they took a penguin as a souvenir. In court, the two Welsh men later admitted that they had kidnapped the seven-year-old fairy penguin named Dirk from the aquarium before they woke up the next day with the flightless bird in their apartment.

Without making sure that there were lots of sharks swimming in the waters off Southport, they abandoned Dirk on the beach. Fortunately, a beach visitor became aware of the penguin and alerted the authorities. I wonder if the police smiled. In any case, the police were able to solve the theft quickly, because the kidnappers wanted to share their party night with the rest of the world and stupidly posted Selfies with Dirk on Facebook. The court sentenced the young British to fines of 1000 Australian dollars (about 780 euros).

4. tourists in the Selfiewahn

You’re making big eyes, aren’t you? What madness! In February 2016, tourists discovered a little baby dolphin on the beach of Santa Teresita in Buenos Aires that had got lost on the coast without its mother. But instead of helping and bringing the little one back into the deep water, they lifted the helpless animal out of the water like a trophy and handed it from hand to hand to make selfies.

Children repeatedly accidentally squeezed the blowhole, which is important for breathing, while stroking. Finally, the young Franciscana dolphin died after 15 agonizing minutes due to dehydration. Facebook user Hernan Coria recorded the incident with his mobile phone camera and posted the photos on the Internet. Employees of the animal welfare organisation ‘Fundación Vida Silvestre Argentina’ later pointed out that Franciscana dolphins are threatened with extinction and cannot survive long out of the water. We’re shocked. The animal died for nothing. Murder, actually.

5. vandalism in the Colosseum

Even the Colosseum in Rome was not spared vandalism! As you know, the Colosseum is one of the most visited buildings in the world. Almost 7 million people visit the old Roman amphitheater every year. After three years of renovation, it is one of Rome’s historic buildings. However, not all tourists are respectful historians. Recently, cases of vandalism have been increasing at this ancient site, causing concern to the city fathers. And that doesn’t mean graffiti work! In February 2017, a French tourist was arrested for having engraved her name on the Colosseum with an antique coin.

Only a month earlier, two Brazilian men broke into the Colosseum, one of whom fell 4 meters into the ground and broke his hip. A Russian, two Americans and an Austrian, who thought they had to immortalize themselves on the building, also qualified as stupid tourists. In the meantime, Roman judges have imposed fines of up to 20,000 euros for this type of vandalism, depending on the severity of the case. The authorities are even considering setting up a barrier to prevent future vandalism. Order must be … Indeed it is.

6. chinese passenger throws coins into aircraft turbine

Some throw coins into wells, the Chinese into the aircraft turbine. Apparently brings luck. Well, you don’t know. But here’s the story! In June 2017, the start of an aircraft in Shanghai had to be postponed for several hours because a superstitious passenger had thrown coins towards the turbine of the aircraft. The 80-year-old threw a total of nine coins towards the aircraft on the way to the gangway of China Southern Airlines flight CZ380. Eight of the coins missed their target, but one landed in the turbine. A passenger had watched the old woman at work and reported her to the authorities.

Of course this went “jerk to jerk” in the media. The incident was posted by the airport police on the Chinese microblogging service “Weibo”, a Twitter-like online platform: “After an investigation, the affected passenger named Qiu said that she had tossed the coins to pray for more security.” Hundreds of thousands of Weibo users shared this incident, one sarcastically commenting, “Grandma, this is not a wishing well with turtles.” Somehow the old woman is really sweet about how well nobody was hurt.

7. taking photos in the sacred temple of Angkor Wat

There’s nothing that doesn’t exist! This is also proven, for example, by this article: Two American sisters were deported from Cambodia in February 2015, after having made selfies (with no clothes on) in one of the holy temples of Angkor Wat. Nobody knows what she rode to it. The local police said the women had pulled their trousers down to their knees and taken pictures like that. The couple were each punished with a fine of 1 million Riel (approx. 212 Euro), in addition they were sentenced to six months imprisonment. I’m sure no one wants to trade places with these two women.

In the end, they were deported to Thailand by bus, according to reports from the authorities. There is also a kind of “house ban” in Cambodia. They were forbidden to return to Cambodia for four years. For the Cambodians, the Angkor Wat temple is a sacred place. That cultural nudity alone is strictly forbidden here doesn’t sound surprising! As you know, Angkor Wat is the most famous temple complex in the Angkor region of Cambodia. The temple is located about 240 km northwest of the capital Phnom Penh near Siem Reap, about 20 km north of Lake Tonle Sap. So, girls, did it have to be real?

8. selfie at the abyss

The latest headlines! In June 2018, two Australians in the Portuguese seaside resort of Ericeira wanted to make a selfie at the 40-metre-high wall that frames the rocky bay. The couple’s smartphone slipped out of their hands and while trying to hold it, both fell off the wall. The accident occurred on Dos Pescadores beach about 30 kilometers northwest of Lisbon. The beach is protected by a rocky bay and overlooked by a wall almost 40 meters high. The promenade behind it offers a picturesque view of the fishing village and the steep coast. No one could have imagined that these young people would be killed in an accident.

The last photo of Colleen Burns at the Grand Canyon: Only minutes later she fell 122 meters into the canyon, because she gave way to a man who wanted to shoot a Selfie. Because of such memory photos it comes again and again to fatal accidents. On 29 June 2016 a German tourist climbs over a security barrier to make a selfie in front of the Inca ruins in Machu Picchu. Then he asked others to take a picture of him as he jumped up. The man lost his balance and fell down a hundred meters deep slope. In August 2014 a Polish couple wanted to shoot a selfie in Cabo de Roca in Portugal, at the westernmost point of Europe. For a better picture, they climbed over the safety barrier – and fell into the depths. We humans should enjoy the moment about the best camera – namely our eyes!

9. Passenger opens emergency exit in plane

We humans come up with the most creative ideas when it comes to our needs. And that’s it: In September 2014, a passenger on board of a domestic flight triggered a security alert by opening an emergency exit just before the plane took off. Later, the passenger stated that he wanted to “get some fresh air”. Curious fellow travelers took a series of snapshots with their mobile phones, which quickly found their way into the social media. That no one here panics is almost astonishing.

The passenger photos show the middle-aged man wearing a blue hooded jacket and sticking his head out of the open door while a stewardess watched. The maintenance team hastened to repair the security door and the flight still took off on time. Fortunately, the machine was able to take off and there were no delays. The airline refrained from punishing the passenger because it was his first flight, and he had not caused any damage. He was more of a “stupidest passenger on the airline.”

10. selfies with wild animals

Thanks to the smartphone, we can make selfies anytime. Whenever and wherever we want. So some people come up with the idea of making selfies with the most dangerous animals in the world! Already for decades tourists try to touch wild animals or even stroke them. This trend increased in the last year due to the social media. There are billions of normal photos from the holidays, so it must be something special. Follower must come! The more the better! More and more people therefore dare to pose dangerously near dangerous wild animals just to make a name for themselves via the Internet.

Some even risk their lives for it, whether out of daring or stupidity is left to chance. Some are drunk on the fall! Some unscrupulous zoos have even discovered Selfies with wild animals as a source of income for themselves. Zoos that offer the possibility to take photos with wild animals can be found mainly in Asia and South America. These countries are very dependent on tourism. Animal welfare activists regularly point out that the animals are drugged to make them submissive so that they can take photos with people. Time to think about…