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The world doesn’t lack of kind people, and nowhere do we see it more than when we’re traveling.
When we’re far from home, we appreciate all the more other’s kindness, since it would have been too easy for them to dismiss us as tourists and let us find our own way.
And yet, I often hear travelers tell of amazing stories of strangers going out of their way to help them, with no expectation of payment other than gratitude.
In the second installment of inspiring stories, seven travelers recount their experience of feeling desperate and lost in a foreign country, and how a stranger’s act of kindness helped restore their faith in humanity.
(If you haven’t read the first post, read it here: 5 Stories of Kindness on the Road)
All through our lives, we have heard of stranger danger—our parents, the media, and everybody around us keep on telling us about the dangers of talking to and trusting strangers. In some cases, their warnings are spot on; after all, we have read so many stories of people being scammed, robbed or worse, killed, by people they don’t know.
When we’re traveling, however, sometimes we have no choice but to put our trust in strangers. During my 70-day solo backpacking trip in Europe, for example, I found myself without accommodations in Padova, Italy.
I wrote an SOS in Couchsurfing, hoping someone would accept me at the last minute.
A PhD student from Pakistan responded to my request. He said that he didn’t have a spare room or couch, but if it was okay for me to sleep in one room with four other Pakistani guys, I could use their airbed.
Other people might freak out at the thought, but I accepted, and it turned out to be a memorable time in Europe for me. They cooked and shared with me a Pakistani meal, and I, in turn, cooked them spaghetti using spicy sardines from the Philippines as the sauce.
Tiffany Soukup of Vagabond Way also found herself trusting a complete stranger through Couchsurfing. According to her,
My husband and I were on our two-year journey around Australia when our van broke in the middle of nowhere. At best, it would be one week before the parts could be ordered and installed.
Unable to work out a barter with any of the local campgrounds, I put out a last minute request on Couchsurfing and Richard answered within an hour. At the time, he didn’t know us at all, yet he offered us a key to his trailer (he had guests in his house then) for as long as we needed.
We ended up staying two weeks. We met fellow travelers and got to hang out with a professional wildlife photographer, joining him on some photo shoots. We cooked meals together, talked, and enjoyed each other’s company a lot. Richard could have ignored our Couchsurfing request, but he didn’t. He did what anyone could have wished for—he treated us the way he would have wanted to be treated. At the end of the day, that’s all a traveler can hope for.
While being strangers, the members of Couchsurfing still have information about each other—on their profiles, there would be pictures of themselves and references from people they have hosted or surfed with.
In the case of Diana Edelman of d travels ’round, however, she really had to trust a stranger when she found herself lost in Croatia.
I sit in the bus, riding along the Croatian coast from Zadar. I’m supposed to be en route to the seaside town of Split … not the mountains. I clutch my thin paper ticket in my hand, trying to will myself to understand Croatian. When I’m nearly the last person on the bus, I stand up, hands sweating profusely, and approach the weathered bus driver.
“Split?” I ask.
He stares blankly at me.
“Split?” I ask again, hoping a tiny ounce of understanding will register.
A teen comes up to me and tells me the driver does not speak English. So, I explain my situation while he translates.
“This bus does not go to Split. The driver will drop you off here,” he says, gesturing to a stone bench surrounded by chickens. “He will come back for you in an hour.”
“No, no,” I say, almost panicking. I don’t want to be left there!
“Then you go with him,” he says, then leaves.
The driver pulls the bus up to a tiny house, pulling the key from the ignition.
“OK,” he says, gesturing for me come. I am apprehensive, but I follow… into a home where dinner is being prepared. I meet his English-speaking son who sets a place at the kitchen table for me and serves me dinner, cherry juice, and dessert before his dad drives me back to Zadar.
This time, I get on the right bus–with a full stomach and a resorted faith in the kindness of strangers.
Emma Swete of Live and Learn Travel Blog also experienced a similar encounter. She went to Indonesia once, wanting to visit the grave of her great grandfather who had died in a Japanese prisoner of war camp over there.
As I get off the train in Bandung a small woman grabs my hand and pulls me out of the crowd. She says to me in English “I have car, you come with me.”
I follow her out into the car park; my mind racing a million miles an hour. Who was this woman? Should I trust her? Why does she want to help me?
She asks me if I’ve made a hotel reservation and I say that I have not. “Okay,” she announces. “You will stay with me.”
I panic a little. Part of me is excited at the idea of staying in a local family’s home, but part of me is screaming “Stranger danger!” I decide to throw caution to the wind, though, and I accept her offer.
I tell her my plan to find the grave of my great grandfather. She says that she will help me and makes a few phone calls. She drives me to the cemetery in Cimahi where she lives, and asks the caretaker to find the grave.
As we approach it, a flood of tears rolls down my cheeks. I am overwhelmed. This experience moved me beyond belief, this stranger who opened her home to me and helped me to pay my respects to my great grandfather, and wanted nothing in return except to practice her English.
This experience hasn’t made me overly trusting of strangers, but I have learned from it that if we are too cautious when we’re traveling, we will definitely miss out on some wonderful experiences like this.
Chris Christensen of Amateur Traveler also had a stranger to thank for when he found himself wandering around Istanbul at night.
I normally have a great sense of directions but I was trying to navigate Istanbul from a small insert map (with north not at the top of the map) after flying in at night. Predictably, I got lost.
I walked around until I found myself in a rug shop. I asked the proprietor if he knew where my hotel was. He didn’t, but he quickly got on the phone and called the hotel to get directions from them.
He started to relay the instructions to me, but changed his mind. He went out of the shop, motioning for me to follow. We walked through the windy streets of the old Sultanahmet district of Istanbul until we could see the hotel.
The proprietor’s act of kindness—he could just have given me the directions and stayed in his shop—will always remain with me. If you find yourself in Istanbul and want to buy a carpet, let me know and I’ll send you to him!
If you talk to Claus Andersen of Travelling Claus, a Danish guy who has been traveling around the world for more than 20 years in his work as a tour leader, about his experiences of kindness on the road, be prepared to listen for a long time. The most recent one just happened last month.
I set off to walk across the island of Pico on Azores (Portugal) this morning. After 11 kilometers of walking up the mountain, a young guy—the local kindergarten teacher—stopped his car to offer me a ride. I wasn’t tired, but I accepted his offer since it’s always nice to meet new people.
We talked for the 20 minutes it took us to drive to Sao Roque. He dropped me off at his house and gave me the keys, telling me I could use the house like it was my own while I waited for the ferry to arrive. He then he drove off to work, leaving me in his house alone.
This guy had known me for less than half an hour and did not even know my name. I saw his on an envelope inside the house—his name was Jorge—and yet, he trusted me with all his belongings!
If you ever come to the little village of Sao Roque on Pico Island, and bump into Jorge the kindergarten teacher, please say thank you again for me. What he did really restored my faith in humanity.
A stranger’s help can indeed mean a lot to us, especially if we find ourselves stranded somewhere with no way to contact our loved ones. Lauren Gaile of Pandelicious, for example, found herself stuck in Beijing, penniless, homesick, and in dire need of a proper bed.
I hoped to re-route my flight ticket at the airport and get my butt on the next flight out. I got the fright of my life when I was told by the Chinese ticket agents that they could not change my flight ticket as they had no access to my airline’s database.
It was 2 am and I did not have ANY money on my person—no yuan, dollars, credit card or even a working smartphone—so I had to stalk the person at the service counter, who was inherently unhelpful on how the crap do I manage to call the airline and change my booking.
I was so close to giving up and having to ask people at the airport for a job mopping the floors until I could buy a train ticket back to Shanghai when—lo and behold!—someone volunteered to help me translate everything and even followed me to the payphone.
Jim from Nanjing said that it was his first time to talk to a complete stranger. He was just waiting for his 4am flight and wondered why a scraggly-haired girl was pacing back and forth, carrying a very large backpack.
He paid for my 50 yuan phone card that I used to make an international call and helped me use the payphone masquerading as a Star Trek navigation machine. He basically was the most pivotal element on how I managed to survive the great Chinese Bureaucracy relatively unscathed.
Thank you, people!
Indeed, travelers don’t run out of stories like this, stories which make us realize that there is so much kindness in the world. We are so insignificant in the greater scheme of things, but it is in the act of kindness that we give (and receive) that give our lives meaning.
Have you experienced being helped by strangers? Email me your story, and I’ll include it in a future post!
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33 Comments. Leave new
This is not as grand as the other stories in here but I will share it anyway. My sister and I were in Jogjakarta just this weekend. We had a car rented to tour us around. It was our last day in the city and all our belongings were in the car. After going around the Royal Palace, my sister and I went back to the place where our driver parked the car. We saw a silver car without our driver in it. Then I saw the car’s plate number and it was different from the car we used the day before. My sister and I didn’t bother looking inside the car. Instead, we went outside the lot and went to the other parking area to look for our car and driver. There was no silver car and no long-haired driver. By this time, I was on the brink of panicking. My sister was anxious already. It was our first trip together without our parents. And our flight to Kuala Lumpur was in a matter of hours. Before panic struck, I decided to go back. We went back to the parking area and went to see the silver car. This time, we looked inside the car and there was our luggage. So it was our car after all. I asked the parking attendant if he saw our driver, the one with long hair. In broken english, he told us he’ll be back. He went out, vacated his post, and looked for our driver. He came back without driver in sight and told us he couldn’t look for him. I was still restless and my sister still anxious so we decided to go around the place to look for the driver again. After a few minutes and no driver, we went back to the parking lot. This time, the parking attendant told us to stay put where we are. He stood by the gate the entire time, sometimes going out of post again to look for our driver. It was like that for about half an hour. I think he saw the look of worry in our faces. After waiting for 30 minutes, the driver finally arrived and the parking attendant simply looked at us, as if saying “NO need to worry. He’s here now.” After that, we continued on with our tour and our driver, who was so apologetic, gave back 1/4 of what we paid him. He said it was a discount for making us wait for 30 minutes.
The parking attendant could’ve simply said that he didn’t see our driver. But he went out of his way to look for him. I saw him looking at us several times as if making sure we’re alright and not panicking. The driver, on the other hand, could’ve just said sorry because we’d accept it anyway. But he went beyond to give us a discount. It’s amazing how these people made our travel better than what we planned for. What happened could have been a big bump on the road but it restored my faith in people – how helpful they can be, and how dignified they are with their work and the services they give.
@ Bethaney: Thanks!
@ Micki: I agree 100% with your observation. It amazes me to receive kindness from those people, when others with more material things wouldn’t help. The world is really full of amazing people!
What wonderful stories! I’ve found that the first questions from my friends and family when I talk about travel usually come from a place of “but is it safe?”. And yet, over and over again, I’ve found that by far most people I meet when traveling are simply kind and generous at heart. Ironically, it’s often been those who have the least to give who are the most generous.
Great stories!
@ Casey: That’s why I want to continue with this series. I’m inspired and humbled whenever I read these contributions from other travelers!
@ Karisa: I agree. I try my best as well to pass on the kindness I’d received on my travels.
When I travel I’m constantly reminded of the goodness of people. So many people have gone really far out of their way to help me in many different countries. I always try to return the favor when I’m at home and I meet travelers 🙂
Wonderful stories! Like some of the other commenters have mentioned, traveling truly does restore my faith in humanity. I’m always humbled by how many times I’ve been shown kindness and hospitality by complete strangers. Stories like these are always so inspiring and great reminders to get out and not be afraid to show vulnerability.
@ Dana: Of course, we must all trust our instincts as well when we’re meeting strangers. It can save our lives.
@ Michele: I agree that having kids traveling with you can complicate things, but I remember when I was a kid traveling with my mom and brother that people have also helped us, e.g., get on the bus, watch over our belongings, etc. We just have to be open to being helped by others.
These stories are terrific, especially the one Diana shared about her bus driver in Croatia. I will admit that I have a hard time trusting total strangers, especially now that I travel with kids. Plus, I think the kids will drive the stranger berserk and make said stranger regret the kind offer. My mom-in-law had a nice story of kindness back in the 1950’s when she was flying with her baby. They were unexpectedly stranded overnight in an airport, and she had no formula to feed her baby (hubby’s older brother). A shoplady went out to the grocery store and brought some back for her. So kind!
@ Val: I agree. We just have to open our hearts to them.
@ Elena: It humbles me as well that a lot of people have helped me while I’m traveling. They inspire me a lot to pass on the kindness I’ve experienced!
Love this post! I especially love the story about the bus driver in Croatia – wow! It’s hard to be trusting of strangers, but I see that it can definitely have its rewards.
Absolutely inspiring stories! The world isn’t all that scary place where only bad things happen. I’ve been helped and treated kindly so many times in my travels, that I can’t count. A a recent case:
– an elderly French woman who spoke a few words in English treated me with pastry when our train broke in the tiny city of Lure, somewhere in the middle of Franche Comte region.
These are such beautiful stories. I think there are far more good people out there than bad!!
@ Lillie: Love these stories too!
@ Mary: I don’t think I’m so brave haha But I choose my hosts in CS well, and of course, I don’t take unnecessary risks. Being a solo traveler I really have to look out for my own safety. I’m just glad I chose well and so many people have helped me on my travels.
I loved these stories just as I loved the first installment. They’re all heartwarming and really makes one believe that kindness still exists out there. You are one brave girl, Aleah. I’m glad things worked out for you with couchsurfing. I’m too scared and paranoid to ever be a couch surfer. This is so inspiring and one I need to remember to share with those scared of venturing out of the country.
Love these stories! Always so good to remember the kindness of people on the road.
@ Mary: Any act of kindness is indeed treasured, especially when we’re traveling and far from home. I’m glad a lot of people experience it.
@ Shalu: I’m fortunate to have experienced it as well.
Hi Aleah, another interesting story of kindness from you. There are good people that will help others. It is these people that makes all the difference. Its amazing how people connect with people around the world.
Traveling helps restore my faith in humanity and reinforces my belief that people are basically good. I too have encountered many acts of kindness from strangers when lost, hungry or scared. Thanks for sharing these inspiring stories.
@ Gran Canaria Local: Love the offer, Matthew. Thanks a lot!
@ Marisol: Agree that kindness from strangers make our travels more meaningful. It’s what makes our trip memorable!
@ Jessie: Thanks!
Love this – it’s inspiring!
Hi Aleah, this is such a beautiful post that attest that kindness still pervades in this world at this age and time. I enjoyed reading each experiences and was truly moved by them. Experiences of kindness from strangers -big and small- are what make travels truly rewarding and meaningful.
Really heartwarming stories. We’ve helped people who have come over to Gran Canaria. Some not through choise.. Including the parents of a child born prematurely in Lanzarote whilst they were on holiday. They were flown over to Gran Canaria because our hospitals are bigger and better than our Canarian neighbour.
Thankfully, the family are back in the UK too where their son continues to play catch-up on the maturing front. However, he’s small but perfectly formed. Whilst they were here, we were happy to meet up. And gave them a complimentary copy of our book to make them feel at home. So, if you ever find yourself in GC, you know who to look up.
@ Jim: Hope the Good Samaritan eventually finds you! When he/she does, do let us know 🙂
@ Memographer: Couchsurfing is great. And if you have a similar experience, you’re very much welcome to send it so I can include it in the next post.
Great stories! Please keep posting kindness. And thanks for reminding about Couchsurfing. I’ve never used them before.
WONDERFUL acts of kindness!!! Stuck in the middle of Australia and finding a ‘Samaritan’ is tough. Sometimes it takes weeks just to find car parts in rural Australia! Always nice to hear of a stranger lending a helping hand.
@ Cheenu Lott: Thanks for dropping by! Yeah, the Pakistani guys were very nice. I met their girlfriends too, when we all had dinner together.
@ Ian: Unfortunately, I’d never been to London. Congrats on such a huge number of YT subscribers!
Thank you Aleah:
Such inspiring stories! Appreciate you sharing them with us…..
See you somewhere on the road.
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Aloha, Ian
After reading your post, I must say humanity still exists and felt really good that four Pakistani guys helped you. Thanks for sharing your experience and beautiful shots captured by you.
@ Photo Cache: I would def welcome a story from you 🙂
@ Roberta: That’s a wonderful story. The guy is funny, too, and by his saying they have a hair dryer, he didn’t seem across as too “desperate” to have you go with him. If that guy’s still alive, he’s probably renting the apartment now through AirBnB 🙂
I had been living and running a business in Moscow for about five years when I found myself standing in the airport in Prague, exhausted and without any plan other than to NOT be in Moscow for awhile. I was looking at a wall-board with about a dozen hotel and hostel options when a man came up to me and asked me in Czech if I needed a place to stay. I answered him in Russian and he immediately asked me where I was from. Guess my language skills were not stirling as I hoped! When I said the US he smiled, and told me in perfect English that he had an apartment that he leased to tourists by the week. This was in the ’90s. If he had an empty apartment it meant that whatever family members had been living there now lived with him and his family somewhere altogether and they were all surviving on whatever tourist income the open apartment brought in. Inside part of me shouted that going off with a stranger was not smart – but most people back in the States were of the opinion that moving to Moscow by myself in the ’90’s was not smart anyway … When the man saw my hesitation he looked very serious and said: “We have a hair dryer and iron too.” In a place that had mostly a movie impression of “rich” Americans who of course “had everything”, the fact that he could offer me “convenience like I had at home” was a big deal. I smiled.
The two weeks I stayed there is one of the most special memories of my 9 years living in Russia. As promised there was an iron and a hair dryer – both worked. There was a window with sun every morning. There was a fresh towel and clean sheets and a shower that worked. There was the entire city of Prague to wander and relax and explore. I finally left, refreshed and able to return to a complicated and not-always-pleasant life as a business owner in Moscow, with a clear head, a lighter heart and renewed faith in humanity.
ah i love happy endings and i love reading these compilations. keep them coming. maybe someday i may be able to contribute a story of my own.