Travelling isn’t only about excursions and postcards. It’s also about experiencing bright emotions that strangers share with us, capricious nature, and the crazy imaginations of people who work in the tourism industry, trying to bend the truth.

SmallJoys has found things that have excited avid travelers and now we invite you to take a look at pictures depicting unexpected situations that you can face during an otherwise regular trip.

The problems of a Dutchman in China.

“A bedroom we were living in had a sauna, a bomb shelter, and a dungeon. I also found a gold mask inside.”

“A friend who’s never been on a boat decided that it’d be a good idea to buy one. He got close to the shore, waves rolled him over…got it totally trashed the first week.”

“I’ve gone 26 years on this planet and I never knew that moose were this big. I thought they were slightly bigger than deer.”

These items were confiscated from passengers at airports.

“I flew 5,913 miles to enjoy the view from the legendary California State Route 1. Worth it!”

“Thanks for the suggestion, Google.”

Welcoming someone home at the airport is so romantic.

“Thanks to this bus, I had Wi-Fi all the way to Seattle.”

“Would you mind if I leaned my seat back a little?”

“My friend almost didn’t fit in this store in Vietnam.”

“So I went whale watching, and this is how much fun most people were having…”

This bicycle path in Berlin

“I traveled all this way to see the masterpiece I’ve seen on the Internet.”

“My girlfriend and I are finally on vacation in Paris after years of talking about it. We even have a view of the Eiffel Tower.”

“Just my mom hanging out with some friends she made in London”

“Wow, thanks for all the leg space.”

“Just landed at the airport and not feeling very welcomed so far…”

“This hotel writes inspirational quotes on their bananas and I’ve never felt so cared for by fruit in my life.”

“The most epic picture from my trip to New York City”

“During my recent trip to India”

French people love London!

“This dude in first class…”

“Suddenly, on Google Maps, I started questioning my plans for this Arizona road trip.”

“A friend of mine is currently traveling across the country. She found these postcards and wasn’t impressed.”

Best vacation ever…

Planning your journey can be surprising too.

Bonus.

1. Leaning Tower of Pisa. Expectation:

Reality:

2. Famous beach of Rio de Janeiro. Expectation:

Reality:

3. Stonehenge. Expectation:

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4. Gondola ride in Venice. Expectation:

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5. Taj Mahal. Expectation:

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6. Santorini Island. Expectation:

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7. Mount Everest. Expectation:

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8. Pyramids of Giza. Expectation:

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9. The Great Wall of China. Expectation:

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10. Maldives. Expectation:

Reality: