Every expensive error we made, hung on a wall with a plaque. The most useful advice on the site, and the funniest.
Room 1: Transport
Exhibit 3: The overnight bus with no overnightThailand, 2016. Booked the 'VIP' bus north. It stopped every 40 minutes for reasons nobody explained. Arrived at 5am having slept for none of the hours. Cost: [cost]. Lesson: The train, always the train. Book the second-class sleeper a week ahead.Exhibit 7: The taxi we swore we'd never takeTokyo, Japan, 2018. Missed the last train by four minutes. The station shutters came down while we were still reading the map. Cost: [cost]. Lesson: The last train is earlier than you think. The konbini is open all night and has a bench.
Room 2: Tickets
Exhibit 11: Two tickets to a museum that was closedParis, France, 2017. Bought online the night before. Didn't read the day. Walked 40 minutes in the rain to a locked gate and a laminated sign. Cost: [cost]. Lesson: Tuesdays. Check the closing day before you check the opening time.
Room 3: The weather
Exhibit 14: The budget boat in the rainHa Long Bay, Vietnam, 2023. Thirty of us on a day boat, one umbrella between the two of us, a lunch that was rice and a sad egg. The kayaking was still the best hour of the trip. Cost: [cost]. Lesson: Check the forecast, then go anyway. Bring the raincoat you didn't pack.
[__]Total cost of everything on these walls, ten years