My Most Embarrassing Travel Moment

I was recently reading this blog entry about a very embarrassing travel moment. If you have traveled anywhere you have one (or many) of these. In fact, we all have embarrassing moments in our lives, but somehow doing something stupid in another country is even worse because you know you aren’t just that dummy who walked into the glass door, you are the foreign dummy who did it. The spectators will never forget it and for the rest of their days every time the subject of foreigners comes up you know they are going to tell all their friends about your stupidity.
So I’ll bite and share my most embarrassing moment. It was in Indonesia. We had just gotten off the plane and I was tired, hot, sweaty and sticky. I had just used my first squat toilet, waited in a huge customs line, and wrestled with a baggage handler over my backpack (if they get their hands on it before you, you have to pay them for their help.)
Ryan and I were standing outside at the taxi line. You had to tell the man behind the counter where you wanted to go, pay him, get a ticket and the taxi would take you. It’s hot, humid and I am sweaty. There are a lot of noises, smells and people pressed around us.
I had my trusty backpack on and it was not only huge, but pretty full and heavy since we were carrying all our winter clothes. We get up to the counter, tell him where we are going, and I got out some money to pay. The bills fall out and flutter to the ground. I can’t lean over, because of my backpack, so I bent my knees to lower myself, grabbed the money, and stood back up.
Almost.
This wouldn’t be my most embarrassing travel moment if all went well. I lost my balance trying to stand up and the weight of the backpack was enough to topple me over. I fell on my back and was unable to get up. I basically looked like an overturned beetle with my legs and arms flailing about but doing no good. There were dozens of people standing around roaring with laughter. One of these people happened to be my husband who let me lay there like an idiot a little too long for my taste. I needed his help to lift me (and my backpack) off the ground.
Luckily my face was red with humidity because it covered my blushing. I tried to play it cool, but really how does one recover from that?! Luckily, we paid and jumped in a cab leaving all the giggling bystanders behind. But I know somewhere there is an Indonesian cabbie who still thinks about me squirming on the ground every time he sees a blond girl with a big backpack.
So what’s your most embarrassing moment from traveling (or otherwise?) Spill it for all to laugh at enjoy in the comments field!