When A Machine Eats Your Card

This is a story that never gets old in my family.  When I was 11 and we were living in Japan we found a really good deal on trips to Australia, so around Christmas time (summer in Australia) we flew down to Cairns. It was one of the best trips we have ever taken.  We saw (and ate) snakes and crocodiles, petted wallabies, held koalas, took an Army Duck tour through the rain forest, snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef.  All in all it was fantastic, and is always in the top 3 on our list of favorite vacations. 

The hotel we stayed in had three swimming pools with waterfalls, the food was fantastic, and there was a swim-up bar to order drinks.  I still remember I got what they called “Poolside Poison.” I thought it was funny that I was drinking something called poison.  It was made with pineapples, bananas, and many other fruits. 

We had a great time, but the first day we were there dad got his ATM card eaten by the machine.  At the time it was terrifying.  It was a three-day weekend, it was a holiday, none of the banks were open, and all of our money for the trip was in that account.  We thought we were done for.  One morning we split a chocolate muffin and a banana for breakfast between the five of us.  The funny part is that we don’t remember anything bad about the trip! We still laugh about it.  I’m sure mom and dad were stressed about it, but our hotel was paid ahead and when mom and dad explained the issue to the hotel (knowing they could get the card back at the end of the weekend because they had spoken to someone on the help-line), we ate mostly at the hotel and charged the items to our room, but we still went out around town and it was still one of the best trips we ever had. 

Unexpected things always come up when you travel.  One good thing to keep in mind is don’t do the same thing we did.  Have some cash to use, if you have more than one account don’t put all your trip money in one account, and always have an emergency credit-card.  We don’t remember anything being bad on that trip, and I think we would've had just as good of a time if the card hadn't been eaten, but it would've made things less stressful if there was a back-up plan in place.