Introduction

Exploring the world, especially those liminal spaces that most people never get to see, can sometimes lead to interesting and sometimes awkward experiences. From being caught in an organ's maintenance space to getting stuck between a concrete slab and a bath, these are some of the weirdest places I've found myself in.

Exploring Unseen Spaces

I’m a big fan of exploring those hidden and almost unreachable places, especially when they're not easily accessible or visible to the general public. Lately, I've had some peculiar experiences where I ended up in places I wouldn’t normally be.

For instance, I tried to get permission to explore the church bell towers and maintenance tunnels, but sometimes I sneak in when I can't get the right permissions. One time, I got stuck in the organ's space behind it, where the big tubes are kept. Another time, I was in a weird maintenance/machine space between the locker rooms in my school. There are probably more places that I can’t remember right now, but they all have a strange charm to them.

Personal ordeals and precarious situations

But being in these spaces isn’t always about exploration; sometimes it can be quite awkward or even dangerous. At 8 years old, I was having a bath in a claw-foot bathtub when I dropped my soap between the tub and the wall. There was a fairly large space between the tub and the wall, but the sides of the tub were tall, making it hard for me to reach the soap. Just as I managed to grab it, my whole body slipped, and I got lodged between the wall and the bathtub. This was a sticking point that lasted for a few minutes, and eventually, my parents had to call the fire department to help pull the bathtub back to free me. I was so embarrassed that I had a long red mark on my front where the bathtub had dug into my skin and was understandably upset.

Aside from personal experiences, there are some other instances that stand out in my mind

I've also been in some tricky situations with other people being stuck in places. Once, I found myself behind my washing machine. I was there for an hour before the fire department arrived to rescue me. I didn't have any physical injuries, but I was trapped, and I ended up peeing myself due to the pressure of the situation.

One memorable occasion was hiding under concrete slabs between two Merkava tanks while they were blasting away at Hezbollah outside Ramiya in southern Lebanon. It was during the mid-80s, but the experience still embeds in my memory.

Another time, we were stuck at a military airport that had been repurposed as a civilian airport somewhere in eastern Europe. It was a former Soviet republic, and the airport had a terrible design that made it practically impossible to use. Bad weather conditions, such as fog, often forced us to stay for 5 days and 4 nights. The airport was so poorly designed that it couldn't handle most weather conditions properly. We had no way to leave, and the lack of amenities like vending machines or shops for water only made the situation worse. Most people there couldn't speak the local language, which only added to the stress. This country was a part of the EU, yet the infrastructure and corrupt officials made it seem like a relic from the past. People were not even revolting against the corruption, which was a massive disappointment, given that the EU had provided funds for infrastructure improvements.

Ultimately, my experiences in these bizarre places have taught me the importance of careful planning and research when it comes to travel and exploration. However, they also remind me of the incredible resilience and resourcefulness that people can exhibit even in the most challenging situations.