My WORST Travel Experience

Overview

Walter’s World is in New York City to answer a viewer question from Anita: what’s been their worst travel experience? Mark explains that, despite decades of travel and only a few medical scares, the family hasn’t had many truly horrible trips—until they share several standouts.

Key worst / troubling moments

China — Liam’s hand injury

• Liam gets his hand caught in a swinging door.
• They end up bouncing between three hospitals before finding one that can do an X-ray.
• It’s traumatic in the moment, but it turns out to be okay.
• A memorable coincidence: the doctor they finally see is friends with one of their fans.

El Salvador — earthquake during illness

• While sick on the beach and taking turns in the bathroom at 1:30 a.m., an earthquake hits.
• Mark’s panic is darkly funny and painfully specific—he’s thinking about a tsunami, but he can’t “get off the toilet” to deal with it.
• He notes the alarms didn’t go off.
• People assured them it would be fine, though it still felt terrifying at the time.

Portugal — Jocelyn’s high-risk pregnancy (most scary)

Mark calls this the worst family experience.

• At 20 weeks pregnant, Jocelyn is told by a doctor to sit and don’t get up.
• She comes out crying after learning her cervix is shrinking.
• They estimate Liam could arrive around 22 weeks.
• Jocelyn goes on bed rest for four months, including a month in a Portuguese hospital with constant fear he could be born any day.

Additional details:

• Mark juggles life as a PhD student and parent to their then-3-year-old son, commuting across the city daily to visit.
• Valentine’s Day (Feb 14): they briefly hope she might go out, but instead she’s told to go back home and pack—she’s not leaving the hospital.
• After months of uncertainty, she finally comes home once their situation stabilizes.
• The baby is later induced and born safely on April 20, 2011.

Highlights / tone

• The video blends heavy emotion—especially the pregnancy scare—with small comedic relief, such as Mark’s toilet/tsunami mental image and the hospital-fan/doctor coincidence.
• Mark also briefly mentions other older scary incidents (like being chased in Guadalajara as a kid), but the main focus remains on Liam’s injuries, the earthquake, and the pregnancy ordeal.

Personalities mentioned

• Mark (Walter’s World / narrator)
• Jocelyn
• Liam
• Walter’s World (channel/brand)
• Anita (who asked the question)
• Mark and Jocelyn’s son “Caleb”