📍 Netherlands — The Noodle Incident

As promised, this is just me sharing real travel experiences — and every traveler knows that when you’re on the road, mishaps are part of the journey.

Here’s one of mine 😉

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The Noodle Incident

While I was slow traveling in the Netherlands and volunteering at this super cute hostel — Will & Tate City Stay — I met the most wonderful Italian volunteer. Now I call her a friend.

You know what they say… trauma bonds right? 😌

One day, we stumbled across this Asian market in Den Haag and decided to go explore.
If you’re ever there, it’s called Amazing Oriental — definitely pop by.

The selection was incredible. I even found cheap kimchi, noodles, dumplings… honestly, I made one of the coziest dinners I’d had in a long time.

But back to the story.

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🍜 Instant Noodles & Bad Decisions

Inside the market we found a huge variety of instant noodles. Naturally, we bought some to cook back at the hostel.

Important side note:
I have a severe nut allergy.

I don’t travel with an EpiPen — instead, I’m extremely careful about what I eat. I hadn’t had an anaphylactic reaction in over 11 years, so I trusted my system (and my label-reading skills).
And yes, before you start — I’ve survived over a decade like this 😅

We double-checked the ingredients. No trace of nuts. All good.

We went back to the hostel, already munching on samosas from the store, cooked the noodles, sat down… and they were delicious. Yum.

And no — this isn’t where the allergic reaction happened.

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🫠 The Next Day (Because I Never Learn)

I’m a creature of habit. If I love something, I will repeat it endlessly.

So the next day, I went back to the same store and bought the same noodles again.

Back at the hostel, I cooked them, sat down, started eating…

And this time — yeah. This time is where things went wrong.

My Italian friend walked into the kitchen, smelled my food, and said:

“That smells like nuts.”

I laughed it off.

“Nahhh. I’m allergic to nuts. I’d know.”

(Important context: I haven’t actually tasted nuts in over a decade 🥲)

She grabbed the packet and started reading it carefully, while I tried not to spiral into a full-blown anxiety attack in the middle of the kitchen.

At this point my throat started to feel scratchy — but because it had been so long since my last reaction, I tried to stay cool.

She, however, started freaking out.
And honestly? So did I.

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🚑 “Do You Want to Go to the Hospital?”

I made the not-so-clever decision to go lie down to calm my anxiety.

My friend immediately shut that down and told me that was the stupidest idea ever.
Which… fair.

But when I’m anxious, I need a moment alone so I don’t completely lose it.
(I am just a girl.)

So I went to the volunteers’ dorm, took my shoes off, bent down to take my pants off — and halfway through that motion, I noticed it.

I couldn’t breathe.

My breath got heavy. Tight. Wrong.

As calmly as I possibly could (which is kind of funny now), I pulled my pants back up, put my shoes on, and slowly walked back to the bar where my friend was.

I looked at her and said:

“Do you want to go to the hospital with me?”

She immediately grabbed her jacket and walked me there.

No hesitation.

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🏥 10 PM – 2 AM & McDonald’s After

We arrived around 10 at night and didn’t leave until 2 in the morning.

She stayed through everything —
the machines, the injections, the observation hours.

When it was finally over, we went to McDonald’s, got food, and laughed through the exhaustion.

(Find travelers who stay with you through shitty situations — and then get McDonald’s with you afterward. Those are your people.)

I even have a selfie from that night that I still keep on my phone.

Eating Cheap in the Netherlands – Budget Food Tips

If you’re traveling or working in the Netherlands on a budget, these places saved me a LOT of money.

Some of my favorite cheap options:

• Dirk– cheaper supermarket for groceries
• Albert Heijn budget meals – ready meals, salads, and bakery snacks for low prices
• Asian noodle shops – great portions and usually affordable
• Turkish supermarkets for meat/eggs etc

If you’re traveling or working in the Netherlands, cooking at home and mixing it with cheap take-away is the best way to save money.

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🌍 This Is Traveling

This is what traveling really looks like.

Bad things happen — but I’m still grateful.
Grateful to meet strangers who become friends.
Grateful for shared chaos, fear, laughter, and memories.

Wandering doesn’t mean nothing goes wrong.
It means you keep moving with the mess, with passing people, places — and now stories.

Real. Raw. Human.

Wonder. Explore. Live.

Till next time,
💫 Wander Woman Quest