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A time you were traveling but were delayed

You Should Say

  • When was the time?
  • where were you going?
  • Why you were delayed?
  • And explain what happened after the delay

Sample Answer 1

My country is a beautiful and diverse country and there are so many things I love about it. Unfortunately, its public transportation is not one of them, especially trains and buses in my country. Trains and buses often get delayed because of reasons like traffic, fog and other unforeseen circumstances.

Today, I am going to talk about one time when I got delayed because of something unexpected. My parents and I were travelling to Ahmedabad for my cousin’s wedding, and it was the middle of the monsoon season.

However, we were travelling through Rajasthan, which is one of the drier parts of my country. So, we weren’t expecting any rain, but nature had other plans for us. It started raining about five hours into the journey and it rained incessantly for hours.

We still thought it was ok and it’s just rain and it would subside sometime soon. But it didn’t. In fact, our train stopped at one station because everything ahead was flooded. A railway official told us that it was one of the worst floods in the state and the railway tracks were submerged under 2-3 inches of water. I vividly remember one scene when we entered a railway office to enquire when the train would leave.

All the chairs were floating, and the railway officials were sitting on the top of tables. When we all think about that journey, it is the first scene that comes to mind.

Finally, after hours the train moved again. We missed the wedding, but we did attend the reception which was the next day. When I think about it, I don’t remember anything about the return journey. The floods did cause inconvenience, but it also made the journey much more memorable.


Sample Answer 2

I travel often and have had wonderful experience mostly. But there was one particular journey recently which I can recall was delayed and turned into an adventure. I always try to be punctual but on this particular journey when although I was on time, my journey was delayed. It was due to my own error and carelessness. I was supposed to travel from Delhi to Jaipur on a Sunday evening so that I could attend my cousin’s wedding. Since I wanted to be on time to attend the ceremony I booked a flight for Sunday 4:30 pm and reached the airport accordingly. But, to my horror I was stopped by the security personnel at the entrance and on scrutinizing my ticket was denied permission to enter the airport.

I was informed that I’d missed my flight. For a minute I couldn’t understand how I could miss my flight as I h’d reached the airport 2 hours before the scheduled departure. When I pleaded with the security personnel explaining the urgency of my visit he allowed me to go to the airline counter situated adjacent to the entry gates. The executive at the desk inspected my ticket. He told me that I h’d booked the morning 4:30 am flight instead of the evening one. I was completely shocked to realise my mistake and at the same time got worried how I would reach Jaipur.

I requested the airline staff to help me out. All of them were very cooperative and they informed me that only one seat was available in the last flight to Jaipur at 7 pm. I could either buy that ticket which was exorbitantly priced or wait for an hour before boarding. In case no traveler bought that ticket then the airline had a policy that as a goodwill gesture to its customers it would adjust the price of the ticket for the missed flight and on payment of additional nominal fee I would be allowed to board this last flight.

I was kept waiting for about 45 minutes which were like a nightmare for me. I kept praying to God to help me tide over this crisis. Eventually, the airline staff beckoned me and after completing the formalities I was handed over the boarding pass. I quickly made way back towards the security area and reached the boarding gate on time.

As I sat in the aircraft I sighed with relief, looking forward to attending and enjoying the wedding celebrations.


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