The Island of Komodo. My husband and I were on a small cruise ship in the mid '90's. This ship was among the first to anchor in Komodo. After we arrived on the island, we were met by a couple of locals who had large sticks with which to shoo off the Komodo Dragons. It was only later, when we read of a Lindblad cruise passenger having been a fatal victim of the dragon, that we understood how dangerous those dragons are and how useless the guides with the sticks are. Moreover, we subsequently learned that these animals do not confine themselves to the island of Komodo. They swim to nearby islands in relatively shallow water. Our guides led us to a pit which was filled with dragons. On cue, someone tossed a live goat into the pit. I turned my back. When I turned forward there was nothing. It was horrible.
Also, I suffered a bout of sunstroke on our retreat and could not wait to return to the Indonesian Ocean. Little did I know that those monsters could have been in the next swimming lane.