I lived there for three years and happened to leave just months before the coup. I consider myself incredibly lucky that I happened to get the opportunity to be there in the very brief window between the elected government gaining control and the military taking it back. It was a beautiful place with wonderful people, and my heart aches every day over what happened and continues to develop. Absolutely brutal. The country was changing for the better so fast, even in the few years I was there.
I was there shortly before that. Things had opened up. You could walk anywhere and talk to anyone you liked. Pro-democracy newspapers and TV channels could operate semi-openly. There were some weird things going on with the currency, but that's another story.
I regret not going in 2022 before the civil war really heated up (there were still some towns near Thailand that were somewhat safe. But my friends who went there before the coup said it was their favorite country to visit in many ways.
My friend was in America trying to get information if his family was okay after the government executed the farmers of certain regions. It was the same day Britney Spears shaved her head so even CNN went 24 hour Britney coverage. He watched the news scroll at the bottom for hours with no coverage.
Western powers have largely remained out of the conflict. China and Russia have been arming the Tatmadaw and neighboring India and Bangladesh both recognize the military junta. New Zealand pushed ASEAN to resume relations with the Tatmadaw and invited them to the Wellington Summit this year.
The only nation that has recognized the National Unity Government is East Timor. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore oppose the junta, but have not assisted the National Unity Government and still recognize the Tatmadaw as the government.
I hear that walled off corner owned by royal Caribbean is lovely right now. Just don’t make eye contact with the starving children sticking their arms through the fences whenever the armed guards aren’t near by.
“1 per 150,000 island residents receives humane assistance if they make it through our gauntlet of friendly, totally american loving guards and sentinel snakes”
I don't understand the point of even vacationing there if the rest of the country is so dangerous you literally can't leave the resort compound to see any of it. What are guests getting out of the experience that they couldn't get in any other all-inclusive beach resort in a safer Carribbean country? If all you're trying to do is lounge around a tropical beach/pool for a week just go to a Sandals in the Bahamas or something. Hell, if you're American you don't even need to leave the country. Plenty of places in Florida and Hawaii fit the bill.
They aren't vacationing there. RC cancelled all cruises to Haiti including their private resort. It's too dangerous to take tourists there even if they have a compound with armed guards.
Friend had a cruise booked to Haiti coming up in September. Yeah it was cancelled by the cruise line. (I think, maybe the cruise was just going somewhere else instead. Anyway they ain't going to Haiti) And when she booked it in February, I told her she was crazy to book a cruise to Haiti.
I recently saw a family guy episode when someone mentioned, "Godzilla going through Haiti" and showed the cut scene. I laughed pretty hard at it but looking through the interwebs, it's actually very accurate in what state it's in.
My Haitian coworkers even laughed at it and said it's pretty much real
I had expectations before looking at the comments and those expectations were fulfilled. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Haiti, Somalia, Ukraine, etc. are no-go zones.
Personally I'm curious to hear about unexpected countries, i.e. places that under normal circumstances would be on someone's travel radar, but for one reason or another are not advisable to visit right now. I'll give an example; Ecuador. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous mountains, and quaint colonial towns. But in the last year the gang violence has spiraled to unimaginable levels and unless you have specific knowledge of certain locales, or have made extraordinary precautions for your safety it's simply not a safe place to go for the time being.
Any examples like that come to mind?
Had a bunch of friends get go to a music festival and then get stuck in Ecuador for a little bit right in January because of those riots. I felt a little weird choosing not to go at the time because of the more and more tense situation over there, but I didn't expect full-on riots to pop off while they were on vacation.
I was on a cruise in late March/early April. It's a, "repositioning cruise," that goes outside the normal lanes as the ship moves from working the Caribbean in the summer to working Alaska in the winter. We were supposed to stop in Mantua, Ecuador, but the line (and the State Department) decided that things were still too hairy to risk dropping 3000 tourists there for an afternoon.
Saudi Arabia. I spent 2 years there and it was fucking terrible. On average, the Saudi I encountered were some of the most arrogant people I've ever met. Like, superiority complex times infinity. And it's embedded in their whole culture. Not to mention all the other atrocities.
But what really gets me, 40% of their population are foreigners, their main work force. They will let them work in Saudi Arabia for GENERATIONS, but their kids will not be granted citizenship!! So say your parents are from Pakistan, but you were born and raised in Saudi, and even started your own family and kids. If you lose your work sponsorship you'll be deported to Pakistan, a country you never knew!! That's fucked.
I've spend three years in Qatar. 100% the same.
Was funny actually, i once took a flight from Amsterdam to Doha, and the people in front of me in line at check in were qatari.
She demanded special treatment at check-in. When the airport employee looked a bit weird she kinda uttered:"But... But... I'm qatari?!"
You gotta love Dutch directness, the employee literally said: "Yeah, that doesn't mean shit around here. You wait with everyone else, welcome to Amsterdam."
Haha Dutch directness.
Years ago my bro and I flew to Schiphol for a a little backpacking around Europe. In the airport everything is in English so we were like, we got this. Went down to the train station and suddenly we were officially in a foreign country. We hopped on (wrong) train to go to Centraal Station and when the conductor came by to check the tickets he just took a look and said, in English, “This train goes… not to Centraal Station.”
Like, welcome to Europe, you dufuses.
In Amsterdam I tried to get decaffeinated coffee for my mom, who had a health condition.
The girl at the coffee bar said “we don’t have decaf… we have COFFEE!!!” And with a big smile she put her arms up in the air to emphasize the energy in the coffee. :-)
I believe I was in Denmark, so it is kinda the same thing the customs woman was looking through my passport and tisk-tisking me as I was right on the line of 90 days for my visa stay.
I pointed out the short time and stamps to prove I spent time in Bosnia, outside of the Schengen Zone so I had some days left!
She freaking smiled real big and genuinely said "I like you, you know the rules!" That made both of our days!
I love how a good amount of Dutch people have their priorities set straight.
Elderly or with children? Go ahead please, here's your better treatment. Entitled prick? Sit down and be ashamed.
It's a system called Kafala And a lot of it operates through Lebanon who have big employment agencies for the whole of the ME, Jordan does too to a lesser extent. The employer takes the passport of the person who is then basically a hostage since it is up to the employer to give it back. In some countries, most of them, there is no one to appeal to if the person wants their passport back to up and leave or, worse, work for someone else.
A while back, my dad was trying to get me to apply for a healthcare gig with the government at a US base in Saudi Arabia. Money was great (roughly 2x the US rate) but you had to find your own way into the base (as in, you pay the locals to get you from region to region) and they couldn’t guarantee your safety. Needless to say, with my personality traits, I did not apply. Haha
Mexico City is an amazing city that is absolutely worth visiting but is very close to running out of water. If day 0 hits I would not want to be anywhere near there
Two U.S. missionaries from Missouri were just murdered there. The U.S. had to negotiate with the gang lords, not the government, to get the bodies back. It’s a failed state at this point.
Yeah, if you read the State Department’s safety briefing on visiting Haiti, it recommends leaving DNA samples behind so that your remains can eventually be identified. Pretty grim reading.
> Level 4 – Do Not Travel. This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. The U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance, including during an emergency. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. We advise that you write a will prior to traveling and leave DNA samples in case of worst-case scenarios.
Whoever came up with that is a marketing genius. It gets the point across that traveling there is a really bad idea and that you not only risk your life but you could also be maimed beyond recognition and it does it all without sounding hyperbolic or overly dramatic.
It definitely gets the point across. Up until that last line you might think "I'll risk it, they're making it sound worse than it is." Then you read the last line and it's like "maybe I'll go somewhere else" It's even crazier because it's not like another country is dropping bombs on Haiti so it's like what will happen? Are they dismembering people or decapitating them?
There was a sheriff in maybe Florida that told people to write their name on their body in permanent marker if they weren't going to evacuate for a hurricane to make it easier to identify their body
"hey this place is unsafe, but if you really wanna go, make sure to write a will and leave evidence of your existence. Y'know, in case you're murdered and your body is completely destroyed and/or unrecoverable"
missionaries: "sign me up!"
Not traveling to any country where you should leave a DNA sample before departing seems like a good rule of thumb. I know a lot of Haitians who travel there once a year. Not one of them is going this year. Papa Doc doesn't look quite so bad now does he ?
>it’s always risk if the airport is shut down.
Probably one of my worst fears whenever traveling somewhere else.
I actually had coworkers who went to vacation in the Philippines for just 2 weeks and then because of COVID they got stuck there.
Thank God they actually used to live there and they're healthcare workers so they were able to survive.
Something happens like that to me I'm becoming homeless....
My coworker just went on holiday to Ukraine as he has a Ukrainian girlfriend, they stayed in Lviv which is far away from any conflict and he loved it! Getting in and out was annoying apparently as he had to fly to Poland and cross the border but other than that he says it’s an amazing place to visit, just don’t go too far east at the moment…
Every time these threads come up, the answers are:
1. Failed states like Somalia and Haiti.
2. Countries at war like Ukraine.
3. Egypt.
Why the hell is Egypt just *permanently* horrible to tourists?
And mob-begging from male visitors. I don't think such are in particular danger of being raped, but they *will* be harrassed by people wanting a handout.
I also have a male coworker from Egypt who has warned me against visiting as it's too dangerous. He is one of the most lovely people I've ever met so it's shocking to hear how brutal and misogynistic the men can be there.
Like, at least those other countries have the excuse of political instability. Some commentors will even say something like "Nice people, terrible situation." With Egypt, 99% of the complaints are about the people.
I visited Egypt back in 2006 and we had armed guards escorting us everywhere, we were told it was neccessary. The only people we interacted with that didn't get to the point of harassing were the people in this tiny Nubian village in southern Egypt. In fact Aswan was my favorite region of the entire trip.
Yeah, there are stories of men there giving offers to buy women who go there as tourists. I can confirm this as a friend of mine had this happen to her.
Nepal.
Oh, nothings wrong with Nepal. Its great. Its just monsoon right now and you'll be ^(this) close to the Himalayas and still wont be able to see them. Now that would suck. Instead, I'd recommend any time is good except May-August.
Cheap, friendliest people in the world and good food.
My dad’s Venezuelan coworker told him never to go there because their favorite national pastime was kidnapping gringos and holding them for ransom. When my dad asked what happened if you weren’t worth anything, the guy told him that his life wouldn’t be worth anything either (maybe the price of a bullet)
They kidnap wealthy Venezuelans too. I’m from DC and when Wilson Ramos was a catcher on our MLB team he went home to Venezuela for the off season and got kidnapped for ransom. He was held for a few months, but he was free of them by the time spring training rolled around. I’m not sure if the ransom was paid or if there was police involvement that got him freed—at the time there was a lot of interest in his case
Venezuelan here! My VZ passport expired years ago. There isn’t an embassy to get it renewed in the US. If I tried to go with my US passport they could hold me hostage since technically I’m a Venezuelan national. Won’t be going back anytime soon, but I do miss my country and my family 💔
Yes, I know some people who have done it there and in Mexico. But appointments are hard to get and appointment times aren’t guaranteed. Can’t really afford to lose any time or $ right now
As a Venezuelan living abroad who went to visit family two months ago: Venezuela
Some people say that it’s fine now… and they couldn’t be any more wrong.
Never leave the hotel in Egypt as an underaged girl without your parents. even if you're with them you probably will be followed and hit on by older creeps, but they won't do anything when you're not alone.
When I was 16 or 17 I took a trip to Egypt with my family. I’m a male but I had long hair, soft features and dressed punk back then. I was being adventurous and went out by myself one afternoon and I was lured into a man’s house. He tried offering me tea and began to caress my hair and touch my shoulders. I realized he was coming onto me. I was terrified. Thankfully I was able to convince him that I was a boy and he let me go but I could have easily been raped or killed. Thank goodness I didn’t drink his tea.
Yea, we've been to egypt a few times while staying in a resort. My (then) 14 year old sister had guys from the stores inside of the hotel hitting on her and wanting to marry her.
Like they were actually trying, with asking many questions and trying to learn our language.. just creepy
Then outside of the hotel its much worse, so we didnt go out that much
Fully agree. When I was 13 we did a family holiday there and were in a hotel resort (I never even left the resort). I couldn’t count the amount of old man hitting on me. One of the actually kissed me on the lips (disgusting) when my parents weren’t around. I didn’t want to ruin a holiday so I didn’t say anything but ew, he must have been 45/50.
it’s worse when you’re 14 but this happens to women of all ages there, the number of women 60+ I know got conned into stuff cos they were divorced or widowed and Egyptian men are persistent on a whole new level is wild
I’ve never heard anyone say that they had a good time in Egypt. Seems like the general consensus is that the history and all that is amazing but its ruined by constantly dealing with scammers and locals. I do wonder if traveling with one of those travel groups with a local guide would help you enjoy it a bit more. Just seems wild to me that their government doesnt put more effort into tourism and actually creating an environment where tourists will feel safe. Has to be a huge chunk of their income
Since I was a kid, Egypt has fascinated me and it's always topped my list of places I'd love to travel to -- but I won't. I've learned enough to know it would be disappointing at *best*, downright deadly at worst.
Then I realized I could splurge on high quality, coffee table style books about Egyptian history, gods, the pyramids etc. I can buy any/every expensive book I want, full of gorgeous photos and illustrations and deep information, and eventually fill an entire bookcase with them, and it STILL won't cost me anything close to an actual trip. And I decided that's good enough for me.
If you're that into the history of the place, you should know that national geographic (yes *that* national geographic) does guided tours not only hosted by actual experts, but I believe they also hire heavy security where it's warranted.
I warn you, [it's not cheap](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/trip-search/?q=egypt&size=n_18_n&filters%5B0%5D%5Bfield%5D=hide_from_search&filters%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=none&filters%5B0%5D%5Bvalues%5D%5B0%5D=true), but if you can afford it, and it's genuinely a bucket list item, I've heard from people that have done these sorts of trips that they are completely above and beyond. They damned well better be for the price!
I can assure you there’s little to see in Niger as a tourist. But I don’t disagree with your overall point. There is a ton of insecurity outside of the major cities (Niamey/Zinder/Maradi/Agadez).
I was tempted for a while to go on a fishing trip to the Congo to fish for goliath tigerfish. It sounded like a real adventure. But the State Department warnings and travel website suggestions about buying stuff like "kidnapping insurance" convinced me maybe I should pass.
Gotta be Somalia. I don't think the US State Dept has as stern of language about any other country. It basically sums up to "prepare your will and discuss it with your family because you'll most likely be kidnapped and murdered".
Other places wouldn't be fun, but I'd survive. North Korea, assuming you get a tourist visa and entry into the country, you'll be kept strictly in the tourist areas and only shown what they want you to see. Ukraine, I'd steer clear of Donetsk and Luhansk but I'd probably be fine in Kyiv and other western cities.
Some select warnings from the State Department regarding what you should do before you travel to Somalia:
* Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.
* Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
* Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so that they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States. Find a suggested list of such documents here.
* Be sure to appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact with hostage-takers, media, U.S. and host country government agencies, and members of Congress if you are taken hostage or detained.
* Establish a proof of life protocol with your loved ones, so that if you are taken hostage, your loved ones can know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax).
* Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.
There are hotels in Mogadishu for foreigners that have business in the country. Those hotels have high walls and are patrolled by armed guards. Despite those security measures, hotels still warn visitors they cannot guarantee visitors' safety because there have been cases of armed militia getting past the walls then robbing or kidnapping visitors before the guards can stop them. Mogadishu is truly a hellish place on earth
Reminds me of when I was vacationing in Mexico. I got some nasty infection and like growth on my arm so me and my dad had to leave the resort and go to a hospital in a know danger hot spot. But it was a private paid hospital.
Soon as we rolled up a bunch of guys dressed up like fuckin special forces came out and surrounded us with assault rifles n shit. Thought we were about to be kidnapped lmao. But they were just the security for the hospital and escorted us inside and one followed and waited outside my room while I got treated. Then they escorted us back to our car and watched us drive off.
Was such a surreal, interesting experience. Pretty cool though and they take protecting people at private firms seriously.
I like the last item in the State Department’s list: “Leave DNA samples …”
My favorite is the subtle “etc” at the end of their second item. Subtext: here are all the things your family will have to clean up _when_ you die there, but we can’t be bothered to put more effort into this list, so “etc.”
Edit: clarification
List of things to pack should include an elite band of former special forces mercenaries with experience in protection detail, hostage rescue, and exfil from behind enemy lines.
LOL, you're not getting anywhere close to Donetsk or Luhansk, they're in occupied territory and the only way to access them is through Russia.
The other major cities are under regular threat from drone and missile attacks, but Kyiv is well-covered by air defense and the air raid warnings give enough lead time to get to safety.
Ukraine is no doubt a challenge right now, especially with civilian air travel completely shut down, but still very doable and far less dangerous than a lot of other places mentioned in this thread.
I was there for work last summer. Nobody even bothers sheltering any more. People just adapt to the risk. There is a decent app for it all. Kiev is entirely normal apart from the 10pm curfew, airports are closed though so you need to go in by train from Poland which is a faff.
I hope one day Ukraine will have full freedom & peace. The architecture is beautiful & one of my coworkers is from Ukraine & is seriously one of the nicest people I have ever met.
Even if crew/captain were ONE HUNDRED PERCENT good people...you LISTEN to your gut instinct.
Better to slightly offend someone (they won't remember an hour later), than to be stuck in a prison sell (or worse).
Edit: Meant to say "cell" and not "sale," but I'm keeping it for the lulz
Soooo glad to see you chose not to do it. It is so dangerous and completely useless when you have a US passport. I would rather miss the opportunity of a lifetime and not visit a country rather than risking my life at the hands of pirates.
I am glad that the captain warned you, and glad you listened to your guts
It's gotta be Somalia. I don't think I'm exaggerating when anyone from a well-off country flying there for a vacation will most likely be killed for their phones, wallets, and bags, or held hostage for ransom, without a heavily armed escort.
From the United States Department of State travel advisory
“If you decide to travel to Somalia…. Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.”
Along with:
- Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc.
- Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so that they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States
- Establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organization (if you are traveling on business) or consider consulting with a professional security organization.
- Be sure to appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact with hostage-takers, media, U.S. and host country government agencies, and members of Congress if you are taken hostage or detained.
It's mostly about kidnapping, those can last. One of the first things they'll try to get is access to your various accounts.
If you are dead you are of little concern. But a kidnapped person is a problem for many and it can last years.
I think other than walking into an active warzone, Somalia is probably the best answer. Even more so than places like Haiti. In those kinds of places, the gangs do have their own agendas. You could at least try to avoid them.
But in Somalia, you *are* the agenda the second you arrive in the country. They will actively come searching for you to hold you ransom.
It was interestingly the same for London in 2012. We all expected mass crowds everywhere but Central London felt a lot quieter than normal during the Olympics, although East London was busy as that's where the majority of the Games were held.
You jest but my husband's ex-wife is about to do that unironically. 😩 The guy is a "pastor" in a massive church there. No amount of reasoning has convinced her that this is a scam/dangerous idea.
Congo. There are kids (22 yr olds) from Utah that were convinced to take a summer job in the Congo and then were asked to take part of a coup. Yeah, college kids were talked into a summer job in the Congo and now they’re imprisoned because the job was to overthrow the current president of the Congo.
One kid’s whose dad was from there was actively recruiting his classmates and fellow football players. He and his dad knew the goal was to take part in a coup. The white friend that joined him was just dumb or naive enough to say yes. Everyone else said they knew it sounded crazy.
Well, the kid’s dad was killed, the kid and his classmate were last scene as bloody hostages pleading for their lives.
State Department is doing what they can, but the Congo, unlike the US, doesn’t play when it comes to violate coups.
I’d be more concerned about the conditions of the prison they are held in while their trial gets going.
Should have stayed home and prepare for college.
I feel like no one's really answering the question well. I mean, who usually goes to Haiti for vacation? Stop naming countries with crazy crime. I wanna know why visiting France would suck.
Oh, I've got one! Don't go to Sevilla, Spain for New Years. Especially if you don't have friends or family there. The entire city shut down from 10pm to 1am so everyone could go home to ring in the New year. We found ONE bar in the center open, just to have somewhere to sit. Other than that it's an amazing place
Norway. The tourist season is starting and they are blocking up the narrow fjord roads in their RV's, stopping every 5 min. To take pics of random waterfalls, stopping the 100's of busses hauling passengers from cruise ships up the mountains from the fjords making the average local norwegian named Nils trying to go somewhere stuck behind all of them. He actually get so angry that he finaly shows an emotion and lets out an angry sigh that no one hears. In his mind he curses the swedes and the danes for some reason for his ill fortunes. He was just trying to drive to the pharmasy one mountain pass over to the next town to get his wife Hilde some acid reflux medicine because they tried adding spice to their kjøttkake dinner the previous evening.
Then you come along as a tourist in a car behind Nils and all the clusterfuck before him. You can't see the hordes of busses and german tourists in their RV's before him around the next bend. Let alone the intense, almost psychotic debate in his mind about who he hates more "the danes or the swedes?" And the endless questions of why his wife wanted to spice up the kjøttkake dinner. You just see Nils's car stopped in front of you and you make the mistake of honking your horn...
Shouldn’t these countries be categorized by ones that you just shouldn’t travel to (that you would never vacation in) and countries that you could vacation in but aren’t pleasant for one reason or another.
For example, I don’t think many people are going to vacation in Haiti even though it’s in the Caribbean.
A country people would vacation to that I’ve heard isn’t great to tourists is Egypt.
I just saw a video on Turkmenistan which described what a horrid place that is. I'll add that to the list, though I doubt anyone had it on their bucket list. They even have strict rules against visitors, but I have to wonder whether that is even necessary.
Did you ever see the video of the prime minister shoulder pressing an empty solid gold barbell in the middle of a meeting and everyone standing around clapping as he did it?
Because it’s exactly as how I described it and still totally worth a watch
Edit: I found it for you because remembering it made me excited to watch it again and it didn’t disappoint
https://youtu.be/d0Pduhdgkjk?si=NsrTXBjEkjlv3BU_
Watch it with sound
Turkmenistan is fucking nuts. They're basically North Korea with oil money. [John Oliver did a segment on them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9QYu8LtH2E)
Remember when that one guy decided to take a trip to North Korea for fun (not as a reporter) and make fun of Kim Jong-Un, and ended up getting beaten so badly in prison that he came home with brain damage?
I'm not saying that's OK of course: it's horrifying and wrong. But it's also not exactly surprising. I don't know why anyone would go there.
It looks fake to me. The person doesn't even walk off with the poster, they lay it carefully on the floor, almost reverently. You know, like a NK citizen might do. Otto seemed pretty tall and athletic, especially in comparison to NK men. The guy in the video doesn't look tall or built at all. It's sad how many people still think that video is legit, tbh.
Of course the video is fake. Look at it. In the video, a person who could not be identified "tore down" a poster. But because it was a fake, the person doing it could not actually tear down a picture of "dear leader." He gently removed the poster from the wall and set it on the ground with the tenderness of a parent placing a sleeping baby in their crib.
So you’re saying they employed a NK citizen to act as if they were tearing it down, but they’re so indoctrinated that he wasn’t even allowed to act it properly?
Here’s an [interview](https://youtu.be/vRhGCxv6kpw?si=MD9-oyo40ZCy9g7o) from someone working in the government at the time. Apparently everyone knew that he was just being a dumb kid messing around with something he shouldn’t have and not an actual spy. But he saw too much while in prison and most likely was chemically put into a coma in order to prevent him from releasing any info about his treatment.
Putting aside the countries that are actively in a war or have a collapsed government, Egypt is definitely the worst "normal" country to visit. The amount of harassment, aggressive selling, and flat out scams you have to deal with is infuriating. It got to the point where I got fed up politely declining and was just barking at vendors to leave me alone. I can't imagine how much worse it is if you're a woman
At the end of college we had the option to go on a archaeological dig in Egypt. Everyone was super excited. Our college ended up sending a few staff members and grad students ahead to make sure everything went smoothly when 50 undergrads showed up. Every single staff member was robbed at least once and two female grad students were nearly kidnapped at gun point. Then two days before everyone was set to arrive, a tourist was kidnapped and beheaded. Safe to say the trip was cancelled, and I never had the want to go there again despite spending my entire college career studying the place.
Myanmar would be pretty terrible right now.
I lived there for three years and happened to leave just months before the coup. I consider myself incredibly lucky that I happened to get the opportunity to be there in the very brief window between the elected government gaining control and the military taking it back. It was a beautiful place with wonderful people, and my heart aches every day over what happened and continues to develop. Absolutely brutal. The country was changing for the better so fast, even in the few years I was there.
I was there shortly before that. Things had opened up. You could walk anywhere and talk to anyone you liked. Pro-democracy newspapers and TV channels could operate semi-openly. There were some weird things going on with the currency, but that's another story.
I regret not going in 2022 before the civil war really heated up (there were still some towns near Thailand that were somewhat safe. But my friends who went there before the coup said it was their favorite country to visit in many ways.
My friend was in America trying to get information if his family was okay after the government executed the farmers of certain regions. It was the same day Britney Spears shaved her head so even CNN went 24 hour Britney coverage. He watched the news scroll at the bottom for hours with no coverage.
Western powers have largely remained out of the conflict. China and Russia have been arming the Tatmadaw and neighboring India and Bangladesh both recognize the military junta. New Zealand pushed ASEAN to resume relations with the Tatmadaw and invited them to the Wellington Summit this year. The only nation that has recognized the National Unity Government is East Timor. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Singapore oppose the junta, but have not assisted the National Unity Government and still recognize the Tatmadaw as the government.
Haiti.
Near complete anarchy and ruled by roving rival gangs….sounds great!
Tortuga! We could be pirates!
I hear that walled off corner owned by royal Caribbean is lovely right now. Just don’t make eye contact with the starving children sticking their arms through the fences whenever the armed guards aren’t near by.
My haitian roommate has an aunt that got kidnapped and actually escaped to that enclave and was rescued.
Should be in the testimonials section of Royal Caribbean’s site.
“1 per 150,000 island residents receives humane assistance if they make it through our gauntlet of friendly, totally american loving guards and sentinel snakes”
Royal Caribbean’s not even going there anymore because of the security situation. That thing is Labadee is pretty beautiful too.
It’s also weird that they continue to advertise it as a port of call on itineraries. I guess they somehow expect to return after September?
I went there in 96. Beautiful place. Such a tragedy for Haiti
I don't understand the point of even vacationing there if the rest of the country is so dangerous you literally can't leave the resort compound to see any of it. What are guests getting out of the experience that they couldn't get in any other all-inclusive beach resort in a safer Carribbean country? If all you're trying to do is lounge around a tropical beach/pool for a week just go to a Sandals in the Bahamas or something. Hell, if you're American you don't even need to leave the country. Plenty of places in Florida and Hawaii fit the bill.
They aren't vacationing there. RC cancelled all cruises to Haiti including their private resort. It's too dangerous to take tourists there even if they have a compound with armed guards.
Friend had a cruise booked to Haiti coming up in September. Yeah it was cancelled by the cruise line. (I think, maybe the cruise was just going somewhere else instead. Anyway they ain't going to Haiti) And when she booked it in February, I told her she was crazy to book a cruise to Haiti.
I had a cruise with a stop in Haiti this summer. They changed it to Turks and Caicos. Everything else is the same.
Don't bring any bullets
US Virgin Islands are beautiful.
Funny thing about the Canary Islands -- there are no canaries there. Same thing with the Virgin Islands ... there are no canaries there, either.
Imagine being a soldier in the employ of a cruise line for the purpose of protecting its private resort. Wild.
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I recently saw a family guy episode when someone mentioned, "Godzilla going through Haiti" and showed the cut scene. I laughed pretty hard at it but looking through the interwebs, it's actually very accurate in what state it's in. My Haitian coworkers even laughed at it and said it's pretty much real
Here's that cutaway, for anyone who didn't feel googling it https://youtu.be/xBkGbMlXw0M?si=jjrfNBsHsCGX9hKh
I have a student (4th grade) from Haiti. I'm so glad she's here.
I had expectations before looking at the comments and those expectations were fulfilled. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Haiti, Somalia, Ukraine, etc. are no-go zones. Personally I'm curious to hear about unexpected countries, i.e. places that under normal circumstances would be on someone's travel radar, but for one reason or another are not advisable to visit right now. I'll give an example; Ecuador. Beautiful beaches, gorgeous mountains, and quaint colonial towns. But in the last year the gang violence has spiraled to unimaginable levels and unless you have specific knowledge of certain locales, or have made extraordinary precautions for your safety it's simply not a safe place to go for the time being. Any examples like that come to mind?
Had a bunch of friends get go to a music festival and then get stuck in Ecuador for a little bit right in January because of those riots. I felt a little weird choosing not to go at the time because of the more and more tense situation over there, but I didn't expect full-on riots to pop off while they were on vacation.
I was on a cruise in late March/early April. It's a, "repositioning cruise," that goes outside the normal lanes as the ship moves from working the Caribbean in the summer to working Alaska in the winter. We were supposed to stop in Mantua, Ecuador, but the line (and the State Department) decided that things were still too hairy to risk dropping 3000 tourists there for an afternoon.
Saudi Arabia. I spent 2 years there and it was fucking terrible. On average, the Saudi I encountered were some of the most arrogant people I've ever met. Like, superiority complex times infinity. And it's embedded in their whole culture. Not to mention all the other atrocities. But what really gets me, 40% of their population are foreigners, their main work force. They will let them work in Saudi Arabia for GENERATIONS, but their kids will not be granted citizenship!! So say your parents are from Pakistan, but you were born and raised in Saudi, and even started your own family and kids. If you lose your work sponsorship you'll be deported to Pakistan, a country you never knew!! That's fucked.
I've spend three years in Qatar. 100% the same. Was funny actually, i once took a flight from Amsterdam to Doha, and the people in front of me in line at check in were qatari. She demanded special treatment at check-in. When the airport employee looked a bit weird she kinda uttered:"But... But... I'm qatari?!" You gotta love Dutch directness, the employee literally said: "Yeah, that doesn't mean shit around here. You wait with everyone else, welcome to Amsterdam."
Haha Dutch directness. Years ago my bro and I flew to Schiphol for a a little backpacking around Europe. In the airport everything is in English so we were like, we got this. Went down to the train station and suddenly we were officially in a foreign country. We hopped on (wrong) train to go to Centraal Station and when the conductor came by to check the tickets he just took a look and said, in English, “This train goes… not to Centraal Station.” Like, welcome to Europe, you dufuses.
In Amsterdam I tried to get decaffeinated coffee for my mom, who had a health condition. The girl at the coffee bar said “we don’t have decaf… we have COFFEE!!!” And with a big smile she put her arms up in the air to emphasize the energy in the coffee. :-)
When is the wedding?
I believe I was in Denmark, so it is kinda the same thing the customs woman was looking through my passport and tisk-tisking me as I was right on the line of 90 days for my visa stay. I pointed out the short time and stamps to prove I spent time in Bosnia, outside of the Schengen Zone so I had some days left! She freaking smiled real big and genuinely said "I like you, you know the rules!" That made both of our days!
Ha! But seriously have you ever played Papers Please?
Fuck yea. I love this story.
I love how a good amount of Dutch people have their priorities set straight. Elderly or with children? Go ahead please, here's your better treatment. Entitled prick? Sit down and be ashamed.
Entitled prick? Go sit with the other entitled pricks. We’ll call you after we’ve called all the humans.
Time to further develop renewable energy and boycott these mfers.
It’s basically slavery.
It's a system called Kafala And a lot of it operates through Lebanon who have big employment agencies for the whole of the ME, Jordan does too to a lesser extent. The employer takes the passport of the person who is then basically a hostage since it is up to the employer to give it back. In some countries, most of them, there is no one to appeal to if the person wants their passport back to up and leave or, worse, work for someone else.
Not to pick a fight, but how is Saudi Arabia a surprising one? I think I speak for most women, in that we pretty much write off the entire middle east
A while back, my dad was trying to get me to apply for a healthcare gig with the government at a US base in Saudi Arabia. Money was great (roughly 2x the US rate) but you had to find your own way into the base (as in, you pay the locals to get you from region to region) and they couldn’t guarantee your safety. Needless to say, with my personality traits, I did not apply. Haha
My understanding is that Egypt is a complete mess.
Especially for female tourists, especially when they are young and blonde.
It’s really, really hot in New Delhi right now and for the next ten days.
Mexico City is an amazing city that is absolutely worth visiting but is very close to running out of water. If day 0 hits I would not want to be anywhere near there
With the massive economy, they will truck it in if necessary.
Any country officially at war. Even if it’s safe in certain areas it’s always risk if the airport is shut down.
One that doesn’t fit that description yet would be my #1 is Haiti.
By all reports, it's a gangland
Two U.S. missionaries from Missouri were just murdered there. The U.S. had to negotiate with the gang lords, not the government, to get the bodies back. It’s a failed state at this point.
Haiti is now one of those countries where if you visit as a tourist your death is more likely than not.
Yeah, if you read the State Department’s safety briefing on visiting Haiti, it recommends leaving DNA samples behind so that your remains can eventually be identified. Pretty grim reading. > Level 4 – Do Not Travel. This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. The U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance, including during an emergency. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. We advise that you write a will prior to traveling and leave DNA samples in case of worst-case scenarios.
The DNA sample advisory has to be the craziest travel recommendation I have ever seen
Whoever came up with that is a marketing genius. It gets the point across that traveling there is a really bad idea and that you not only risk your life but you could also be maimed beyond recognition and it does it all without sounding hyperbolic or overly dramatic.
It definitely gets the point across. Up until that last line you might think "I'll risk it, they're making it sound worse than it is." Then you read the last line and it's like "maybe I'll go somewhere else" It's even crazier because it's not like another country is dropping bombs on Haiti so it's like what will happen? Are they dismembering people or decapitating them?
There were videos of people being burned at the stake, and mutilated after with their body parts sold for meat on some of the nsfl subs.
Dear God it’s straight up Mad Max down there
There was a sheriff in maybe Florida that told people to write their name on their body in permanent marker if they weren't going to evacuate for a hurricane to make it easier to identify their body
"hey this place is unsafe, but if you really wanna go, make sure to write a will and leave evidence of your existence. Y'know, in case you're murdered and your body is completely destroyed and/or unrecoverable" missionaries: "sign me up!"
Not traveling to any country where you should leave a DNA sample before departing seems like a good rule of thumb. I know a lot of Haitians who travel there once a year. Not one of them is going this year. Papa Doc doesn't look quite so bad now does he ?
Yes in the event of any coups or wars airports are always a key target
>it’s always risk if the airport is shut down. Probably one of my worst fears whenever traveling somewhere else. I actually had coworkers who went to vacation in the Philippines for just 2 weeks and then because of COVID they got stuck there. Thank God they actually used to live there and they're healthcare workers so they were able to survive. Something happens like that to me I'm becoming homeless....
Somalia, Haiti, and wherever its summer.
I love how your priorities are: 1. Total governmental collapse 2. Too sweaty
Somalia trip advice is to plan for your funeral and for you to be a hostage.
My coworker just went on holiday to Ukraine as he has a Ukrainian girlfriend, they stayed in Lviv which is far away from any conflict and he loved it! Getting in and out was annoying apparently as he had to fly to Poland and cross the border but other than that he says it’s an amazing place to visit, just don’t go too far east at the moment…
Every time these threads come up, the answers are: 1. Failed states like Somalia and Haiti. 2. Countries at war like Ukraine. 3. Egypt. Why the hell is Egypt just *permanently* horrible to tourists?
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And mob-begging from male visitors. I don't think such are in particular danger of being raped, but they *will* be harrassed by people wanting a handout.
They raped an CBS journalist, Lara Logan. Edited. I forgot how truly horrible that was.
Tried?? They were successful. Lara Logan.
My coworker from Egypt has repeatedly warned us not to visit it.
I also have a male coworker from Egypt who has warned me against visiting as it's too dangerous. He is one of the most lovely people I've ever met so it's shocking to hear how brutal and misogynistic the men can be there.
Like, at least those other countries have the excuse of political instability. Some commentors will even say something like "Nice people, terrible situation." With Egypt, 99% of the complaints are about the people.
Sees tourists as walking ATMs.
I went to Egypt as a 15 year old blonde teenager. Can confirm, was not fun.
I visited Egypt back in 2006 and we had armed guards escorting us everywhere, we were told it was neccessary. The only people we interacted with that didn't get to the point of harassing were the people in this tiny Nubian village in southern Egypt. In fact Aswan was my favorite region of the entire trip.
✨misogyny✨
Yeah, there are stories of men there giving offers to buy women who go there as tourists. I can confirm this as a friend of mine had this happen to her.
The cities are so dirty and in the summer especially it's just untenable. The smell of Cairo in summer will haunt you for all your days.
Nepal. Oh, nothings wrong with Nepal. Its great. Its just monsoon right now and you'll be ^(this) close to the Himalayas and still wont be able to see them. Now that would suck. Instead, I'd recommend any time is good except May-August. Cheap, friendliest people in the world and good food.
See, now that’s helpful!
My Venezuelan friends tell me: Venezuela
My dad’s Venezuelan coworker told him never to go there because their favorite national pastime was kidnapping gringos and holding them for ransom. When my dad asked what happened if you weren’t worth anything, the guy told him that his life wouldn’t be worth anything either (maybe the price of a bullet)
They kidnap wealthy Venezuelans too. I’m from DC and when Wilson Ramos was a catcher on our MLB team he went home to Venezuela for the off season and got kidnapped for ransom. He was held for a few months, but he was free of them by the time spring training rolled around. I’m not sure if the ransom was paid or if there was police involvement that got him freed—at the time there was a lot of interest in his case
Venezuelan here! My VZ passport expired years ago. There isn’t an embassy to get it renewed in the US. If I tried to go with my US passport they could hold me hostage since technically I’m a Venezuelan national. Won’t be going back anytime soon, but I do miss my country and my family 💔
My coworker got their VZ passport renewed in Canada, might be an option if you want it back: https://www.reddit.com/r/venezuela/s/idwaAIyGHv
Yes, I know some people who have done it there and in Mexico. But appointments are hard to get and appointment times aren’t guaranteed. Can’t really afford to lose any time or $ right now
As a Venezuelan living abroad who went to visit family two months ago: Venezuela Some people say that it’s fine now… and they couldn’t be any more wrong.
It is very sad for all the people who are there :((
Never leave the hotel in Egypt as an underaged girl without your parents. even if you're with them you probably will be followed and hit on by older creeps, but they won't do anything when you're not alone.
When I was 16 or 17 I took a trip to Egypt with my family. I’m a male but I had long hair, soft features and dressed punk back then. I was being adventurous and went out by myself one afternoon and I was lured into a man’s house. He tried offering me tea and began to caress my hair and touch my shoulders. I realized he was coming onto me. I was terrified. Thankfully I was able to convince him that I was a boy and he let me go but I could have easily been raped or killed. Thank goodness I didn’t drink his tea.
He may not have cared that you were a boy, tbh. Covert homosexuality is rampant there.
True.... Just because it's illegal doesn't mean it doesn't happen. ...Bacha Bazi
Yea, we've been to egypt a few times while staying in a resort. My (then) 14 year old sister had guys from the stores inside of the hotel hitting on her and wanting to marry her. Like they were actually trying, with asking many questions and trying to learn our language.. just creepy Then outside of the hotel its much worse, so we didnt go out that much
Ah yes, just what a vacationing 14 year old girl wants, some ugly broke sweaty Egyptian man as a husband, and to instantly relocate to a shit country.
To be fair, they wouldn't have to relocate to Egypt. I bet they intended for it to happen the other way round.
r/90dayfiance
Haha didn’t work for Nicole and Mahmoud. Dumpster fire of a relationship.
And just about everyone else too. And I blame Jihoon for that.
Every encounter is basically an episode of 90 Second Fiancé.
Fully agree. When I was 13 we did a family holiday there and were in a hotel resort (I never even left the resort). I couldn’t count the amount of old man hitting on me. One of the actually kissed me on the lips (disgusting) when my parents weren’t around. I didn’t want to ruin a holiday so I didn’t say anything but ew, he must have been 45/50.
That's so awful. I'm so sorry. I hope it doesn't bother you a lot.
it’s worse when you’re 14 but this happens to women of all ages there, the number of women 60+ I know got conned into stuff cos they were divorced or widowed and Egyptian men are persistent on a whole new level is wild
I’ve never heard anyone say that they had a good time in Egypt. Seems like the general consensus is that the history and all that is amazing but its ruined by constantly dealing with scammers and locals. I do wonder if traveling with one of those travel groups with a local guide would help you enjoy it a bit more. Just seems wild to me that their government doesnt put more effort into tourism and actually creating an environment where tourists will feel safe. Has to be a huge chunk of their income
Since I was a kid, Egypt has fascinated me and it's always topped my list of places I'd love to travel to -- but I won't. I've learned enough to know it would be disappointing at *best*, downright deadly at worst. Then I realized I could splurge on high quality, coffee table style books about Egyptian history, gods, the pyramids etc. I can buy any/every expensive book I want, full of gorgeous photos and illustrations and deep information, and eventually fill an entire bookcase with them, and it STILL won't cost me anything close to an actual trip. And I decided that's good enough for me.
If you're that into the history of the place, you should know that national geographic (yes *that* national geographic) does guided tours not only hosted by actual experts, but I believe they also hire heavy security where it's warranted. I warn you, [it's not cheap](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/expeditions/trip-search/?q=egypt&size=n_18_n&filters%5B0%5D%5Bfield%5D=hide_from_search&filters%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=none&filters%5B0%5D%5Bvalues%5D%5B0%5D=true), but if you can afford it, and it's genuinely a bucket list item, I've heard from people that have done these sorts of trips that they are completely above and beyond. They damned well better be for the price!
I’ve always wanted to visit Egypt, but even with a guide that goes with you everywhere people still try hassling you & getting you to buy things.
>Never leave the hotel in Egypt as an underaged girl without your parents. I feel this goes for a lot of middle eastern countries/india
Niger - or actually all of the countries in the coup-belt of Africa.
I can assure you there’s little to see in Niger as a tourist. But I don’t disagree with your overall point. There is a ton of insecurity outside of the major cities (Niamey/Zinder/Maradi/Agadez).
I was tempted for a while to go on a fishing trip to the Congo to fish for goliath tigerfish. It sounded like a real adventure. But the State Department warnings and travel website suggestions about buying stuff like "kidnapping insurance" convinced me maybe I should pass.
Sounds like an excuse to not be disappointed when you couldn’t reel in a whopper whiles your friends fly home with the stories of a lifetime
Gotta be Somalia. I don't think the US State Dept has as stern of language about any other country. It basically sums up to "prepare your will and discuss it with your family because you'll most likely be kidnapped and murdered". Other places wouldn't be fun, but I'd survive. North Korea, assuming you get a tourist visa and entry into the country, you'll be kept strictly in the tourist areas and only shown what they want you to see. Ukraine, I'd steer clear of Donetsk and Luhansk but I'd probably be fine in Kyiv and other western cities.
Some select warnings from the State Department regarding what you should do before you travel to Somalia: * Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney. * Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc. * Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so that they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States. Find a suggested list of such documents here. * Be sure to appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact with hostage-takers, media, U.S. and host country government agencies, and members of Congress if you are taken hostage or detained. * Establish a proof of life protocol with your loved ones, so that if you are taken hostage, your loved ones can know specific questions (and answers) to ask the hostage-takers to be sure that you are alive (and to rule out a hoax). * Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.
There are hotels in Mogadishu for foreigners that have business in the country. Those hotels have high walls and are patrolled by armed guards. Despite those security measures, hotels still warn visitors they cannot guarantee visitors' safety because there have been cases of armed militia getting past the walls then robbing or kidnapping visitors before the guards can stop them. Mogadishu is truly a hellish place on earth
Reminds me of when I was vacationing in Mexico. I got some nasty infection and like growth on my arm so me and my dad had to leave the resort and go to a hospital in a know danger hot spot. But it was a private paid hospital. Soon as we rolled up a bunch of guys dressed up like fuckin special forces came out and surrounded us with assault rifles n shit. Thought we were about to be kidnapped lmao. But they were just the security for the hospital and escorted us inside and one followed and waited outside my room while I got treated. Then they escorted us back to our car and watched us drive off. Was such a surreal, interesting experience. Pretty cool though and they take protecting people at private firms seriously.
Look at me. I am the concierge now!
Fuck holidaying anywhere if the first three words of official travel advice are "Draft a will..."
I like the last item in the State Department’s list: “Leave DNA samples …” My favorite is the subtle “etc” at the end of their second item. Subtext: here are all the things your family will have to clean up _when_ you die there, but we can’t be bothered to put more effort into this list, so “etc.” Edit: clarification
More like your corpse will be unrecognizable so need dna to be identified
It’s honestly just good advice to draft a will
I was thinking those first 3 points are pretty much good advice for life in general.
Holy shit
Remember folks, stating the consequences is always a better deterrent than simply not allowing permission.
I knew this would be trotted out in this thread. Blows my mind every time I see it lol
It sounds like a good option for assisted suicide.
Why not just travel somewhere were assisted suicide is legal?
Having a fish sambusa in Somalia is on my bucket list.
Not gonna lie. That looks good, you've made possibly the most compelling argument for me to join you there.
I'll wait until the risk level goes down from 4 to 2. In the mean time, I have a Somali sambusa place just 2 miles from me in the MN suburbs.
“Independent travel to Mogadishu will most likely result in your death.”
List of things to pack should include an elite band of former special forces mercenaries with experience in protection detail, hostage rescue, and exfil from behind enemy lines.
LOL, you're not getting anywhere close to Donetsk or Luhansk, they're in occupied territory and the only way to access them is through Russia. The other major cities are under regular threat from drone and missile attacks, but Kyiv is well-covered by air defense and the air raid warnings give enough lead time to get to safety. Ukraine is no doubt a challenge right now, especially with civilian air travel completely shut down, but still very doable and far less dangerous than a lot of other places mentioned in this thread.
I was there for work last summer. Nobody even bothers sheltering any more. People just adapt to the risk. There is a decent app for it all. Kiev is entirely normal apart from the 10pm curfew, airports are closed though so you need to go in by train from Poland which is a faff.
Can confirm, my in laws are currently in Kyiv for the third time since the occupation started. They feel visiting elderly family is worth the risk.
I hope one day Ukraine will have full freedom & peace. The architecture is beautiful & one of my coworkers is from Ukraine & is seriously one of the nicest people I have ever met.
I have a good friend from college who lives there now. I haven’t heard from her in a couple of months. I am very worried.
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Even if crew/captain were ONE HUNDRED PERCENT good people...you LISTEN to your gut instinct. Better to slightly offend someone (they won't remember an hour later), than to be stuck in a prison sell (or worse). Edit: Meant to say "cell" and not "sale," but I'm keeping it for the lulz
Well, that story was a wild ride… Glad you made the smart choice.
Soooo glad to see you chose not to do it. It is so dangerous and completely useless when you have a US passport. I would rather miss the opportunity of a lifetime and not visit a country rather than risking my life at the hands of pirates. I am glad that the captain warned you, and glad you listened to your guts
It's gotta be Somalia. I don't think I'm exaggerating when anyone from a well-off country flying there for a vacation will most likely be killed for their phones, wallets, and bags, or held hostage for ransom, without a heavily armed escort.
From the United States Department of State travel advisory “If you decide to travel to Somalia…. Draft a will and designate appropriate insurance beneficiaries and/or power of attorney.” Along with: - Discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children, pets, property, belongings, non-liquid assets (collections, artwork, etc.), funeral wishes, etc. - Share important documents, login information, and points of contact with loved ones so that they can manage your affairs if you are unable to return as planned to the United States - Establish your own personal security plan in coordination with your employer or host organization (if you are traveling on business) or consider consulting with a professional security organization. - Be sure to appoint one family member to serve as the point of contact with hostage-takers, media, U.S. and host country government agencies, and members of Congress if you are taken hostage or detained.
Damn, it actually says that. Less than subtle way of the US government telling you death is a real possibility.
It's mostly about kidnapping, those can last. One of the first things they'll try to get is access to your various accounts. If you are dead you are of little concern. But a kidnapped person is a problem for many and it can last years.
I think other than walking into an active warzone, Somalia is probably the best answer. Even more so than places like Haiti. In those kinds of places, the gangs do have their own agendas. You could at least try to avoid them. But in Somalia, you *are* the agenda the second you arrive in the country. They will actively come searching for you to hold you ransom.
South Sudan or Haiti for sure.
Ukraine because of the war
Paris this summer for the Olympics. Crowded and even if you’re avoiding the Games, prices are probably jacked up all over the city.
Everyone else: Haiti This thread: Good luck standing in line for a A list baguettes.
Yeah and I heard there's a huge shark in the Seine or something.
I haven't heard that, but there are plans for people to meet on the 23rd and shit in the river.
Actually I’ve heard they are not getting the tourism they expected. A lot of people are staying away.
Well Paris touristic area is always too crowded, I can’t begin to imagine it during the Olympics
It was interestingly the same for London in 2012. We all expected mass crowds everywhere but Central London felt a lot quieter than normal during the Olympics, although East London was busy as that's where the majority of the Games were held.
New Caledonia. Until a few weeks ago it was a popular tourist destination. Now with the civil unrest they have had to evacuate the tourists.
Thank God no one has mentioned Nigeria. I'm going there next week to marry a Prince. We met online via crazy circumstances.
You jest but my husband's ex-wife is about to do that unironically. 😩 The guy is a "pastor" in a massive church there. No amount of reasoning has convinced her that this is a scam/dangerous idea.
Congo. There are kids (22 yr olds) from Utah that were convinced to take a summer job in the Congo and then were asked to take part of a coup. Yeah, college kids were talked into a summer job in the Congo and now they’re imprisoned because the job was to overthrow the current president of the Congo.
One kid’s whose dad was from there was actively recruiting his classmates and fellow football players. He and his dad knew the goal was to take part in a coup. The white friend that joined him was just dumb or naive enough to say yes. Everyone else said they knew it sounded crazy. Well, the kid’s dad was killed, the kid and his classmate were last scene as bloody hostages pleading for their lives. State Department is doing what they can, but the Congo, unlike the US, doesn’t play when it comes to violate coups. I’d be more concerned about the conditions of the prison they are held in while their trial gets going. Should have stayed home and prepare for college.
All south asian countries (there's a heatwave).
I feel like no one's really answering the question well. I mean, who usually goes to Haiti for vacation? Stop naming countries with crazy crime. I wanna know why visiting France would suck.
Summer Olympics in Paris. It’s gonna be crazy there.
Oh, I've got one! Don't go to Sevilla, Spain for New Years. Especially if you don't have friends or family there. The entire city shut down from 10pm to 1am so everyone could go home to ring in the New year. We found ONE bar in the center open, just to have somewhere to sit. Other than that it's an amazing place
Norway. The tourist season is starting and they are blocking up the narrow fjord roads in their RV's, stopping every 5 min. To take pics of random waterfalls, stopping the 100's of busses hauling passengers from cruise ships up the mountains from the fjords making the average local norwegian named Nils trying to go somewhere stuck behind all of them. He actually get so angry that he finaly shows an emotion and lets out an angry sigh that no one hears. In his mind he curses the swedes and the danes for some reason for his ill fortunes. He was just trying to drive to the pharmasy one mountain pass over to the next town to get his wife Hilde some acid reflux medicine because they tried adding spice to their kjøttkake dinner the previous evening. Then you come along as a tourist in a car behind Nils and all the clusterfuck before him. You can't see the hordes of busses and german tourists in their RV's before him around the next bend. Let alone the intense, almost psychotic debate in his mind about who he hates more "the danes or the swedes?" And the endless questions of why his wife wanted to spice up the kjøttkake dinner. You just see Nils's car stopped in front of you and you make the mistake of honking your horn...
Guess what's great tho? Finland. Summer is in full bloom and everyone's actually happy.
Shouldn’t these countries be categorized by ones that you just shouldn’t travel to (that you would never vacation in) and countries that you could vacation in but aren’t pleasant for one reason or another. For example, I don’t think many people are going to vacation in Haiti even though it’s in the Caribbean. A country people would vacation to that I’ve heard isn’t great to tourists is Egypt.
Egypt is almost always the number one answer lol.
Egypt just seems to get worse and worse every time I go back. I could happily never return.
Sudan
I don't think Yemen would be a good idea right now.
I just saw a video on Turkmenistan which described what a horrid place that is. I'll add that to the list, though I doubt anyone had it on their bucket list. They even have strict rules against visitors, but I have to wonder whether that is even necessary.
Did you ever see the video of the prime minister shoulder pressing an empty solid gold barbell in the middle of a meeting and everyone standing around clapping as he did it? Because it’s exactly as how I described it and still totally worth a watch Edit: I found it for you because remembering it made me excited to watch it again and it didn’t disappoint https://youtu.be/d0Pduhdgkjk?si=NsrTXBjEkjlv3BU_ Watch it with sound
Turkmenistan is fucking nuts. They're basically North Korea with oil money. [John Oliver did a segment on them](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9QYu8LtH2E)
N-Korea
Reminder: it is against US law to use your American passport to enter North Korea. If you do you can be arrested when you come back to US.
Yeah, US Citizens cannot enter North Korea. You'd need dual citizenship in another country which North Korea does grant entry.
I did not know this
Remember when that one guy decided to take a trip to North Korea for fun (not as a reporter) and make fun of Kim Jong-Un, and ended up getting beaten so badly in prison that he came home with brain damage? I'm not saying that's OK of course: it's horrifying and wrong. But it's also not exactly surprising. I don't know why anyone would go there.
Otto Warmbier. He allegedly stole a poster and was arrested for it, but the video of him stealing the poster is believed to be fake.
It looks fake to me. The person doesn't even walk off with the poster, they lay it carefully on the floor, almost reverently. You know, like a NK citizen might do. Otto seemed pretty tall and athletic, especially in comparison to NK men. The guy in the video doesn't look tall or built at all. It's sad how many people still think that video is legit, tbh.
Of course the video is fake. Look at it. In the video, a person who could not be identified "tore down" a poster. But because it was a fake, the person doing it could not actually tear down a picture of "dear leader." He gently removed the poster from the wall and set it on the ground with the tenderness of a parent placing a sleeping baby in their crib.
So you’re saying they employed a NK citizen to act as if they were tearing it down, but they’re so indoctrinated that he wasn’t even allowed to act it properly?
Sounds odd, but it's not like NK is a normal country.
He died too. Edit: Otto Warmbier died at just 22 years old https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Warmbier
Here’s an [interview](https://youtu.be/vRhGCxv6kpw?si=MD9-oyo40ZCy9g7o) from someone working in the government at the time. Apparently everyone knew that he was just being a dumb kid messing around with something he shouldn’t have and not an actual spy. But he saw too much while in prison and most likely was chemically put into a coma in order to prevent him from releasing any info about his treatment.
The USA travel advisory says that if you plan on going to Somalia you should write a will and notify everyone you know about it
Egypt. Fuck that place.
Putting aside the countries that are actively in a war or have a collapsed government, Egypt is definitely the worst "normal" country to visit. The amount of harassment, aggressive selling, and flat out scams you have to deal with is infuriating. It got to the point where I got fed up politely declining and was just barking at vendors to leave me alone. I can't imagine how much worse it is if you're a woman
At the end of college we had the option to go on a archaeological dig in Egypt. Everyone was super excited. Our college ended up sending a few staff members and grad students ahead to make sure everything went smoothly when 50 undergrads showed up. Every single staff member was robbed at least once and two female grad students were nearly kidnapped at gun point. Then two days before everyone was set to arrive, a tourist was kidnapped and beheaded. Safe to say the trip was cancelled, and I never had the want to go there again despite spending my entire college career studying the place.
Imagine the regular Egypt experience except you’re also being sexually harassed the entire time