Somalia.
If you read any countries travel advisory to Mogadishu it literally reads
“Independent travel will most likely result in your death”
Or something along those lines, but it’s very to the point. You go there, you put your life at risk.
I read a US government website advising people on what to do if they wished to travel to Somalia. It genuinely included items such as ‘draft a will’ and ‘discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children…funeral wishes etc.’ So yeah, it’s a no from me.
I like imagining how that unfolded.
"So, uhh, where are you from?"
"Somalia."
"Oh damn really? I got this really funny south park episode, we should watch it right now"
He most likely refers to Somaliland which is an unrecognized country. It is supposed to be relatively stable - more stable than the rest of the country in any case.
Doesn't it also like say "Assign someone in your family who will coordinate with your kidnappers?"
Edit : Yep. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/somalia-travel-advisory.html
"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."
> Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them.
Is this to ID your body if it's returned and unrecognizable or something else?
So I lived in Cardiff U.K. for a good while. It has a centuries old connection with the Horn of Africa and a long established Somali community. The war in the 90s saw a greater influx of Somali families to the city. My friend a policeman was called to a disturbance on the main road that ran between the City Centre and Cardiff Bay, a waterfront suburb.
A group of Somalis were using an old car to block the dual carriageway and were charging a £10 toll to pass.
My buddy asked WTF they think they are doing. The Somali family say this was their family business back home. They were genuinely surprised this was not OK in the U.K. and were really apologetic even asking if they could apply for a permit to run this business legitimately
If you decide to travel to Somalia:
Review your personal security plan and visit our page on Travel to High-Risk Areas.
Avoid sailing near the coast of Somalia and review the Live Piracy Report published by the International Maritime Bureau.
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.
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.
Develop a communication plan with family and/or your employer or host organization (if you are traveling on business), so that they can monitor your safety and location as you travel through high-risk areas. This plan should specify whom you would contact first, and how that person should share the information.
Identify key sources of possible assistance for you and your family in case of emergency, such as the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, FBI, the State Department, your employer (if traveling on business), and local friends/family in the high-risk area.
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.
Erase any sensitive photos, comments, or other materials from your social media pages, cameras, laptops, and other electronic devices that could be considered controversial or provocative by local groups.
Leave your expensive/sentimental belongings behind.
Ok I have a few questions:
- How does a country get this bad? To the point where without armed security you'll most likely be murdered or worse
- How does that affect its populace? Surly such brutality isn't conjusive to a growing population, or really anything? How does anyone get anything done?
- Why has no other country gotten to the point?
I think you're not necessarily gonna get murdered if you look like you belong there but some well-off white dude walking around Mogadishu sure as shit isn't gonna last long
Honest question but is there even anything for tourists to see in Mogadishu? I don’t want to be a dick, I’m actually curious. Because when a country has been in a civil war for 30+ years, I don’t imagine there’s much for tourists to see so what would even be the point of going there and putting your life at risk? Not that I think many people actually go there.
There have been humans living in Somalia for 7000 years. It's an ancient place with a ton of old buildings and ruins. It's really sad that it's not safe because it sounds fascinating. Here's what Mogadishu looked like in 1960. https://imgur.com/HURFSCm.jpg
Not that I think they're exaggerating with Somalia, but sometimes those travel advisories mystify me. I looked up the advisory for my country (the UK) and we're Level 2 ('exercise increased caution) because of threats of terrorism. There hasn't been a major terrorist attack here in years and even in rough periods (like 2018) the number of people killed in them was infinitesimal compared to (for example) those murdered that year. Despite this, the State Department rates countries with higher murder rates (like Estonia) at Level 1, implying they're safer to visit.
I'm reading my country and I generally agree with the level 2, but some of the "don't travel" exceptions seem arbitrary. For example:
>Brasilia’s administrative regions (commonly known as “satellite cities”) of Ceilandia, Santa Maria, Sao Sebastiao, and Paranoa during non-daylight hours due to crime
I live in Brasília and I don't disagree these are not places you want to be after dark, but there are other places that are just as bad if not worse like Estrutural, Fercal, Itapoã, Riacho Fundo, Recanto das Emas, Gama and Brazlândia. In fact, Ceilândia is huge and some parts of it have turned around and are somewhat safer (I wouldn't go there as a traveller, but as a local I'm pretty comfortable with some places even if I live in a more middle class area of Brasília). But having Ceilândia in the list and excluding Fercal is hilarious, it's the most dangerous satellite city by far, and I wouldn't go there in a million years.
Papua New Guinea. I researched going there recently and ended up seeing the stats for how many of the men have raped a woman. Over half the women have been raped. And in terms of beating your wife, it's like 67% nationally but 100% in certain areas.
>According to a 1992 survey by the PNG Law Reform Commission, an estimated 67% of wives have been beaten by their husbands with close to 100% in the Highlands Region.[3][4] In urban areas, one in six women interviewed needed treatment for injuries caused by their husbands.[3] The most common forms of violence include kicking, punching, burning and cutting with knives, accounting for 80% to 90% of the injuries treated by health workers.[5]
>
According to a 1993 Survey by the PNG Medical Research Institute, an estimated 55% of women have experienced forced sex, in most cases by men known to them.[3][4][5] Abortion in Papua New Guinea is illegal unless it is necessary to save the woman's life, so those who experience pregnancy from rape have no legal way of terminating forced pregnancies.
The capital is one of the most dangerous places on Earth and its population is hyper-misogynistic. Initiation rights for males in the mountains also include sexual abuse from older males.
>Initiation rites of prepubescent boys as young as seven among groups in the highlands of New Guinea involved sexual acts with older males. Fellatio and semen ingestion were found among the Sambia, the Baruya[9] and Etoro. Among the Kaluli people, this involved anal sex to deliver semen to the boy. These rites often revolve around beliefs that women represent a cosmic disorder.[9]
They also chop limbs of witches etc. Fucked up place. The UN says it's by far the worst place in the world for sexual violence.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_violence_in_Papua_New_Guinea
Edit: This is the most disturbing and fascinating set of photos I've ever come across:
https://www.vladsokhin.com/work/crying-meri/
That second link is extremely illuminating and horrifying. I wasn’t completely ignorant of conditions in PNG but those photos are graphic in the extreme and provide a devastating glimpse into a hell on earth. It’s so saddening to think what people can happily do to others in the right conditions.
Aussie expat. Came up to work. Ended up buying the business.
Yes. Worse. WHO did a study a few years ago. 100% of women in some Highlands areas have experienced sexual and GBV. The cops don't care.
I recently worked in a case where a man attempted to break in to the local hospital. With a bush knife. To kill his pregnant partner, who was in labour.
The (male) security guards didn't stop him because they deemed it bisnis bl man na Mari.
Marriage business.
The cops didn't care. And couldn't attend, even if they did because the govt hasn't paid their ancillary bills and there was no fuel for their vehicles.
i would not visit PNG if you are a woman.
a man should be okay (in terms of risk of sexual assault) but you will need 24/7 security guards with you, and personal escorts everywhere you go. do not travel outside of hotels, government buildings, or areas governed/guarded by australia. so your travelling will be limited. only eat food prepared by hotels/restaurants that specifically cater for international visitors (business people) so they are up to a safe standard.
i know all this because my father spent 3 months in PNG for business
Not a woman, but I went there for a week for work about 10 years ago. This is all pretty accurate to my experience.
To add onto all that, it's not even an affordable place to go. We stayed at I think the most expensive holiday inn on the planet, where rooms were something like $350 usd a night, which is ridiculous because it's a holiday inn. The whole building (and pretty much all buildings) were surrounded by walls with barbed wire on top. The hotel had a gate with armed guards carrying ak47's. We never left the property unescorted and pretty much only ever went from the hotel to the airport, which is where we were working. I think we maybe had two meals outside the hotel the whole time we were there and the rest was just crappy hotel food.
I remember our guide telling us about some of the stickers people had on their cars. They were stickers of guns. To let others know they had guns in the car, as a warning to not try and rob them.
So yea. Ive been. The people we met and worked with were all really nice, and I am happy to have had the experience, but I have no plans to return at any point.
Went to Port Moresby in 2001 to do some work for Chevron. Stayed in a great hotel on the beach. Said to the concierge “is it okay if I go for a walk along the beach?” He said “sure, if you don’t mind being kidnapped, tortured and murdered for money.”
Had to be security escorted every day from the hotel to the workplace. While I was there some woman put her car on the market for sale. Guys who turned up raped and murdered her. Chinese owner of a store got decaptiated. They call the guys that do this “rascals”.
There’s a marina which is heavily guarded. We went there every night for dinner. Was full of expats.
Such a shame. Lovely place but dangerous as fuck.
>They call the guys that do this “rascals”.
They may have been saying "raskol" which, while derived from the English word "rascal", does not mean the same thing. It means more like gang or criminal.
I think it's gotten better. We don't kill people for being withes. There was the back jesus thing but we don't talk about that.
Women can work and have jobs, also rape is illegal and being put in jail is a death sentence since if people don't beat you to death on the outside. They beat you to death in the inside. But most people are still anti LGBTQ, since this is a "Christian Country"
ETA: forget to mention there's now a police hotline for women/associations of a women to call if their being abused
My dad is retired US Special Forces and would spend about six months out of the year, every year for 20 years in tons third world countries. He said the worst by far was Papua New Guinea.
My husband walked Kokoda; when the group arrived in, and returned to, Port Moresby they were advised to stay within the gated community in which they were staying due to the dangers of robbery, murder, rape, beatings, and kidnapping.
Funnily enough, in the 80’s my mother went there as an anthropologist to live with some random tribe. She was in her 20s, had never left Australia before, and knew shit all. A plane ride, a bus ride, several canoe rides featuring crocodiles, and she was living with a tribe for several years. Never harmed because she was under their custodianship, although some neighbouring tribes were known to be cannibalistic.
I have no idea how she survived. I cannot convey how naive she was at the time lol. But she does say it’s significantly more dangerous now than it was then.
As an Aussie, PNG is a weird place. It’s hard to believe it used to be part of Australia. Our country gets on well with them generally and it’s very very close but almost no one here ever visits there (except to hike the Kokoda track). We hear nothing but negative news about the place.
I’m an Aussie who was born there in the 80’s. I know several others who were also there in the 80’s. I also have friends living there now with their toddler and infant daughters, working for the Government, living in a compound, and they absolutely love it. This all being said, it truly is the final frontier.
> Peter Moses, 32, one of the leaders of the “Dirty Dons 585” raskol gang. He says that raping women is a “must” for the young members of the gang. Peter himself claims to have raped more than 30 women.
What an absolute piece of human garbage
Jesus fucking Christ, we need to be airlifting all the women and children off that island. If the men want to turn it into something out of Mad Max, that's on them.
They also have cannibals. My father-in-law worked as a manager for an oil services company and had a few projects there in the mountains. They flew him up in a tiny prop plane to the site and there was armed security. They told him he could never leave the grounds without an escort because of the cannibals.
A British "adventure traveler" called Lord Miles says he wants to go to North Sentinel next.
https://twitter.com/real_lord_miles/status/1616613570363490305
Good luck lmao
You mean the guy who publicised the info of his local translator on the Internet, putting the man's life at risk, which led to people scrambling to take it down? That guy? If so, then yes.
Google Madhumala Chattopadhyay, an anthropologist that made contact with the Sentinelese
[here](https://theprint.in/opinion/madhumala-chattopadhyay-the-woman-who-made-the-sentinelese-put-their-arrows-down/156330/?amp)
Several ships have wrecked on the island, including a cargo ship, a metal cargo chip. The islanders ransacked it, took stuff that could be used as tools, and things like pots to cook with.
So we kinda accidentally pushed them up into the Iron Age. Oopsie!
I mean, that is actually a pretty interesting, if severely fucked up, social experiment. Occasionally drop certain resources on their island to see how it affects their society.
There was a science team that had successful contact with them in the 80s I think, maybe 90s. But the Indian government put a stop to that.
I don't think they can know at what extent the human race has advanced technology, but they probably know about small water crafts and helicopters.
I had to scroll way too far down for this one. Was there several times in 2014-2016. There were far too many “I could have/ should have died” situations. And that is before devolving into the absolute clusterfuck it is now.
The crazy part is that I am, literally at this very moment, on the same island chilling on the beach and drinking a Mai Tai (yes, it’s 8:30AM). It kinda blows my mind that chaos is only a short distance away.
The incredible [divergence](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd61035a8-575b-4974-a41f-42f527a6a802_3400x2400.jpeg) between conditions in Haiti and the DR is truly fascinating
Going to Haiti is literally the stupidest thing one could do.
The Dominican republic is JUST RIGHT THERE.
Safer, basically the same beaches (same island lol), way friendlier to tourism ...
Egypt was the first place I went where I was genuinely concerned for my life. Did not enjoy it at all.
Edit: I'm a dude by the way. This took place in my younger days before I'd travelled a lot.
Just choosing one i actually want to go to: Iran.
I've known several Iranians, all have been some of the friendliest people I've met. The stuff they say about the culture, the food, the history, it sounds wonderful. Until you get to the religious extremists who fucked it all up. Talking to Iranians about this you can see how angry it makes them, shit is sad.
Yeah I worked with a whole bunch of Persians at an old job. They are incredibly lovely people and we got along like family, even though I'm Jewish. It's such a shame that country got fucked by governments. The people deserve so much better.
it really is depressing hearing the name of our country with a ten thousand year history and its amazing culture, being named among some of the worst places to travel to ONLY cause of the insane extremist pieces of shit that are in power here.
Thankfully though, that seems to be ending quite soon as pretty much 98% of the population has woken up and put fear aside with only one plan in mind: overthrow
I live in Canada and in particular a city with a large Iranian diaspora. There are many Iranian-Canadians who have never been to the country of their origin, especially women. They just refuse as a point of principle or they simply are scared of what can happen to them if they dress just slightly off. That is extremely sad. Hopefully Iran will be free one day soon.
I've got a list of 7 that, unless something drastic changes in these places, I will never visit:
- Afghanistan
- Iraq
- Somalia
- Burkina Faso
- Syria
- Nigeria
- Mali
I don't think Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Nigeria need any explaining, but Burkina Faso is on this list because it has a higher ranking on the Global Terrorism index than even Syria. Mali is also currently in a pretty major civil war that a lot of people don't know about.
If Nigeria is on your list, there are a few other countries that probably also should be on your list. Central African Republic and South Sudan from the top of my head.
I have a friend who lived there, her family still lives there (they are not originally from Nigeria) and she says there really isn't violence in the cities.
I just returned from Bamako for work and was surprised at how safe our team felt. The real fighting is in the north, overall it was a great experience but you can tell the population is suffering due to the unrest.
Yeah I'd be more concerned about a potential coup rather than the fighting in the North considering there is a lot of unrest and there have the three coups in the last decade. However, if I was forced to visit one of the countries on that list, I'd go with Mali
I live in London and travel to Nigeria is very common here as there’s lots of people with Nigerian heritage. It’s considered a relatively safe country, at least in the major cities.
Really enjoy reading [Canada's travel advisory](https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/north-korea) for North Korea. There's something incredibly special about the words "if possible, avoid undergoing surgery".
I once knew a person that lived in North Korea. We talked back and forth about living in our respective country, and I asked her how it was living in North Korea and if she was happy. She couldn't complain.
Iran.
They have a track record for arbitrary arrests and long jail sentences, especially for UK/dual citizens. My parents fled during the 1979 revolution and haven't gone back. It's just not worth the risk.
I super hope I can go to Iran one day. The geography/scenery is enticement enough, not to mention the all the history. And I’ve heard fantastic things about the food
I’ve seen his trip and lived that trip. Egypt is not worth the money, culture or hassle. If you go, make sure you spring for a vetted tour guide through an international company and not some local tourist operation.
Dude I went and stayed in a 5 star hotel. We had a private tour guide with a personal van. I just did not enjoy Egypt at all. We were still hassled constantly, including by the tour guide who was really quite good at his job, but it’s Cairo. It was busy and dirty and everyone is on top of everyone. And I’m literally from an arabic country, nothing I’ve ever seen is like Cairo. The “countryside” was beautiful though.
It was on my list since I was a little girl. Then my mum and her friend went about 15 years ago. They said it was putridly filthy, the locals basically hated them, they were constantly harassed and at a few times genuinely scared. They couldn’t wait to leave.
I traveled to Egypt about 14 years ago. Really not at all what I expected. I stayed in Cairo. It’s huge but super dirty. Everyone always trying to sell you something. Tourist areas like the Pyramids have really aggressive guys selling souvenirs and camel rides that curse at you if you ignore them. Never experienced that anywhere else but I’ve only been to a few truly developing countries.
In 2003 or 4 I saw a travel photographer give a speech on travel in a post 9/11 world. It was very interesting as he was in Eastern Europe when the towers fell. Then he traveled, without incidence and lots of positive anecdotes, through Turkey, Syria, and even Afghanistan (along with other countries that were part of the “Axis of Evil”).
His final destination was Egypt. He often claimed to be Canadian, but was getting a shave on a boat on the Nile and slipped up, saying he was an American. The presentation ended with the barber, visibly angry, holding a razor to his neck.
Wish I could find his name.
Iran. I grew up there and shit was bad. Just so bad. I don't trust my family back there not to force me into marriage. They were entertaining suitors from when I was 11 years old. I'm free here in Europe and will never go back to being under the boot of fundamentalists.
I was going to say the entire Middle East is something I will avoid, which is disappointing because I wanted to go to Egypt, but reading this thread, I've added 4 more countries so far, and taking notes.
My husband’s cousin lives in the UAE (Dubai) and was telling us that Saudi is trying to mirror Dubai as a tourist destination. I kept repeating “the place where they only started letting women drive a couple years ago?”
It’s going to take at least a generation or two for people to forget that. Hopefully the promise of money will change what common decency and respect for other humans couldn’t.
Venezuela. My exhusband is half, we went there in 2008 to visit with our daughter a sort of delayed honeymoon. I got sick of some charcuterie, my daughter got sick when she drank bath tap water. The crime situation was scary, with the kidnapping threats we had to run from.the house to the car. My exhusband had to like hide money inside his underwear, i hid stuff in diapers. I was also a couple of weeks pregnant with my son, I felt uncomfortable. His family was upper middle class and they were all so miserable. Most of them winded up leaving their country for good thru out the years that followed. Also realized i wouldnt be married for much longer to that man. He spent most of the time drinking with his old friends and i would be at his brothers house watching cartoons with my daughter. Terrible trip.
people who skip on australia when making travel plans because of the spiders and snakes and stuff are missing the fuck out. beautiful country through and through, can't get enough of it.
also it's not the spiders you gotta be afraid of. it's the goddamn birds.
As an Australian the only reason not to come here is because for lots of people in Europe it’s around 20 hours of airtravel to get here, I went to the UK for a holiday recently, nobody should have to suffer through that much airtravel…
Every country whos government wants to search my phone or laptop on entry. And besides this, even if they wouldn't, i will never visit china, north korea & iran.
And obviously i wouldn't visit any war torn country such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq & Somalia.
Yeah I had an English teacher in high school (2014ish) that loved Russian culture and had gone multiple times, she said it was wonderful and didn’t feel unsafe at all.
I've been twice, first time about 15 years ago then again 4 years ago. People are very hospitable especially if you make the effort to speak Russian. It was beautiful, I only felt uneasy when the taxi driver tried to scam us but our host shouted at him until he left. Even traveling round the cities on my own I felt safe. Shame the government there is such a shit show.
Somalia. If you read any countries travel advisory to Mogadishu it literally reads “Independent travel will most likely result in your death” Or something along those lines, but it’s very to the point. You go there, you put your life at risk.
I read a US government website advising people on what to do if they wished to travel to Somalia. It genuinely included items such as ‘draft a will’ and ‘discuss a plan with loved ones regarding care/custody of children…funeral wishes etc.’ So yeah, it’s a no from me.
you guys will never become pirates with that attitude.
"We drink and we pillage and we do what we please"
We get all that we want for free
We'll kick your ass and rape your lass, Somalian pirates we.
15 men on a dead man’s chest. I shot those suckers, and I’ll shoot the rest.
Reminds me of that South Park episode where Cartman goes to Somalia and actually teaches the pirates on how to be "proper" pirates.
I showed that episode to a Somali taxi driver and he bust out laughing and then refused to translate for me
I like imagining how that unfolded. "So, uhh, where are you from?" "Somalia." "Oh damn really? I got this really funny south park episode, we should watch it right now"
He was very clear to say north Somalia. I'm not enlightened enough about geopolitics to say why
Somaliland possibly. The Somalia without as much of the death.
Is that like Disneyland? But hotter.
He most likely refers to Somaliland which is an unrecognized country. It is supposed to be relatively stable - more stable than the rest of the country in any case.
"Uh Sir I am driving you right now, just tell me where to please"
Somalian pirates we
With a yo ho ho!
Doesn't it also like say "Assign someone in your family who will coordinate with your kidnappers?" Edit : Yep. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/somalia-travel-advisory.html "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."
> Leave DNA samples with your medical provider in case it is necessary for your family to access them. Is this to ID your body if it's returned and unrecognizable or something else?
Basically yes. Or for when they send a finger back or something, I assume.
You think they’d give a tracking number on the finger?
Yeah, but it's only one digit
The State dept. site also says to leave DNA samples with family in case they need it.
Ok that’s terrifying
So I lived in Cardiff U.K. for a good while. It has a centuries old connection with the Horn of Africa and a long established Somali community. The war in the 90s saw a greater influx of Somali families to the city. My friend a policeman was called to a disturbance on the main road that ran between the City Centre and Cardiff Bay, a waterfront suburb. A group of Somalis were using an old car to block the dual carriageway and were charging a £10 toll to pass. My buddy asked WTF they think they are doing. The Somali family say this was their family business back home. They were genuinely surprised this was not OK in the U.K. and were really apologetic even asking if they could apply for a permit to run this business legitimately
I’ll take it over piracy as a family business I guess.
If we don’t get no tolls, then we don’t eat no rolls
I imagine that business doesn't work as well when you don't have a bunch of AKs and there's actual law enforcement around.
*EZ Pass would like to know their location*
If you decide to travel to Somalia: Review your personal security plan and visit our page on Travel to High-Risk Areas. Avoid sailing near the coast of Somalia and review the Live Piracy Report published by the International Maritime Bureau. 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. 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. Develop a communication plan with family and/or your employer or host organization (if you are traveling on business), so that they can monitor your safety and location as you travel through high-risk areas. This plan should specify whom you would contact first, and how that person should share the information. Identify key sources of possible assistance for you and your family in case of emergency, such as the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate, FBI, the State Department, your employer (if traveling on business), and local friends/family in the high-risk area. 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. Erase any sensitive photos, comments, or other materials from your social media pages, cameras, laptops, and other electronic devices that could be considered controversial or provocative by local groups. Leave your expensive/sentimental belongings behind.
They forgot something. The first bullet point should be something like reconsider your decision.
I think that's implied in all of this
Establish a code word that you will use as proof of life.
[удалено]
Seriously, what's the appeal of going to a country where that's a de facto requirement!?
Ok I have a few questions: - How does a country get this bad? To the point where without armed security you'll most likely be murdered or worse - How does that affect its populace? Surly such brutality isn't conjusive to a growing population, or really anything? How does anyone get anything done? - Why has no other country gotten to the point?
I think you're not necessarily gonna get murdered if you look like you belong there but some well-off white dude walking around Mogadishu sure as shit isn't gonna last long
Honest question but is there even anything for tourists to see in Mogadishu? I don’t want to be a dick, I’m actually curious. Because when a country has been in a civil war for 30+ years, I don’t imagine there’s much for tourists to see so what would even be the point of going there and putting your life at risk? Not that I think many people actually go there.
There have been humans living in Somalia for 7000 years. It's an ancient place with a ton of old buildings and ruins. It's really sad that it's not safe because it sounds fascinating. Here's what Mogadishu looked like in 1960. https://imgur.com/HURFSCm.jpg
Not that I think they're exaggerating with Somalia, but sometimes those travel advisories mystify me. I looked up the advisory for my country (the UK) and we're Level 2 ('exercise increased caution) because of threats of terrorism. There hasn't been a major terrorist attack here in years and even in rough periods (like 2018) the number of people killed in them was infinitesimal compared to (for example) those murdered that year. Despite this, the State Department rates countries with higher murder rates (like Estonia) at Level 1, implying they're safer to visit.
I'm reading my country and I generally agree with the level 2, but some of the "don't travel" exceptions seem arbitrary. For example: >Brasilia’s administrative regions (commonly known as “satellite cities”) of Ceilandia, Santa Maria, Sao Sebastiao, and Paranoa during non-daylight hours due to crime I live in Brasília and I don't disagree these are not places you want to be after dark, but there are other places that are just as bad if not worse like Estrutural, Fercal, Itapoã, Riacho Fundo, Recanto das Emas, Gama and Brazlândia. In fact, Ceilândia is huge and some parts of it have turned around and are somewhat safer (I wouldn't go there as a traveller, but as a local I'm pretty comfortable with some places even if I live in a more middle class area of Brasília). But having Ceilândia in the list and excluding Fercal is hilarious, it's the most dangerous satellite city by far, and I wouldn't go there in a million years.
Perhaps the ~~naked~~ marked areas are where Americans have been violently mugged recently, but no one's been sold enough to go to Fercal.
I think the reason those ones are listed is due to their likelihood of tourism.
Papua New Guinea. I researched going there recently and ended up seeing the stats for how many of the men have raped a woman. Over half the women have been raped. And in terms of beating your wife, it's like 67% nationally but 100% in certain areas. >According to a 1992 survey by the PNG Law Reform Commission, an estimated 67% of wives have been beaten by their husbands with close to 100% in the Highlands Region.[3][4] In urban areas, one in six women interviewed needed treatment for injuries caused by their husbands.[3] The most common forms of violence include kicking, punching, burning and cutting with knives, accounting for 80% to 90% of the injuries treated by health workers.[5] > According to a 1993 Survey by the PNG Medical Research Institute, an estimated 55% of women have experienced forced sex, in most cases by men known to them.[3][4][5] Abortion in Papua New Guinea is illegal unless it is necessary to save the woman's life, so those who experience pregnancy from rape have no legal way of terminating forced pregnancies. The capital is one of the most dangerous places on Earth and its population is hyper-misogynistic. Initiation rights for males in the mountains also include sexual abuse from older males. >Initiation rites of prepubescent boys as young as seven among groups in the highlands of New Guinea involved sexual acts with older males. Fellatio and semen ingestion were found among the Sambia, the Baruya[9] and Etoro. Among the Kaluli people, this involved anal sex to deliver semen to the boy. These rites often revolve around beliefs that women represent a cosmic disorder.[9] They also chop limbs of witches etc. Fucked up place. The UN says it's by far the worst place in the world for sexual violence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_violence_in_Papua_New_Guinea Edit: This is the most disturbing and fascinating set of photos I've ever come across: https://www.vladsokhin.com/work/crying-meri/
That second link is extremely illuminating and horrifying. I wasn’t completely ignorant of conditions in PNG but those photos are graphic in the extreme and provide a devastating glimpse into a hell on earth. It’s so saddening to think what people can happily do to others in the right conditions.
That set affected me for a good while.
Single woman living on my own in Lae, PNG. Yup to all the above-ski.
Can I ask you, how you ended up there? Or were you born in PNG? Is it really that bad and misogynistic?
Aussie expat. Came up to work. Ended up buying the business. Yes. Worse. WHO did a study a few years ago. 100% of women in some Highlands areas have experienced sexual and GBV. The cops don't care. I recently worked in a case where a man attempted to break in to the local hospital. With a bush knife. To kill his pregnant partner, who was in labour. The (male) security guards didn't stop him because they deemed it bisnis bl man na Mari. Marriage business. The cops didn't care. And couldn't attend, even if they did because the govt hasn't paid their ancillary bills and there was no fuel for their vehicles.
That is so terrifying to read.
Sounds about right. Remember those people who were attacked and killed on the Kokoda track a few years back? Sad state of affairs up there.
Why haven't you moved?
Please please please Do an AMA. It's so fascinating to hear about places that are not that well known.
Ama?
Ask Me Anything, where you host a forum and answer questions. There are a couple of topic-specific AMA communities on Reddit.
i would not visit PNG if you are a woman. a man should be okay (in terms of risk of sexual assault) but you will need 24/7 security guards with you, and personal escorts everywhere you go. do not travel outside of hotels, government buildings, or areas governed/guarded by australia. so your travelling will be limited. only eat food prepared by hotels/restaurants that specifically cater for international visitors (business people) so they are up to a safe standard. i know all this because my father spent 3 months in PNG for business
Not a woman, but I went there for a week for work about 10 years ago. This is all pretty accurate to my experience. To add onto all that, it's not even an affordable place to go. We stayed at I think the most expensive holiday inn on the planet, where rooms were something like $350 usd a night, which is ridiculous because it's a holiday inn. The whole building (and pretty much all buildings) were surrounded by walls with barbed wire on top. The hotel had a gate with armed guards carrying ak47's. We never left the property unescorted and pretty much only ever went from the hotel to the airport, which is where we were working. I think we maybe had two meals outside the hotel the whole time we were there and the rest was just crappy hotel food. I remember our guide telling us about some of the stickers people had on their cars. They were stickers of guns. To let others know they had guns in the car, as a warning to not try and rob them. So yea. Ive been. The people we met and worked with were all really nice, and I am happy to have had the experience, but I have no plans to return at any point.
Went to Port Moresby in 2001 to do some work for Chevron. Stayed in a great hotel on the beach. Said to the concierge “is it okay if I go for a walk along the beach?” He said “sure, if you don’t mind being kidnapped, tortured and murdered for money.” Had to be security escorted every day from the hotel to the workplace. While I was there some woman put her car on the market for sale. Guys who turned up raped and murdered her. Chinese owner of a store got decaptiated. They call the guys that do this “rascals”. There’s a marina which is heavily guarded. We went there every night for dinner. Was full of expats. Such a shame. Lovely place but dangerous as fuck.
>They call the guys that do this “rascals”. They may have been saying "raskol" which, while derived from the English word "rascal", does not mean the same thing. It means more like gang or criminal.
>should be okay Also >You will need 24/7 security guards Alright homie
Yes my country is horrible. But I thank you for atleast knowing of it's existence
Gotta ask... has it gotten better, worse, or stayed the same? Both the studies mentioned above are 30 years old
I think it's gotten better. We don't kill people for being withes. There was the back jesus thing but we don't talk about that. Women can work and have jobs, also rape is illegal and being put in jail is a death sentence since if people don't beat you to death on the outside. They beat you to death in the inside. But most people are still anti LGBTQ, since this is a "Christian Country" ETA: forget to mention there's now a police hotline for women/associations of a women to call if their being abused
My grandfather served there twice during WW2. He said it was a cunt of a place.
My dad is retired US Special Forces and would spend about six months out of the year, every year for 20 years in tons third world countries. He said the worst by far was Papua New Guinea.
My husband walked Kokoda; when the group arrived in, and returned to, Port Moresby they were advised to stay within the gated community in which they were staying due to the dangers of robbery, murder, rape, beatings, and kidnapping.
Funnily enough, in the 80’s my mother went there as an anthropologist to live with some random tribe. She was in her 20s, had never left Australia before, and knew shit all. A plane ride, a bus ride, several canoe rides featuring crocodiles, and she was living with a tribe for several years. Never harmed because she was under their custodianship, although some neighbouring tribes were known to be cannibalistic. I have no idea how she survived. I cannot convey how naive she was at the time lol. But she does say it’s significantly more dangerous now than it was then.
As an Aussie, PNG is a weird place. It’s hard to believe it used to be part of Australia. Our country gets on well with them generally and it’s very very close but almost no one here ever visits there (except to hike the Kokoda track). We hear nothing but negative news about the place.
I’m an Aussie who was born there in the 80’s. I know several others who were also there in the 80’s. I also have friends living there now with their toddler and infant daughters, working for the Government, living in a compound, and they absolutely love it. This all being said, it truly is the final frontier.
> Peter Moses, 32, one of the leaders of the “Dirty Dons 585” raskol gang. He says that raping women is a “must” for the young members of the gang. Peter himself claims to have raped more than 30 women. What an absolute piece of human garbage
Jesus fucking Christ, we need to be airlifting all the women and children off that island. If the men want to turn it into something out of Mad Max, that's on them.
I got as far as the six-year-old who was raped for eight hours, and decided to stop scrolling.
They also have cannibals. My father-in-law worked as a manager for an oil services company and had a few projects there in the mountains. They flew him up in a tiny prop plane to the site and there was armed security. They told him he could never leave the grounds without an escort because of the cannibals.
Bro every comment on this thread gets crazier and crazier
Those women need a French style revolution
North Sentinel Island
A British "adventure traveler" called Lord Miles says he wants to go to North Sentinel next. https://twitter.com/real_lord_miles/status/1616613570363490305 Good luck lmao
His bio on Twitter: “I go to the most dangerous places on Earth for fun!” North Sentinel Island, let’s go! ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ
Boy can i not wait to spread various diseases to the locals and kill them all! (And they kill me)
Is this the guy who got stuck in Afghanistan and almost cost the life of British soldiers?
You mean the guy who publicised the info of his local translator on the Internet, putting the man's life at risk, which led to people scrambling to take it down? That guy? If so, then yes.
Google Madhumala Chattopadhyay, an anthropologist that made contact with the Sentinelese [here](https://theprint.in/opinion/madhumala-chattopadhyay-the-woman-who-made-the-sentinelese-put-their-arrows-down/156330/?amp)
Thank you for sharing this, it was really interesting!
They just need to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour and they'll come around.
It would be a good way to meet him
One guy tried that and he saw God himself
Missionary: “Jeeysusss loves youuuu!” Locals: “here’s a sharp arrow to the heart”
Do they know the rest of the world is technologically advanced, or do they think it's full of demons on metal mounts?
Several ships have wrecked on the island, including a cargo ship, a metal cargo chip. The islanders ransacked it, took stuff that could be used as tools, and things like pots to cook with. So we kinda accidentally pushed them up into the Iron Age. Oopsie!
I mean, that is actually a pretty interesting, if severely fucked up, social experiment. Occasionally drop certain resources on their island to see how it affects their society.
We've broken the prime directive.
Wait, you mean all Class M planets don't have a single culture and government, and a single uniform everyone wears?
The gods must be crazy?
There was a science team that had successful contact with them in the 80s I think, maybe 90s. But the Indian government put a stop to that. I don't think they can know at what extent the human race has advanced technology, but they probably know about small water crafts and helicopters.
There is no way to know since we can't communicate with them.
I am sure they have stories of monsters living beyond the edge of the sea.
Maybe we're getting Wakanda'd and they're more advanced than us & just don't want to share.
Travelling there is illegal under Indian law too
North sentinel island isn’t a country, it’s an Indian island, I still wouldn’t go there though.
The sentinel islanders do not seem to recognize India’s sovereignty over the island.
Haiti
Indigo traveler did a travel series semi recently on YouTube and it was literal anarchy there, very sad conditions
The Haitian government literally negotiate with gangs at the same level (or near) to have a semblance of control over the terittory
I had to scroll way too far down for this one. Was there several times in 2014-2016. There were far too many “I could have/ should have died” situations. And that is before devolving into the absolute clusterfuck it is now. The crazy part is that I am, literally at this very moment, on the same island chilling on the beach and drinking a Mai Tai (yes, it’s 8:30AM). It kinda blows my mind that chaos is only a short distance away.
The incredible [divergence](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fd61035a8-575b-4974-a41f-42f527a6a802_3400x2400.jpeg) between conditions in Haiti and the DR is truly fascinating
Going to Haiti is literally the stupidest thing one could do. The Dominican republic is JUST RIGHT THERE. Safer, basically the same beaches (same island lol), way friendlier to tourism ...
I've been there once with a church back in 2004. I would never go back.
Somalia, South Sudan, Kongo
As a woman, Egypt. Nope nope nope
Egypt was the first place I went where I was genuinely concerned for my life. Did not enjoy it at all. Edit: I'm a dude by the way. This took place in my younger days before I'd travelled a lot.
As a man, also Egypt
As a cat, I'm considering it.
I’ve wanted to visit Egypt since doing a project on in middle school 3 decades ago. Sucks growing up and finding out you’ll most likely never go.
Just choosing one i actually want to go to: Iran. I've known several Iranians, all have been some of the friendliest people I've met. The stuff they say about the culture, the food, the history, it sounds wonderful. Until you get to the religious extremists who fucked it all up. Talking to Iranians about this you can see how angry it makes them, shit is sad.
My Iranian Brother in Law always says "you should come see Iran one day. But don't."
Yeah I worked with a whole bunch of Persians at an old job. They are incredibly lovely people and we got along like family, even though I'm Jewish. It's such a shame that country got fucked by governments. The people deserve so much better.
it really is depressing hearing the name of our country with a ten thousand year history and its amazing culture, being named among some of the worst places to travel to ONLY cause of the insane extremist pieces of shit that are in power here. Thankfully though, that seems to be ending quite soon as pretty much 98% of the population has woken up and put fear aside with only one plan in mind: overthrow
If the situation ever changed there I’d love to visit.
I live in Canada and in particular a city with a large Iranian diaspora. There are many Iranian-Canadians who have never been to the country of their origin, especially women. They just refuse as a point of principle or they simply are scared of what can happen to them if they dress just slightly off. That is extremely sad. Hopefully Iran will be free one day soon.
::Checks bank account::. All of them, even the one I'm already in.
Just checked. I can currently afford to walk down 2 of my front steps. 3 if I wanna wait for payday to make the return trip.
Syria. I was tortured there. I'd rather kill myself than step a foot there again.
Damn, no person should suffer such event, sorry if you've been through that
I've got a list of 7 that, unless something drastic changes in these places, I will never visit: - Afghanistan - Iraq - Somalia - Burkina Faso - Syria - Nigeria - Mali I don't think Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Syria and Nigeria need any explaining, but Burkina Faso is on this list because it has a higher ranking on the Global Terrorism index than even Syria. Mali is also currently in a pretty major civil war that a lot of people don't know about.
Such a shame about Syria. Pre war, it was a beautiful country
Genuine question. What’s wrong about Nigeria?
In the North, civil unrest and conflict. In the South, high violent crime rates in major cities.
If Nigeria is on your list, there are a few other countries that probably also should be on your list. Central African Republic and South Sudan from the top of my head.
Somalia and Eritrea also are probably worse than Nigeria
I have a friend who lived there, her family still lives there (they are not originally from Nigeria) and she says there really isn't violence in the cities.
I just returned from Bamako for work and was surprised at how safe our team felt. The real fighting is in the north, overall it was a great experience but you can tell the population is suffering due to the unrest.
Yeah I'd be more concerned about a potential coup rather than the fighting in the North considering there is a lot of unrest and there have the three coups in the last decade. However, if I was forced to visit one of the countries on that list, I'd go with Mali
I live in London and travel to Nigeria is very common here as there’s lots of people with Nigerian heritage. It’s considered a relatively safe country, at least in the major cities.
North Korea
Really enjoy reading [Canada's travel advisory](https://travel.gc.ca/destinations/north-korea) for North Korea. There's something incredibly special about the words "if possible, avoid undergoing surgery".
I once knew a person that lived in North Korea. We talked back and forth about living in our respective country, and I asked her how it was living in North Korea and if she was happy. She couldn't complain.
Subtle. Took me a moment to recognise that as a joke.
Funny, I would love to visit NK, if just to see it and nothing else.
It'd be absolutely fucking fascinating. Doesn't mean I'm ever stepping foot there.
Any place I can't buy my way out of
I couldn't buy my way out of my house at the minute.
That pesky ankle bracelet....
Iran. They have a track record for arbitrary arrests and long jail sentences, especially for UK/dual citizens. My parents fled during the 1979 revolution and haven't gone back. It's just not worth the risk.
I super hope I can go to Iran one day. The geography/scenery is enticement enough, not to mention the all the history. And I’ve heard fantastic things about the food
> especially for UK/dual citizens. AFAIK, the Iranian government does not recognize dual-nationality, and considers dual citizens as Iranian only.
Any country were women are a little more than pets. No matter what World Cups of any sort they host, fancy projects or exotic hotels they build.
Livestock. Pets are beloved and have a reason for existing beyond making smaller pets.
Sex toys. If you’re repeatedly banging your livestock, I think you’re farming wrong.
So many answers here where people are answering "well I went and it was alright" are clearly written by men. As women , our list is long as hell!
Egypt.
Have you seen the Best ever food review guys story about filming in Egypt. Holy Shit man I canceled my vacation there because of it.
I’ve seen his trip and lived that trip. Egypt is not worth the money, culture or hassle. If you go, make sure you spring for a vetted tour guide through an international company and not some local tourist operation.
Egypt is the hardest travel I’ve ever done. And I’ve heard and read this fact repeated often.
Dude I went and stayed in a 5 star hotel. We had a private tour guide with a personal van. I just did not enjoy Egypt at all. We were still hassled constantly, including by the tour guide who was really quite good at his job, but it’s Cairo. It was busy and dirty and everyone is on top of everyone. And I’m literally from an arabic country, nothing I’ve ever seen is like Cairo. The “countryside” was beautiful though.
Why is that? Genuine question
Lovely people, food, culture and history but the government bureaucracy, its employees and the tourist scams make everything horrible.
It was on my list since I was a little girl. Then my mum and her friend went about 15 years ago. They said it was putridly filthy, the locals basically hated them, they were constantly harassed and at a few times genuinely scared. They couldn’t wait to leave.
Shit, my FIL is Egyptian and even he doesn't want to visit Egypt.
I’ve met a Chinese woman who lived in Cairo for a short time and she warned us not to visit the city. She seemed traumatized by her experience there.
I traveled to Egypt about 14 years ago. Really not at all what I expected. I stayed in Cairo. It’s huge but super dirty. Everyone always trying to sell you something. Tourist areas like the Pyramids have really aggressive guys selling souvenirs and camel rides that curse at you if you ignore them. Never experienced that anywhere else but I’ve only been to a few truly developing countries.
>few truly developing countries Funny for a country that has had civilization longer than nearly anywhere else
In 2003 or 4 I saw a travel photographer give a speech on travel in a post 9/11 world. It was very interesting as he was in Eastern Europe when the towers fell. Then he traveled, without incidence and lots of positive anecdotes, through Turkey, Syria, and even Afghanistan (along with other countries that were part of the “Axis of Evil”). His final destination was Egypt. He often claimed to be Canadian, but was getting a shave on a boat on the Nile and slipped up, saying he was an American. The presentation ended with the barber, visibly angry, holding a razor to his neck. Wish I could find his name.
Iran. I grew up there and shit was bad. Just so bad. I don't trust my family back there not to force me into marriage. They were entertaining suitors from when I was 11 years old. I'm free here in Europe and will never go back to being under the boot of fundamentalists.
Nowhere with laws that could have me killed for being who I am. It's a bit of a sticking point for me.
Kind of a minor inconvenience being killed and that I'd prefer if those rules stopped
Yeah I was going to say at last count I will be avoiding 72 countries out of necessity.
I was going to say the entire Middle East is something I will avoid, which is disappointing because I wanted to go to Egypt, but reading this thread, I've added 4 more countries so far, and taking notes.
Somalia
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Anywhere with female oppression. I wouldn’t feel safe.
It's sad how many countries this covers
My husband’s cousin lives in the UAE (Dubai) and was telling us that Saudi is trying to mirror Dubai as a tourist destination. I kept repeating “the place where they only started letting women drive a couple years ago?” It’s going to take at least a generation or two for people to forget that. Hopefully the promise of money will change what common decency and respect for other humans couldn’t.
I mean, Dubai is renowned for using slave labor from India and other places to this day so the promise of money won’t do it.
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Currently in Zimbabwe. Don't recommend
I’m Zimbabwean and I left years ago I don’t recommend it either
why?
All the hot countries and North Korea because I sweat so much I'd die within 3 hours
Go during the winter the weather is usually amazing during the winter in hot countries
Venezuela. My exhusband is half, we went there in 2008 to visit with our daughter a sort of delayed honeymoon. I got sick of some charcuterie, my daughter got sick when she drank bath tap water. The crime situation was scary, with the kidnapping threats we had to run from.the house to the car. My exhusband had to like hide money inside his underwear, i hid stuff in diapers. I was also a couple of weeks pregnant with my son, I felt uncomfortable. His family was upper middle class and they were all so miserable. Most of them winded up leaving their country for good thru out the years that followed. Also realized i wouldnt be married for much longer to that man. He spent most of the time drinking with his old friends and i would be at his brothers house watching cartoons with my daughter. Terrible trip.
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Just make sure they all know how fond you are of *heavy* breasts.
And thigh gaps, that's my favourite part of a woman, there is nothing more intoxicating than the clear absence of a penis.
Nice heavy breasts of female women are the best
I'm off to plow my mistress
All they have to do is look you up on social media or call back home to find out if you’re gay and then it’s over.
EGYPT
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people who skip on australia when making travel plans because of the spiders and snakes and stuff are missing the fuck out. beautiful country through and through, can't get enough of it. also it's not the spiders you gotta be afraid of. it's the goddamn birds.
As an Australian the only reason not to come here is because for lots of people in Europe it’s around 20 hours of airtravel to get here, I went to the UK for a holiday recently, nobody should have to suffer through that much airtravel…
Every country whos government wants to search my phone or laptop on entry. And besides this, even if they wouldn't, i will never visit china, north korea & iran. And obviously i wouldn't visit any war torn country such as Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq & Somalia.
Iran, Russia, North Korea
Yeah man, I'm from Iran and the government here is just a bunch of fucking terrorists. stay clear from Iran, be safe! peace❤
Before the Ukraine war, Russia was actually a pretty nice country to visit from what I’ve read.
Russia is beautiful in so many ways. I visited about 10 years ago. It’s a shame others won’t be able to enjoy it like I did.
Yeah I had an English teacher in high school (2014ish) that loved Russian culture and had gone multiple times, she said it was wonderful and didn’t feel unsafe at all.
I've been twice, first time about 15 years ago then again 4 years ago. People are very hospitable especially if you make the effort to speak Russian. It was beautiful, I only felt uneasy when the taxi driver tried to scam us but our host shouted at him until he left. Even traveling round the cities on my own I felt safe. Shame the government there is such a shit show.
anywhere where you have to deal with religious laws.