Have you ever travelled somewhere abroad thinking that all would be fine? Have you ever thought that something bad could potentially happen to you? Share some of your anecdotes here in our comments section at the bottom. We have collected several tales of travel that could have went really bad.
Note: This is not about scaring tourists away from where they decide to travel, but is a reminder of the ugly stuff that can happen...
1. Maureen Webster has a great website pertaining to travel safety and risks to Mexico. Read her twitter feed here. She has accumulated countless stories of a well deserved vacation that went bad in Mexico.
2. This story happened to this guy while in Bogota, Colombia: "I had a pretty far out experience on my 1st day in Bogota, Colombia - i had just finished a full day of sightseeing around the city, and onroute back to my hotel @ around 4:30-5pm 2 locals approached from behind, 1 putting a knife to my throat and the other putting a gun to my back, demanding the bag off my back and the money from my pockets - without even having a chance to take my bag off, the guy with the knife cut the straps from my shoulder! then the guy with the gun put the it to my head while emptying my pockets. Before i knew what had happened they were in a car that was trailing behind us (i wasnt even aware it was there!) - it then dawned on me what exactly was in my bag, so through what i guess was frustration & emotion i let out a pretty loud curse word - now im guessing they thought i was shouting @ them, as this prompted them to put the gun out the window and shoot @ me - thankfully missing! but i saw the grass/dirt spit up around 2 metres away from me where the bullets hit - i found new levels of fear that day. Aside from this incident i found Colombia to be an amazing country to travel, and the locals which helped me with the police report are the true faces of the country, but as with many capital cities it has its issues! My advice, dont do anything alone in Bogota, this was my only mistake". (Grammar mistakes are his. We concur with his advice).
3. Crooked cops from Brazil story, just ahead of the FIFA World Cup: "'Roly' was partying it up in Rio de Janeiro with his mate Frank. After a night on the beers at a local backpackers, Roly and Frank hit the streets to take part in the rowdy block party. A Brazilian in a suit approached them and asked if they would be interested in purchasing a certain illegal substance. The obliging young Aussies took him up on his offer, and not a moment later found themselves pushed into the back of a police car. The policemen read the riot act in Portuguese, and rather than driving to the cop station, drove them to a dark alleyway on the outskirts of town. The trio were strip searched, revealing the contraband, a bankcard and 50 real (about $30AUD) in Roly's y-fronts. "They didn't speak any English, but our Portuguese was improving rapidly", says Roly. "If you ever want to learn a language quickly, put yourself in a position where the language is necessary to keep yourself out of a Brazilian prison! The crooked cops began with an offer of a 1000 real pay-out (roughly $700AUD), or a trip to federal prison. We weren't going to settle so easily, so we started to bargain. After a war of attrition we settled on a bribe of 550 real ($350AUD). It was decided that Frank and the businessman would take a taxi to the ATM to get the cash and I would be held hostage by the police at their station. Frank was driven out to the airport, where he swiped his card at an ATM, and watched in horror as it slipped into a gap in the machine and disappeared from sight, never to be seen again. Our freedom had just fallen through the cracks."
By dawn the police had gotten bored with Roly, and decided to send him on his merry way, with his 50 real, no less, to use as cab fare. Meanwhile, Frank was scouring the city in search of mates from the night before that would consider loaning him ransom money. He eventually gathered the bribe, returned to the police station, paid his dues and reunited with his friend."
4. A few scary stories that happened while vacationing in Thailand.
5. Finally, we have an NBC news report about tourists that were kidnapped in Kenya, back in 2011.
There are countless other horror stories that happen worldwide to travellers. They fortunately only constitute 1%. 99% are usually trouble free.
Is this account biased?
Tell us your horror travel story and/or suggestions by commenting below!
Every travel destination is uniquely different and requires adequate research, analysis and accurate assessments to properly advise against the possible threats and hazards. We welcome inquiries so we can determine your security needs. Your first consultation is always free.We invite you to review our past twitter posts @parsecconsult as well as this blog's entries.
We encourage feedback and questions to our e-mail: parsec.consulting@gmail.com
Our website: http://parsecconsulting.wix.com/parsecconsulting
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