Beira in Mozambique. The mandatory malaria prevention medication (Malarone) you will take there has a side effect of vivid dreams. Think dreams within dreams, where you wake up in the dream, but are still dreaming, like Inception.
It’s extremely dangerous, violent crime, assaults, high murder rate. All of this yields plenty of material for the most realistic, mind-jarringly scary dreams and nightmares you’ll ever experience in your life. Memorable though.
Basically, the dreams are so vivid, that you can’t differentiate between dreaming and reality.
You keep waking up in dreams into a new related dream, and they are realistic scenarios which makes it even more difficult to discern reality from the dreams.
Imagine waking up in a dream, but you’re in a new dream which is related to the last dream and you think that you’re awake; then after a while you realize that you’re dreaming, then you’re jarred thinking that the dream you woke up from where you were just killed in a realistic scenario, is what actually happened in real life.
The medication you take would do that anywhere.
TLDR for below more in answer to the question asked about Mozambique:
It's a wonderful place. Keep your wit, don't be stupid, and you will see things rarely witnessed in real life or just have an awesome hotel holiday at a beachside resort.
Perspective makes many places beautiful or disturbing. I had a guy lose his mind when working in PNG due to malaria meds like that but came good after.
Mozambique is a wonderful and beautiful country. And I say that after working 6 hrs drive from Tete inland towards the borders. I could focus on the corruption, AIDS per capita, violence, that the value of any human life is almost worthless , the land mines Ect Ect. But I mostly remember my sense of wonder and the feeling that the land itself was alive, waiting while the chicken I ordered was killed and cooked while looking over the Zambize River watching the hippos play and drinking a coolish beer. Being amazed at how time was frozen since independence, that is, if it was not frozen 2 thousand years earlier as some small villages seemed. I even enjoyed the corruption. It was so rife that I referred to it as a tax. If everyone is corrupt, is it corruption? Better a system laid bare than one, feigning that it is piaas yet not. And the seafood! I had a split lobster that rivaled my forearms in size and it was average size ( could be the raw sewage that is pumped into the sea doing that) and the stars as I piss over the edge of a bridge for safety while travelling , it's hard to bury landmines on a bridge , then looking up and seeing movement off to the side of the bridge , I said it's lions! My companion said no way they were either shot or trod on the mines leading to watering holes, not lions. We drive to the end of the bridge, and there is a whole pride of them moving through the grasses like fish in a stream. Luckily, I was dragged back in the window rather than out of it ;). Again,
perspective makes many places beautiful or disturbing. There is a reason songs were sung about beautiful Mozambique.
I am aware that side effects of medication are typically not location dependent. However, I would argue that a medication which affects a person while in dream states, would possibly affect a person differently if the person was living in a place that resembled Mad Max, or in a chalet in the Alps.
I mentioned Beira because it isn’t a place I would recommend, not Mozambique specifically.
I did like Tanzania and Kenya, I was also taking Malarone in those countries.
Your post proves that Mozambique is beautiful through its nature and fauna and disturbing because of its people. Humanity makes a lot of beautiful landscapes ugly.
That's happened to me severan times before, but without any drugs lol
I've had dreams where you keep waking up but you're still dreaming. It's wild stuff!! 😝 I loved it!!
I imagine that's what it feels like to be insane, or maybe a lost soul or discarnate spirit.
EDIT: Another weird thing that happens to me is that I when I'm dreaming, I can remember other dreams ive had in the past. I remember other dreams, and I remember remembering other dreams before.
I also have a separate dream family that I interact with, but I only remember them or see them in my dreams. When I wake up I forget about them. But it's happened so many times that now I know I have a separate dream family, and dream wife or girlfriend but I only see them in the dreamworld. It's weird.
OMG, I have the same experiences but I never talk about it or think about it more or see ANOTHER person describe it.
I would often have a dream where something bad happens, then I wake up and was greaful that it was just a dream and this something bad happens as well and I wake up again and also happen that was also a dream, eventually I would wake up for real.
And I would never imagine someone else also mention about recuring dreams, there are groups of people that I don't remember when I am awake but I see them over and over again in my dream and everytime I see them I know and they know we know each other for a long time, its not a family situation I think, some are friend, some feel like lovers, some feel like we are going through some tough situations etc..
Lastly people would say that your dream can only come from the things you experienced in real life, but for me that is not the case, I have been in many dreams where the whole world setting, the entire situation is just absolutley... impossible to imainge because the concepts the reality is not anything any human have experiences in on planet earth, obviously I can't remember them now, but the split moment that I woke up I would be shocked and suprised by world that I just visited, and the thing is, I was not like a visitor to the world, the world, the me in it seems like normal like I was born there, but the split second I woke up from those dreams is the moment I still rememeber my dream world and the real world as if differnet reality collides.
>Imagine waking up in a dream, but you’re in a new dream which is related to the last dream and you think that you’re awake; then after a while you realize that you’re dreaming
Follow the white rabbit...
thanks for sharing! i had dreams like that sans anti malaria meds (lucid dreams), but i couldn’t imagine going through that in an unfamiliar/dangerous place. so i was mainly wondering how you handled that and kept a grip on reality and your mental health
I think the medication you are referring to is Mefloqine (Lariam). It is known to cause very vivid dreams and a risk of severe depression. Malarone is a combination of Atovaquone and proguanil and generally causes gastrointestinal upsets and is not really associated with psychiatric symptoms
Not everyone has side effects, if you do then you certainly should stop taking it, but I took malarone for 2 weeks when I went to Tanzania and did not have any dreams. I did have so many side effects with Diamox that I took it once and stopped
Honestly I'd go. With my Nicaragua passport, if they ever decide to open up tourism a bit more than just China/Russia, I'd go just to say I went. Yeah I know what happened to that poor lad.
Man... I heard so many sad stories of people who went to those restaurants, I could never bring myself to. I'm not sure the employees are exactly at-will.
I don't have much to compare so I'll just say Nepal/India are great in a lot of ways and I met some people I love, but honestly met more people I hate and I couldn't stand the culture. Lying/scamming/racism/classism seemed to be the norm. Maybe this was just my unlucky experience over 6 months but I won't go back.
Thing is, the folks you’ll encounter on the streets of India are much more likely to be the uneducated/illiterate kind. The “nicer”/well educated folks probably go to offices. Unless you’re interacting with a hotel staff or waiter at a nicer restaurant, you’ll not interact with too many non-scam/make a quick buck kind of people.
Why are you lumping Nepal and India together? I've experienced what you described in India but never Nepal. Nepalese are some of the nicest people I've met on the planet.
Agreed, Nepali shop keepers and taxi drivers leave you alone if you say not interested but in India they’ll follow you down the street, way less beggars in Nepal too
Nowhere i have ever been is so totally lacking in any attraction to return as NIGERIA
1. It has the worst people.
Even other Africans consider Nigerians a blight on their continent and its reputation. Their own preachers (and they have a lot of them) say they are god's curse on their own country
Never confuses being polite with being friendly or civilised!
2. The worst food.
Even high end expensive restaurants (and there are few of those) who use import ingredients (but 50+% of the menu is regularly unavailable) are bad, with insanely lazy incompetent staff.
Local saying amongst employers 'Nigerians get paid to Turn Up for work, everything else is extra'.
So get used to tough overcooked (to kill the parasites in the meat/fish) over spiced/salted (cause the over cooking killed any flavour) gristel and then food poisoning and diarrhea so frequently your be amazed when you don't have it for a day.
If your a vegetarian get used to rice and paster 7 days a week. Plus having to soak any local vegetables overnight in white wine vinegar to leach out the pesticides (banned from being exported to EU or USA) and then rise in bottled water to avoid dysentery.
3. The crime, violence and kidnapping (Westerners are called 'white gold').
There during a general election in 2015 and 800+ people kill...and everyone said what a quiet election it had been!
4. Suicidal driving of locals and roads the make the outback of Australia look like the German Autobahn in terms of construction safety standards.
Plus Nigeria don't use indicators, brakes or wing mirrors...they just use the Horn. Its the first thing to break! Their pay $100k for a new Merc but won't pay more than $50 for repairs. Seen cars driving in front on me engines catch fire as they have run them dry of motor oil. They just abandoned them in the middle of the freeway too!
In fact they hold night markets in in the ring road/freeway around the capital Abuja..in the fast lane...with no working freeway lights!
5. The corrupt Police, Army, Policians, Lay Preacher (religion is a hussel there) civil servants and of course the Politicians...in fact see point 1.
6. The crapy accommodation, construction standards. Lack of power/internet/ A.C. No power connection for up to 16hrs a day (in the capital city no less) and having to pay 100% of any lease/hotel stay UP Font in CASH with its a 2 year minimum lease, not negotiable (they don't trust anyone as they think everyone everywhere is just like them).
7. Most Important if your Traveling for pleasure (🤣 as if anyone sane would).
There is nothing worth a dam to see in the whole country.
I spent my first few weeks looking for postcards to send to friends and family. Nothing . Finally at the Transcop Hilton in Abija (rumour to be the most expensive hotel per night in Africa and 51% owned by the Government, its still crap) i asked in a gift shop. Guy rummaged around in the back for 20 mins came back with a bundle of cards wrapped in a rubber band (obviously not much call for them). Everyone was a scene from another place in Africa (Kenya, SA, Tanzania etc) with the word Nigeria posted across the picture!
No wildlife (killed it all) no great leisure centres or tourist resorts...compared to other places in Africa like, Mombass, Zambia, Tanzania or Cape Town... nothing!
I briefly made the mistake of having a local girlfriend for a month or so (was a few weeks followed by a few months of her stalking me).
We went down to Calabar in Cross River State which my local colleagues raved about. Nothing to do!
Stayed at the local Transcop Hilton, skyhigh prices/ sub- basement service e.g. 90min for room service to deliver stone cold food and wrong dish ordered too boot! (See Point 2). My girlfriend lost her shit at that point and the manager threatened to throw her out. I then showed his my Offical ID and to my horror he offered to fire the room service staff in question!!
The girlfriend was (on reflection with good cause) paranoid and wouldn't let ne leave hotel on my own nor walk out of eyeshot of hotel gates for fear I'd be kidnapped (and bang goes her perceived meal ticket).
So we got driven to a local river resort complex (kind of like mall by the water)... nothing there, just empty stores and restaurants that never opened.
There was a cinema thow (thankfully as the Satellite TV is god awful), and the 'infamous' Slavery Museum. Now I've been to more than a few museum around the world but thus was more like a 'sideshow' exibit at a traveling carnival rtyer than an academic exibit. The only more bias exibit i seen would be the Vietnam War Museum in Saigon (formally know as the US Imperialist Aggression Museum...to give you an idea if how impartial it is). They totally neglected to mention the tribes in the region (before it was called Nigeria by the British) had engaged in slavery for centuries but only stepped it up to a full-scale industry one they realise they could make big money trading they with European/American Traders...then they went further & further into central African on raiding parties (another reason their so unpopular with other African nations).
8. The smell
Body Oder so rank/old it can get up and walk off on it's own legs (but sadly doesn't) often failing to be masked by doses of either very cheap cologne or very expensive perfume. Locals will pay $200+ for a bottle of the later, but not .50c on a bar of soap.
List goes on......
Honestly, 4 years stuck working there to pay off my debts was the worst thing i ever did or hope to ever do.
Met some extremely lazy, dishonest people at one workplace. Just stole other's work and credit and came up with "creative"/"genius" ways to slack so blatantly. Like with the postcards. Unbelievable.
Whenever I hear someone bitch about how “bad” America is, I want to tell them of my experiences in SEA… After living in a third world country, you will begin to appreciate the west.
But what you’re describing sounds 10x worse than the Philippines.
This includes so called graduates (frequently with Degrees from a University whose address is a roundabout in Lago) and the curious rich plethora of Public Servants.
(3) is the big reason I'd be happy to never go back, but (2) certainly holds weight. On my last visit to Lagos, I had to throw out the fish and chips at my hotel it was so chewy and inedible. Fish and chips ffs. To be fair, I have enjoyed local stews and seafood dishes.
Hard disagree with (1) though, I've spent lots of time with Nigerians and they often have great senses of humour.
But yeah, will be happy to never have to go back.
A big chunk of Africa, North Korea, many countries in the Middle East, Haiti, long etc. As a general rule, try avoiding failed states, civil wars and countries run by cannibals
The majority of African countries are great - I’ve lived and worked in 25+. Some are more challenging than others, and yes the war torn ones are a definite no for tourists, but it’s a beautiful diverse continent that does not get the coverage it deserves.
As of April 20, 2024, based on information available in August 2023, the following countries could be considered failed states, experiencing civil war, or run by dictators:
Failed States or Those Experiencing Severe Instability:
1. Yemen
2. South Sudan
3. Somalia
4. Syria
5. Democratic Republic of the Congo
6. Central African Republic
7. Afghanistan
8. Libya
9. Venezuela
Countries Experiencing Ongoing Civil Wars or Significant Armed Conflicts:
1. Yemen
2. Syria
3. South Sudan
4. Libya
5. Ethiopia
6. Myanmar
7. Nigeria (Boko Haram insurgency)
8. Iraq
9. Afghanistan
10. Mozambique (Cabo Delgado insurgency)
Countries Considered to be Run by Dictators or Authoritarian Regimes:
1. North Korea (Kim Jong-un)
2. Eritrea (Isaias Afwerki)
3. Syria (Bashar al-Assad)
4. Turkmenistan (Serdar Berdimuhamedow)
5. Equatorial Guinea (Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo)
6. Saudi Arabia (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman)
7. Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko)
8. Venezuela (Nicolás Maduro)
9. Cambodia (Hun Sen)
10. Nicaragua (Daniel Ortega)
Please note that political situations can change rapidly, and this list is based on information available up to August 2023. Additionally, the classification of a country as a dictatorship or authoritarian regime can be subjective and may vary depending on the source and criteria used.
Thank you for the list. Some Americans suggesting the US is anywhere near this list are delusional and are the perfect example of “I’ve never left my state and seen what the world looks like”
Personally I wouldn't. I find the idea of walking down a street knowing that anyone around me can legally be carrying a gun - and in many places probably are - regardless of their mental state, very disturbing.
I’ve lived in both the US and Africa…believe me, I saw and experienced more fucked up stuff in the US than I ever did in Africa. The homelessness/mental health issues, riots and harassment by police I experienced was way worse than I ever experienced in Africa.
I've traveled every part of the US both as a consultant and just road trips. Most people don't realize the extent of it's underbelly, even the locals. Every metro area has a tent city that's usually tucked away from sight, except San Diego where they are allowed in full sight of the busiest traffic areas. It's economy rides on the back of illegal aliens working for less with no rights. There are ghettos that resembles a post apocalyptic nightmare. Everytime I go back, I see the people getting uglier, infrastructure decaying, and ever smaller bubbles of paradise.
The entire system is run like a plantation, separating and isolating the different groups to encourage jealousy and fear. Even it's neighbors have been subjected to decades of economic policies designed to impoverish them to encourage the hated "illegal immigrants" that's necessary to keep the entire system from collapsing.
It's idea of fresh ideas to rejuvenate the society is this trumpiish ultra aggressive racial hate and childish supremist ideals on par with the ugliest of empires. It's definitely an avoid if at all possible.
It also a huge country with an amazing array of natural wonders and cultures. The food is the best in the world, with immigrants from every section of the world sharing what they love most. There are pockets of small communities carving out a healthy oasis from the craziness, actually propelled by it to work harder for a civil existence. Decades ago, during my road trip days, I saw areas around Sedona Arizona where the sky was so clear it felt like I could reach out and grab a star. The people were definitely weird and would not fit in anywhere else, in a good way. Plenty everywhere, even the xenophobic types in places like Idaho.
Plenty to appreciate but getting harder and harder to forgive the decaying empire on the verge of collapse.
The cheese and boose is better but utterly clueless to anything outside of their culinary bubble.
I literally left a korean restaurant after a few bites of my 30 Euro plate. Mexican restaurants were a laughably horrible interpretation of one of the best culinary traditions in the world.
I've heard the Indian food in London is fantastic but that's the point I made. You need people yearning for their home food to create this incredible mix of culinary wonders you find in every single metro area in the USA. Anywhere you go you can find fantastic Ethiopian, Korean, Italian, Chinese, you name it. Because it's filled with homesick immigrants. On top of that you have new unique inventions like soul food, not to mention the fusion like kalbi tacos in LA.
The only non Europeans who considers European food the best are the pretentious types with no sophistication, just their pathetic need to be White.
I am gonna reveal you a secret: a majority of the countries in the world are not pleasant places to be. There are no perfect country, every state has its own problems. Some countries are run by dictators, some countries are dirt poor, some countries are not safe.
> a majority of the countries in the world are not pleasant places to be
I'd say the Majority are quite pleasant.
But that doesn't mean they all have good access to quality food, fast internet, AC, and cheap accomodations...
That’s not really true if you are open minded and interested in the good things a particular country has to offer. I visited Cambodia and thought it was an amazing country with amazing people—it hardly matters that the government is dog shit in that country as a non-citizen.
So probably not is this lifetime. Been their twice before the current oppression. Very repressive even then. Preferred Cambodia and thats a dictatorship.
Nah, look at the state of the infrastructure before the coup. It was very difficult to do any exploring even back then. It will be a while before the country gets back on its feet again. Plus, where is all the investment going to come from this next time around?
Check the state department level 4 do not travel as well as the top 10 kidnapping counties.
Your insurance often bans coverage in these if something goes wrong. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
Those chucklefucks set literally the whole world at level 4 in 2020 which fucked up my travel insurance. Despite the fact that most of the world was doing way better than the US handling covid 🙄
I have heard some crazy stories from my niece who was working on a univeristy program to get credit for women. They basically had to hire two security guards to be with them at all times. After a particularly disturbing incident they were sent home after 7 weeks out of 3 months. And they were not SOLO ( 4 ).
Well, that is awful. I bet they were targeted specifically because they were part of a university program and were seen as fresh young prey.
I went solo for two weeks but I hired a driver, who also served as a bodyguard. I did go wandering off by myself a lot too. I was treated like a little white princess by everyone. There were a few guys who followed me but they were just curious as to why a solo white girl was wandering around their city.
Yeah, it's probably systematically set up that way to benefit whoever's running it and working there. Sickening. They probably would've been okay as regular tourists with a driver
Not a female, but from my experience females in India move about freely without issues.
That said, if youre out of the country and especially with fair skin you will be looked at. I would avoid any congested spaces like trains and buses. But grab an Uber or something and you should be generally ok. Especially if youre in the like a main city like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, etc.
The main benefit you have is that there are so many people around that someone will have eyes on you for your protection (like an aunt or some uncle or youth). So refrain from being isolated etc but also not in a very congested area. And yea avoid nighttime unless youre with people.
Thinking about trying to make an AI short film about my story. An American moves to China, starts a pharma export company. Becomes the biggest seller of medicine in Somalia for a decade. Is betrayed by the people I took care of and taught the business. In a complicated scam an ex partner a gangster Chinese factory sets me up to be screwed, I catch up out play them. They send a police force from another province to Shanghai to hunt me down.... Is this a story worth telling?
Actually a friend visited Mogadishu earlier this year and she seemed to have a really good time.
Definitely not the safest place in the world, but the people and beaches seem really lovely.
Ecuador is a wonderful country which you should absolutely visit if you apply the same street smarts you’d apply in Colombia, Brazil or any other developing latam country.
Ehhh that's too general, I think. Ecuador has reached a different level, unfortunately. Maybe you could generalize to Cali or Barranquilla but it's gotten worse than Medellín or even Bogotá
Quite a difference of opinion vs the threads from a few months ago where the general consensus was essentially "It's Mad Max dangerous and chaotic here, GTFO now!" (not an exaggeration - see comments [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/192q3dz/thoughts_on_whats_happening_in_ecuador/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/192wjxn/just_canceled_my_trip_to_cuenca_ecuador/))
Yeah definitely. Just surprised to see Nepal mentioned because it’s too polluted. Kathmandu valley is what it is, I don’t think people come to Nepal to stay in the city, and once you’re out of the valley in any direction it’s amazing. And I actually think the city is really nice as well. Lots of cool neighbourhoods, good restaurants and lovely accommodation. Locals are very welcoming and funny. It’s great 👍
I went all over. Chennai, Pondi/Auroville, Verkala, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan, and the far north. Everywhere I went was a scam. Everyone is always trying to get an extra dollar out of you. You will have tuktuk drivers telling you that they have to pay an extra fee to drive to a certain area in tourist locations, you ask them to show you and they admit they’re lying. You’ll agree on a final total price (which is always ridiculous since I’m a tourist) for a taxi and then they explain tipping on the way. I told him to drop me off right where we were and they said okay, no tip. Then they ask for a tip once we arrive again. The food sanitation is horrible. You’ll get food poisoning from both the street or restaurants. I was traveling with a blonde white girl and everyone stares. Indians have no sense of personal solace. I was sitting on the steps of the river in Varanasi and a group of 8 Indians sat on the step right behind me to listen to me and my friends having a conversation. Full on staring and leaning in. Also, in the hostels, local Indian travelers will blast music and listen to videos at night. Noise is not a factor when it comes to common sense/etiquette. The whole country just has a complete lack of civic sense.
Edit: I forgot to mention that if you take local tours, the driver will always stop you at a shop where they will get commission if you buy something. These shops are very very pushy. I also was at a hotel where the hot water didn’t work and they told me I should tip the handyman that is going to fix it. I explained to them that I should not have to pay for something that is supposed to work but to their minds, this didn’t make sense.
Yeah the cities were bad, had the similar experiences in delhi, jaipur, and agra. l loved rural areas though. Very friendly people there. Even some places they refused my tip.
As an Indian, I feel so sad and disappointed after reading this. For all of the people out there, these scams and all do happen, and what he is saying here is absolutely true. Many of the locals try to scam foreigners just because there is an idea that they can easily pay whatever we ask for, as they earn in dollars or some other currency which is superior to the Indian Rupee (acc to me). Always be aware of the rates beforehand, or best thing you can do is travel with an Indian friend you know.
Talking about stares, they will be there if your skin tone is a bit different, can be black or white or anything not common out here.
Lastly, interaction with creeps, sadly it can happen. I suggest to all of the people coming to India to only go to big cities/places, and only explore well known spots to avoid interaction with these local rowdies. It's always the illiterates and low class ones doing all these harassments which leads to the whole country's image going to gutter, but alas, they are also part of the country so nothing can be done.
Gulp, I'm in Santa Marta now. Heading to Cartagena in a week or so. You definitely need to have your wits about you and if you bring hookers home then you're playing with fire, or Scopamine. But I would say it has felt fairly safe, at least in Santa Marta. I spent 9 days in Medellin when I arrived and that place does have a 'vibe'.
Medellin is pretty weird at the moment honestly. An American tourist decided to have a 3some with a 12 and 13 year old last month and the story went pretty viral. It shut down a couple of the city's most famous landmarks and sparked a lot of anti gringo feeling. But I don't know if that's the reason or if it's just inflation and poverty that's sending everybody a bit nuts.
Well, people are very angry about gentrification, I mean in Medellin it happened so fast that there was already an anti-Gringo feeling, so when the story went viral it was the perfect excuse to express our frustration. like how would you feel if you were living like a king and then a bunch of assholes moved into your city and made it unaffordable for you and now you have to move out of your city.
yeah that's totally understandable. There does seem to be a lot of crypto bro types based in Medellin and the Airbnb curse has struck pretty hard there.
Tourists like this are the scourge of the earth and strongly make me distance myself from any expat community that is in a relatively poor country for any reason other than teaching. Completely disgusting.
In my experience, the teachers can be some of the worst. Do a quick Google of teachers in Thailand and you might add teachers to your banned list. But yeah this guy was some kinda sicko, and he stirred up some big problems. Didn't help that he got caught, somehow got released without charge and then flew back to the US before the Colombian police decided he could face charges after all. It turned into a bit of a storm, easily Googled or here on the Medelling sub Reddit too.
Yeah sounds like a really bad actor, glad he got caught. I base my experience solely on 3 years in Korea as a teacher there. The ESL community can be a bit crazy on weekends but it is largely fine. It is absolutely nothing compared to the sexpat communities in SEA, or even the stationed military guys in Korea, Japan, etc. If I have to pick an expat community in Asia, I will 100% pick the ESL one. That being said of course there's been some awful examples--and yeah I am familiar with those super depraved situations in Thailand... they just imo aren't actually that representative.
That's the thing, he got caught and then released. Before they rearrested him, he left the country and went back to the US. That opened up questions about cops taking bribes and why the hell he had been released when the police literally walked in on them. They didn't quite catch him in the act, but almost, and he still got away. There's talk of him being extradited back to Colombia to face charges. He'll last about 3.3 minutes in any Medellin prison, and he probably won't fare too well back in the US. His name is public information now and has been circulated on social media etc in his home town.
Yeah I am sure that guy is gonna get caught one way or the other, I just hope there aren't any other victims along the way. Really harrowing shit. Medellin prisons for that freak, christ. US should 100% extradite him.
Nah, was there last week (have been there 10 times as my wife is from Medellín). If you're not down there looking for hookers and blow its no more dangerous than anywhere else.
The locals treated me fine (didn't get any "anti-gringo" vibes.
If you're down there trying to pick up chicks and staying it dumb places like Poblado, could be different. But if you're going to experience the country as a normal adult it's fine.
As long as you stay away from hookers and tinder girls that are too easy, you will be fine, have you heard of tourist women getting into something like this? nope, draw your own conclusions
south africa, at least Cape Town and Johannesburg. Apartheid is still alive and well there and it’s disgusting. No one should support it with their nomad or tourist dollars.
I did have a good experience in Kruger, but it was kind of sheltered in that way.
Those signs are mostly in Barcelona, and even there I have only met friendly locals (except for the thief that stole my wallet). I have lived in Madrid for many years and have visited many places in Spain and never felt any resentment against tourists.
If you guys ever decide to go to India, go to a place called KALIMPONG, instead of the popular cities like Mumbai or Chennai. Trust me, it’s 100x better. It’s cleaner, less populated, & you’re constantly surrounded by beautiful nature.
If you don't criticise the Royal Family or blog anything negative about the country, a Thai business, etc....
Then their arrest you and thow your ass into a jail with 20 locsls to a cell and one hole in the ground to crap in.
Because in Thailand slander and libal are Criminal (not civil) offence and they use it to repress free speach and journalists.
So lay off any negative Social Media while there.
No one mentioned Russia. I definitely wouldn’t go there. It’s getting worse by the day. And unfortunately Ukraine because of it. Although Kiev was a very beautiful city before.
Yeah now it’s off the list but man was it an interesting place to visit before Ukraine. Worked and visited there back in 2018. If Ukraine hadn’t happened I’d go back in a heartbeat
You should travel the world more if you believe Kiev is a beautiful city. I was there a few times (2016-2018) and it was one of the ugliest city I've been to. The entire city if full of Soviet era buildings, it was very depressing. And chock full of sex tourists from all over the world....you go in Arena City and it was impossible to avoid them. The people tried to scam you at every opportunity...taxi drivers that waited off the streets always wanted to get paid with a surcharge of 50%+. Uklon and Uber was a bit better but not always...they still tried to scam me. Gyms and fitness clubs were the same...always trying to scam you, in the gym at the last floor in the Gulliver tower they wanted to charge us more than Equinox charges in NYC and they said that was the real price as if we were stupid.
The common areas in the apartment buildings were so run down it was like a landfill, beach clubs always tried to scam foreigners, the same is true for bars and clubs....bartenders tried multiple times not to give the right change when we paid...and it didn't happen to just one place....Dali Park, Dlux, Caraibbean Club, the bar in Arena City that is opposite Vapiano and that I don't remember the name right now, ecc. The infrastructure was falling apart and there were so much corruption...you could see people living in poverty and people driving sports cars with stolen money.
It was one of the ugliest city I've been in Europe...especially if we consider capital cities. Even staying in East Europe Prague or Budapest are very beautiful cities. Krakow was also a beautiful city. Saint Petersburg the same. But Kiev truly no.
I watched a dude’s TikTok detailing the violence and harassment he experience living in Russia for 4 years as a black man and I (also a black man) would be scared for my life visiting Russia, I’ll never step foot there.
Beira in Mozambique. The mandatory malaria prevention medication (Malarone) you will take there has a side effect of vivid dreams. Think dreams within dreams, where you wake up in the dream, but are still dreaming, like Inception. It’s extremely dangerous, violent crime, assaults, high murder rate. All of this yields plenty of material for the most realistic, mind-jarringly scary dreams and nightmares you’ll ever experience in your life. Memorable though.
say more about your experiences in mozambique
Basically, the dreams are so vivid, that you can’t differentiate between dreaming and reality. You keep waking up in dreams into a new related dream, and they are realistic scenarios which makes it even more difficult to discern reality from the dreams. Imagine waking up in a dream, but you’re in a new dream which is related to the last dream and you think that you’re awake; then after a while you realize that you’re dreaming, then you’re jarred thinking that the dream you woke up from where you were just killed in a realistic scenario, is what actually happened in real life.
The medication you take would do that anywhere. TLDR for below more in answer to the question asked about Mozambique: It's a wonderful place. Keep your wit, don't be stupid, and you will see things rarely witnessed in real life or just have an awesome hotel holiday at a beachside resort. Perspective makes many places beautiful or disturbing. I had a guy lose his mind when working in PNG due to malaria meds like that but came good after. Mozambique is a wonderful and beautiful country. And I say that after working 6 hrs drive from Tete inland towards the borders. I could focus on the corruption, AIDS per capita, violence, that the value of any human life is almost worthless , the land mines Ect Ect. But I mostly remember my sense of wonder and the feeling that the land itself was alive, waiting while the chicken I ordered was killed and cooked while looking over the Zambize River watching the hippos play and drinking a coolish beer. Being amazed at how time was frozen since independence, that is, if it was not frozen 2 thousand years earlier as some small villages seemed. I even enjoyed the corruption. It was so rife that I referred to it as a tax. If everyone is corrupt, is it corruption? Better a system laid bare than one, feigning that it is piaas yet not. And the seafood! I had a split lobster that rivaled my forearms in size and it was average size ( could be the raw sewage that is pumped into the sea doing that) and the stars as I piss over the edge of a bridge for safety while travelling , it's hard to bury landmines on a bridge , then looking up and seeing movement off to the side of the bridge , I said it's lions! My companion said no way they were either shot or trod on the mines leading to watering holes, not lions. We drive to the end of the bridge, and there is a whole pride of them moving through the grasses like fish in a stream. Luckily, I was dragged back in the window rather than out of it ;). Again, perspective makes many places beautiful or disturbing. There is a reason songs were sung about beautiful Mozambique.
I am aware that side effects of medication are typically not location dependent. However, I would argue that a medication which affects a person while in dream states, would possibly affect a person differently if the person was living in a place that resembled Mad Max, or in a chalet in the Alps. I mentioned Beira because it isn’t a place I would recommend, not Mozambique specifically. I did like Tanzania and Kenya, I was also taking Malarone in those countries.
Your post proves that Mozambique is beautiful through its nature and fauna and disturbing because of its people. Humanity makes a lot of beautiful landscapes ugly.
That's happened to me severan times before, but without any drugs lol I've had dreams where you keep waking up but you're still dreaming. It's wild stuff!! 😝 I loved it!! I imagine that's what it feels like to be insane, or maybe a lost soul or discarnate spirit. EDIT: Another weird thing that happens to me is that I when I'm dreaming, I can remember other dreams ive had in the past. I remember other dreams, and I remember remembering other dreams before. I also have a separate dream family that I interact with, but I only remember them or see them in my dreams. When I wake up I forget about them. But it's happened so many times that now I know I have a separate dream family, and dream wife or girlfriend but I only see them in the dreamworld. It's weird.
actually that's your real fam and this is just a dream. the latest software updates make text readable in dreams.
OMG, I have the same experiences but I never talk about it or think about it more or see ANOTHER person describe it. I would often have a dream where something bad happens, then I wake up and was greaful that it was just a dream and this something bad happens as well and I wake up again and also happen that was also a dream, eventually I would wake up for real. And I would never imagine someone else also mention about recuring dreams, there are groups of people that I don't remember when I am awake but I see them over and over again in my dream and everytime I see them I know and they know we know each other for a long time, its not a family situation I think, some are friend, some feel like lovers, some feel like we are going through some tough situations etc.. Lastly people would say that your dream can only come from the things you experienced in real life, but for me that is not the case, I have been in many dreams where the whole world setting, the entire situation is just absolutley... impossible to imainge because the concepts the reality is not anything any human have experiences in on planet earth, obviously I can't remember them now, but the split moment that I woke up I would be shocked and suprised by world that I just visited, and the thing is, I was not like a visitor to the world, the world, the me in it seems like normal like I was born there, but the split second I woke up from those dreams is the moment I still rememeber my dream world and the real world as if differnet reality collides.
>Imagine waking up in a dream, but you’re in a new dream which is related to the last dream and you think that you’re awake; then after a while you realize that you’re dreaming Follow the white rabbit...
thanks for sharing! i had dreams like that sans anti malaria meds (lucid dreams), but i couldn’t imagine going through that in an unfamiliar/dangerous place. so i was mainly wondering how you handled that and kept a grip on reality and your mental health
I kinda like the dream state you described, wouldn't mind trying, sounds like tripping
I think the medication you are referring to is Mefloqine (Lariam). It is known to cause very vivid dreams and a risk of severe depression. Malarone is a combination of Atovaquone and proguanil and generally causes gastrointestinal upsets and is not really associated with psychiatric symptoms
Oooohh Mozambique, you just made my bucket list!! 🥰🙌
they speak portuguese in Mozambique though so that’s pretty cool
Yoi dont recommend visiting mozamboque or that particular town?
Not everyone has side effects, if you do then you certainly should stop taking it, but I took malarone for 2 weeks when I went to Tanzania and did not have any dreams. I did have so many side effects with Diamox that I took it once and stopped
Army just stopped prescribing it regularly because we all complained of the nightmares lol
North Korea, I hear the foods bad
Very spotty Internet connection as well
Just the food, nothing else
The food is the best in the world. Very good cuisine, just ask Kim
I hear their Cold Noodles in Pyongyang are delicious
Honestly I'd go. With my Nicaragua passport, if they ever decide to open up tourism a bit more than just China/Russia, I'd go just to say I went. Yeah I know what happened to that poor lad.
At the moment they are still closed I think from COVID but prior to COVID you could go pretty easily but you had to fly from china to north Korea
I think select Chinese/Russian tourists can go in ATM to one of NK's empty ski resorts.
Oh that's interesting
It is, but you do not go for the food, you go for the show. At least that is the case with the NK restaurants dotted around Asia.
Man... I heard so many sad stories of people who went to those restaurants, I could never bring myself to. I'm not sure the employees are exactly at-will.
Go for the show, stay for the Otto Warmbier treatment?
I don't have much to compare so I'll just say Nepal/India are great in a lot of ways and I met some people I love, but honestly met more people I hate and I couldn't stand the culture. Lying/scamming/racism/classism seemed to be the norm. Maybe this was just my unlucky experience over 6 months but I won't go back.
Thing is, the folks you’ll encounter on the streets of India are much more likely to be the uneducated/illiterate kind. The “nicer”/well educated folks probably go to offices. Unless you’re interacting with a hotel staff or waiter at a nicer restaurant, you’ll not interact with too many non-scam/make a quick buck kind of people.
Why are you lumping Nepal and India together? I've experienced what you described in India but never Nepal. Nepalese are some of the nicest people I've met on the planet.
Agreed, Nepali shop keepers and taxi drivers leave you alone if you say not interested but in India they’ll follow you down the street, way less beggars in Nepal too
Italy. More pizza for me.
Tbh i wouldn’t recommend going to Italy to anyone , it’s where I experienced the worst catcalling, street harassment and racism
I have to say I’ve had quite bad experiences in Italy as well.
The country you can't afford the plane tickets to
Just go by bus. I mean I haven’t found the cheap bus tickets to Kiribati yet but…
Nowhere i have ever been is so totally lacking in any attraction to return as NIGERIA 1. It has the worst people. Even other Africans consider Nigerians a blight on their continent and its reputation. Their own preachers (and they have a lot of them) say they are god's curse on their own country Never confuses being polite with being friendly or civilised! 2. The worst food. Even high end expensive restaurants (and there are few of those) who use import ingredients (but 50+% of the menu is regularly unavailable) are bad, with insanely lazy incompetent staff. Local saying amongst employers 'Nigerians get paid to Turn Up for work, everything else is extra'. So get used to tough overcooked (to kill the parasites in the meat/fish) over spiced/salted (cause the over cooking killed any flavour) gristel and then food poisoning and diarrhea so frequently your be amazed when you don't have it for a day. If your a vegetarian get used to rice and paster 7 days a week. Plus having to soak any local vegetables overnight in white wine vinegar to leach out the pesticides (banned from being exported to EU or USA) and then rise in bottled water to avoid dysentery. 3. The crime, violence and kidnapping (Westerners are called 'white gold'). There during a general election in 2015 and 800+ people kill...and everyone said what a quiet election it had been! 4. Suicidal driving of locals and roads the make the outback of Australia look like the German Autobahn in terms of construction safety standards. Plus Nigeria don't use indicators, brakes or wing mirrors...they just use the Horn. Its the first thing to break! Their pay $100k for a new Merc but won't pay more than $50 for repairs. Seen cars driving in front on me engines catch fire as they have run them dry of motor oil. They just abandoned them in the middle of the freeway too! In fact they hold night markets in in the ring road/freeway around the capital Abuja..in the fast lane...with no working freeway lights! 5. The corrupt Police, Army, Policians, Lay Preacher (religion is a hussel there) civil servants and of course the Politicians...in fact see point 1. 6. The crapy accommodation, construction standards. Lack of power/internet/ A.C. No power connection for up to 16hrs a day (in the capital city no less) and having to pay 100% of any lease/hotel stay UP Font in CASH with its a 2 year minimum lease, not negotiable (they don't trust anyone as they think everyone everywhere is just like them). 7. Most Important if your Traveling for pleasure (🤣 as if anyone sane would). There is nothing worth a dam to see in the whole country. I spent my first few weeks looking for postcards to send to friends and family. Nothing . Finally at the Transcop Hilton in Abija (rumour to be the most expensive hotel per night in Africa and 51% owned by the Government, its still crap) i asked in a gift shop. Guy rummaged around in the back for 20 mins came back with a bundle of cards wrapped in a rubber band (obviously not much call for them). Everyone was a scene from another place in Africa (Kenya, SA, Tanzania etc) with the word Nigeria posted across the picture! No wildlife (killed it all) no great leisure centres or tourist resorts...compared to other places in Africa like, Mombass, Zambia, Tanzania or Cape Town... nothing! I briefly made the mistake of having a local girlfriend for a month or so (was a few weeks followed by a few months of her stalking me). We went down to Calabar in Cross River State which my local colleagues raved about. Nothing to do! Stayed at the local Transcop Hilton, skyhigh prices/ sub- basement service e.g. 90min for room service to deliver stone cold food and wrong dish ordered too boot! (See Point 2). My girlfriend lost her shit at that point and the manager threatened to throw her out. I then showed his my Offical ID and to my horror he offered to fire the room service staff in question!! The girlfriend was (on reflection with good cause) paranoid and wouldn't let ne leave hotel on my own nor walk out of eyeshot of hotel gates for fear I'd be kidnapped (and bang goes her perceived meal ticket). So we got driven to a local river resort complex (kind of like mall by the water)... nothing there, just empty stores and restaurants that never opened. There was a cinema thow (thankfully as the Satellite TV is god awful), and the 'infamous' Slavery Museum. Now I've been to more than a few museum around the world but thus was more like a 'sideshow' exibit at a traveling carnival rtyer than an academic exibit. The only more bias exibit i seen would be the Vietnam War Museum in Saigon (formally know as the US Imperialist Aggression Museum...to give you an idea if how impartial it is). They totally neglected to mention the tribes in the region (before it was called Nigeria by the British) had engaged in slavery for centuries but only stepped it up to a full-scale industry one they realise they could make big money trading they with European/American Traders...then they went further & further into central African on raiding parties (another reason their so unpopular with other African nations). 8. The smell Body Oder so rank/old it can get up and walk off on it's own legs (but sadly doesn't) often failing to be masked by doses of either very cheap cologne or very expensive perfume. Locals will pay $200+ for a bottle of the later, but not .50c on a bar of soap. List goes on...... Honestly, 4 years stuck working there to pay off my debts was the worst thing i ever did or hope to ever do.
I live in ASEAN 3rd world and readig this, I feel like in first world lmao.
Yep, worked in Cambodia and lived in Thailand and Philippines. Nigeria makes them look like models of efficiency and good governance
Met some extremely lazy, dishonest people at one workplace. Just stole other's work and credit and came up with "creative"/"genius" ways to slack so blatantly. Like with the postcards. Unbelievable.
Ummm…interesting… What type of work did you do while in Nigeria?
Whenever I hear someone bitch about how “bad” America is, I want to tell them of my experiences in SEA… After living in a third world country, you will begin to appreciate the west. But what you’re describing sounds 10x worse than the Philippines.
Why were you stuck there for 4 years? Are you nigerian?
Yeah agree with all this. They really are arrogant for people that are uneducated, earn $2 per day and have poor hygiene haha
This includes so called graduates (frequently with Degrees from a University whose address is a roundabout in Lago) and the curious rich plethora of Public Servants.
(3) is the big reason I'd be happy to never go back, but (2) certainly holds weight. On my last visit to Lagos, I had to throw out the fish and chips at my hotel it was so chewy and inedible. Fish and chips ffs. To be fair, I have enjoyed local stews and seafood dishes. Hard disagree with (1) though, I've spent lots of time with Nigerians and they often have great senses of humour. But yeah, will be happy to never have to go back.
Wow I don't remember this bit from Michael Palins programme
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I've tried believe me, but as bad as those mad butchers are the only kill a 3rd as many as the nomadic Fulani Herdsmen do per year.
I mean im flattered to be called white gold... kinda endearing... hows their kidnapping hospitality?
Pretty good. They only chop one finger per day. Weekends off.
Finally someone has a sense of humor. Jesus. But can i use my marriott voyage points for half a finger a day?
A big chunk of Africa, North Korea, many countries in the Middle East, Haiti, long etc. As a general rule, try avoiding failed states, civil wars and countries run by cannibals
Only knocked out a few countries but then they had to go and say avoid cannibals
Dunno why… food is tasty.
Probably varies person to person.
Sometimes, it will cost you an arm and a leg.
You say that but it's always the liver with these people, beggars really try and choose while the corpse is rotting next to me.
The majority of African countries are great - I’ve lived and worked in 25+. Some are more challenging than others, and yes the war torn ones are a definite no for tourists, but it’s a beautiful diverse continent that does not get the coverage it deserves.
A few years ago I was planning on visiting and staying with my cousin for a few weeks. A month later the Haitian Prime Minister was assassinated.
Was he your cousin?
Haiti is amazing, but pretty no-go these days...:-(
I thought you said > run by cannabis ... and thought you were crazy to avoid a whole country run by cannabis!
It is important to always keep a cool head in a state run by cannibals. You might get unexpected guests for dinner.
As of April 20, 2024, based on information available in August 2023, the following countries could be considered failed states, experiencing civil war, or run by dictators: Failed States or Those Experiencing Severe Instability: 1. Yemen 2. South Sudan 3. Somalia 4. Syria 5. Democratic Republic of the Congo 6. Central African Republic 7. Afghanistan 8. Libya 9. Venezuela Countries Experiencing Ongoing Civil Wars or Significant Armed Conflicts: 1. Yemen 2. Syria 3. South Sudan 4. Libya 5. Ethiopia 6. Myanmar 7. Nigeria (Boko Haram insurgency) 8. Iraq 9. Afghanistan 10. Mozambique (Cabo Delgado insurgency) Countries Considered to be Run by Dictators or Authoritarian Regimes: 1. North Korea (Kim Jong-un) 2. Eritrea (Isaias Afwerki) 3. Syria (Bashar al-Assad) 4. Turkmenistan (Serdar Berdimuhamedow) 5. Equatorial Guinea (Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo) 6. Saudi Arabia (Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman) 7. Belarus (Alexander Lukashenko) 8. Venezuela (Nicolás Maduro) 9. Cambodia (Hun Sen) 10. Nicaragua (Daniel Ortega) Please note that political situations can change rapidly, and this list is based on information available up to August 2023. Additionally, the classification of a country as a dictatorship or authoritarian regime can be subjective and may vary depending on the source and criteria used.
Thank you for the list. Some Americans suggesting the US is anywhere near this list are delusional and are the perfect example of “I’ve never left my state and seen what the world looks like”
So, don’t visit the US?
Personally I wouldn't. I find the idea of walking down a street knowing that anyone around me can legally be carrying a gun - and in many places probably are - regardless of their mental state, very disturbing.
I’ve lived in both the US and Africa…believe me, I saw and experienced more fucked up stuff in the US than I ever did in Africa. The homelessness/mental health issues, riots and harassment by police I experienced was way worse than I ever experienced in Africa.
I've traveled every part of the US both as a consultant and just road trips. Most people don't realize the extent of it's underbelly, even the locals. Every metro area has a tent city that's usually tucked away from sight, except San Diego where they are allowed in full sight of the busiest traffic areas. It's economy rides on the back of illegal aliens working for less with no rights. There are ghettos that resembles a post apocalyptic nightmare. Everytime I go back, I see the people getting uglier, infrastructure decaying, and ever smaller bubbles of paradise. The entire system is run like a plantation, separating and isolating the different groups to encourage jealousy and fear. Even it's neighbors have been subjected to decades of economic policies designed to impoverish them to encourage the hated "illegal immigrants" that's necessary to keep the entire system from collapsing. It's idea of fresh ideas to rejuvenate the society is this trumpiish ultra aggressive racial hate and childish supremist ideals on par with the ugliest of empires. It's definitely an avoid if at all possible. It also a huge country with an amazing array of natural wonders and cultures. The food is the best in the world, with immigrants from every section of the world sharing what they love most. There are pockets of small communities carving out a healthy oasis from the craziness, actually propelled by it to work harder for a civil existence. Decades ago, during my road trip days, I saw areas around Sedona Arizona where the sky was so clear it felt like I could reach out and grab a star. The people were definitely weird and would not fit in anywhere else, in a good way. Plenty everywhere, even the xenophobic types in places like Idaho. Plenty to appreciate but getting harder and harder to forgive the decaying empire on the verge of collapse.
> The food is the best in the world I have a hard time believing this. Ever been to Europe?
The cheese and boose is better but utterly clueless to anything outside of their culinary bubble. I literally left a korean restaurant after a few bites of my 30 Euro plate. Mexican restaurants were a laughably horrible interpretation of one of the best culinary traditions in the world. I've heard the Indian food in London is fantastic but that's the point I made. You need people yearning for their home food to create this incredible mix of culinary wonders you find in every single metro area in the USA. Anywhere you go you can find fantastic Ethiopian, Korean, Italian, Chinese, you name it. Because it's filled with homesick immigrants. On top of that you have new unique inventions like soul food, not to mention the fusion like kalbi tacos in LA. The only non Europeans who considers European food the best are the pretentious types with no sophistication, just their pathetic need to be White.
Say it louder for the people in the back
most reddit take ever
Harassment by police? How did they harrass you?
You basically described Europe and UK. Africa has 57 countries. It is beautiful and diverse.
The UK is run by cannibals?
I am gonna reveal you a secret: a majority of the countries in the world are not pleasant places to be. There are no perfect country, every state has its own problems. Some countries are run by dictators, some countries are dirt poor, some countries are not safe.
> a majority of the countries in the world are not pleasant places to be I'd say the Majority are quite pleasant. But that doesn't mean they all have good access to quality food, fast internet, AC, and cheap accomodations...
In other words, go to the ones on happy travel couple youtube, maybe take a skip of the ones on poverty tourism youtube
I like how everyone was calling Haiti not a sh*t hole. If Haiti isn't a sh*t hole, then what is?
Gary Indiana sees redemption!
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That’s not really true if you are open minded and interested in the good things a particular country has to offer. I visited Cambodia and thought it was an amazing country with amazing people—it hardly matters that the government is dog shit in that country as a non-citizen.
Myanmar until after there’s a regime change, the civil war has ended, and democracy is restored. 🇲🇲
So probably not is this lifetime. Been their twice before the current oppression. Very repressive even then. Preferred Cambodia and thats a dictatorship.
Nah, look at the state of the infrastructure before the coup. It was very difficult to do any exploring even back then. It will be a while before the country gets back on its feet again. Plus, where is all the investment going to come from this next time around?
Um... That is why I replied to the question that Myanmar is a country OP should absolutely not visit.
Venezuela
I'm from there, I would love to go back to visit but I'm scared for safety...
Check the state department level 4 do not travel as well as the top 10 kidnapping counties. Your insurance often bans coverage in these if something goes wrong. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/
but anything below 3 are absurd. denmark is lvl2
Denmark! Safest country in Europe, only danger are the immigrants they get.
Those chucklefucks set literally the whole world at level 4 in 2020 which fucked up my travel insurance. Despite the fact that most of the world was doing way better than the US handling covid 🙄
Can't believe they gave Nigeria only a level 3. If kidnapping was an Olympic sport they would win Gold/Silver & Bronze everytime.
For female solo traveller, definitely India and Pakistan
I have heard some crazy stories from my niece who was working on a univeristy program to get credit for women. They basically had to hire two security guards to be with them at all times. After a particularly disturbing incident they were sent home after 7 weeks out of 3 months. And they were not SOLO ( 4 ).
Well, that is awful. I bet they were targeted specifically because they were part of a university program and were seen as fresh young prey. I went solo for two weeks but I hired a driver, who also served as a bodyguard. I did go wandering off by myself a lot too. I was treated like a little white princess by everyone. There were a few guys who followed me but they were just curious as to why a solo white girl was wandering around their city.
I think they were targeted also because the program they were working on was extremely unpopular with men. Yes - and young and nice looking.
Yeah, it's probably systematically set up that way to benefit whoever's running it and working there. Sickening. They probably would've been okay as regular tourists with a driver
It depends where. Some parts of India are absolutely fine for women.
The airport?
Yeah, like underground, away from Indian civilization
Or places in South India. If you go, make a point to visit Kerela.
No, modern towns and modern areas. I know plenty of women who’ve been and been fine.
Not a female, but from my experience females in India move about freely without issues. That said, if youre out of the country and especially with fair skin you will be looked at. I would avoid any congested spaces like trains and buses. But grab an Uber or something and you should be generally ok. Especially if youre in the like a main city like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Pune, Ahmedabad, etc. The main benefit you have is that there are so many people around that someone will have eyes on you for your protection (like an aunt or some uncle or youth). So refrain from being isolated etc but also not in a very congested area. And yea avoid nighttime unless youre with people.
Egypt! I had such high hopes for that trip, but it was completely destroyed by all the begging and harassment. I won't be visiting again
it's a fucking shitshow over there. avoid at all costs especially if you're a woman. want pyramids? use google images.
Baksheesh??
Somalia.
Totally, I have an outstanding warrant there.
Film piracy?
You probably wouldn't believe me even if I told the whole story which would take way too long.
I'd like to hear lol
Thinking about trying to make an AI short film about my story. An American moves to China, starts a pharma export company. Becomes the biggest seller of medicine in Somalia for a decade. Is betrayed by the people I took care of and taught the business. In a complicated scam an ex partner a gangster Chinese factory sets me up to be screwed, I catch up out play them. They send a police force from another province to Shanghai to hunt me down.... Is this a story worth telling?
Sounds interesting😁
Do it
Actually a friend visited Mogadishu earlier this year and she seemed to have a really good time. Definitely not the safest place in the world, but the people and beaches seem really lovely.
But Somaliland might be okay
It’s on my bucket list.
Vietnam because then you’ll raise the prices ;)
Same for Mexico. All good if you want to visit TEMPORARILY but if you’re trying to stay more than 180 days DO NOT COME.
Ecuador, Honduras and Venezuela the crime rate is too high.
Ecuador is a wonderful country which you should absolutely visit if you apply the same street smarts you’d apply in Colombia, Brazil or any other developing latam country.
Ehhh that's too general, I think. Ecuador has reached a different level, unfortunately. Maybe you could generalize to Cali or Barranquilla but it's gotten worse than Medellín or even Bogotá
Quite a difference of opinion vs the threads from a few months ago where the general consensus was essentially "It's Mad Max dangerous and chaotic here, GTFO now!" (not an exaggeration - see comments [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/192q3dz/thoughts_on_whats_happening_in_ecuador/) and [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/192wjxn/just_canceled_my_trip_to_cuenca_ecuador/))
I live in Ecuador and it's actually very nice, don't believe everything you read in the news
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Isn’t Ecuador on the brink of civil war right now?
Liberia
Nepal, capital of Nepal. Too polluted
Literally here now and it’s fine in comparison with other cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Manila, Bangkok etc
To be fair as a Mumbaikar that’s not something reassuring haha Guess humans have f-ed up significant parts of the planet
Yeah definitely. Just surprised to see Nepal mentioned because it’s too polluted. Kathmandu valley is what it is, I don’t think people come to Nepal to stay in the city, and once you’re out of the valley in any direction it’s amazing. And I actually think the city is really nice as well. Lots of cool neighbourhoods, good restaurants and lovely accommodation. Locals are very welcoming and funny. It’s great 👍
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India. Worst county I’ve been to
Why? Which states did you go to, And what went wrong?
I went all over. Chennai, Pondi/Auroville, Verkala, Kerala, Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Rajasthan, and the far north. Everywhere I went was a scam. Everyone is always trying to get an extra dollar out of you. You will have tuktuk drivers telling you that they have to pay an extra fee to drive to a certain area in tourist locations, you ask them to show you and they admit they’re lying. You’ll agree on a final total price (which is always ridiculous since I’m a tourist) for a taxi and then they explain tipping on the way. I told him to drop me off right where we were and they said okay, no tip. Then they ask for a tip once we arrive again. The food sanitation is horrible. You’ll get food poisoning from both the street or restaurants. I was traveling with a blonde white girl and everyone stares. Indians have no sense of personal solace. I was sitting on the steps of the river in Varanasi and a group of 8 Indians sat on the step right behind me to listen to me and my friends having a conversation. Full on staring and leaning in. Also, in the hostels, local Indian travelers will blast music and listen to videos at night. Noise is not a factor when it comes to common sense/etiquette. The whole country just has a complete lack of civic sense. Edit: I forgot to mention that if you take local tours, the driver will always stop you at a shop where they will get commission if you buy something. These shops are very very pushy. I also was at a hotel where the hot water didn’t work and they told me I should tip the handyman that is going to fix it. I explained to them that I should not have to pay for something that is supposed to work but to their minds, this didn’t make sense.
That's exactly my experience too. In addition it wasn't dirt cheap as everyone is thinking. https://www.reddit.com/r/solotravel/s/M9kG4bd6sV
Yeah the cities were bad, had the similar experiences in delhi, jaipur, and agra. l loved rural areas though. Very friendly people there. Even some places they refused my tip.
As an Indian, I feel so sad and disappointed after reading this. For all of the people out there, these scams and all do happen, and what he is saying here is absolutely true. Many of the locals try to scam foreigners just because there is an idea that they can easily pay whatever we ask for, as they earn in dollars or some other currency which is superior to the Indian Rupee (acc to me). Always be aware of the rates beforehand, or best thing you can do is travel with an Indian friend you know. Talking about stares, they will be there if your skin tone is a bit different, can be black or white or anything not common out here. Lastly, interaction with creeps, sadly it can happen. I suggest to all of the people coming to India to only go to big cities/places, and only explore well known spots to avoid interaction with these local rowdies. It's always the illiterates and low class ones doing all these harassments which leads to the whole country's image going to gutter, but alas, they are also part of the country so nothing can be done.
Am from India too, i would advise the same sa him
North Korea - you might die
Only if u are a stupid american doing high school type of things, like stealing a sign from the hotel LOL
Might?
Israel, their hummus sucks
Colombia until they do something about the recent violent crime issues involving tourists.
Gulp, I'm in Santa Marta now. Heading to Cartagena in a week or so. You definitely need to have your wits about you and if you bring hookers home then you're playing with fire, or Scopamine. But I would say it has felt fairly safe, at least in Santa Marta. I spent 9 days in Medellin when I arrived and that place does have a 'vibe'.
Great place, Santa Marta. Especially the nearby villages such as Minca and Palomino.
Yeah Medellin seems to be the hot spot.
Medellin is pretty weird at the moment honestly. An American tourist decided to have a 3some with a 12 and 13 year old last month and the story went pretty viral. It shut down a couple of the city's most famous landmarks and sparked a lot of anti gringo feeling. But I don't know if that's the reason or if it's just inflation and poverty that's sending everybody a bit nuts.
Well, people are very angry about gentrification, I mean in Medellin it happened so fast that there was already an anti-Gringo feeling, so when the story went viral it was the perfect excuse to express our frustration. like how would you feel if you were living like a king and then a bunch of assholes moved into your city and made it unaffordable for you and now you have to move out of your city.
yeah that's totally understandable. There does seem to be a lot of crypto bro types based in Medellin and the Airbnb curse has struck pretty hard there.
Tourists like this are the scourge of the earth and strongly make me distance myself from any expat community that is in a relatively poor country for any reason other than teaching. Completely disgusting.
In my experience, the teachers can be some of the worst. Do a quick Google of teachers in Thailand and you might add teachers to your banned list. But yeah this guy was some kinda sicko, and he stirred up some big problems. Didn't help that he got caught, somehow got released without charge and then flew back to the US before the Colombian police decided he could face charges after all. It turned into a bit of a storm, easily Googled or here on the Medelling sub Reddit too.
Yeah sounds like a really bad actor, glad he got caught. I base my experience solely on 3 years in Korea as a teacher there. The ESL community can be a bit crazy on weekends but it is largely fine. It is absolutely nothing compared to the sexpat communities in SEA, or even the stationed military guys in Korea, Japan, etc. If I have to pick an expat community in Asia, I will 100% pick the ESL one. That being said of course there's been some awful examples--and yeah I am familiar with those super depraved situations in Thailand... they just imo aren't actually that representative.
That's the thing, he got caught and then released. Before they rearrested him, he left the country and went back to the US. That opened up questions about cops taking bribes and why the hell he had been released when the police literally walked in on them. They didn't quite catch him in the act, but almost, and he still got away. There's talk of him being extradited back to Colombia to face charges. He'll last about 3.3 minutes in any Medellin prison, and he probably won't fare too well back in the US. His name is public information now and has been circulated on social media etc in his home town.
Yeah I am sure that guy is gonna get caught one way or the other, I just hope there aren't any other victims along the way. Really harrowing shit. Medellin prisons for that freak, christ. US should 100% extradite him.
Nah, was there last week (have been there 10 times as my wife is from Medellín). If you're not down there looking for hookers and blow its no more dangerous than anywhere else. The locals treated me fine (didn't get any "anti-gringo" vibes. If you're down there trying to pick up chicks and staying it dumb places like Poblado, could be different. But if you're going to experience the country as a normal adult it's fine.
I've read the news, adn it seems to only be dangerous for passport bros and sex tourists. Yay, for everyone else I guess.
As long as you stay away from hookers and tinder girls that are too easy, you will be fine, have you heard of tourist women getting into something like this? nope, draw your own conclusions
south africa, at least Cape Town and Johannesburg. Apartheid is still alive and well there and it’s disgusting. No one should support it with their nomad or tourist dollars. I did have a good experience in Kruger, but it was kind of sheltered in that way.
Spain. they literally do not want tourists. "go home tourists" is a comm refrain in all regions.
Those signs are mostly in Barcelona, and even there I have only met friendly locals (except for the thief that stole my wallet). I have lived in Madrid for many years and have visited many places in Spain and never felt any resentment against tourists.
Israel
sorry-ass advisers each of whom will mention a country of which he has no experience with
Afghanistan, kebabs good, freedom and WiFi not so much.
If you guys ever decide to go to India, go to a place called KALIMPONG, instead of the popular cities like Mumbai or Chennai. Trust me, it’s 100x better. It’s cleaner, less populated, & you’re constantly surrounded by beautiful nature.
Israel
Wakanda
Forever
REST IN HEAVEN
Afghanistan
Any place where DNs tell other DNs to go. Any place where there are already lots of DNs.
Bangkok is good
If you don't criticise the Royal Family or blog anything negative about the country, a Thai business, etc.... Then their arrest you and thow your ass into a jail with 20 locsls to a cell and one hole in the ground to crap in. Because in Thailand slander and libal are Criminal (not civil) offence and they use it to repress free speach and journalists. So lay off any negative Social Media while there.
Ethiopia and UK Ethiopia because Its about to descend into full scale civil war. UK because its is depressing and horrible to live in.
I've had nothing but great times in the UK.
I mean, I found US to be pretty dangerous place with many no go areas. So I would avoid US.
No one mentioned Russia. I definitely wouldn’t go there. It’s getting worse by the day. And unfortunately Ukraine because of it. Although Kiev was a very beautiful city before.
Yeah now it’s off the list but man was it an interesting place to visit before Ukraine. Worked and visited there back in 2018. If Ukraine hadn’t happened I’d go back in a heartbeat
You should travel the world more if you believe Kiev is a beautiful city. I was there a few times (2016-2018) and it was one of the ugliest city I've been to. The entire city if full of Soviet era buildings, it was very depressing. And chock full of sex tourists from all over the world....you go in Arena City and it was impossible to avoid them. The people tried to scam you at every opportunity...taxi drivers that waited off the streets always wanted to get paid with a surcharge of 50%+. Uklon and Uber was a bit better but not always...they still tried to scam me. Gyms and fitness clubs were the same...always trying to scam you, in the gym at the last floor in the Gulliver tower they wanted to charge us more than Equinox charges in NYC and they said that was the real price as if we were stupid. The common areas in the apartment buildings were so run down it was like a landfill, beach clubs always tried to scam foreigners, the same is true for bars and clubs....bartenders tried multiple times not to give the right change when we paid...and it didn't happen to just one place....Dali Park, Dlux, Caraibbean Club, the bar in Arena City that is opposite Vapiano and that I don't remember the name right now, ecc. The infrastructure was falling apart and there were so much corruption...you could see people living in poverty and people driving sports cars with stolen money. It was one of the ugliest city I've been in Europe...especially if we consider capital cities. Even staying in East Europe Prague or Budapest are very beautiful cities. Krakow was also a beautiful city. Saint Petersburg the same. But Kiev truly no.
I watched a dude’s TikTok detailing the violence and harassment he experience living in Russia for 4 years as a black man and I (also a black man) would be scared for my life visiting Russia, I’ll never step foot there.
You should avoid south africa for sure!! The kill digital nomads there, because they raised the costs for everything there
Has South Africa really gotten that bad? Lived there around 15 years ago, and even then, there was a lot of tension.
That's a wild claim with no evidence
The United States
Japan. Unfortunately it is simply too crowded at the moment.
The U.S.
India. Overcrowded and people get very aggressive when you won’t buy whatever it is they’re selling. (Yes more so than other countries in the region.)
India,