15 May Dangers of Travelling
The Dangers of Travelling
Last year, Britain’s made over 70 Million trips overseas, resulting in UK residents spending over £43 BILLION and taking many an Instagram ‘Selfie’.
Although a large proportion of that whopping 70 Million trips account for business ventures, family holidays and other requirements, a significant and increasingly popular culture of travelling is appearing – Typically with the younger generation.
Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand – even destinations such as Colombia and Burma! These are all places that are being frequently ‘travelled’ by the younger British generation, either with friends or alone. However, some of these destinations are extremely impoverished, leaving crime and corruption to create waves in the infrastructure. It emerged Half of Thai nationals believe their government is corrupt, however other countries such as Australia are generally seen as a safer option for young travellers – except all the incredibly dangerous animals that inhabit it.
Death Island
Koh Tao is one of the many ‘paradise Islands’ that surround Thailand’s shores, visited by countless backpackers for the crystal blue waters and incredible scenery- however a more sinister side of the Island has been revealed.
Koh Tao, nicknamed ‘Death Island’
In 2017, a number of stories hit the News regarding ‘Death Island’. In the last Three years, SIX Britain’s have perished there. The Island gained attention due to the mysterious and unexplained nature of some of the deaths, which due to the popularity of such resorts, caused panic circulating on social media.
However, these devastating details are far from uncommon. Travellers and backpackers are faced with violent crime in many places they venture to. In April two cyclists, a German and a Polish man, went missing in Mexico. Days later, there mutilated bodies were found with multiple bullet wounds and missing limbs at the base of a cliff – murdered for their bikes.
Although, other traveller locations are dangerous in other ways. For example, in Bali, an incredibly popular backpacker destination with stunning scenery, it is illegal to do ANY type of drug, and if caught doing so it is the death penalty, no matter what nationality or severity of the crime – Something that has been controversial and subject to debate amongst other nations.
3 Top warnings from travellers:
I reached out to three experienced travellers to find out the real dangers and experiences that weren’t so pleasant along their journeys. Collectively, there isn’t many places they haven’t been.
Road safety was an issue that all three brought up. George De Mendonca said “I was able to buy a bike, without any documents and ride it across Thailand. I also did the same in Vietnam with no papers. Another factor was dangerous driving. “On a single track pebble mountain road, buses and lorries fly past within inches of you, with no regard for other road users.” He also mentioned that there seems to be a lot of confusion around which side of the road you should drive, along with a lack of other basic road laws. If you get caught by the police, “its general knowledge that a small sum of money will bribe your way out of it”. This leads me to the next issue.
Corruption also ranked high on the top dangers of travelling. Apparently It is common place in these countries to pay off the police. Piers Thomson, a keen surfer who travelled Bali, stated that “sometimes you will see police arresting tourists or backpackers for absolutely no reason, knowing full well it will end with them being paid off.” This casts a lot of doubt on the safety net of laws that these countries portray to their tourists. All of the people ive questioned have returned with similar concerns with regards to corruption, stating that “local gangs will prey on tourists with the knowledge they will not face punishment from law enforcement”.
Unlawful Travellers was quite surprisingly high on the list of issues. Not only do backpackers sometimes face thief’s, muggers or local gangs preying off vulnerable tourists, they also face dangers from other travellers. “Some people don’t go to travel, but rather to get smashed every night and in a foreign country with 0 consequences”. Apparently it is not uncommon to find a group of ‘travellers’ that will go out of their way to cause trouble, often fighting other vulnerable backpackers or terrified locals.
https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/thailand/
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/traveltrends/2016
