Which countries have you visited?
- Thread starter nanoboy
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Zooplantman
Well-Known Member
I believe the Internet term is 'quoted for truth'. I agree with Shirokuma!
But yes, so long as what we're listing are actual places, it doesn't really matter!
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
That sounds like a story worth telling! Do share?
In between listing countries, I would be happy to hear from folks any crazy/scary/memorable travel stories that do not involve getting laid.
For example, I was in a small city in Venezuela, walking around like a tourist, checking out the sites, blissfully unaware. Then out of nowhere I see a mob of young men running towards me (about 200m away), only to be intercepted by a group of riot police who fired shots at them. I ran in the other direction, and started to cough, sputter, dribble snot and tears everywhere. The shots were actually cannisters of tear gas.
Scary stuff. Anyway, I made it back to the hotel safely - it turned out that it was the standard university protests, and were quite normal in the area. 
For example, I was in a small city in Venezuela, walking around like a tourist, checking out the sites, blissfully unaware. Then out of nowhere I see a mob of young men running towards me (about 200m away), only to be intercepted by a group of riot police who fired shots at them. I ran in the other direction, and started to cough, sputter, dribble snot and tears everywhere. The shots were actually cannisters of tear gas.
When I was in Nepal in 2001 we spent most of the trip in 'safe' areas - big city Kathmandu or very very rural Kanchenjunga Conservation Area. One night on the return journey we camped at Taplejung, which at the time was a ripe target for Maoist rebels. The Sherpas we were with put up a large sign saying 'ENGLISH TOURISTS' so we wouldn't be attacked - apparently the Maoists might have targeted 'official' bodies like police or army encampments but foreign tourists were off limits for political reasons! Whether this were true or not I cannot say, but we had no trouble!
(unless you count the axle of the bus falling off the next day, and the resulting broken-down bus blocking the only road to Kathmandu, with the result that we had to wait several hours for another bus to be sent and then carry all our luggage past the original bus to the new one!)
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
So this summarises your story? Man, talk about an anticlimax! I was on the edge of my seat until the last sentence.
So this summarises your story? Man, talk about an anticlimax! I was on the edge of my seat until the last sentence.
I could tell you a version where I got shot but it would be a total fabrication!
We did hear some gunshots, but could easily have been hunters or someone trying to scare a bear away.
Most trouble I've actually ever had abroad was, I think, having the car broken into in (of all places) Prague Zoo car park. Additionally, two separate travelling companions on two separate trips had their passport stolen but beyond that and the Antigua Airline Bankruptcy Incident my trips have generally been lacking in drama!
Erm... I once had to spend the night on the platform at Gare du Nord (Paris) but there were a dozen or so of us in twos and threes around the station so an initially-imposing Gendarme with an Alsatian eventually opened up a TGV carriage for us to sleep in as it was against the rules to spend the night on the platform.
And a few days earlier a group of Cornishmen on a stag do we met in Antwerp gave us a garden strimmer to look after, bought us sandwiches at around midnight, took us to a very busy club/bar that turned out to be hosting a Prince concert then made us wait outside while they all got tattoos. That was an odd night. In fact, that whole trip was a series of odd incidents one after the other!
Stop please! Someone make Maguari stop! This guy truly lives on the edge!
It's a constant whirlwind of twists and surprises.
It occurs to me I did leave out the almost-very-serious-but-through-sheer-luck-almost-neglible car accident I was involved in (as a passenger) in Portugal. Car ended up upside-down. Very lucky no-one was hurt. But no-one was (except the car..!), so it's again a bit of an anticlimax!
It wasn't much of a story, really.
I was in my early twenties and wanted to go to Belize for a week. I was in LA and booked the ticket through a local Travel Agent. The flight was with TACA Airlines. Most of the stewardess's announcements were in Spanish, which didn't really phase me as I'd flown frequently before and knew most of the safety presentations.
After a few hours flying we were coming in to land and the Stewardess said in English, "We'll be landing in San Salvador in 10 minutes". I put on my light for cabin crew to come over, they looked at my ticket and said "This flight only goes as far as San Salvador, you have a connnecting flight to Belize in three hours". Something the travel agent had neglected to tell me.
A civil war was raging in El Salvador during the 80's, there were a number of rebel factions, some of them trained and supported by Nicaraguan guerillas from the Contras or Sandanistas. There were death squads murdering thousands of innocent civilians because they suspected them of helping the rebels. So you can see why I didn't particularly like the idea of visiting this country.
The airport at San Salvador had only one runway. As we landed I noticed on either side of the runway were a dozen buildings, all concrete structures with no windows, camouflage netting over the top and a military guard with his AK47 outside each.
Inside the terminal everything was in Spanish - signage and PA announcements alike (in case you haven't guessed - I don't hablo Espanol). Patrolling the airport was the military with their fully automatic weapons, the local police with their handguns, and Airport Security with their own handguns and batons.
I found the Taca counter and eventually found a staff member that spoke English who confirmed my checked luggage would be transferred to my flight to Belize, I just had to wait a few hours until the flight arrived. I commented on all the security, and she said the rebels had targeted the airport in the past, but not for some time. She warned me to be prepared as there were often random searches of people at the airport "but you have nothing to worry about as long as you don't have weapons or bombs in you carry-on bags."
While my carry-on bags had my cameras (SLR, Compact and Movie Camera), film, flash, lens etc, I also had a lot of cables - mainly microphone leads and remote releases for the SLR and the Movie Camera, plus extension leads for them all. Typical bomb-making equipment, I thought.
So sat in the same spot for a few hours trying to nonchalant and completely unphased by my predicament, but secretly on high alert and closely watching everyone moving near me - especially if they had a firearm.
After a couple of hours my flight was ready and I boarded without incident. As the plane raced down the runway I looked out the window at the bunkers with their guards and was very glad to be going somewhere else.
And as the plane leveled out they started the inflight movie - Good Morning Vietnam.
Hix
It wasn't much of a story, really.
I was in my early twenties and wanted to go to Belize for a week. I was in LA and booked the ticket through a local Travel Agent. The flight was with TACA Airlines. Most of the stewardess's announcements were in Spanish, which didn't really phase me as I'd flown frequently before and knew most of the safety presentations.
After a few hours flying we were coming in to land and the Stewardess said in English, "We'll be landing in San Salvador in 10 minutes". I put on my light for cabin crew to come over, they looked at my ticket and said "This flight only goes as far as San Salvador, you have a connnecting flight to Belize in three hours". Something the travel agent had neglected to tell me.
A civil war was raging in El Salvador during the 80's, there were a number of rebel factions, some of them trained and supported by Nicaraguan guerillas from the Contras or Sandanistas. There were death squads murdering thousands of innocent civilians because they suspected them of helping the rebels. So you can see why I didn't particularly like the idea of visiting this country.
The airport at San Salvador had only one runway. As we landed I noticed on either side of the runway were a dozen buildings, all concrete structures with no windows, camouflage netting over the top and a military guard with his AK47 outside each.
Inside the terminal everything was in Spanish - signage and PA announcements alike (in case you haven't guessed - I don't hablo Espanol). Patrolling the airport was the military with their fully automatic weapons, the local police with their handguns, and Airport Security with their own handguns and batons.
I found the Taca counter and eventually found a staff member that spoke English who confirmed my checked luggage would be transferred to my flight to Belize, I just had to wait a few hours until the flight arrived. I commented on all the security, and she said the rebels had targeted the airport in the past, but not for some time. She warned me to be prepared as there were often random searches of people at the airport "but you have nothing to worry about as long as you don't have weapons or bombs in you carry-on bags."
While my carry-on bags had my cameras (SLR, Compact and Movie Camera), film, flash, lens etc, I also had a lot of cables - mainly microphone leads and remote releases for the SLR and the Movie Camera, plus extension leads for them all. Typical bomb-making equipment, I thought.
So sat in the same spot for a few hours trying to nonchalant and completely unphased by my predicament, but secretly on high alert and closely watching everyone moving near me - especially if they had a firearm.
After a couple of hours my flight was ready and I boarded without incident. As the plane raced down the runway I looked out the window at the bunkers with their guards and was very glad to be going somewhere else.
And as the plane leveled out they started the inflight movie - Good Morning Vietnam.
Hix
wow. that sounds like my introduction to sri lanka. First time out of the country (hell i'd only been out of NSW twice). The guns (and bombs) were a bit more active though. i will also always remember to quadruple check my visa requirements thanks to that trip.
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
Now that sounds like an exciting story. Do elaborate!
EuropeDolphins
New Member
Besides my home country Estonia, I've been to:
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Latvia
Lithuania
France
Italy
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Austria
Monaco, if that even counts as a country
And I've flown over Germany and Switzerland, though that doesn't count, does it?
I mostly travel wherever I can see cetaceans
Hopefully Holland or Russia or Greece next year c:
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Latvia
Lithuania
France
Italy
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Austria
Monaco, if that even counts as a country
And I've flown over Germany and Switzerland, though that doesn't count, does it?
I mostly travel wherever I can see cetaceans
Hopefully Holland or Russia or Greece next year c:
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
Besides my home country Estonia, I've been to:
Finland
Sweden
Denmark
Latvia
Lithuania
France
Italy
Poland
Czech Republic
Slovakia
Austria
Monaco, if that even counts as a country
And I've flown over Germany and Switzerland, though that doesn't count, does it?
I mostly travel wherever I can see cetaceans
Hopefully Holland or Russia or Greece next year c:
I would love to visit Estonia and some more Eastern European and Scandinavian countries. Nice!
There was a lot of ahhh..... interesting... things to.happen but long story short. from singapore to colombo i was the only white person on the plane as travel warnings were "do not travel" in most parts and "reconsider your need to travel" in the area I was staying. I was fresh out of school and had spent a fortune on the trip so despite a friend pulling out i was determined to go.
Again the only white person in colombo airport and men with ak47s everywhere. leaving the airport was a maze of barricades, huge machine guns and anti aircraft weapons. the five hour drive to where i was living was again full of barricades and road blocks. the closer to the north the more soldiers there were. I was living at an elephant sanctuary and it was fairly peaceful there but there were regular bombings in surrounding towns. targeting white people. our accommodation for one night had been attacked, the only reason we weren't there was because a Bull in musth required treatment and it took a lot longer than expected. We had to travel to tamil territory a few times but those are stories for a different place.
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
That sounds like an adventure! So is it a fond memory for you, or a case of "I was young and stupid and was just plain lucky"?
When I was in London, some mates and I bought tickets to see the Hungary Grand Prix. We took a flight on Malev Airlines (which coincidentally ceased operations a few months ago) on a Russian-built aircraft that I had never flown on before, so I was excited. Anyway, one of the lads was drinking the night before and got a stomach bug, so he spent the entire flight in the toilet, crapping and vomitting. When it was time to land, the stewardesses kept banging on the door for him to come out, and finally when he opened the door, it turned out that he crapped his pants.
He sat next to us covered in crap, while most of us on the aircraft tried to not vomit. On landing, his girlfriend took him back into the toilet and cleaned him up. We were scared that Customs thought he had swallowed drugs, but it turned out to be ok. Oh, after we disembarked, we had to take bus shuttle to the terminal, and we drove behind a Boeing 747 that was firing up its engines, and our bus shuddered and lifted on to two wheels. Man, talk about a safety risk. Jeeze.
That night we went out for dinner in one of the best restaurants in Budapest, which was still affordable to students with Pounds Sterling, and then for a few drinks. We got back to the hostel (it was the first and last time I stayed in one) at about 3am, and I promptly threw up. I spent the rest of the night and the next day either sitting on, or hugging the communal toilet. My mates, of course, went to see the Formula 1 race and left me in the hostel to suffer.
So I also learned another valuable lesson: you can get food poisoning even from an expensive restaurant. Now I try to order only hot dishes, and I come up with something crazy like "no salt and no onions please" to try to ensure that they cook me a fresh dish rather than use the microwave.
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
Oh, I forgot to add that I am paranoid about getting food poisoning on holiday, so I insisted that we had lunch at Burger King. Maybe I got ill from their burger? Or maybe I got ill from the water in the ice? Who knows? What a terrible trip. My friend went to the pharmacy to get me some medicine and no one could have spoken english. He mimed me throwing up and they gave him some tablets with the packaging covered in Hungarian. For all I know I took some pills for pregnant women with morning sickness. Budapest was a dump.
The first time my family visited Los Angeles we drove in late at night and so we got McDonalds just before arriving at the hotel. Six hours later and we were all throwing up and continued to do so for the rest of the day.
Having said that, when travelling I frequently eat at McDonald's because of the convenience and in countries where I don't speak the language, I usually have some idea of what I'm getting.
Having said that, when travelling I frequently eat at McDonald's because of the convenience and in countries where I don't speak the language, I usually have some idea of what I'm getting.