Off into the unknown

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Title – Off into the unknown
Source – The Independent
Date – 11th August 2008

This is a very balanced article and one which echo’s much of what I write in this blog; there are many dangers out there but if you maintain perspective they are not as great as they may seem. One of the problems is that when a tragedy occurs especially to a young ‘gapper’, the stories are sensationalised and magnified because of the sadness felt, that someone (often a young adult) with such a spirit of adventure has been the unfortunate victim of crime or tragic accident.

But the article is right, statistically taking a Gap Year may not be much more dangerous than our every day lives, however the two points it omits are ones that anyone travelling should consider.

The first is that when travelling even minor situations are exaggerated because we are often so far away and in such unfamiliar locations, that situations we would handle almost as second nature at home are difficult for us to resolve. The second is that most travellers will take risks when travelling, which they simply would not take at home.

Let me give you some examples. In 2002 I travelled to

Mongolia, this vast and beautiful country is really only fully accessible on horseback. At home riding a horse is inherently dangerous, but helmets and other safety equipment is mandatory and we at least have good medical facilities to come to our assistance in the case of an accident. Back in Mongolia I never saw a helmet and the saddles and other equipment were very rudimentary. The horses themselves were semi-wild and certainly not familiar with the frame of a well fed European. But the thing which struck me most when I was 5 days into my adventure on horseback, was what would happen if I fell off and hurt myself? I am not even thinking of a serious accident, something as simple as a broken ankle which considering the mountain, swamp, river crossings etc. was not unimaginable. In itself not a life threatening injury, but when the nearest medical assistance is five days horse ride (on the assumption I could cover the same ground with a broken ankle as I could without) away, followed by a flight (twice weekly); what state would my ankle be in by the time I reached the modest medical facilities available even in the Mongolian capitol Ulaanbaatar?

The additional risks we seem willing to take when travelling are as a result of the euphoric effect of travel itself. We need to do what is possible to temper this over-confidence without taking anything away from the travel experience itself. Once we have assessed these risks we need to actively control them and manage them as effectively as possible; most of us would not even consider cycling in the UK without a helmet these days, yet we will happily drive a motorbike we have rented on some of the worlds most dangerous roads when we travel. It does not make a great deal of sense, yet the willingness to take additional risk, where that risk is exaggerated by our location, somehow seems overwhelming.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, we help you evaluate the risks, show you the consequences and allow you to travel with more confidence in yourself to make the right choices when it comes to managing the risk involved in your travel. We look at issues such as Travel Equipment, Travel Health, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice which you have to consider before you travel and when you travel. To make sure you can make the most of your Gap Year we will help you prepare for every eventuality so that you can not just benefit on your return but make the most of every experience while you travel.

Please visit our website at www.safegapyear.com or join us on Facebook. For a complete list of Blog entries visit our National Press Archive page.

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