Missing… from afar

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Title – Missing… from afarSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 12th May 2009

I don’t think there is a great need for much additional comment to this article, these tragic stories speak for themselves and the writer hit the nail on the head; tragedy is always difficult for friends and family, but this is exasperated when it occurs so far away from home and in countries where everything is so foreign and unknown to those affected.

The one point I would like to make is that while in these cases the reason for the anxiety is because of tragedy, there are tens of thousands of family members and friends who worry every day, not because anything terrible has happened, but simply because they don’t understand the difficulties in communicating from foreign countries sometimes and do not appreciate that part of travel is to regain some independence and have new experiences.

However this is not an issue of ‘right’ or ‘wrong’, it is a case of everyone getting it right from the start to avoid these misunderstanding causing anyone to worry.

During

Our Workshop we examine ways to reduce the stress to those you leave behind. We examine the best ways to communicate effectively from around the world and the importance of this communication for your safety and for the sanity of those who are left behind; those left watching ‘world news’, which rarely carries anything but bad news, sometimes from the very destinations which you plan to visit.

The hurdles of independent travel are not just for the traveller, but also for those left behind. The feeling of isolation they feel and helplessness can be significant. Especially for parents who may well come from a different generation, one where places as familiar to travellers as Thailand and Peru seem to be from a different world altogether; one they are not familiar with, one they don’t understand and one where their son or daughter who they have been able to protect for their whole life is vulnerable and beyond their help.

We can help you to avoid adding stress to those you leave behind which inevitably leads to stress you will feel when travelling. The pressure to promise to communicate even when communication is impossible sometimes seems substantial; the failure to communicate once promised can lead to real concern amongst those left behind.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Princess proceeds on gap year trip despite mugging incident / Mugged Eugenie goes on

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Title – Princess proceeds on gap year trip despite mugging incident / Mugged Eugenie goes onSource – The Times / The Sun
Date – 5th May 2009

First and foremost let me state for the record I am a fan of the royal family and am not going to start a debate on the cost of protecting them, after all they did not ask to be born into that family and they like everyone, deserve to be protected. At £100,000 a year the princess costs comparably the same as (by some estimates) each person we keep in prison costs us… OK it’s an odd comparison, but when we consider people are incarcerated partly for our protection, you get where I am coming from.

The other argument is; at a time of recession, should the Princess be ‘swanning’ off on a Gap Year? Why not, I understand in the main they have been staying in normal modest accommodation including £15 a night beach huts (clearly she could have done with a bit of tuition in haggling) and she is 19, enjoying all the world has to offer and like so many other young people undoubtedly learning a lot about the world, herself and how other people live; so I say let her be and good luck, I hope she enjoys the rest of her trip.

I would also just point out that figures suggest that the recession has not had a substantial effect on the number of people taking gap years and it is even suggested that the number of people taking career breaks has increased. Taking a year out now and coming back to a new career or at a time when our economy is starting to recover, is not after all such a bad idea and may be just the opportunity some people have been waiting for. I also point out that gap years or career breaks can often be cheaper options than staying in the UK; thinking about it the Princess’s lifestyle on her gap year may be substantially cheaper then the one she has in the UK… she may be saving the tax payer money by being away…. who knows…

On the other hand, we have to look at the example this unfortunate incident presents us with. The Princess and her friends are not the first and will certainly not be the last travellers to be mugged in

Cambodia, especially in Phnom Pehn. It is a dangerous city and more so at night; all travellers should be very careful walking the streets there at night.

Some of the things which happened in the incident, you definitely should not copy. Don’t fight back; look if even the best and brightest of our royal protection officers think better of it, there is a very strong message to be taken. I don’t know what was in the bag which was snatched, but let’s hope they took some form of advice and it contained nothing they could not afford to lose.

The fact is there are several ways to protect yourself from this type of incident. Seemingly the most effective is to take two highly trained members of SO14 Special Branch Officers with you; failing this the next best approach is to learn how to be proactive in protecting yourself and understanding what you can do to minimise the risks and the consequences of such situations; for that our two day workshop is ideal.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Pregnant Briton 'faces execution'

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Title – Pregnant Briton 'faces execution'Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 1st May 2009

This is a difficult situation and a terrible position for Miss Orobator and her family to be in. I wouldn’t want to try and second guess what the real facts are in this case and under no circumstance do I want in anyway to justify the poor judicial system in Laos or the terrible conditions people face in gaol there. I also don’t want to give any opinion on the imposition of the death penalty for those crimes which she has been accused of or make any suggestion on her innocence or guilt.

However this story does once again highlight the dangers of drug use and especially drug dealing / trafficking in many parts of the world. It amazes me that people would still get involved with drugs in countries with such stringent drug laws, infamously dangerous gaols and judicial systems which are very prejudiced and often void of any due process.

Many countries have only relatively recently opened up to tourism. Just because tens of thousands of backpackers now visit and countries are more established on the tourist-trail, it doesn’t mean that the same rules will apply as we are used to in the UK; most importantly people from the UK need to know whatever they think of the law in these countries, if they visit them then they have to live by those laws and are subject to them. Being a British citizen does not exempt you from local laws and those found guilty will face the full force of local laws and are often made an example of.

Travellers to these parts of the world often take the availability of drugs as an recognition that drugs are in some way an accepted part of life or decriminalised. Fellow traveller talk of knowing how the system works and how the local authorities turn a blind eye ‘up to a certain quantity’; more serious still drug traffickers will convince or entrap travellers into acting as ‘drugs mules’, tell them they have paid off the police or customs officials or that the punishments for foreigners is only ever deportation. The fact is that the people spinning these stories are either in the drug trade and place little or no value on your life or are fellow travellers who use drugs and are telling the story as much to convince themselves, as out of complete ignorance.

The number of scams carried out on travellers which involve drugs is phenomenal, at best they will mean you end up paying off the police or someone pretending to be the police and in the worst cases travellers end up facing the death penalty.

In these worst cases it is always the British Government which comes under fire for not doing enough, but their powers are limited if (and I use the word ‘if’ carefully as this case is still unproven and we don’t really know the details of the case) people are found guilty. The consequences are that they face the full and often very harsh punishment of the judicial system of the country they are in. The British Government has very little they can do; blaming them is all very well and easy, but they simply can not interfere in sovereign state affairs, in very much the same way as foreign governments can not interfere in the British judicial system if one of their nationals is involved.

I know the counter arguments; that our system is better and fairer, people get fair representation, sentencing in more lenient and we do not have the death penalty and I agree with all those arguments. However the fact is, what we believe to be right and what we should rightly try and influence foreign governments to try and follow, is currently not the case in many countries around the world. I say time and time again to people planning on travel; never think that because something is right for us in the UK it is right for other countries; never behave the same way you behave at home and expect the same response when abroad; behave as they expect you to; and if you don’t like the system, tough, it is their system go with it or stay away.

I feel very sorry for the family and friends of Miss Orobator, to go through this is devastating and to go through this when you are so far away from the person affected in a country you don’t understand and where the ‘rule of law’ is so different to what we understand, makes the situation a thousand times worse; that the death penalty is involved and this strange and unexplained twist of her being pregnant makes the whole story even more tragic.

What I also have to quantify (while in no way suggesting innocence or guilt of Miss Orobator) is that the drugs trade has its own victims. Heroin in particular ruins lives and families, undermines communities both at the end users and for the producers, damage fragile environment and cost incalculable amounts. This is the justification of governments, especially in those countries so badly undermined by the drugs trade in areas such as South East Asia, in the harsh punishments they impose on drug traffickers.

Our message to independent travellers is simple; don’t go near drugs; don’t get tempted; say no; never carry anything across a border for anyone else (there is never an ‘exemption’ for foreigners and be sure smugglers are not people to trust, even when they tell you it is something different assume the worst); if you are offered ‘money for nothing’ there is always a catch; and don’t be too scared to call home if you need help, don’t let pride get in the way of what can be a very terrible fall.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Safety, alongside sessions on Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Mexico Swine Influenza - Update

Title – Was the first flu victim a modern Typhoid Mary? Click Here
Title – British Exodus from Mexico as battle against virus intensifies Click Here
Source – The Independent
Date – 29th April 2009

If ever there was a good example of what a difference a week makes then this is it. Just 5 days ago I commented on what was then an ‘inside page’ news story and since then you would be hard pressed to find a newspaper in the world, which was not carrying the ‘Swine Flu’ story on it’s front cover.

I don’t want to comment on the situation itself, because of it is changing day by day and even hour by hour; but the main reason I will not comment is because the internet is already crowded with information of which far too much is rumour and conjecture; one report today claimed that over 6 billion spam emails had been sent out offering ‘prescription drugs’ for sale to combat swine flu.

It is this type of activity and false reporting which leads to ‘irrational’ human responses; if ever there was a time for people to use common sense and rationality it is for these types of news stories. I have to say I trust the opinion of medical professionals over editors of newspapers and blogs every time.

In this case the best sources of advice for me are:
www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/
www.nathnac.org/travel
www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk

Because of the proximity of the USA to the outbreak, in this case I would certainly also check:www.cdc.gov/travel

The one big change since my last blog entry is the travel advice given. There is obviously now a recommendation from the FCO to avoid all travel to Mexico and for people in Mexico to take precautions against contracting the virus; while most are being repatriated by tour operators or are making their own way back.

I also want to put everything in some perspective. This virus undoubtedly should be taken serious and has the potential to turn into a pandemic; however it is not there yet and most medical professionals I have listened to are cautiously optimistic because to date those people who have contracted the virus outside of Mexico (where information is not exactly flowing openly yet) are showing ‘mild’ symptoms, which are responding to treatment well. Much as this virus seems to be a combination of human, bird and pig flu, it should not yet be confused with the deadly H5N1 strain of Avian Flu with its frightening 50% - 80% mortality rates.

By the time you read this story it will no doubt already be out of date, so if your travel plans are taking you anywhere near the affected regions, do your research even more carefully than usual and revisit those websites indicated above regularly.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Many parts of the world present travellers with consistent travel health challenges, which are well documented and understood. However new ‘developments’ and local outbreaks mean that conducting your own research and risk assessment prior to travel is as essential as consulting your GP or travel clinic.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Here come the hoards

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Title – Here come the hoards
Source – The Independent
Date – 29th April 2009

I found this article very interesting and a good example of the difficulty I have sometimes within myself in deciding where to travel next. It made me examine my motivations and reminded me that every individual has unique criteria for the travel and how everyone has to make those choices which are right for them.

I struggle with my choices sometimes because I am naturally drawn to more remote locations, the less other travellers the better. It is a bit of a selfish approach, but I never begrudge other travellers I bump into when I’m there; why would I, after all they have just made the same choices I have, so they can’t be bad people….

Where I would feel guilt is if I ever reached the point where I tried to stop tourism for any but the best reasons, such as; the fragility of the environment, for justifiable political motives (such as Burma) or where the impact on the local communities are actually detrimental or unwelcome.

Where tourism has an unsustainable environmental impact, we have to protect those areas. Where possible this should be done through limiting sustainable numbers, a practise which normally results in higher costs to visitors, but one which must be accepted for the greater good. These practices can already be seen in places like Galapagos and Machu Picchu, although some might argue they don’t yet go far enough.

A similar principle can be seen where local people have chosen to limit tourism to avoid either harming their traditional way of life or eroding their society. Bhutan for example has limited the number of visitors through a quota system and charges a US$200 a day tax on visitors used to support this very resource poor / culture rich country. Other communities have shunned tourism completely and banned it from their shores, including some islands in the Indian Ocean or towns and villages within countries that have decided to keep themselves to themselves; I was lucky enough to be invited into one such village in Vanuatu and experienced a fascinating festival of music and dance.

The key point in all of this is that visitors should realise the privilege it is to visit another country, meet local people, to view the incredible natural and man-made sights. Even somewhere like Angkor Wat with it’s 2 million visitors; it is not our right to visit, it is our privilege to be invited to visit by the Cambodian people.

I will not pretend that I would not rather visit Angkor with only a handful of other visitors about, but I will never begrudge the Cambodian people the opportunity to generate an income to better their lives by encouraging as many people as possible to this most magnificent monument to human endeavour.

Too often I hear travellers from the UK complain that tourism is ruining local culture; people visiting Angkor and complaining of the crowds; visitors stating that money is making local people unhappy because they can’t continue with their traditional way of life; very very rarely do I hear these same people ask genuine locals those same questions. After all what if a visitor from Papua New Guinea to London complained about the crowds at the Tower of London and commented on how our way of life had been ruined by money, preventing us from living our ‘traditional way of life’ or their disappointment not to see Morris Dancing on every street corner…

The ‘traditional way of life’ we all strive to see on our travels is often very tough. We ‘dip’ in and out of it and think it quaint, but we would never accept poor health care, poor sanitation, lower life expectancy, toiling for 12 hours a day in basic subsistence farming which leaves you open to famine and flood or the lack of education and opportunity for the next generation; why should anyone else?

People often ask me where they should go and what they should see. Angkor is certainly one of those sights near the top of my list. The next question they ask is ‘has it not been ruined by the hoards of people visiting?’ I visited Angkor before the 2 million visitors of today, it was a much more serene place than today, there was more of an ‘Indiana Jones’ feeling to it and I loved that. Stories I tell of having to bribe soldiers and forestry officials in order to visit the ‘River of 1000 Lingas’ and uncovering whole ‘Reclining Buddha’ statues under banks of mud are among my favourites; these days I hear they do guided tours and many of the carvings have been damaged, stolen or removed. I may not be helping my own argument here….

My point is this; yes things change, maybe it is for the worse for some travellers, but it is for the better for many who may never have had the opportunity before (or known the right person to bribe…). It is better for local people who can now make an income from tourism, there are more jobs available for guides, wardens and the compulsory hawkers who I am sure now work that area as well.

Would it ruin it for me now visiting Angkor? Certainly not, if I were going for the first time, I can guarantee when I first laid eyes on Angkor I would still be speechless; it is the most magnificent of human achievements. It would be a different experience now, but experiences by their very nature are individual and today’s experience will be totally different from the one five or ten years from now. Not better or worse just different and individual. You haven’t missed the boat by not having visited before, you are just on a different type of boat.

It is very easy to get selfish when travelling, we all do it. Try and really think local, buy local and stay local; that way your travel fulfils your need for adventure and discovery, helps those places you visit meet their need for sustainability and helps to improve their lives the way they want.

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Ethical and Responsible Travel, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Travel is one of life’s great privileges and as with any privilege it should be appreciated and respected.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Experts probe deadly Mexico flu

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Title – Experts probe deadly Mexico fluSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 24th April 2009

The news that has come out of Mexico over the last few years has not been universally good for tourism and this latest blow is set to hit them hard, especially with regard to the bulk of their tourist market which comes from the USA.

It has to be said that Mexico certainly has some challenges for the independent traveller. If it is not the increasing levels of violence between the drug cartels and the authorities, then it is corruption that is rife amongst the police; if it is not the high risk from muggings, then it the dramatic increase in kidnapping, especially ‘express kidnapping; and if there were not the usual travel health concerns, there is now very serious concern from this deadly strain of Swine Flu.

But let us not run for the hills just yet, Mexico is a very large country and the spate of infections and deaths do seem in the main to have taken place in densely populated areas such as Mexico City; and there are many other reasons not to spend much time in Mexico City…

The key is to be aware of the situation and take effective measures. Today you will see most people in Mexico City wearing masks, so in crowded areas do the same (or better still, go to less crowded areas), be more cautious on public transport and avoid contact with anyone who displays flu-like symptoms.

The other point we have to emphasise is that this is far from being a pandemic and is in the early stages, but the WHO is not taking any chances and is taking the situation seriously and so should travellers. Always seek professional and local advice before and during your travel and keep an eye out to see if the situation gets any worse.

We should also point out that at this stage the strain of swine flu that is affecting people does seem to be easily treated with existing medication including ‘Tamiflu’ (the very same medication that governments have been stockpiling to deal with a potential Bird Flu pandemic) works effectively. The key to treatment is to catch it early, preferably within 48 hours. The symptoms are very similar to regular flu; fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing; some people have also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. The key to treatment is that you inform your doctor as soon as possible if you have these symptoms and you have visited an affected area.

There are good reasons to be concerned about the risk from this virus; but if I were to travel to Mexico I would still have other concerns nearer to the top of my list at the moment. We recently heard the following story from a tourist in Mexico; which highlights the level of corruption there:

“When you rent the car the agent gives you a laminated card that was produced through an agreement between the mayor of Cancun and the rental car companies (and NOT the police). The card tells you that you are allowed by law two minor traffic infringements (red lights, speeding etc.) without the police being able to arrest you. Then it states very clearly that you should not give the police either money, your driving license, your passport or the laminated card if stopped.

We were stopped and a ‘policeman’ told us that we ran a red light (there were no traffic lights anywhere on the road). The police basically asked our friend who was driving for all the things that the card said they would ask for. My friend held firm and refused to hand over anything including the card. The card actually doubles up as an instant traffic fine also and so if you give them the card they charge you $50 as an instant traffic fine; all very complicated!! Basically you have to stand up to their intimidation and hope that they don't arrest you!”

At

Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Travel Health, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Many parts of the world present travellers with consistent travel health challenges, which are well documented and understood. However new ‘developments’ and local outbreaks mean that conducting your own research and risk assessment prior to travel is as essential as consulting your GP or travel clinic.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

UK backpacker dies in beach crash

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Title – UK backpacker dies in beach crashSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 19th April 2009

I try not to comment on the circumstances behind individual tragedies like this one, that is for the authorities to work through and I don’t think speculation helps. Rather I use these sad stories as examples of the potential consequences when circumstances conspire and the result is injury, the loss of life and the loss to families of their precious son, daughter, brother, sister, cousin, uncle, aunt, friend or soul mate.

Sadly that this tragedy occurred will come as no great surprise to anyone who has been to Fraser Island, the worlds largest sand island and one of

Australia’s most beautiful locations.

The problem is how people travel round Fraser Island, especially young people. The most common way is to hire a 4 x4 and camping equipment and take off for a few days. Fraser doesn’t have any roads as such, the beach is used as the highway and tracks take you inland; all of it driving on sand…

Anyone who has driven on sand knows it is a completely different skill to normal driving and a 15 minutes briefing can hardly prepare you for this. Add to this difficulty the issue of driving along a beach which seems deceptively straight forward until you encounter a problem and the ‘problems’ come in many different forms; the speed at which some people seem comfortable driving which far exceeds the recommended limits; the sand itself whose consistency changes from almost solid to very loose, yet never changes in appearance; the tide and ‘freak surges’ which can catch out those who choose to drive too close to the water’s edge and change the consistency of the sand underneath the vehicle making it uncontrollable; the gullies which appear with the inland water run-off, crisscrossing the beach and sometimes invisible until you are upon them (they can be a foot across and a foot deep in places; and then there is the vehicles themselves.

The vehicles are not in bad condition, but the way these trips generally operate is that the hire companies act as co-ordinators. They will get a number of young people (some individuals, some smaller groups) and bring them together to form a group of 10-12 people to hire one vehicle. Generally different people within that group will take turns driving while the majority sit in the back often without seatbelts. So although you may know and have some control over the people in your own group, you are leaving yourself open to being driven by a complete stranger who has joined you. Most people have never driven off-road, let alone on sand, they may be young and inexperienced and worst of all may feel peer pressure to show-off; dare I mention the number of groups who visit the ‘bottle shop’ before they leave for the island; all in all a potential accident waiting to happen.

Looking at the statistics of 120 recorded (and you can bet your life there are quite a ‘few’ unrecorded) accidents in 6 years or two a month, the dangers are certainly there for all to see.

Now again I can’t emphasise enough that I am not suggesting that any of these factors had anything to do with this particular accident, but rather just that there are inherent dangers in driving on Fraser Island.

I also am not suggesting for one second that Fraser Island should be excluded from your itinerary. I loved my time there, I remember celebrating a Birthday there with 11 complete strangers who somehow bought me a cake to celebrate… but I do advise that caution should be used when you are there. The good thing about the island is that your safety is very much in your hands, with the only exception being someone else crashing into you; which is no more likely there than anywhere else.

Take some sensible measures and you can reduce the risks considerably, without loosing any of the experience; Try and choose your group yourself (at a hostel or as you travel the rest of the country) and have a conversation about driving skills and driving styles before you leave; come up with a democratic way of vetoing an individual who drives badly and stopping them driving for the rest of the trip; drive sensibly and don’t drink and drive (remember drinking heavily the night before is likely to mean you are over the limit the following morning); listen to the briefing and follow their guidance, they know what they are talking about; if there are seatbelts wear them; speed kills generally, on sand speed is substantially more dangerous; if you are uncomfortable speak up or walk away, there is always another group and another time; and above all enjoy the island, not the driving!

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Transport Options alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Ethical and Responsible Travel, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Tragedies like this accident sadly do happen and our condolences go to the families of those so tragically killed and injured. There are judgements future visitors to Fraser Island can make to reduce the inherent risks these types of activities present.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

New limits to Antarctic tourism

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Title – New limits to Antarctic tourismSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 18th April 2009

Antarctica is possibly one of the world’s last great frontiers in travel, with vast tracks of undiscovered and undiscoverable wilderness, it has over the last few years started to become accessible; if only in tiny fractions.

I am all for travel, it expands the mind and reminds us that our word is an exceptional and fascinating place with secrets yet to be revealed and places / people we can yet gain knowledge from; Antarctica is just such a place.

But there is always a balance to be found and with such a fragile ecosystem it needs protecting, so I welcome this move to limit numbers of people allowed to visit. Undoubtedly it will make the whole experience more expensive, but this is a price worth paying if it protects something so unique for future generations.

There other aspect I like about the proposal, is the limit of 100 people allowed ashore at any one time. Personally I can’t imagine anything worse than landing on Antarctica and being welcomed by crowds; it strikes me that emptiness is one of the attractions and one of the unique features of this continent, in an otherwise ever more crowded world.

I have yet to go to this magical place but some of our advisors have been and I feel like I have been given more time to visit now; let’s hope they follow through on their promises.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Ethical and Responsible Travel, alongside sessions on Travel Safety, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Transport Options, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Travel is one of life’s great privileges and as with any privilege it should be appreciated and respected.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Fiji devalues dollar in crackdown

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Title – Fiji devalues dollar in crackdownSource – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 15th April 2009

On the face of it a good news story for tourists, but Fiji has been slowly taken down a very dangerous road towards effective dictatorship and people should consider carefully before they plan to travel there.

Fiji is used to coups there have been 4 in the last 20 odd years, but this one is turning out to be more sinister then most. When it first took place it almost seemed like a joke as it was postponed by a day to accommodate the annual army vs police rugby match (an important fixture in the rugby mad country), but with delay after delay in the promises of fresh democratic elections; there seems to be something distinctly more worrying afoot.

In the last few weeks that has become more apparent; when any country sacks it’s independent judiciary, it is time for the rest of the world to stand up and be heard. The concerns about Fiji which have long been talked about in Australia and New Zealand are now being strongly echoed by other nations including the UK and USA.

Amnesty International has joined the chorus of organisations voicing serious concerns at the slow erosion of freedoms in the country and the increasing grip the general has over the Fijian people.

This situation is one which makes me very sad, I have a affinity with the people of Fiji, it was among one of the first countries I visited as an independent traveller nearly 20 years ago and I have had the privilege of going back several times since. Fiji has a society (with the exception of the current military regime) from which the rest of the world has so much to learn; the emphasis on the wisdom of village elders, the fundamental respect of others being enshrined as a cornerstone of the community, honesty being respected and a welcome for visitors which is almost unparalleled anywhere else in the world.

Fiji was the reason I fell in love with the South Pacific, not only with the beauty of the islands themselves, but more fundamentally with the Fijian people. That these people should be undermined by an ever more repressive regime is not just unfair but immoral.

So where does that leave us when it comes to travel?

Well we should keep a very close eye on the situation to see how it develops and we must aware of how travel to Fiji affects local people and supports this now illegal regime. There is no evidence as yet to suggest that the current situation poses any danger to travellers so the argument is based on our desire to promote Ethical and Responsible Travel.

The Fijian Dollar has been devalued by the puppet Reserve Bank Governor precisely to promote tourism which is the major source of foreign currency income in the country and has suffered greatly over the last few years.

My suggestion is this; visiting Fiji is certainly not any more dangerous now then it was before the coup and I am not convinced that tourist should be discouraged from visiting. However I would strongly suggest that tourists and independent travellers consider how they spend their dollars when they visit. It is the Fijian people who require our ongoing support and in Fiji this is not too difficult to do without directing the bulk of your ‘tourist dollars’, the way of the government.

Buy local and stay local, both very easy to achieve in Fiji. I would advise against staying in the big international resorts and hotels which ‘feed’ into the government coffers. These big businesses are often not owned by Fijians and import much of the produce they use; besides they hardly give you the authentic Fijian experience, you’re more likely to get that at a Hawaiian night in Malaga….

My memories of Fiji and of the Christmas we spent in a village there are cherished. We were invited to join in their local celebrations and experience a lovo (feast prepared in an underground ‘oven’) which would never have happened in a five star hotel. The meagre cost of that experience went straight into local pockets.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Ethical & Responsible Travel alongside sessions on Transport Options, Travel Safety, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Ethical travel is always at the discretion of the individual and we never dictate where we think people should and shouldn’t travel; those are decisions independent travellers need to make for themselves. We feel that our role is to provide a balanced view, suitable information and our unbiased opinion in order for others to have the relevant information to make those decisions for themselves.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.

Thailand in turmoil as protestors rise against PM / Thai riot deaths

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Title – Thailand in turmoil as protestors rise against PM / Thai riot deathsSource – The Independent / Metro
Date – 14th April 2009 / 13th April 2009

Is Thailand on the brink of civil war?

I don’t think so, but there is no doubt it has some serious problems that are far from being resolved and full-blown intervention from the army is still a distinct possibility. We seem to be between protest at this particular time, but I don’t think anyone would bet against a further escalation.

Protesters be they the ‘Red Shirts’ or the ‘Yellow Shirts’ will certainly appear again and how the government deal with these protest will be crucial. It is very difficult for a Prime Minister who came to power on the back of similar disruptive and ‘expensive’ protests to subsequently quash similar protests without looking very hypocritical.

The other parameter to this whole situation is the King; revered and respected and most importantly with an army who would almost certainly act on his requests; he has yet to make any ‘contribution’.

So the question I am asked a lot is; should people travel to Thailand?

Here I tend to agree with the

FCO Advice (it is a brave man who thinks they know better than the FCO), for now it is probably better to stay away from Bangkok. People there and who travel there at the moment may tell you differently and if you stay away from protests you are probably in no more danger than usual, but there is certainly the potential for the situation to turn dramatically and quickly. The main reason for you to stay away will be the ability to leave the region or the country through Bangkok if the situation does turn. You may find yourself stranded there and there can be no guarantee that airlines will put you up while you wait to fly out. Maybe more importantly now the FCO has advised against travel to Bangkok, you may well find your travel insurance invalid while you are there.

But travel to Thailand as a whole is still very possible outside of Bangkok (and the south where there is ongoing conflict and the border region with Cambodia (Cambodia appeals over ‘imminent war’ on Thai border) where there has also been conflict). Visiting the tourist islands in the Gulf of Thailand, the Andaman Sea and the Malacca Straight and the north (Chang Mai) remains at the time of writing, relatively no more dangerous than before.

We are advising people to be aware however that their travel plans may be disrupted if the airport protests are repeated. One way of protecting against this possibility is to book flights through a different transit point than Bangkok. It is easy enough to connect to your final destination through Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia or Singapore and this mitigates the threat of airport closures in Bangkok to some degree.

At Beyond The Blue (Safe Gap Year) our Gap Year and Independent Travel Safety & Awareness Workshop (GYITSA) considers issues of Destination Advice alongside sessions on Transport Options, Travel Safety, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Ethical & Responsible Travel, Documentation, Travel Money and Insurance and more. Choosing destination is always down to individual taste, experience and tolerance, but research into historical dangers as well as recent events is essential for any travel, no matter how much experience you have in independent travel.

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

For more information on any of our services, please call us on 0845 602 55 95 or Contact Us.