Drugging Danger on Indian Trains

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Title – Drugging Danger on Indian Trains
Source – Sunday Times
Date – 31st May 2009

That the Indian police are warning travellers about the risks of ‘spiked’ food and drink on Indian trains, means that people should really be paying attention…

Drugged food and drink on trains in many parts of the world has been an increasingly common problem, especially on the Indian Sub-continent. This warning seems to be directed at female travellers and although they should be taking as much care as anyone, the implication given is not entirely correct.

By suggesting that women in particular should be wary of drugged food, the natural conclusion is that the reason for the ‘spiking’ is to enable the perpetrator to sexually assault the victim. Although sexual assault or drug assisted rape is certainly one possible motive and is still predominantly directed at women, the use of drugs to disable a victim is probably used more as a way of incapacitating a person in order to facilitate theft or robbery.

In the case of theft, the threat is clearly directed at male and female travellers, so I wanted to extend the warning given by the Indian police to all travellers. Be careful when offered hospitality by strangers, especially on trains in India where these ‘scams’ are known to happen. The consequences of being ‘spiked’ can be much more serious than simply being robbed, apart from the potential of sexual assault the effects of the drugs themselves can have serious consequences to health.

It is about finding a balance; hospitality of local people is one of the joys of travel and to avoid it completely is to miss out on a fundamental aspect of the travel experience. The use of good judgement is key; a knowledge of where and when it might be appropriate to accept hospitality and mitigating the risks by travelling with people you trust (and where there is doubt one member of your group foregoing the hospitality offered) will reduce the risks faced from this particular threat.

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. During our workshop we look at many of the ‘common scams’ and the threats faced by travellers from criminals in the countries they intend to visit.

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.

Malaria parasites ‘resist drugs’

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Title – Malaria parasites ‘resist drugs’
Source – www.bbc.co.uk
Date – 29th May 2009

I have written about malaria prophylactics in this blog before and I don’t propose to revisit the arguments for travellers making sure they take the appropriate prophylactic drug when they visit areas of the world where Malaria is endemic; it’s really a ‘no-brainer’ don’t play Russian roulette with a loaded gun…

The point I want to extract from this story is two-fold;

The first point is that you should seek the latest medical advice and not rely or hearsay or what a doctor told you last year (or the last time you travelled); the situation with the appropriate drugs to use for a particular area of the world can change rapidly. Try not to get caught up in the myths and folklore about which are the ‘best’ malaria drugs or the scare stories about side effects. Go and see your doctor get their advise, if you feel unsure about it, then seek a second opinion (undoubtedly some doctors are more up-to-date than others).

Once you have been told what particular prophylactic is suitable for the area you are visiting, buy the quantity you will require for your whole trip (and include extra if there is any chance you will be extending your stay) in the UK before you leave.

This takes me nicely on to my second point; buying drugs (prescription that is) at your destination.

There are a phenomenal quantity of counterfeit drugs on the market and no where is this more prominent than in Asia; as China and India are by far the worlds largest producer of ‘fake drugs’

The problems with these is two fold; firstly they can be ineffective and therefore lull the user into a false sense of security and even mask symptoms. The second problem is that many of them are actually harmful. Fake drugs are believed to be responsible for over 200,000 deaths annually; a recent report suggested this is nearer 700,000 if you include those victims who die from the diseases they are being ineffectively treated for with fake drugs.

It is really a different problem to other fake items which may fall apart soon after purchase but generally cause disappointment rather than harm. Fake drugs have been found to be carcinogenic, to contain anything from lead to rat poison, to mask symptoms while condition deteriorates and to kill those taking them.

It turns out now they may be playing a part in an even more serious problem. Some of these drugs contain a little of the actual drug in order for them to pass rudimentary tests. Because the doses are so low they don’t kill the malaria parasite, but in much the same way as when we recover from the common cold and develop immunity from catching that particular strain again in the future; this small dose allows the Malaria parasite to develop immunity from the drug.

The difference is Malaria already kills a million people a year and resistant strains have the potential to kill many more than that if immunity develops more quickly than science can.

Fake drugs kill at every level. Like so many fake products these days, fake drugs look almost identical to the real thing. The most effective way to avoid them is to buy your drugs in a country such as the UK where drugs are strictly controlled. If you have to buy them (or top up) while you are away, go to a reputable source, like a proper licensed pharmacy, ask a local doctor and if they seem excessively cheap there is probably a reason…

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.

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.

Mother fits gap-year son with GPS device

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Title – Mother fits gap-year son with GPS device
Source – The Daily Telegraph
Date – 28th May 2009

It is not for me to dictate what individuals decide is suitable, appropriate and effective and if this ‘solution’ offers those left behind peace of mind then it has it’s advantages.

It is not something we would recommend during our workshops, not because we think it is a bad idea, but rather just that it feels like it would be a step too far for many people; I also think it could actually lead to more anxiety for some people. Ignorance was once said to be bliss and although we don’t advocate this, there is a case for finding a balance between keeping up with general plans and knowing which street someone is on when they travel to Thailand…

After all if the son does wander off down the wrong street, what can the parent actually do about it? Call them and direct them back? How does the parent know which part of town is safe and which not; and if they have done the research to find this out, why not just tell the child?

I am all for having detailed itineraries of planned travels and a ‘communication schedule’ when people travel, especially when travelling independently for the first time. During our workshop we look at effective ways of staying in touch, because much of the stress of travel is often ‘dumped’ on those we leave behind who have no choice in the matter.

When something does go wrong, knowing someone’s exact location is obviously an advantage; it that I can see some merit in this device. However wallet and person are likely to be one of the first things parted in these circumstances. Mobile phones are soon going to be trackable in a similar way which may negate the purpose of this device. The other consideration is that when similar devices were integrated into clothing for children in the UK, it was found that the actual units were targeted by thieves as their value made them ‘bounty’.

As I said at the beginning of this piece, the measures people take to ‘protect’ themselves or their children and to provide peace of mind is always an individual choice. However preparation is the key to safe travel and many of the risks faced on gap years can be significantly reduced through the risk management strategies which we demonstrate during our workshops. Technology plays an ever greater part in our daily lives and can add a layer of ‘safety’ unavailable in the past, it can also add a layer of false security which actually makes us more vulnerable.

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. During our workshop we examine the importance not only of considering the effect travel has on those left behind, but also of the establishment of a communication strategy to reassure family and friends and provide the safety net of letting people know where you are and where you are going.

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.

Free travel if you catch swine flu

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Title – Free travel if you catch swine fluSource – The Sunday Times
Date – 17th May 2009

It is amazing how quickly we forget or rather get bored of news stories; swine flu has hardly disappeared, in fact the numbers continue to grow both in the UK and internationally. However the public fear of imminent pandemic have subsided somewhat and bargain hunters are starting to pounce on the desperation of a country that was abandoned by tourists.

But I have to say I have not heard of anything quite like this current promotion ‘free holidays for three years to anyone catching swine flu’…. There’s a gamble not worthy of the prize….

The imminent danger may be subsiding, but the scientists should not be completely ignored and the WHO have certainly not yet declared the threat anywhere near over. One hurdle to travel has however been lifted and that is the FCO’s recommendation against travel to Mexico; this at least no longer invalidates many travel insurance policies.

Maybe the next slogan they use should emphasis that they are so confident the threat from swine flu has passed that they will give you a free holiday if you catch it… but maybe we are not there yet.

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 Ethical and Responsible Travel, Transport Options, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Travel Safety, 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.

Now Ryanair is charging a fiver to check in online

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Title – Now Ryanair is charging a fiver to check in onlineSource – The Sunday Times
Date – 17th May 2009

Ryanair are at it again, tinkering with the pricing and presenting it as if it was a benefit to passengers; this despite the EU leaving no one in any doubt that they have been ‘misleading’ customers through the ‘unfair practices’ on their website.

Only recently Ryanair made the ‘dramatic’ announcement that they would be abolishing their check-in counters stating that the majority of their customers were checking-in on-line and 99% of the rest had the ability to do so… clearly having the added benefit of cutting Ryanair’s costs.

This week they are suggesting that the £5 charge for checking-in online is a balance between the old £10 fee for checking-in at the airport and the free on-line service. Anyone with any business sense can tell that if the vast majority of customers were already checking-in on-line then this new £5 charge will actually generate significant new income.

The thing which bothers me most about this though is that if everyone has to check in online now anyway, how can they make this an ‘additional charge’? It’s not like you have any other choice, you have to check-in so why is that not now included on the ticket? It would be like buying a theatre ticket and paying a supplement to be allowed to sit in your seat.

I know the whole point of their marketing strategy is to advertise the lowest possible ‘basic price’ they can and I don’t begrudge them the opportunity to run a profitable business, success should be rewarded; but it does not need to be so underhanded.

Low-cost carriers have opened up whole new horizons for many people, but be careful when booking that you know the actual costs involved; they are rarely those advertised. It is remarkable how expensive that simple word ‘from’ is in this context (flights ‘from’ £1).

Also remember to clear the ‘cookies’ on your computer before you book, otherwise they will catch you out on a whole different level.

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 Ethical and Responsible Travel, Travel Health, Travel Equipment, Travel Insurance, Destination Advice, Travel Safety, 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.

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.