Travel is My Life; Work and Pleasure

We have visited Pisa yesterday, what a remarkable place.I have not been to Tuscany area before, and the drive to Pisa through the small roads was amazing, there were roads so narrow where we had to stop the car and allow a single car passage to go through before we could - amazing, like in the movies and the stories - the authentic Tuscany.After seeing the amazing Leaning Tower of Pisa .

we took the kids for some great Italian ice cream, at the Piazza Del Duomo .

- I have had to take the kids to the bathroom, and was allowed to use the café’s. I was shocked to have found that the facilities are Indian “free style” toilets - shit shoot style… I have been to India many time in my life, and learned to live with shit shoot style, but did not expect so in Pisa, the centre of European culture.

I would divide the dangers into two categories:

The actions we do in conscious - we know what we are doing, but we either don’t care, or don’t think far into the future, nor wide angle and see the whole picture (example; those we travel with)
The actions we take without knowing the reality of the place.
Dangerous places; there are many official websites which advises which country and zones are not safe for visitors; and we all hear about the latest Anti Terrorist Department warnings about Sinai. However, there are countries which are listed and we as Israelis “enjoy” traveling there, examples; Colombia. (Among the other countries; Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Nigeria, Congo, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Iran, Gaza Strip, Indonesia, Iraq, Haiti)

Extreme sport; I was younger and foolish myself, while visiting Peru I Para Glide, which was great fun, knowing its dangerous as I was jumping off a cliff of 1800 meters after 2 day basic training - was that smart? Probably not. Scuba diving without license, nor experience; driving a motor cycle without license, white water rafting - check the equipment, the company, the insurance they have, the rescue team, the route, the weather.

Animals - monkeys in Nepal, India - when you travel near them be safe they could be vicious, could be jumping for your food - in California bears can smell your food in the car and break into - pack your food. Don’t forget that animals such as African monkeys carry diseases such as AIDS.

Extreme nature danger; when you are up in the Himalayas make sure you treat the nature with respect, walk slowly, drink, don’t be a hero the nature is much stronger than you think. Bolivia; “El Camino de la Muerte” (road of death) 70 km of dangerous downhill 4600 meters to 1800. Until today over 13 young Israelis died there - what for?!

Local habits, custom and religion; respect the locals you are visiting and dress accordingly, it has a great affect on your safety. I have seen Nordic backpackers who travel with no shame in Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, and Jewish countries holy places as if they came out of the shower. It sometimes lead to harassment as well; sexual & physical (Indian are known for “bat pinching” and hair pulling)

Insurance - make sure you are covered, don’t neglect nor ignore its importance - hope you want need it; don’t regret you didn’t do it.

Medication - what you take at home is not the same as what you buy there. The local “Chinese Doctor” is not always your home town standard of doctor.Pregnancy - think ahead to the future, some great Malaria medications will mean you should not get pregnant at least a year of cleaning your body from taking it - is it worth traveling to those countries for your honeymoon?

Health and local hospitals - before you get into trouble find a companion whom you trust to be with you in case of need. If you get hospitalized the partner should be with you ALL the time, don’t find yourself returning home with a kidney missing.

Drugs - not always you know that you are the smuggler… make sure you check your gear well - specially before airports and border crossing - smugglers are smart they plant drugs on you for crossing it over.

Theft - pick pockets and drug tourists with food (Thailand busses)

Advise; learn on the country & city you are about to visit, their customs and social conduct. Think ahead, remember you have a family at home who cares and worry about you. Don’t be shy to ask a fellow traveler about his experience, but don’t be a hero, it’s not worth it.

This time they have acquired OneTime.com & VirtualTourist.com (same ownership).

Its the 3rd purchase by TripAdvisor of Travel content websites in the past 12 months, latest was the European Holiday Watch Dog.

TripAdvisor-branded sites are; bookingbuddy, cruisecritic, independenttraveler, seatguru, smartertravel, travel-library, travelpod.

“TripAdvisor-branded sites make up the largest travel community in the world, with more than 25 million monthly visitors, seven million+ registered members and 15 million+ reviews and opinions”

Who’s next?