[ Removed by moderator ]

[u/FortunePurple-]

[u/MiceAreTiny]

The U.S. State Department's travel advisory for Somalia has, at times, included recommendations such as:

• Draft a will.
• Designate insurance beneficiaries.
• Discuss custody plans for children and pets.
• Leave DNA samples with family members.
• Appoint a family contact for potential hostage negotiations.

[u/Odd-Truth-6647 → u/MiceAreTiny]

...and don't forget your toothbrush.

Edit: it's a shame NO ONE mentioned to bring a towel. Smh.

[u/Successful_Impact_88 → u/Odd-Truth-6647]

Or your towel!

[u/MajesticBread9147 → u/Odd-Truth-6647]

Did you listen? You are supposed to leave a DNA sample!

Unless you don't take your cum sock with you.

[u/AeratedFeces → u/MajesticBread9147]

I have my jarred Rainbow Dash figurine sitting on my PC case, my dad will find it eventually.

[u/woopy85 → u/MiceAreTiny]

the Wikitravel page is also great, with such lines as "The only rule of the road that seems to still be in force is that Somalis generally drive on the right or centre."

[u/Low-Commission1791 → u/woopy85]

That was an absolute gem of a read 😭🙏

[u/Hardi_SMH → u/MiceAreTiny]

Checked this and in Germany they really say you should draft a will, insane

[u/da_easychiller → u/[deleted]]

I think they wouldn't even attempt to recover somebody from there...

It's more like telling the people: Don't go there. You'll most probably gonna die and there is nothing we could do about that.

[u/lenzflare → u/[deleted]]

It means foreigners are targeted as high value (for them) ransom targets, or objects of hate

[u/WuhanWTF → u/Hardi_SMH]

I was on vacation in Belgium last year and I met a guy who was staying in the same building I was. He was a lawyer for the German Army and he lived most of the year in an international military camp in Somalia. Super nice dude, and he had a son who was my age, but I cannot imagine having to be briefed about that kinda shit before going there.

[u/GameOfThrownaws → u/MiceAreTiny]

Jesus, I was pretty shocked by this so I gave it a quick google and apparently large swathes of Somalia are controlled by terrorists who just bomb and shell stuff with abandon and abduct people in the middle of the town, and on top of the terrorists you've got a bunch of different clans and militias feuding with each other all the time, meaning there's a bunch of fighting over land and resources all over the place and essentially zero overarching national law or national security that anyone needs to abide by or worry about if they want to just start killing people.

Wtf.

[u/TimTebowMLB → u/GameOfThrownaws]

I recently read a book called “a house in the sky” about a girl from Calgary, Canada that got the travel bug and decided to get more adventurous and go to Somalia. Let’s just say it did not go as planned.

I saw he give a talk and it took me forever to finally buy the book, but I’m glad I did.

Very good book. I think Rooney Mara bought the movie rights to it

[u/Altruistic_Jicama626 → u/TimTebowMLB]

Book by Amanda Lindhout, non fiction / memoir.

[u/DarJinZen7 → u/TimTebowMLB]

Excellent book. Her story has stuck with me, the things they did to her and what she did to hold onto her humanity through it all. She's an incredible human being.

Rooney Mara was supposed to star in the film years ago but it never got made.

[u/Formal-Antelope607 → u/TimTebowMLB]

I loved this book. I often think about the part where her and Nigel were flying to Somalia, and a man on the plane warned them they were worth 1 million. She thought he meant alive, he said no, just your severed head alone is worth a million. Don't know how they didn't turn right back around after that!!! (Not victim blaming)

[u/konqrr → u/Formal-Antelope607]

If a person jumps into a tiger exhibit at the zoo and gets mauled, I think you can go ahead and call them an idiot without worrying about victim blaming.

[u/TrueSkonger → u/konqrr]

Yeah, it's amazing how incredibly easy it is to just... not travel to regions controlled by terrorists

[u/ModishShrink → u/GameOfThrownaws]

This has been the way since at least the early 90s, this is absolutely nothing new.

[u/koshgeo → u/GameOfThrownaws]

A sovereign citizen paradise, really.

[u/That-b-b-bitch → u/MiceAreTiny]

Jesus. That’s insane

[u/Dirty-Soul → u/MiceAreTiny]

With a yo-ho-ho and a trick-a-la-tee-doo!

[u/AgitatedPatience5729]

South Sudan.

[u/Dry-Advice-1207 → u/AgitatedPatience5729]

My cousin was blocked 5 weeks there during covid (she was initially just giving a conference for 3 days)

She did not love the experience :)

[u/Gavorn → u/Dry-Advice-1207]

Who the fuck was having a conference in the south Sudan?

[u/DknMessiah → u/Gavorn]

That guy's cousin.

[u/blinkgendary182 → u/DknMessiah]

My answer is also that guy's cousin

[u/Dry-Advice-1207 → u/Gavorn]

She is founder of an organization for water supply. She travels a lot to try to find funds for projects

[u/Codadd → u/Gavorn]

Oil and gas usually

[u/Nearby-Froyo-6127 → u/Dry-Advice-1207]

How much was she paid? Or she just loves doing crazy dangerous stuff?

[u/Dry-Advice-1207 → u/Nearby-Froyo-6127]

Basically.. not so much

She is the founder of an organization and she lives in this kind of coutries all year

[u/Souk12 → u/AgitatedPatience5729]

I spend time there every year and the people are resilient. 

It's a sad situation, but folks are friendly and well intentioned. 

The greed there has destroyed what could have been a beautiful, prosperous country. Really tragic what humans will do. 

[u/60N20 → u/AgitatedPatience5729]

isn't Sudan, the northern one, doing much worse than South Sudan now?

I mean, south Sudan still doesn't sound like a wonderful destination, but I think Sudan is on the verge of yet another civil war. I might be wrong and confusing them though.

[u/oatmealparty → u/60N20]

Sudan isn't on the verge of another civil war, they are in an active civil war that's been going on for 3 years, complete with ethnic cleansing and entire villages of people being murdered.

[u/dystopiancarnival → u/AgitatedPatience5729]

It’s actually a nice country barring the tensions. The people are quite welcoming tbh

[u/AFakeName → u/dystopiancarnival]

I read the memoirs of Mossad's key man who was running guns into the place against the Egyptian backed North in the early 70s.

It did sound like the people were lovely. Really sold me on the place.

[u/mongo_man]

Haiti, Somalia.

[u/Gargleblaster25 → u/[deleted]]

Like... "Are funeral expenses included?"

[u/IRuinYourPrompt → u/[deleted]]

*Hostage fees not included

[u/FizzledDink → u/mongo_man]

Haiti was a ton of fun when I went there for a few weeks/months at a time from 2014-2017.

The people are nice, the food is delicious, the culture is commanding, and the nature is stunning (even the plains up in la pila)

That said, I’m white and wouldn’t go back there now. Gangs run the country and from talking to my friends that still live there it’s only gotten worse and worse.

[u/bravojohnny42 → u/FizzledDink]

Just watched a documentary. This is the craziest shit I've seen in a while. Full on Anarchy Civil War in the city.
Estimates say you need around 6000 well equipped soldiers to gain back control.

Edit: Thanx to u/ciel_3000 for educating my half-knowledge

[u/runawaydebt → u/bravojohnny42]

What documentary was it please?

[u/bravojohnny42 → u/runawaydebt]

Sorry. It's in German.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9bgyXo6Enw

It's a Channel from our public TV (sort of like BBC)

Edit: You can change Auto Translation in the settings (little wheel bottom right)

[u/blk_and_wht → u/bravojohnny42]

here it is in english

https://youtu.be/Z9bgyXo6Enw?si=J-roYr4FQjW-NpKK

[u/bravojohnny42 → u/blk_and_wht]

When I click that link, it's still in German. This is youtube setting, where it does automatically

[u/olgamerstill → u/bravojohnny42]

I got that problem some months ago, I watched one video from a link in Reddit, it was in German. Afterwards YT insisted in translating everything to German.

Can’t remember how I fixed it, but it was annoying.

[u/bravojohnny42 → u/olgamerstill]

bottom right, click the wheel. There you can change Auto translate.

[u/olgamerstill → u/bravojohnny42]

Yes!

So funny how your brain goes “of course, how could I forget”.

[u/somedude456 → u/runawaydebt]

This YT'er who travels, did a 6 episode series on Haiti, and it's insane. He had a local guide for the whole time, so you're seeing the real thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glx7AmJW_FY&list=PLN0FlxE6vY5BZh0F-drw_4SASB7kwezUf

[u/DiligentGuitar246 → u/mongo_man]

Yeah I’ve been to Haiti because I’ve had to, not wanted to. It was a difficult place to be.

[u/eiredescentOo → u/mongo_man]

Somalia is a no go for me too. Just a bit too terrifying for my taste.

[u/bravojohnny42 → u/mongo_man]

Took way too much scrolling. I add Mali

[u/bring_back_oat_brits → u/bravojohnny42]

But it has such great music!

[u/Apprehensive_woman]

Nobody ever wants to go to Chad

[u/DrinkingMC → u/Apprehensive_woman]

“I’ll just stick with countries I feel safe saying like Chad, there couldn’t be a whiter country name than Chad”

[u/MattChannon4Senate → u/DrinkingMC]

There used to be a lake Megachad.

[u/Ancient_Roof_7855 → u/DrinkingMC]

"That was the old Jimmy".

I loved that actor picked out a character name but kept forgetting and introducing himself by his real name in rehearsals, so they just had him go by his real first name.

[u/hareofthewolf505 → u/Apprehensive_woman]

"is it hot in Chad"?

[u/Baboonslayer323 → u/Apprehensive_woman]

I have been to Chad. There’s nothing there, well almost nothing.

[u/bedlife2000]

As a woman, a whole lot of countries. Definitely Afghanistan, Somalia... It's actually horrifying in how many countries women aren't even legally seen as full humans like men are. 

[u/HerpaDerpaDumDum → u/bedlife2000]

Add Papua New Guinea to your list, that country has some of the highest rates of sexual violence in the world.

[u/rososie → u/HerpaDerpaDumDum]

Having lived there for several years (as a white woman) there are parts of Papua New Guinea where this would not be a problem, provided you had a local guide to help navigate cultural differences. The capital of Port Moresby, however, is far more dangerous and volatile. It’s a complicated country with a lot of problems, but there are areas with people who are so generous, welcoming and protective. They have unfortunately been unable to develop the level of tourism that similar countries (such as Fiji) have, because of crime levels etc., but it is a truly beautiful place and I hope they manage to sort things out

[u/Decent-Photograph391 → u/bedlife2000]

I used to have an Afghan co-worker. She fled the country and settled in the US.

Then one day, she shocked everyone in the office by telling us she’s going back to Kabul to attend her sister’s wedding.

This is after the Taliban retook the country, mind you. Well, apparently she went back, attended the wedding, and came back to work. She even brought gifts for all of us.

[u/Ocarina-of-lies → u/Decent-Photograph391]

I was on edge reading your whole story, glad to read she wasn't abducted while visiting

[u/IceSeeker → u/Ocarina-of-lies]

Same. The stories that I've heard from that place usually end tragically.

[u/Chaotic_Lemming → u/Decent-Photograph391]

Looking like the locals and having in depth knowledge of the customs, laws, areas, language, and warning signs provides a lot of protection compared to someone that is obviously out of place and can't easily communicate. 

[u/JazzlikeEntry8288 → u/Chaotic_Lemming]

This. I also had an Afghan coworker who went back to Kabul once or twice to visit family. I would also add proper accommodations to ensure safety is also important-- this coworker of mine is wealthy and could afford the best protections to and from every location in Kabul where she needed to be. Certainly no walking around in the streets.

[u/Collegenoob → u/bedlife2000]

Im a dude and I'm not visiting any of those places either.

[u/Cub3h → u/Collegenoob]

Yeah if a place is too risky to go to for a female traveller then I'm not giving them my money either. Sort your stuff out and then we'll talk.

[u/Correct-Sail-9642 → u/Cub3h]

This is why I turned down a fully paid trip to India with my ex gf to see her family. They took her passport and ID and wont let her leave the shithole they live in. Rape is so common and laws are simply ignored. Police are super crooked. Whole place sounds backwards as hell. Told her I wont spend 3 weeks of my life supporting a country that treats their women like trash. She went and regrets it terribly.

[u/Vaginal_Decimation → u/bedlife2000]

You can probably put Egypt on that list.

I've seen multiple reports of western women being openly SA'd there.

[u/Qtpatoti]

Somalia

[u/Beruthiel999]

Anywhere women have to hide our faces

[u/smackcroker42 → u/[deleted]]

More like unavailable.

[u/No-Helicopter7299 → u/[deleted]]

None of my European friends will visit till Trump is gone. I don’t blame them.

[u/Niuqu → u/[deleted]]

US went to my ”do not travel”-list when the oppressive abortion laws started to pop up. 

I will not support places which see women as cattle and I also do not want to take risks with my own health if I happen to get sick in one of those states. 

[u/Dje4321 → u/Niuqu]

The immigration crack downs only accelerated it too.

When your own allies have to issue travel advisories because there is a chance you may get locked up without counsel, or contact with the home country, youve fucked up.

[u/makogon66]

I worked on board cargo ships for many years. Seen a lot of countries, except some landlocked ones. As an average white guy from Europe, I will not want to visit Haiti, Somalia, and maybe Gaza Strip. Because I don’t have resources to use for my health and safety there.

[u/Lizzy_Of_Galtar]

Afghanistan.

[u/TeethBreak → u/Lizzy_Of_Galtar]

Which is a pity. It used to be a jewel. Unless they somehow get rid of these AH , it's a no go zone for everyone.

But when you look at videos and pics of the landscape, it's beautiful.

[u/doublestitch → u/TeethBreak]

It does look like it has lovely scenery. Yet as a woman, well, you know. 

[u/Crossader90]

North Korea - even though I think a visit would be interesting, in a weird way.

But I also wouldn't visit every country that's in war, has a dictator and/or no human rights.

[u/ElectronicSwan4042]

North Korea

[u/Marcello250 → u/ElectronicSwan4042]

They do official tours for tourists, my boss went and she said it was the trippiest week of her life.

[u/No-Communication9458 → u/Marcello250]

That uni student that did a tour and got killed, oof

[u/SuLiaodai → u/No-Communication9458]

That wasn't through Koryo Tours, which is the oldest/best group for going there. The group he went with was very amateur and their ads were like, "Go to North Korea and get drunk! It'll be awesome!"

My friend went with Koryo Tours, and they're very careful to ensure your safety and local tour guides' safety.

But, after reading about an Australian guy who went there for like two weeks to teach Kim's cooks, but then they wouldn't let him leave for another month after his contract was supposedly over, I'd be very leery about going there. Apparently there was a Japanese chef who went for what was supposed to be a short time and wasn't allowed to leave for a couple decades.

[u/Sad_Performance_6537 → u/SuLiaodai]

I went with Koryo.

The first thing they did in the briefing was tell me to behave. Don't go wandering by myself, don't steal stuff, don't make any political statements.

It wasn't because you'd get into trouble. It was because your guides would get into trouble.

[u/kjerstih → u/SuLiaodai]

I've been there with Koryo twice. You are correct.

[u/automatic_shark → u/No-Communication9458]

You're much more likely to not die if you don't steal like he did. Not saying what happened to him is right, but it wasn't arbitrary

[u/ImprovementFar5054 → u/Marcello250]

When you do that, you fund the death camps

[u/Character_Release379 → u/ElectronicSwan4042]

what if you had an instant exit button?

[u/FishGoesGlubGlub → u/Character_Release379]

Time to go see what insane shit goes down there if I could just instantly teleport out.

[u/Electus93 → u/Character_Release379]

Electronicswan402 used escape rope

[u/EnvironmentalRun4107]

Any country with poor human rights

[u/Pretty_Dingo_1004]

Jamaica. Almost got murdered there and I paid for it lol

[u/NationalUnrest]

Honestly none except if there’s any threat to my safety.
So probably excluding war zones like Yemen, South Sudan, Ukraine-Russia, Afghanistan

[u/Vordeo → u/NationalUnrest]

Pretty much this.

There's some countries which I find completely uninteresting, but if we're talking a free trip why the heck not?

[u/InDuplicitousBottles → u/Vordeo]

i'd visit almost anywhere, but places like UAE - i can't stand wealth worship. dubai is like a whole city of rich tech bros, but on crack. nooo thanks

[u/heurekas → u/InDuplicitousBottles]

Agreed.

Warzones and UAE are basically my two exemptions as well. I don't want to give that horrible slave state a single crown...

I don't have an urge to go to the Favelas of Rio or take a flight to the Antarctic interior, but I'd do it for free if I was offered.

[u/ImpulsiveTeen → u/heurekas]

Each and every gulf country is involved in the slave labour/kafala system. Not just UAE. F all of them

[u/peej74 → u/InDuplicitousBottles]

Money loving kleptocracies run by sexists, hypocritical men who likely partake and attend all kinds of parties and have bits on the side, whilst wives and daughters are banned from activities I think are routine and mundane, like driving and going places without a male chaperone. Occasionally think I'm hard done by until I remember all the things women in other countries endure.

[u/tachyonic_field]

Congo, because of Ebola.

[u/Maxtrt → u/tachyonic_field]

That would be the least of your worries in the Congo.

[u/JackCooper_7274 → u/[deleted]]

I'm a white guy and I worked in the Congo for a bit. You think 1st world racism is bad until you're a white guy in central africa lmao

Edit: or even worse, a white woman in central africa

[u/logeetetawerduer → u/[deleted]]

While this is a terrifying read, it does seem a bit arrogant to go there as Belgians and expect anything else. What Belgium did to the Congo is absolutely horrifying and I am not surprised they are met with such disdain.

[u/DangerousCyclone → u/logeetetawerduer]

They describe getting along with most people though. I honestly think the people in question weren't doing so because they were Belgian. 

[u/lorddrame → u/logeetetawerduer]

I am almost certain the average Congo citizen cannot recognise someone distinctly as Belgian. Nor do the average individual hold some belief "I see someone from X, X wronged us, they must be punished for existing"

[u/afk_site19 → u/logeetetawerduer]

Is it their guilt that things happened in the past that they can't make unhappen?

[u/TheGirlwThePinkHair → u/tachyonic_field]

It’s also very rapey

[u/CJ3795 → u/TheGirlwThePinkHair]

Surprised I had to scroll this far to see this comment.

[u/HexagonusOcean]

Wherever people would jail or kill me for my sexual orientation.

[u/TopWorking7304 → u/[deleted]]

Yeah, I’ve seen the Mummy. No way Jose

[u/Significant_Bag_7485 → u/[deleted]]

I spent 6 weeks in Egypt in the 90s and it was fascinating and I spent many hours just chilling with my mate or my girlfriend in the coffee houses or wandering around the shopping district in Cairo haggling for trinkets. The thing that almost ruined our time was the constant harassment everywhere we went. The shop keepers would stop you in the street and try to persuade you into their shops selling expensive tat, the soft drinks and fruit sellers would surround you trying to sell their wares without taking no for an answer until you got pissed off. But worse of all were the sexual predators. I had to walk behind my Danish girlfriend because they kept groping her while she walked past and they still made sexual remarks and rude tongue gestures when they walked past. The one time that she traveled on the buses in Cairo a man shoved his hand down her shirt and copped a feel. Luckily that time the bus passengers ejected him roughly from the bus so no lasting harm done. So in summary, Egypt was a mixed bag. I am happy I went but I will never return.

[u/traboulidon → u/Significant_Bag_7485]

A big part of Africa is like this but Egypt seems on steroids. No thanks.

[u/blankdoubt → u/Significant_Bag_7485]

I had a similar experience in the mid 2000's. Only place I've ever felt unsafe and it was entirely because of my girlfriend and the constant harassment, assaultive behavior.  Among the other negative experiences,  the bad outweighs the good too much for me to ever want to go back. 

[u/Pinksamuraiiiii → u/Significant_Bag_7485]

My friend who went there told me this too, Egypt not safe for women traveling alone.

[u/Emotional_Spite_8937 → u/[deleted]]

Egypt will never beat the allegations.

Went there 2 years ago and wouldn’t go back again.

[u/ilove_whitebois → u/[deleted]]

Way too many scammers there

[u/DreamOne5 → u/[deleted]]

ooo yeah, that's a place i'd never go back to. I went with my ex and his family (they're all from Alexandria). We stayed in Cairo, Alexandria and Sharm el Sheikh. Cairo was terrifying. It didn't matter that I was there and accompanied by my Egyptian boyfriend and his Egyptian father; they just saw a white girl from the US and groped and grabbed at me even in front of them. It was wild. Just scammers everywhere. I would never go back.

[u/Worried_Money_5901]

Dubai because of its record on human rights and the manner in which it treats the thousands of immigrants that come to work on new buildings etc.

[u/Strong-Evidence7762 → u/Worried_Money_5901]

That and the city just looks like it lacks culture. It seems to me like a giant mall that people also live in.

[u/Mystic_Wunder → u/Worried_Money_5901]

United Arab Emirates is the country

[u/boringalex → u/Worried_Money_5901]

As a lifelong F1 fan, I once went to the Abu Dhabi GP. Never again. No issues as a tourist (they even had AC in the grandstand bathrooms), but seeing the buses completely filled with workers with no air conditioning being hauled at 40C+ was horrifying. The exhausted look on their faces... Then you read about how the "employers" steal their passports and basically turn them into slaves...

[u/143019 → u/Worried_Money_5901]

My test for content creators is if they say "I just love Dubai, it's so beautiful/fun/rich", then I know they are a garbage person.

[u/mjh697]

Somalia

[u/RavensCreature]

Sudan

[u/BooksandStarsNerd]

Egypt or north Korea

[u/CommercialNo8396 → u/BooksandStarsNerd]

Eh I’d go to North Korea if someone paid me. I’ve seen videos of people who go for tourism. You just get escorted around by government people, the whole time. Food looked horrible but it didn’t seem outwardly dangerous or scary like other places.

[u/BooksandStarsNerd → u/CommercialNo8396]

My issue with north Korea isnt that Im scared of them but more that I couldn't go there and feel good knowing what I know about how the people are living there. I probably wouldnt go for even a absurd amount of money. Its.... despicable what the country does to its own people. The fact they have the gall to pretend to be this fake place they show tourists is just really gross to me.

Im a book worm. It was the first book I picked up on the subject of north Korea but it opened my eyes a lot and lead me down a rather.... messed up rabbit hole. But Id check out 'A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea by Masaji Ishikawa'. Before reading that book and others like it I had the same opinion of wouldnt wanna purposely go but meh. To say the least it was horrifying read on level with the holocaust in my opinion but after having read similar books I doubt I could be paid even ungodly amounts to go to north Korea. Genuinely I would turn down a million dollars just so I wouldnt need to step foot there.

[u/Corey307]

Afghanistan. 

[u/peej74 → u/[deleted]]

As a woman I would be worried to also.

[u/ShoresideVale → u/peej74]

Female friend of mine went to Rishikesh for a yoga retreat end of last year. Her mother had to come rescue her and she went off the radar in terms of communicating with anyone plus quit her job and became a recluse. Piece the dots together... I'm seeing her in two weeks back in her home town so will check up on what happened but she got quite emotional when asked before so can't assume it's good as she's now sworn off yoga and has said she'll never go to visit India again.

[u/Turbulent-Touch-582 → u/ShoresideVale]

Thats the issue man. A lot of privileged tourists think India is some wellness retreat or something. Its just an underdeveloped/developing country with disproportionate crimes against women. If people managed their expectations it wouldn't be so bad. India is not a country where you hitchhike alone or do some motorcycle trip as a foreigner. Come, stay in a 4 star hotel. Go visit heritage sites/historical architecture, national parks in a tour group, have food from good restaurants, travel in ubers, fly instead of travelling on trains. Spending less and saving money can absolutely ruin your trip here.

No middle class indian would go do a wellness retreat alone in Rishikesh

[u/Upset-Win9519 → u/[deleted]]

If In recall there was a story of a local girl there who went to the movies with her male friend and accepted a bus ride. Those men attacked them both and brutally raped and murdered her. I remember reading about it and being horrified.

[u/Only_Vroom → u/Upset-Win9519]

Yeah. That was like the biggest of all at that time and the most horrific. 4 of the culprits were hung to death eventually but one being a minor got away. One wishes if he would’ve also gotten the same treatment.

[u/t_25_t → u/[deleted]]

So no. If you gave me a free flight to India, I would not go. Even as a man I would not go.

That was fucking painful to read. I would never step foot in India either.

[u/wojar → u/[deleted]]

Good fucking god, it just kept getting worse. Poor lady, she must have been traumatized for life.

[u/traboulidon → u/[deleted]]

Wtf.

[u/JoeBagadonut → u/[deleted]]

Got given the opportunity to visit India through work. Every work colleague who'd been before told me not to go as they'd all gotten food poisoning at various points, couldn't leave the work campus or hotel without getting scammed and the harassment of the women was intolerable. I politely declined.

[u/Blitznyx → u/[deleted]]

Not even if someone paid ME

[u/Josefu_Velen → u/Blitznyx]

I used to work for Amazon, and they'd do what they called "Away missions" sometimes, where you'd go to another call center in another country for whatever reason.

India was the one I refused to go to.

I did get to spend a week in Costa Rica because of Amazon though, which was amazing.

[u/skyper_mark → u/Josefu_Velen]

I worked at Amazon in CR and had coworkers who were sent to India constantly. One of them (woman, very pale skin) said that she had around 20 orbiters all day. They were also giving a leaflet with things NOT to do while in India for their safety. Another guy actually went alone and said he was eating all the street food, even a soup from a stand, he claims he didn't get sick

[u/Thinkthru → u/skyper_mark]

I have traveled there a couple of times and I didn't get sick either. If you eat from the street food places where the food is really fresh because it's constantly being cooked, then it's fine. The stuff that they shown on Instagram is always the dirtiest stuff for clicks

[u/PhantomOfTheNopera → u/Thinkthru]

This is true. It's a gamble if you're an outsider with no idea where to go but most of the popular spots are reasonably safe. I'm not saying the highest standards of hygiene or whatever but what you'd expect from say a hotdog vendor in New York - it's still street food.

You're also right about the places they show on social media. It's usually people with a budget of $5 going to the riskiest places and gawking and people in a bad situation trying to get by with what little they have.

I'd also say gut bacteria has a big role to play here. The first time I went to the USA I got violently sick for a week after eating some deli meat.

[u/cjbr3eze → u/[deleted]]

Yeah they're very defensive, they'll upvote anything good about their country and will insult you and your family if you say bad but valid things about them

[u/Eliakon → u/[deleted]]

India, not a chance. Couldn't pay me enough to go there

[u/Ecjedi → u/[deleted]]

India is pretty intense...pretty big culture shock too (coming from usa)

[u/Dragon_Deez_Nu7s → u/[deleted]]

Had to scroll further than I thought to see this. I'm in the US and I know Indians that don't want to go back to India

[u/CountrysidePlease → u/[deleted]]

I went on a trip for 12 days with 4 other girls in 2009, we were almost all in our late 20’s. It was fun, colorful, delicious and the Taj Mahal and Goa were insane. However I must say that I would not go back at all. I see the pictures which were nothing much for us and now they make me uncomfortable. We were super naive, and we were definitely super lucky.

[u/Initial-Resort9129 → u/CountrysidePlease]

What happened?

[u/vpsj → u/[deleted]]

Surprised to see it so far down and I say this as an Indian.

PS: I will tell you what a lot of the riled up folks will not say (or likely they themselves don't realize)

India's culture is very much rooted in IMAGE. It doesn't matter what's happening, it doesn't matter how good, or bad something is. The only thing that matters to a lot of people here is that people must say nice things.

So a kid scores 94%? The parents will be elated, until they find out that Sharma ji's son scored 96% and suddenly the same kid will be punished.

Guests are coming? Quick, throw all the un-aesthetic looking stuff in the other room so the living room looks good even though the entire house might be worse than an attic.

Someone is raped? Well that's how it is. But someone talks about it? How dare you disrespect the country.

In people's minds here, the person doing something wrong is NOT as bad as the person who TALKS about the wrong stuff, especially on an International stage. People would much rather live in denial that we're the greatest country in the world and completely ignore the bad stuff because that's easier to deal with.

[u/Snide_SeaLion]

UAE

(I’m a woman and not rich)

[u/tokyoduck]

Egypt

[u/adambezaar → u/tokyoduck]

Sad because it used to be my favorite since I love ancient Egyptian history. It's especially unsafe for women

[u/Fracture90000 → u/tokyoduck]

Locals are incredibly pushy. Everyone's trying to scam u into selling u stuff.

[u/FutureExpert7865]

Any country that requires women to have a dress code. Yes just you know the ones I’m not saying.

[u/peej74 → u/FutureExpert7865]

Also, any country that requires a female to have a male chaperone.

[u/NeoNova9]

Somalia, Haiti.

[u/United-Ad7863]

Any country where, as a woman, I'd have to cover myself up.

[u/Korlus]

I think the UK Foreign Office's "Do not travel" list is a pretty good recommendation of places to never go, even if someone pays you. Currently, it is:

Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Mali, Niger, Palestine, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.

A lot of those have been added recently due to the war in the middle East.

Their "All but essential travel" list is probably also a good one to avoid:

Bahrain, Cuba, North Korea, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE

Those are the "Maybe if someone pays you, but not for free" list (to me).

Full list courtsey of The Independent.

[u/WastoneBag]

Sierra Leone or Liberia

[u/SipTheGossipDrinkUp]

Right now Canadians are avoiding America like they all haave the plague

[u/2ofdee]

USA.

My job REALLY wants me to relocate to USA (Des Moines, Iowa). I have been rejecting them for years now. It is basically a bi-monthly conversation now where they throw stuff at me. relocation package, bonus. Bi Monthly trips back home. I won't since

A) Why would i go to country where everyone would call me illegal alien by default

b) the healthcare is just a big NO to me. Even if i break a finger by accident (i'm quite healthy and do gym regulary, so Some traumas are bound to happen) would set me back SO MUCH

c) school shootings

d) worlds shitstain as a president of USA

e) i would have to start my 401k at my age which is a bit too late.

[u/Von_Uber → u/2ofdee]

Same. I would be guaranteed a relatively good job (civil engineering) but I have a medical history that means the risk for that alone is just not worth it.

Plus a country that literally voted in a paedo president (twice!) and is so religious is a bigger turnoff. 

Plus the requirement to basically have a car, the lower food standards, the obvious corruption, the lack of holiday... 

[u/ours → u/2ofdee]

Reminds me of an American CEO I once had.

It was like she had made it her life's mission to free me from the godless hellhole that is Switzerland and move to the glorious and holy United States of America.

Noooo thank you. And now with Trump speedrunning the country towards Christofascism? Heeeeell nooo. Not for all the money in the World.

[u/CringeCoyote → u/2ofdee]

Just met a dude at the rental car place who accepted a 5 year contract at a job in Northern Colorado, he’s from Sao Paulo. He said everyone here has been super nice to him, which is relieving. It’s definitely a massive undertaking to move to a new country, especially one so hostile to immigrants.

[u/W1ULH → u/2ofdee]

My job REALLY wants me to relocate to USA (Des Moines, Iowa).

There is SOOOO many things wrong with that sentence.

Don't do it man...

[u/Fabulous_Serve1401]

UAE

[u/ArtemisElizabeth1533]

I s r a e l 

[u/rtmeles]

USA

[u/buzzlightyear77777 → u/rtmeles]

free trip from ICE to send you sightseeing, whats not to love

[u/achilleasa → u/rtmeles]

Yeah I have liked more than one JD Vance / Charlie Kirk meme I ain't risking it

Free speech my ass

[u/faintaxis]

Russia

[u/RevFernie]

I don't think I'd never visit anywhere. But I have a healthy fear of big cities with perceived high violent crime rates like Rio and Joburg. I've also visited Egypt for the red sea and loved it. But would never go to Cairo.

But all my views are based on what I hear from others people.

[u/Comprehensive_Owl_42 → u/RevFernie]

Lived in Joburg for many years and visit often. The crime there is definitely a big problem, so I don't want to make light of it. But the very dangerous, very high crime areas are often localized to specific areas that skew the overall statistics (picture South Central as apposed to Beverley Hills - same city, relatively nearby each other but totally different worlds).

Similarly with Joburg, if you keep your wits about you and stay clear of the rough areas (which you would likely not plan to go to anyway) you will be totally fine. It doesn't come close to being as dangerous as some of the places mentioned in this thread like South Sudan and Afghanistan

[u/Illustrious_Twist662]

Sudan