Last year, 6,000 U.S. citizens traveling abroad died, 9,000 went missing, and 7,000 paid visits to local prisons. Heed our travel experts’ advice on preserving your person and pension and have the most trauma-free Spring Break of your up-till-now uninformed life.
Destination: Southeast Asia
Danger: Arrest!
In places like Singapore and Sri Lanka, narcotics crimes are punishable by death. In Vietnam foreigners aren’t even allowed to bring nationals of the opposite sex to their hotel rooms. Just going to wank it? A single item of pornography can land you a $2,000 fine and expulsion from the country (or locked up with charming fellows like these shown here).
Travel tip: Everything’s negotiable, even the law. Officials may expect bribes and other “gifts.” If cold American currency fails, prepare for a long stay. “If you find yourself in a foreign prison,” says Bruce McIndoe, vice chairman and president of iJet, a global risk management company, “it helps to have chocolate and cigarettes. You may be able to use them as bartering tools to get out quicker.” And develop a taste for gruel; Asian nations have been known to hold Americans for years without even notifying U.S. embassies.
Destination: Latin America
Danger: Kidnapping!
Abductions are particularly popular in Colombia, but even on-the-beaten-path spots like Mexico and Brazil are getting in on the craze, with roughly 3,500 incidents annually. And overfed gringos aren’t immune. In 2001 five Americans were abducted from an Ecuadorian oil field. Before their $13 million ransom was paid, Ronald Sander, 54, was executed and left on a jungle road.
Travel tip: “Express kidnappings” account for the vast majority of the abductions in Latin America: Hapless victims are snatched off the street, taken to an ATM, compelled to withdraw the maximum amount, held until the ATM resets, and forced to make a second withdrawal. U.S. State Department reps recommend traveling in packs and traveling insured, but if cornered, don’t be a hero. “The only time people get hurt in these cases is when they resist,” says McIndoe. “If you complain, you’ll probably be released with just a few scratches.”
Destination: Eastern Europe
Danger: Fraud!
Fraud is rampant all over the former Soviet Bloc, but Russia’s ripoff rate is off the charts: five times higher than the global average. “I used my card once at an upscale restaurant—and by the time I got home, some guy in Poland was using my account to buy computers,” says McIndoe. Thanks for the Dell, dude!
Travel tip: Many online merchants won’t even process orders from Eastern Europe. So leave the plastic in the hotel and, as McIndoe advises, carry cash in small denominations. And don’t trust a uniform. The U.S. State Department warns that hucksters will often pose as police in complex good Samaritan schemes. You pick up a dropped money clip, and suddenly an “officer” is confiscating everything you own…a BFF ring and your AV card.
Destination: Africa
Danger: Disease!
There’s monkeypox in Central and West Africa, the guinea worm in Sudan, Ghana, and Nigeria, and chikungunya fever throughout. In 2006 there was even an outbreak of the plague. Hey, what century is this, anyway?
Travel tip: “About a week before leaving, go to a travel clinic or your doctor and begin a series
of antimalarial medication,” recommends Dr. William Schaffner, vice president for the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. While in Africa, keep Cipro and Imodium on hand, as well as a stash of granola bars to eat instead of fruit (a cholera spreader).
Destination: The Middle East
Danger: Evildoers!
In the past two years, approximately 300 Americans have died abroad in terrorist incidents. The Overseas Security Advisory Council fingers Middle Eastern and North African destinations like Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and Israel, as hotbeds of violence. Were you seriously thinking of going here?
Travel tip: Register with the local U.S. consulate. They’ll keep you updated on the latest security intelligence. Avoid public transportation, and know your opponent—terrorists are well aware that embassies and other U.S. facilities have hardened over the years, and will target more public places in hopes of taking a corn-fed American out. After an initial attack, run: Secondary attacks are a common tactic.