To any and all thrill-seekers--
I am a freelance journalist doing research on a potential feature for a national magazine about individuals who travel to the most dangerous places on the planet. I'm about talking about the most politically unstable (Burma, N. Korea, Yemen), crime-ridden (Guatemala, Somolia, Haiti) or just downright dangerous (Colombia, Congo, Jordan) countries throughout the world. Where did they go, why did they do it, what did they experience when they got there, etc., etc.
If you-- or someone you know-- engages in this type of thrill-seeking behavior (be it for humanitarian purposes or simply the adventure) I would love to speak with you.
Please reply to this thread with contact info.
Very best,
Andrew
Reply to this Hi Andrew,
Have a good friend who was in North Korea this summer....they check so much on you that it must be one of the safest place to stay in the world...you couldn't get lost anywhere anytime...
Have another friend who is used to go to places like Kabul, Irak, etc...pretty amazing guy....the more crazy thing...he may go to crazy places, he was in serious danger twice the last few time....tsunami while in Phuket, and was in the restaurant in Bali while the place get bombed....so you would think Phuket and Bali are safe....
Hae fun wit your research,
Peter
Reply to this Hello Andrew 😊
I dont go to places that I consider to be a very high risk to my personal safety. I do however go to places that are not heavily touristed. Last year I went to Iran. This year I went to Kyrgyzstan. I suppose they could be considered politically unstable to some extent ...... And I was in Guatamala and Uganda which had civil wars at the time.... Of those two, I considered Guatamala too dangerous to roam around because of the number of knife robbery victems I met there. In Uganda I avoided the war by staying on island that was away from the action. Guatamala was just out of a civil war but I went to an Indian village in the mountains to avoid the knife robberies.
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Mel
Reply to this Since when has Jordan become downright dangerous? Have I missed something? And I don't know about Somalia being crime ridden, I think Somalia is really downright dangerous :-)
I could go on and on about the list, but I won't :-)
I personally would never travel anywhere just to say I did it, dangerous or not...
Reply to this Since when has Jordan become downright dangerous?
LOL
And why is Guatamala on the same list as Haiti? :D
Reply to this Dude,
I'll have to agree. Been around the block a few times and some places have not been ideal, but never for the sake of "getting the t-shirt"
Reply to this Well, I don't know... Maybe if I got a t-shirt I would go to Somalia :-)
Reply to this I am not quite sure how Jordan got on the dangerous list. I was there just over a year ago and I never once felt threatened (unless, of course, warm hospitality and friendliness could be considered a danger.) I felt very safe in Guatemala too, but I generally kept all of my valuables out of sight when I was walking around the big cities.
I don't go to places just to say I have been there. If there is a place I want to visit that is in a 'dangerous' area (and many places I want to visit seem to be in dangerous areas) then I will talk to people that have recently been there and do research - If I decide that there is a huge human related risk to myself (other than basic thievery) then I will give it a miss. So far, the only time I have really felt like I was in danger during my travels was when I was sailing across the Southern Ocean and I almost fell overboard during a gale.
Good luck with your story.
Reply to this Really there aren't many seriously dangerous countries out there. Even in places like Iraq and Somalia, there are still certain regions within those countries that are considered safe to visit (and indeed, a few bloggers here have visited).
Reply to this Over the years I've found myself in a handful of places that some may call dangerous - Iraq, North Korea, Burma, Lebanon, Iran, Syria & plenty more. While perceived as dangerous, this is not always the case - I've felt fare more at risk walking certain streets late at night in London.
Some of the so called dangerous places are the friendliest on earth. Burma & much of the Middle East are the kind of places that people will go out of their way to make sure you are safe & happy in their country.
Just take a look at a few of the blogs people have written here & you soon see what places are really like!
I never made a plan to go to these places, some happened by chance (North Korea), some a result of passing through the neighbourhood (Iraq), others I fell in love with (Burma). It's always good to go to a place & see that it's nothing like the image you see in the media...
Reply to this I dont think the media(gutter press and media from countries where there is not freedom of the press asside) is painting a false picture and I think most people would realise that most of the dangers and attrocities we read about in the media wont be visible to us when we visit the various countries. Not unless we get unlucky anyway. :D Check out my Estonia blog.
Reply to this whatever, you get the point, and sure there is alot of places where it would be "unwise" to travel, Sierra leone, northeast congo ect...
Reply to this like Mell said in post 3, I don't travel to dangerous places, but more to EXTREMELY untouristy places to stay with indigenous and tribal groups. In the last 4 months that has included a week of traveling with reindeer herding nomads in Arctic Russia, 6 weeks independent island hopping in Vanuatu where in one particularly remote spot I found a tribe who wear no clothes, are totally self-sufficient, use no money and are pretty much the nicest, happiest people I've ever met. Also spent five days on a tiny Pacific atoll in the Outer Islands of Yap, Micronesia, and am now in the Philippines. I suppose some of these places could be called slightly dangerous just because if I had ever got ill or broken my leg I would sometimes have been several days walk from the nearest road, let alone hospital!
Reply to this Hey Andrew
What an interesting thread topic.
This past year from your list I have been to Burma, Jordan, and just about 10 days ago the Congo. I have to agree with some other people that Jordan is in no way dangerous whatsoever, in fact it is one of easiest destinations in the ME to travel. I spent 2 months in the ME this summer, and I would think countries that would be on your list at least higher than Jordan would include Lebanon, Syria, and Israel/Palestine. After doing some reading on those countries it is usually pretty obvious whether they are safe, dangerous, or safe for now. I would have to say that I wanted to see Lebanon and Israel not to say that I had been there, but just because such a disproportionate amt of world news comes from that region, if you are around and don't dip in I feel like it would be such a waste especially if you were just that close. As long as the country is "safe for now," I am personally comfortable enough to enter.
On kind of a stupid note, I also went to the DRC and Rwanda last week, but I entered DRC (Goma, exactly the region where the war rages no less than 15 miles from the rebels) but I merely dipped into Goma because up to that day while I heard it was volatile, I heard it was safe. I took extreme precautions and eventually after my first night when the fighting broke out again I hauled ass out as fast as I could back to Rwanda which I in turn also hauled ass out of to Tanzania. That was a bit of a scare I suppose. When people ask me why though I wanted to go into the DRC, I would have to say that you have to look at where you are traveling sometime and the big issues that eventually trickle into your head and make you wonder. For me, the business of aid and peacekeeping in Africa really hooked me for so many reasons, it has just been building since I entered East Africa and I wanted to see a peacekeeping mission in action as it was just a km past the border and so within reach - Goma is the HQ of the UN in the Congo.
I feel like if you want to learn more about the world past the pretty postcards and vacation brochures, you are bound to wander into some regions your parents wouldn't be too thrilled about. Personally I wanted to see places that I didn't hear so much about, and so many of the really safe and well infrastructured, well touristed areas to be honest most people have been to and I have heard about multiple times to the point where they don't seem so curious anymore. I guess I want to travel to these other places to learn more about what is further from my grasp. I am booked for Colombia and Brazil in January, and I plan on visiting Iran as well. Unfortunately if you have any interest in world events, many of the more unstable countries will draw you like moths to a flame. That is really my hook, to learn and understand, not so much the "thrill" or the sights anymore, but having said that the two countries I dare not step in are still Iraq and Afghanistan.
Reply to this I feel like if you want to learn more about the world past the pretty postcards and vacation brochures, you are bound to wander into some regions your parents wouldn't be too thrilled about.
That is exactly why I go to some unusual places. People sometimes say to me ''why did you go there? There is nothing there?''. I never seem to be able to put it into words like you just have.
On kind of a stupid note, I also went to the DRC and Rwanda last week, but I entered DRC (Goma, exactly the region where the war rages no less than 15 miles from the rebels) but I merely dipped into Goma because up to that day while I heard it was volatile, I heard it was safe. I took extreme precautions and eventually after my first night when the fighting broke out again I hauled ass out as fast as I could back to Rwanda which I in turn also hauled ass out of to Tanzania.
Do you have a blog about this? There is no way that I am going to wander into DRC to see for myself but if others have I will be very interested in reading about it. What you said about hauling your ass back to Tanzania reminds me of when I was in Uganda during some heavy troubles there. People were saying dont go here, dont go there, vere West as you approach that region..... The warnings about where exactly not to go were so detailed that I decided to take myself to an island with no running water or electricity or wars to get away from having to figure it all out and maybe getting it wrong anyway. There I spent most of my time that I was in Uganda.
Reply to this This is a very interesting topic, I've never been to any of the places named, but sometimes people can get the wrong ideas about these kinds of places and tourist can get discouraged or be in fear of going.
Reply to this i recently realized that i have been doing this for a while and am attempting to write down some of these adventures from the past 10 years.
Some places are dangerous, sometimes its me being dangerous, but it always exciting!
Most dangerous? Czech Republic, Djing at an illegal warehouse party where the local mafia didnt like the music we were playing and pulled out guns to change the tunes.
Or maybe the hospital in Bulgaria, where the surgeon turned to me just as he was about to drill through the bone in my leg and said 'we don't have any painkillers in this hospital'
Reply to this Please stop watching CNN and BBC. You are getting brainwashed!
Jordan is not dangerous
Iranians are not terrorists
Yemen is the safest place I've been
Well, I don't have much to add, just say that I've been in all the countries you listed (except Korea) not to tell other people but to know how the reality is!
Cheers
Reply to this When I was a child, I dreamed of going to every country on the planet. I wanted to be like Jim in Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Maybe you're too young to remember that show. 😉 Anyway, I fulfilled my dream of going to Papua New Guinea, not realizing that it's one of the most dangerous places in the world. I spent a lot of the time praying to whomever to make it out without being hurt or killed. Oddly, though, the most scared I've been is in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. I no longer feel the need to go to Congo, etc, after those two trips, but Burma, Belarus, Libya, and even North Korea are intriguing. I think dictatorships usually aren't as dangerous as we're led to believe.
Reply to this 
