Calculated Risks
This report from the Associated Press suggests that our daily jobs might be more dangerous than traveling . . . at least when it comes to deep vein thrombosis. Which got me thinking. Not about blood clots per se (fascinating though they are) but about what can be perceived as dangerous, and how travel can be such an amalgam of adventure, danger and blind faith. I find myself much more adventurous on the road and in situations that at home would seem foolhardy.
Last week in London, out late after the tube closed, I hopped on a bus that just vaguely would get me in the direction of where I needed to go. I fell asleep, so trusting and foolish and bone-dead tired, and woke up when the bus reached its final destination. At home I might have had a moment of panic, but somehow abroad it seemed like an adventure, and I found another bus within a few minutes that got me on my way. I'd never hitchhike in the U.S., ever. But cobbling together rides in China's Gansu province was an adventure, and I never once felt unsafe doing it. I show up without reservations all the time when traveling, arrive in cities in the wee hours of the morning and navigate strange train stations and the somewhat sketchy neighborhoods surrounding them.
I like to think I'm street-smart, and that's why I've never had any trouble, but there's also a part of me that feels that the patron saint of travelers is on my side, and looking out for me. Hopefully he'll keep with me, and I'll do my part (and exercise on long flights and now, after reading that article, will make sure to go for more coffee breaks) and, I promise, to balance the adventure with the risk while traveling. But that's just me: Is your traveling self the risk taker? How far would you go for adventure?
By Anne McDonough |
March 13, 2007; 12:02 PM ET
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Anne McDonough
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Posted by: nancy | March 13, 2007 4:21 PM
Go for it nancy.
Posted by: katman13 | March 13, 2007 5:11 PM
After a week on the island of Utila in Honduras, we thought we would check out the town of La Ceiba and the Pico Bonito wild life area on the way home. We checked into the best hotel in town - Quinta Real - and within 5 hours our room was looted on anything valuable, mostly electronics and photo equiment.Most problamatic was the loss of our passports,credit cards and cash.(The evening with the La Ceiba police is a whole story on it's own.) So, now we had to make our way across the country to Tegulcigulpa to the American Consulate to get new passports with very limited funds.Long story short, we improvised as we went,but made it to Tegulcigulpa and to San PedroSula for our flight back to the U.S. The U.S.Consulate in Tegulcigulpa were great. Had new passports for us the same day.(Thank you).Street smart? When a U.S. passport is worth $10,000 on the black market you got to protect yourself. We learned a valuable lesson. Of course, we didn't go to Pico Bonito, but spent three days travelling to get new passports.
Posted by: Kent Larsson | March 13, 2007 5:27 PM
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I could write a book of my 65 years of travel adventures not planned and dangerously exciting with narry a scratch, mugging, or being dupped. Interested in any of the highlights?