Advice for Women Travelers:
Developing Countries
Some of the most astounding, exciting travel destinations are in developing
countries. By "developing", I mean countries that might not yet be full (or
even partial) democracies, where the infrastructure (roads, trains,
electrical systems, plumbing, etc.) aren't as good as "developed" countries
such as those in North America, in Scandinavia, in Western Europe, Japan,
etc., where poverty may be pervasive and even extreme, where crime and
pollution may be pervasive, and where women may not have equal rights, nor
equal access to education, employment and life choices, as men do.
Standards of living and safety vary hugely among developing
countries. I believe that some are, per current political and cultural
conditions, off-limits to women travelers, particularly those from the USA
(such as Sudan, Congo, Syria, and Libya), while others are wonderful
destinations for such (Egypt, Jordan,
most Sub Sahara African countries - and many former
Soviet-bloc countries in Eastern Europe are some of my favorites).
Also, the infusion of cash from travelers to developing countries is
vital to their economies, so by traveling to them, you
are actually providing direct help to the people there, in addition
to treating yourself to a unique travel experience.
Consider this excerpt from: "The Missing: Why Americans need to
rediscover the world" from the book Planet Backpacker by Robert
Downes:
Over and over, I found the Middle East and Asia brimming with
backpackers from Australia, France, Germany, Scandinavia, New Zealand,
Brazil, Holland, Russia, Britain... but amazingly few Americans. I'd scan
the registries of guest houses and hostels, finding pages filled with
visitors from other countries, but few signatures from the U.S.A... As
months passed by, it made me wonder if Americans are simply afraid to
travel in the Third World, imagining terrorists hiding behind every
espresso machine outside our borders... So, who cares? I did, because it
bugged me that my countrymen weren't part of the action out in the great
beyond... Compared to their backpacking cousins from Europe or Australia,
Americans are groping in the dark when it comes to understanding what the
world is really like. We lack the kind of personal travel experience that
no amount of reading, web-surfing or trolling the Discovery Channel can
replace. Millions of couch spuds in America have seduced themselves into
believing that the stagey episodes of Survivor -- which don't involve an
ounce of risk -- are actual adventures.
You do NOT have to backpack to visit a developing country, nor do you
have to go with a highly-structured tourist outfit that will keep you
behind high walls and tinted bus windows. There are hotels for a variety
of budgets in most developing countries, and a variety of ways to travel
through that country. Do what makes you feel most comfortable in terms
of safety but, please, by all means, GO.
I choose country destination possibilities based on natural and historic
sites that I have seen pictures of or heard described and now want to see
for myself. But if the incredible statue or gorge or temple or cliffs are
in a developing country, how do I decide if the destination is appropriate
for me, as a single woman traveler (I don't always travel with my
husband, and even if my husband is with me on a trip, I may want to
go somewhere that he doesn't).
Here's how I decide for myself what developing countries I might travel
to:
- Guide books and online forums
I know I sound like a broken record, or that I work for Lonely
Planet (I don't!). But 90% of the time, the authors of the LP
guides know what they are talking about, probably because they listen to
what other travelers tell them, in addition to writing based on their
own first-hand experiences. They also offer a lot of female-specific
advice. The Rough Guides
are also good. Moon Guides
are growing on me. Basically, if a guide book exists for a developing
country or region you want to visit, chances are it's reasonable for you
to think about traveling there -- but, of course, read the book first!
You want to find out if women may walk around alone in the day, take
public transport without a male escort, book a hotel and not have to
push a bureau against the door when it's time to sleep, etc.
- Testimonies on the Thorn
Tree and other online forums are good
ways to further research destinations, but posts have to be taken with a
grain of salt: don't base a decision just on one testimonial -- look for
corroboration. Also, many of the posts are male specific: a guy may have
had a great time in a particular country, but not be aware of just how
hard it is for a woman to travel there, how she should dress, what
places are absolutely off-limits because of safety or culture, etc.
- US State Department Travel Advice
List the risks of every country (except the USA, ofcourse). Please note
that there are risks associated with EVERY country. After the bombings
in November 2006 of hotels in Amman, my partner and I discussed whether
or not we still wanted to go to Jordan for my 40th birthday the
following January; after a few days of thinking about it, we
still went, despite the warnings on the US State Department web
site, and we were fine (we took into account the usual safety of the
country and the kinds of hotels where we would be staying). If you do
travel to a developing country, consider registering with this site as
well regarding your trip, in case you need to be evacuated.
- Embassy Web sites
I have a look at both the US embassy site for the country I want to
visit, and, that country's embassy web site for the USA. The content and
tone on each gives me lots of indications as to how much that country is
used-to travelers, and the most common issues travelers to that country
face.
- The News
I type the name of a developing country, or city in such, that I want to
visit, into a news search engine, such as Yahoo
News, every few days for a month or so. What comes up? If there
are constant stories of, say, attacks by right-wing youth on foreigners,
or corruption among the police, or civil war, or mistreatment of women,
I will probably want to rethink a trip to such an area. I also type in
the name of the country and phrases like backpacker killed or camping
robbery. Again, I take the stories with a grain of salt - is it an
isolated incident, or a common happening?
- Reports by International NGOs
If a country gets continually blasted by Amnesty
International or Human
Rights Watch for its treatment of women, foreigners or ethnic
minorities, I'm probably not going to go there, no matter how beautiful
the scenery. A negative report doesn't automatically take a country off
my list, but if I see a substantial, pervasive, negative political trend
in a country that I don't want to support with my tourist dollars, I'm
not going.
- Packages by Travel Agents
In Germany where I lived for eight years, travel agents advertise
special deals to other countries in their shop windows and in train
stations, including developing countries. I figure that if they are
pushing packages for a particular developing country I want to visit, it
must be safe enough to do so. Package tours can make a foreign traveler
feel much safer in a developing country, as they take care of everything
-- where you stay, where to shop, where to eat, etc.
- Blogs by other travelers
The web is packed with first-person accounts of travels to every country
on Earth. These are highly personal, prejudicial accounts, and
sometimes, that's exactly what I'm looking for. However, I also have to
keep in mind that their experience won't necessarily be mine, and that
one person's torment (lack of a hot shower) wouldn't be as big a deal
for me. Again, many of the posts are male specific: a guy may have had a
great time in a particular country, but not be aware of just how hard it
is for a woman to travel there, how she should dress, what places are
absolutely off-limits because of safety or culture, etc.
- Other Women Travelers
Because I have worked in development,
and because I have a lot of very adventurous female friends, I know a
lot of women, including women from the USA, who have traveled to
developing countries, and I tend to ask them a LOT of questions about
their experiences. However, again, I also have to keep in mind that
their experience won't necessarily be mine: I have two friends who
loathed Morocco when they visited more than 10 years ago because they
were continually harassed and threatened on the street, while another
friend who visited in 2005 said she had no problem at all and is ready
to go again. That friend who visited Morocco more recently would not be
a good person to ask about St. Louis, however, as a hotel employee
attempted to break into her room while she was touring there.
Hearing from other women travelers is essential when
deciding whether or not to go to a developing country, because men
simply do NOT face the same risks that women do in such countries. Men
will often talk about the ease of traveling somewhere without
realizing that, for a woman, traveling in the same manner might be
dangerous or even impossible.
- Infrastructure & Sanitation Standards
All of the aforementioned should give me enough information to know if
there are at least marginally safe and relatively easy-to-use trains,
buses and taxis to get me where I need to go, if I'll be able to drink
even bottled water, if there is good, safe food to eat, etc.
- Ease of online trip planning
If I am considering a hotel in a developing country, and find that it
has its own web site or is mentioned positively on travel
review sites, I'm more inclined to stay there than a place that
doesn't have such. If I can find official information about trains and
buses in English, however general, I'm going to feel even more
comfortable about going to that country. The more official information I
can find online about a country, sponsored and maintained by the
country's government and/or businesses, the more I'm going to feel like
that country can take care of its visitors -- and, therefore, ME.
I also have to acknowledge that countries, including Germany, often issue
travel warnings about cities in the USA, supposedly a fully-developed
country, because of high crime rates, the targeting of tourists in
particular for robbery, and hot-button political situations that could/have
lead to riots. And so far, we've been robbed in just one place: Berlin (pick
pocket in a bar). There's crime and safety concerns in EVERY city on Earth!
It could be (and has been) said that every country is developing.
If you are from the USA and are not an experienced traveler,
particularly if you have NEVER traveled outside the USA, then I strongly
urge you NOT to travel to a developing country (that includes Italy)
-- not yet, anyway. Get experience traveling to developed countries first!
When all is said and done: do what is right for YOU. Don't let a person
bully you into traveling to a country you don't want to, or talk you out
of a trip you have researched extensively and feel isn't a risk any more
than walking out your front door.
Also see: Lessons
learned from travelers stranded because of COVID19.
_______________________________________________
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