Was planning a trip to Asia with my camera but these recent attacks on foreigners are on my mind. What do you think?
Asia could be anywhere from Turkey to Siberia to Japan to Singapore to Aceh. Which attacks are you referring to?
Especially if you go to the zoo hoping to see lions....Zoo In China Swaps Dog For Lion, Hopes No One Notices : The Two-Way : NPR
I've traveled extensively in Asia (with cameras) for the last 30 years, and never had any problems. I can't even remember a minor theft. Some parts of Asia, for instance Singapore and Japan, are probably the safest places on earth for travelers. Otherwise the problem areas for travelers tend to be in the popular tourist areas, and of course don't go to places like Iraq. Do keep in mind that you are carrying several years wages around your neck for many people in many parts of Asia, so be aware of your surroundings and don't do stupid things like leaving your camera sitting on the edge of your table as you eat lunch. Don't let fear change your travel plans, usually you have more to fear from falling under the proverbial bus outside your front door.
where are the recent attacks? Asia is a BIG place!! I've never had any major problems travelling in Asia. Realistically you're more likely to be attacked in London than most parts of Asia!
When I started travelling I realized how stupidly scared the world is. There's 6 billion people on this earth, but all you hear about all day are the few thousand people with a screw loose. Most of the other 5 billion, 900 hundred million people are actually friendly people, most of which are quite willing of helping another when someone asks. Loved the people in Jordan, Egypt, India (perhaps for some touts), Nepal and many countries in Europe too. Only real unfriendliness I encountered was Israel, we met many people there that just didn't seem to care about us at all, no matter how much we asked for help or directions. Just don't do anything you wouldn't do at home (I mean, the last time I walked into a dark alley at night with 1000 bucks up my trousers at my home town was like, not that often...).
putting "attacks foreigners Asia" into Google comes up with the June murders of several climbers in northern Pakistan by Taliban extremists. I guess that's the story referred to with this thread?
Yes, but to take Northern Pakistan as a reference for the safety of Asia would be a bit unfair. Yes there are regions like this that you have to take more precautions, but like everyone else I never had any bad experiences.
I agree that good, normal, polite, helpful people were a vast majority during my trips abroad (but almost always just within Europe, so that doesn´t help you I guess). But sometimes as a female tourist, you get into unpleasant situations. My trip to Turkey (conference, off season), into a larger town in a favourite tourist destination. I´ve met several independent groups of young men (20-30) during a 2 hours walk through downtown, that without any provocation behaved very aggresivelly, their gestures and grimases were you know very clear, have closely surrounded us and stalked us even trough we ignored them and later tried to tell them off. We were just ordinary tourists - on main streets with shops, long throusers, camera around our necks, old female coleage with me, lunchtime. It was a very very unpleasant feeling, they ignored our personal space and tried to touch. They ignored polite gestures and words and even our angry shouts done nothing. Definitelly my last trip to Turkey and any other arab country without a male companion. If they were drunken, or if that would be just one person or one "gang", I would say whatever, just bad luck to meet some rare deviants. But it looked as a normal behaviour for them, "just fun" and they didn´t stop even with old local people (males) around that ignored the scenes. It was probably my mistake somehow (wrong clothes? wrong gestures? wrong time and place?). But that day, I just wished to be born as a male, to be spared of such encounters. I´ve never before felt so ...helpless, disrespected and "dirty".
I entirely agree with the positive aspects of your travels you mention, as well as with the negative: Unfortunately I had the same experience in Israel, and many people I talked to later and who had been there, agreed. What puzzles me however, all the Israelis I met outside of their country, were ever so nice. I have many times been to different Arab countries without experiencing what Jana describes, maybe I was just lucky, but I admit, in the street I always try to avoid eye contact to prevent encouragement.
Yeah Turkey, despite being secular, still has a very Arab/Muslim attitude towards women who are unaccompanied by a male and who do not wear a head scarf. I loved the history and tourist attractions of Istanbul but I hated the attitude of the men.
Nah, sounds about right for a Middle Eastern or North African country. Those countries may never be safe again in my lifetime to visit Aleppo or Giza or Dome of the Rock or Tripoli or Babylon or Persepolis etc.
You would be surprised. I lived in Turkey for a while and yes you have a part of society that is deeply religious. This does not mean though that they expect any woman to wear a head scarf! There is also a big part of society that see woman wearing a head scarf as a political statement and oppose it. I have to admit that Istanbul brings the best and the worst together and I had female friends that felt uncomfortable in certain areas. If you would travel into Anatolia the situation is a lot different and the situation for women is a lot more comfortable. Travelling by buss is actually the most common way of getting around and also very safe. So is there a rule that a woman decides if a strange man sits next to her or not. As a single man travelling it can mean you have to wait for the next bus and that a seat will be left open.
Turkey wants to be European/western, but they are still middle eastern/Muslim at heart. I'll not be visiting again.
Sorry you had a bad experience, but Turkey is Western, Middle Eastern and Muslim at the same time. The issue is quite complicated and the population is very split and even if you say Muslim you miss the very big differences there are within the different movements in Turkey. But we are at a Zoo forum so I will leave it for now. Just one remark: Muslim and European are not contradictory and we have Muslim countries where the debate if they are European or not is not considered relevant like Bosnia-H. and Albania.
But Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania are geographically in Europe whereas just a tiny piece of turkey is considered to be on the European mainland - the rest being in Asia. Also, those countries you mentioned, Greece included, were once part of the Ottoman Empire, and have been trying to shake off that Muslim / Turkish influence for a century (cue the wars from the mid 90s and the destruction of the Mostar Bridge).
The wars of the mid 90s in Western Balkans were not related the their Ottoman past, but more a fight for power between different ethnic groups (which ethnically aren't that different). The destruction of Mostar Bridge was done by a single mad Croat general and was condemned even by Croats. Yes their are still tension but these are not directly linked by the Ottoman past. And even if the most of Turkey is geographically in Asia, it is still closely linked historically with Europe. The border that you perceive is a fake one. If you go to Greece you will find a lot of ethnic and religious conservatism that is very similar to Turkey's. The same for Bulgaria or the Western Balkans. Yes Turkey is on a cross-road with elements from the Middle-East and Europe. Yes it is Muslim, but in the end it is as much a part of Europe as it is from the Middle East. And of course both regions say Turkey is not part of either at all, Europe because Turkey is Muslim and the Middle East because Turkey isn't an Arab country. I believe both are wrong on denouncing Turkey as it is closely tied with both.
