just thought i would throw this out......
i am a new member here and have noticed a trend... most reports are all positive, very little emphasis on negative experiences.. while i understand some would not go if there were negative reports, problems to be encountered etc. i feel that alot of good can come from relating your difficulties.. lessons can be learned.. grandpa used to say..
some people make and repeat errors..
some people make and learn from their errors..
some people learn from others errors..
well.. we never liked listening to grandpa either..haha, but seriously.. we are big boys and girls.. we can handle it..

wyomex

If you look for problems, then, So be it!
You´ll find them.
I always focus on the positive, it helps keep up the mood in a long trip.

This is one thing that I like a lot about the HUBB. There is a bunch of terror tales on the internet that I enjoy to avoid.

Good Luck
MoroCycler


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THE JOURNEY INTO THE UNKNOWN...

LIFE IS THE ADVENTURE OF CREATING WHILE HAVING FUN, IT IS A PERSONAL JOURNEY IN THE MIDDLE OF EVERYBODY´S JOURNEY.
IT IS THE PROCESS OF CREATING REALITIES, TO DARE HAVING AND EXPERIENCING, FOR WHAT IT INPRINTS IN THE SOUL;
THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS CARRIED FOREVER...

MOROcycler

__________________
THE Motorcycle JOURNEY is making known the unknown.
http://www.morocycler.smugmug.com

Sorry to disappoint you but we rode half way around the world through such 'unsafe' countries as Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, and Indonesia and we have NO bad experiences to relate - in fact those countries were the friendliest we travelled through.
Don't get scared off by what you see reported on the news - the news only reports anything bad that goes down and doesn't give any idea of what the normal scenario is.
Also - dare I say it - the western media seems to have it's own agenda when it comes to reporting on non-western countries.
Most people around the world just want to live peacefully and are more than happy to meet and offer hospitality to travellers.


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Richard Parkinson
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/richardandlisa

[This message has been edited by parkie (edited 05 October 2005).]

__________________
Rich
www.horizonsunlimited.com/tstories/richardandlisa
www.youtube.com/richparkie

Prepare for the worst and hope for the best! thats my motto.

I have never had a what could be considered a bad experince travelling. But what is a bad experiance? it all depends on your perception and your previous experiances in life.

Me for instance, i have worked as a London taxi driver at night for the last twenty years, so i am used to demanding situations with strangers in all states of drug or drink related stupor, I have had bottles smashed through my partition screen, and have been threatened with them, i have been threatened with violence more times than i care to remember, and been called every expletive under the sun by males and females in many different lanuages, i have dealt with a few dead bodys from RTA's and dealt some serious injurys as well, i could write a book on my experiances, and that is just in the London area.

Only last week i found a woman lying in the middle of a busy five line road at four in the morning, she jumped out of a moving car after the driver turned out to be a bogus cab driver tried to abduct and molest her, i had to stand between her and the driver to protect her and phone the police,and i ended up taking her home safely, all in a days work for me, but for other people who have a more sheltered envioremnet it would be a major event.

If i had worked sitting behind a desk in an office tapping a keyboard for the same amount of time (no offence to office workers)my experiances would be a lot different. So what iam trying to say is that maybe on my travels i have had things happen to me that would upset a lot of other people, but because of my life experiances it's water of a ducks back for me.

To tell you the truth, when i finish a bike tour my troubles start as soon as i arrive back in the UK

Maverick Bubble

Wyomex, I think - despite what people who've never travelled think - that the reason for all the positive reports you see here is that they ARE the NORM.

In all our many years of travelling the world we had one minor bad experience, and a couple very minor - and nothing even remotely close to Maverick Bubbles London experiences! So our report is overwhelmingly positive!



Not to say that some travellers haven't had bad experiences - a number of people have been robbed, a very few have been badly injured and even died in traffic accidents - and that's it. All of which will happen whether you leave home or not.

So don't worry, be happy! Go and have a great time. The world isn't perfect, but it's a far better place than some unnamed people and organisations would have you think.

Come to an HU Travellers Meeting and you'll get the drift.

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Grant Johnson

Seek, and ye shall find.
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One world, Two wheels.
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

__________________
Grant Johnson
Seek, and ye shall find.
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Inspiring, Informing and Connecting travellers since 1997!
www.HorizonsUnlimited.com

hello,
I travelled for 6 months in the americas and never had any problems( apart from pushy borderguards in Honduras), never locked my bike and only encountered friendly and interested people.
I was back home for just a few weeks and my bike got stolen from my frontyard.
this is to illustrate that you can encounter problems anywhere, the most unfriendly(and scared) people I've met have been living in the so called civilised part of the world.
don't be scared, you'll find that the 'problems' are usually later on the best memories of the whole trip.
safe travels,
Mark

thank you all for your input..my first out of the country trip is a big thing for me and i am both joyously anxious and a bit nervous.(mexico from usa for 6 months) i have been spending ALOT of time reading the forums. I am much better educated now than i was before i found you. I also feel much more hopefull.. the impetous for this trip was a meeting with a whitetail deer at 85mph just south of hamilton montana last july 2. i was well prepared (but riding too fast) with helmet and full riding suit.(kudos to bmw/sidi/vanson) I did spend several days in intensive with three broken ribs but other than sleeping sitting up for 2 months i am 98 percent. just before impact i knew i was going to die. needless to say i am soo happy to be here and while recoving i thought.. damn.. i couldve been toast.. better go see those places youve been wanting to see...I am glad i have returned to riding instead of hanging it up. I have been inspired reading the forums. logistically/equipmentally/etc. and maybe most importantly spirtually.. i know the life i live is so much fuller for riding and feel that i am stepping up to another level of discovery and adventure. so i appreciate your encouragement and sharing your thoughts and experiences..
wyomex