Since the dawn of time, foreign travels have entailed their fair share of risk. While it’s certainly much easier to get from A to B these days, not much else has changed.
Yesterday I was talking with someone about an upcoming trip to Thailand that I’m planning, and my recent jaunt around South America. Yet again, I was presented with questions, like: “Aren’t you scared?”
Here’s the thing: Yes, I have been in situations where I was scared. Terrified, even.
When I first arrived to Rio de Janeiro, for example, it was past midnight and I had just gotten into a taxi with a friend that I had met only moments earlier. We gave the driver directions to the house that we were staying in, but we had to pass through some rough parts of town to get there.
All of a sudden at a stoplight, in what was clearly a bad area, a shirtless and angry man came running up to the taxi, banging on the side of the car and trying to open the doors.
The driver floored it through the red light, clearly not affected like I was, but shaking his head none the less. All he kept saying in the little English he knew was.. “This is a bad area.”
Traveling still entails a ton of “Oh Sh**t” moments, and for me, that was one of them.
If you’re a traveler, then you know… sometimes you end up in a situation that you realize could quickly turn ugly. The little alarm in your head starts screaming “Ahhh! What are you doing here?” or worse, “You are so stupid! How could you have put yourself in this situation?”
I would like for everyone to know and understand something: Travel does not come without the occasional blip of fear, and we, as travelers are not fearless.
However, (and I speak for myself, first and formeost) our desire to see the world– to meet people from faraway lands, to become immersed in the scents and sounds of another place with customs so different from your own–override any threat of fear.
I completely understand that travel is not for everyone. You’ve got to do what makes you happy. But I also really hope for those of you that would like to travel but have not yet, that fear is not the main thing holding you back.
Because fear is everywhere. In reality, you could be robbed or attacked in your home country just as easily as you could abroad.
And even when you travel alone.. you are never really alone.
Travelers are everywhere, and they are your support. Reach out.
These days I LIVE for my “oh sh**t” moments. For me, they represent adventure.. they represent change…they are reminders that I am ALIVE and I am surrounded by a beautiful world that somehow always seems to embrace me and keep me safe.
You don’t need to be abroad to experience an Oh Sh**t moment. Life is full of them. Last week, for example, I put in my two weeks notice at my day job (I have 3 jobs) and for a second I thought: “CRAP! What am I doing?? Is this really a smart decision?”
And then I remembered—I’m creating an exit plan. In March I will be in Thailand, working on a project that I have recently begun and that I am uber-excited about (more on that later).
Life is all about choices–Make the ones that you think will satisfy you, and just JUMP.
We, the travelers–the penny pinchers, the couchsurfers, the bungy jumpers, the guitarists, the cab drivers, the hostel owners, the bloggers– We are here to catch you.
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Wow! That was a great post! I totally agree with what you are saying though. To many people miss the oppurtunity to see amazing places and meet amazing people because they are afraid to travel. I know far too many people that have never left their home country more than once!
For me its these scary moments that can make a trip. I will always remeber when my familly drove to the Ukraine from the UK. On the way back, the border crossing from the Ukraine to Russia was terrifying. Our car was mobbed by beggars, there were drug gangs carefully concealing there stashes in cars next to us, and the border guard wouldn’t let us cross the border without a bribe. At the time it was extremly frightening, but now you can gurantee, whenever anybody asks us about the trip, it will be one of the first things we talk about. It sounds silly but it has almost become a highlight and we will remeber the trip forever because of it!
Thanks Jozef! Wow! That’s an amazing story, what an adventure!! It’s a funny thing, fear.. these days I like to use those terrifying moments as empowerment.. like, “Look what I Survived!!” haha.
I love this post, Kelly! How fitting that I just wrote a post about facing your fears and how travel helps me to face mine. I’m excited to hear about your upcoming project in Thailand!!!
definitely with you on this one. its all about getting out of your comfort zone and having a crack, and too many people aren’t willing. i think you could apply this to more than just travel as well, rather life in general. nice one!! jamie from cloudpeopleadventures.com
So right that you don’t have to be abroad to experience those moments – in fact I think those moments are waiting for a lot of travelers when the time comes to stay out for a while!” Nice post.
Totally agree- I live for the Oh Shit moments too! They’re the exciting moments, the story tellers, the reason I keep traveling. If everything went as planned, it would get boring!!
Great post!
I’m always grateful for these scary moments after the fact as well. Not only do they make the best travel memories and fun stories to tell others, but they also make you feel alive. They are often not fun in the moment, though. For me, they have helped me grow. I used to have a tendency to panic and scary travel moments have taught me how to have a cooler head. It is still a challenge for me…my fight or flight just kicks in.
It is all to easy to innocently wander into the wrong place. In Rio, also had a heart stopping moment, we landed up playing snatch and grab. They snatched and grabbed and we lost! Good cause for a caipirinha or two! Travelling is fun – and it pays to listen to local knowledge and get local advice.
Ahh! I’m so sorry Kerry-ann! I hope nothing irreplaceable was stolen! Thanks for stoppin in!
Oddly enough I’m often not scared. I always think the worst that could happen is that I get robbed. I’ve been robbed before, passport and all money stolen, and survived so I’m not too worried. I think extreme violence is rare and don’t worry about it happening to me, it’s wasted energy.
Oh sh…. moments are the ones when you really feel alive. Great post, told with a lot of conviction and pizzazz.
Great post Kelly. You are totally right in saying that bad things happen anywhere. Sure, some places are more dangerous than others, but you just have to use your brain and try to limit the bad situations you put yourself in.
The day after we left for our RTW, with our parents all being worried about us starting off in S. America, a small bomb went off in the parking garage next to the building my wife worked at at home. It was a weird, fluke thing, and while someone was hurt, he recovered, but it reminded both our parents and us that all places have a certain sense of danger.
Ahh Adam that’s so scary! Thank god the man who was hurt recovered and that you had the good sense to trek it to S. America! Gorgeous area, huh? I live in Tucson, AZ, and it seems like there are constant shootings and the like..
@Ayngelina– you’re so right. I too, try not to concentrate on fear because I think it actually attracts that into your life.. it just makes me sad that fear is what keeps a lot of would-be travelers home. But, different strokes, right?
Thanks to you all! You are so wonderful!
LOVE this post kelly! love how you acknowledge that scary sh**t happens everywhere…even if you live in the states! as hard as it is to believe after decades of international travel history, so many folks are afraid of what/who they’ll encounter abroad. fantastic approach to address the reality while encouraging first-timers to get out there anyway. yay!
Ohh, can’t wait to hear what your new project is. Mentioned our ‘oh sh**t’ moment on your facebook page. Not scary – just somewhere that we couldn’t deal with right at that moment so we moved on along… 🙂 But that’s the joy of no fixed plans, I guess.
These are the moments where you can learn a lot from, about people, about your environment and about yourself.
One of the most important things I’ve learned from being in bad situations is that most (like 99,9%) of the people are friendly and helpful and will do more than you’d expect to get you out of the situation.
I’ve learned to deal with myself and with people with bad intentions.
I’ve learned to trust on my senses, and to get away when I expect bad things to happen
I’ve learned to stay calm and assess the situation
I’ve learned that when I’m really in need, I can speak about every language
And so much more, travelling really does help you grow
Thanks for this lovely comment Nicolas! I especially like the last one… funny how when it comes down to it, we can always find a way to communicate! This world is filled with so much beauty!
So true Kelly! Just turn on your local news station and you’ll soon see how scary the neighbourhood is you live in. I used to walk around the streets of London on my own in the middle of the night- wouldn’t do that in a fit in my home town. Travel is full of oh shit moments as is every day life. You can’t escape them so you might as well enjoy your life.
That photo of the hijacking zone was a regular sight for us in South Africa. Used to make the blood race, every time I saw it driving by in my local mini van with 30 other locals.!
I’m not sure if you read my post at Brave New Traveller about the death of my friend while travelling.
http://matadornetwork.com/bnt/2010/08/26/when-travel-takes-a-friend-2/
His death is still not a deterrent to me but a reminder to live life out loud like he always did
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