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Travel Safety Tips – Things You Do Overseas That You Don’t Do At Home!

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One thing that travel does to many people (especially solo travellers) is that it makes you do things that you just normally wouldn’t do at home.

That’s right, once the confidence has built up to a certain high level, this can lead to undertaking all sorts of risky activities like bungee jumping, riding in unroadworthy vehicles, and sleeping with people you wouldn’t glance at back at home.

Travel insurers probably take this into account when calculating their premiums. I’m sure there are lots of people out there who think they’re invincible once they fill the backpack and board the plane!

Hence, your travel safety might be a tad compromised because you’ve just increased a few risk factors that may lead you to become unstuck if things don’t go quite your way!

Like for example, going to a country with a high likelihood of a fatal visit!

Check out this world map based on whether or not you might come back alive. Ratings range from ‘A Vacation With Grandma’ (light green) to ‘Could Be Your Last Visit’ (red).

Note, the United States has the same rating as South Africa, Brazil, and Iran!

Travel Safety Tips - Come Back Alive

Anyway, back to the travel safety stuff, and the risks you take!

Here it is!

Travel Safety – The Things That Change When You Overseas

Alcohol Consumption

You hate going out at home because the drinking establishments charge an arm and a leg for the privilege of drinking their watered down spirits and cocktails, and one night out costs half of your weekly pay.  You’re almost a teetotaler because it’s way too expensive to socialise!

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However, finding the nearest third world country means you’ve gone from total abstinence to scoffing down ‘buckets’ in Thailand (literally a bucket filled with some sort of unidentified booze that’s easily spiked!).

Of course, this leads onto other risky activities when the ‘beer goggles’ come into play, drastically increasing the attractiveness of almost anyone you cross paths with.

Truth In Advertising Knockout Beer
An honest beer label from India!

You’ll go on the hunt for the best alcohol you can lay your hands on.

On that note!If your a beer drinker, have a look at my shonky beer index to see where the cheapest beer per litre is around the world!

When you come home, you need to change your name by deed poll to ‘Sir Osis of Liver’..

Airline Safety

You wouldn’t dare step board a plane that was old enough to be housed in a museum at home. And in reality, that’s being complimentary because these planes should be only viewed in a scrap yard!

But sometimes, you just don’t have a choice and you’ll have to board a plane that has seat belts that are optional or not available.

Russian Planes

Would you board a plane at home where you had to wait on the tarmac for 30 minutes whilst the engineers bolt a few extra rows of seats in? And then you had to load the luggage into the hold by yourself?

I didn’t think so! See more at my real experience regarding dodgy aviation safety!

One place where you can definitely use your Russian Swear Words, Curses, Phrases, Slang and Expletives!

Motorbikes

There’s no way in the world you’d get a motorbike licence at home, because bikes make you a ‘Temporary [insert nationality here]”

But when you get to South East Asia, you don’t care and you don’t even wear a helmet!

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Even if you have to deal with all of the chaotic traffic where rules aren’t obeyed, and pedestrian crossing lines are only advisory and for decoration.

Here’s food for thought – check out the motorbike monument below here in Indonesia.

It’s been made from motorbikes involved in fatal accidents!

Motorbike Safety

Will it make you think twice about hiring a motorbike? Probably not!

Sex. With Almost Anything!

Some people combine the alcohol, hormones and hot weather and end up wanting to shag anything that moves.

And if it doesn’t move, they’ll push it!

Travel And Sex

Many people take on the ‘Root Rat Travel Personality Type‘, where I’ve previously written the following: ‘The Root Rat will aim to sleep with as many people as possible – both fellow travellers and locals – and is a one night relationship specialist.  Sometimes, The Root Rat often has a Pisshead sub-personality that probably contributes to the lowering of their sexual inhibitions. The Root Rat has a backpack full of condoms that collectively would form a pile of rubber equivalent to a Good Year tyre (pardon the pun).  The Root Rat is possibly be a walking encyclopaedia of sexually transmitted infections waiting to be spread around the backpacking world

Events which many encourage such amorous behaviour include Rio Carnivale in Brazil, or even the Mile High Club on the way over!

Risky Activities

Travel definitely promotes a sense of adventure!

Things like mountain biking down the world’s most dangerous road (or Death Road) in Bolivia

Downhill Mountain Bikes

Throwing yourself off a perfectly stable platform

Gorge Swing - World's Highest Biggest Oribi Gorge South Africa

Or eating the weirdest food you can lay your mouth on!

Shanghai Restaurant - Funny Chinese Food Menu

Actually, this stuff is fun and I love doing it!

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I think the risk is worth the reward!

There you go!

What risks have you taken when travelling overseas that you normally don’t do at home?

For more info about travel safety, check out my interview with Dr Deb The Travel Doctor and the Best Places to Travel Solo!

Feel free to share your secret, it will be between only you and me and the rest of the world!

See more at Backpackers Travel Insurance!


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