Deciding travel plans based on the news
Deciding travel plans based on the news
I wake up this morning and CNN and the paper slipped under my door both tell me about a bloodless coup in Thailand. At first glance it does not look like it will affect travel there much. I doubt the huge volume of tourists there will diminish.
How does reading or watching the news affect my travel plans? In most cases, not very much. Earlier this year, there were bombings in Delhi and Varanasi. My friends asked me if I was in danger. "Well, I'm in Goa," I said. By the beach and without a television, I had heard about the bombings after they had, and it seemed a long way away, which it was.
When I was in Delhi and thinking about where to go in the Himalayas as the weather grew hot, unrest was building in Nepal and violent demonstrations were occurring on the streets. It resulted the king losing power. Later in Himachal Pradesh I met travellers who were there. Those that happened to be on a trek during that time were able to continue their trek with little problem, and perhaps were even unaware of what was happening in the capital. But those who were unlucky enough to be in the capital were stuck with nothing to do, as there was a curfew and the shops and restaurants were closed, and there was no way to leave the country.
The bombings in Mumbai occurred when I was trekking in Himachal Pradesh. I didn't hear about them until I got to a village with internet access and received an email from a friend. As it turned out, one of the bombings occurred on the commuter train in Bandra, the neighborhood in which I stayed. My heart went out to the people that were affected.
In the end, it is matter of luck (or bad luck) where I happen to be when news breaks about violence occurs somewhere.
Deciding travel plans based on the news
