Tourist Travel Warning For Ecuador, Bali Indonesia And Thailand Cambodia Border
October 25, 2008
This is an informal travel warning post about Ecuador, Indonesia, Thailand and Cambodia. Today I came across a news item about a couple from Oregon who were attacked on a beach in Ecuador.
The story has been on the news but the reason I decided to mention it is because I did not find Ecuador on the US Government’s current travel warnings page.
And I was afraid some people would stop their research at this point.
The US Department of State does have explicit country specific safety and security warnings ( see Ecuador’s page ) but different people have different researching skills and sensitivity to this kind of overly negative information.
In the case of Ecuador the situation for travelers in the very region where this attack took place is unmistakably serious:
“spread of organized crime, drug trafficking, small arms trafficking, and incursions by various Colombian terrorist organizations”
“Crime is a serious problem in Ecuador, and visitors should be alert and cautious. Non-violent crime is common: hundreds of Americans are robbed every year in Ecuador”
“Incidents of rape have increased, even in well-traveled tourists areas and when the victims traveled in groups for safety.”
This is especially fitting:
“Avoid deserted beaches, hiking trails, and infrequently traveled roads, as well as the interior regions of large city parks, particularly at night”
I personally would never set foot in an area with this kind of review.
Travel warnings can be quite scary, some people say they are important resources when planning a trip, some say these alerts are exaggerated. As usual the truth is probably somewhere in between.
During the nine months I spent in Southeast Asia I felt very safe at all times even though it was the first time for me to travel to this part of the world.
One of the reasons I chose to visit Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Laos was because during researching my trip I learned that Buddhist countries are some of the safest and most welcoming.
Yes, certain parts of Cambodia and Thailand can pose dangers but in general I found this region ideal to visit.
Any place can be dangerous but for good measure one can compare Ecuador with Vietnam on this page.
But let’s get back to these three current travel warnings. The couple from Oregon was enjoying a one-year long trip when it was attacked. It wasn’t a robbery, seemingly it was “simply” an attempt to cause bodily harm.
The full article can be read here.
There is a link on the page to a video clip where an FBI profiler makes a good point by recommending the purchase of Medical Evacuation Insurance when traveling to possibly dangerous countries.
The couple from Oregon ended up having to pay $55,000 just for the medical evacuation airplane.
The profiler also gave a pretty amazing statistic: about 24% of American tourists are victims of some kind of crime committed against them while vacationing.
At first I found this number unrealistically high but come to think of it I am also part of that statistic since I was pick pocketed by a 14 year old girl in Vietnam.
The next travel warning is about Indonesia, the Australian government issued an alert for its citizens ( of course applicable to all tourists in my opinion ): “We advise you to reconsider your need to travel to Indonesia, including Bali, at this time due to the very high threat of terrorist attack.”
The perpetrators of the 2002 bombing in Bali will be executed in November 2008, and this event poses a serious risk to any foreigner near touristy areas or off the beaten path for that matter. Read the article here.
Due to recent unrest at the border between Thailand and Cambodia there is a travel warning for this popular tourist destination as well.
Articles with quotes like this: “Backpacker hot spots in Cambodia which may have attracted people visiting Thailand include the temple the city of Siem Reap and temple of Angkor Wat.” can have far reaching consequences when it comes to declining revenue from tourism.
The only question is what percentage of tourists will take these alerts seriously? It is probably impossible to predict, people have very different thresholds when it comes to safety. Read the whole article here.
For non-governmental travel information search: Thorn Tree Travel Forum.
Ecuador, like any country on the planet, has its varying level of crime. I am a foreigner living in Ecuador for the past 10 years and have never had anything (crime) occur to me. I have lived in the US, Canada & Spain and in all three of these countries, being victim of petty crime.
I too heard about the Oregon couple, a truly sad & tragic event. Barbaric and horrendous.
However, let’s not take this out of context. Tragically there are horrendous crimes committed against people all around the globe.
On a Global Peace Index (http://www.visionofhumanity.org) Ecuador actually ranks 100, while the US rank 97.
Take a moment to compare the US and Ecuador (http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/comparison/2008/ec-us/).
Other interesting statistics are such aspects as “murders committed by youths” where the US ranks #3 (8226 murders) while Ecuador ranks #11 (757 murders).
Investigating country by country statistics, the US (or many other European nations) don’t come out well either.
Obviously each person should take all the necessary precautions and steps necessary, and this includes researching, investigating and being well informed. However, taking things out of context can lead to generalizations that are inaccurate and misleading.