Safety

We decided from the beginning to not risk personal safety. We spent a year researching every country, putting a push pin in every country on a huge wall map in our home. Red meant there was too must risk, yellow was marginal, and white was safe.

It was sad to realize how much of the world has turmoil. We were very conservative in our choices, bypassing many places that other travelers consider quite safe. But still, it was startling to see whole regions of the world, such as Africa and the Mid-East, embroiled in conflicts. Sadly, in many of these cases the historical causes are external influences from the developed world, either remnants of the colonialism or the cold war.

On September 11, our criteria for selecting destinations did not change. But the world available to us did shrink. We regret that two places in particular, Egypt and Indonesia, are no longer on our list. Egypt has incredible history, the pyramids, the Nile, and the Red Sea scuba diving. Indonesia is a land of so many things, from the beaches of Bali to the music, food and culture. Fran even used to play in a Javanese Gamelan (percussion orchestra). But these both are no longer on the list.

As we progress during the year, we will continue to monitor situations, and add or subtract as needed. For example, Nepal looked wonderful until a crazy prince assassinated most of the royal family, allowing rebels to reassert themselves and strike against tourists. Situations can change rapidly, but with the Internet and easy access to cyber cafes even in the most destitute places, we will be able to stay informed. The US and UK both have good resources, listed in the links section of this website.