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New York, 12:14 AM
Fri Dec 11
60 posts in the last 24 hours
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12/08/09
"Do Not Use Drugs" -- Because it's legally okay to use drugs in the US? No, because you don't know how to use drugs and not to get caught in another country and you have less resources to get out of trouble there, even if it's Canada.
"Know that Pranks Are Always Lost in Translation" -- Yeah, like if you string a line across the road and trip a lady and she gets hurt, you won't be in a load of shit if you're in the US. Don't do stupid pranks regardless of where you're.
"Never Underestimate How Prude the Rest of the World Is" -- Countries that don't have strong Judeo-Christian/ Islam ethical background are actually a hell lot more open-minded about sex than the US is. Like, say, Japan and Thailand.
"Learn This Sentence in the Native Dialect" -- Good suggestion, though I don't think it's likely that most have enough language talent to speak it intelligibly in a language they don't know, especially when they're in trouble and in shock. Carry a card with that sentence printed in both the native language and English instead.
"Don't Start Shit" -- True. Though it has to be said that even if you're Japanese, you'd still get the same treatment in Japan.
"Don't Go Places You're Not Allowed" -- True again, though I have no idea how that incites xenophobia or takes fun out of traveling abroad. Beside, isn't that part of the last point?
12/07/09
Yeah, it was scary.
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Or, for safety's sake, always travel in groups of three. That way you can frame your unknowing third wheel for your own mischievous, homicidal highjinks.
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"Do not be a terrible person whilst traveling or working abroad" might be excellent advice as well in either case, I suppose.
12/07/09
Fay was dealt with in Singapore, where they don't screw around with people. I remember the Singapore embassy in SF being overrun with phone calls from people offering to cane Fay.
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[en.wikipedia.org]
12/07/09
On another note, just why was it the Iraquis didn't greet Our Boys with roses and sunshine?
12/07/09
In most of my travels, nobody seems to give a shit that I'm an American. However, I also do my best to speak the native language and not start talking jingoistic shit every twenty minutes. You're right about the sense of entitlement, though. It's the assholes who think that they are superior to other people simply by virtue of where they were born that make us look like ass.
12/07/09
12/07/09
No, the Iroquois, actually, as Elton John invites us to sing with him about that great ravaged race to the north ...
Oh, great father of the Iroquois
Come put on your breeches, bois ...
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Also, try to reconstruct everything you did on an otherwise unremarkable day when you've got a team of highly-trained investigators who are trying to trip you up. Add alcohol and illegal substances in the mix, and you've got an insurmountable problem on your hands.
The best course of action is to write down what you can remember for yourself and then stick to that story. Don't let them try to talk you into implicating others either. That's such a credibility killer.
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A father-of-three who was found with a microscopic speck (0.003g, invisible to the naked eye) of cannabis stuck to the bottom of one of his shoes was sentenced to four years in a Dubai prison last year: [www.thisislondon.co.uk]
They also arrest people for over the counter medications: [news.bbc.co.uk]
12/07/09
12/07/09
Someone I know just had a connecting flight through there and they told me they were going to take a loose sleeping pill in their pocket to take when they got on the flight in Dubai. So they would be getting off the plane in Dubai and going through the security and drug checks with this pill in their pocket. I honestly had to beg them not to do it. I showed them some of the articles about people being imprisoned for cold medicine etc and they finally agreed.
They said "but you would visit me in a Dubai prison wouldn't you?" No, probably not.
12/07/09
12/07/09
One of the worst stories I read about was a Swiss guy who had poppy seeds from the bread roll on the plane still on his clothes - he was sentenced to 4 years.
They say they use sensitve equipment that can detect the most minute amounts. And they arrest people over over the counter stuff too.
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12/07/09
The kid was French/Swiss, but his mother was a French journalist (hence the media coverage).
I'd forgotten that one of the men who raped him had AIDS. Bonus points when you get raped AND have the fear of a life threatening disease transmission hanging over your head AND you get to go to jail.
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12/07/09
Anyway as someone who lives (illegally) in another country I can add these rules.
7. Don't fuck with the local girls. Bothering local girls is the easiest way possible to get beaten up by locals and then arrested by the police if you try to defend yourself. This is true in nearly any country in the world.
8. Don't go to the cops for anything. You'll get put on a list and any time a crime happens and a foreigner who vaguely fits your description is described as the person who did it you'll get hassled. If you are mugged or sexually assaulted go to the US embassy instead of the cops. In general if you were mugged and didn't lose that much money and weren't hurt that bad don't even bother the embassy. Just deal with it.
9. If you are a gay man be very, very careful who you hit on. Many straight euro men dress, look and act exactly like gay American men and are ridiculously homophobic. Your gaydar will not work. They will beat you up and good luck getting any help from the cops in that situation.
10. Avoid cocaine in Europe. For one, it's insanely watered down at this point so you'll have to do tons of it to get buzzed. For another ,the bars have really, really gotten tired of coked up Americans and Brits and will probably turn you in to the cops themselves if you act like a fucking cokehead.
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Very, very true. I was a crime and courthouse reporter for 10 years so I know how cops and prosecutorss think and I've been in Europe for nine years so I know how the systems work here.
First off, the day after the murder she wouldn't have been buying lingerie with her boyfriend - she would have been in any country other than Italy - most likely back home, but certainly at least France or Switzlerland.
If a big crime happens near you in Europe and and you are not a Euro get the fuck out of dodge until shit calms down.
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12/07/09
I've never dealt with it in Spain but everyone I know here who has gone to the police about a mugging has said it was an enormous waste of time, a huge hassle and resulted in the cops going over their papers very, very carefully and generally being dicks to them.
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The less interaction you have with the police during the course of your life the better.
12/07/09
Also, I got a ride home in a cop car, lights on and everything. Whee!
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12/07/09
The police in Paris, near as we can tell, ride bikes in threes and never ever venture underground. It is felt that the quickest way to relase all of the revenue from tourism to the local economy is to take it all immediately. That way taxes can remain low.
Yet here is another Fodor's, raving about the Louvre ...
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I am old, I am old
I must keep my wallet in my trousers rolled...
12/08/09
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Inside certain of them upscale Juarez clubs, a senior lady who was not otherwise in circulation would try and pick a beef with anyone. Me. Were she able to spark sufficient turmoil, the cops would be called, and guess who would be expected to pay the fare for the evening. It was the only way the lady had of minting coin.
I saw it in Naipaul somewhere*. He was trying to leave one of those dread dark domains and one on the shore spotted him and came onboard to demand a bribe. Innocence only sparks interest sometimes. Jesus.
* Bend in the River, same as the old Jimmy Stewart western.
12/06/09
12/06/09
And, unlike Alexa, does not have an ounce of talent in ther entire stick figure body.