Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I lived in Europe a long time with my Dutch husband and you have to do as whatever country your are in does . Especially if they are known to be hostile you MUST understand you are on your own . I had a hard enough time with people hating Americans in Holland - the real out in the sticks dutch - not the ones you might interact with in Amsterdam and it was tough and I had to educate some who were willing and able to listen that I was not arrogant, not all of us weigh 500 lbs and eat all 3 meals at McDonalds ( they are obsessed with thinking we all eat every meal there ) and me originating from Texas some even thought I or my friends/family had participated in executions as employment . North Korea IS NOT going to listen to ANYTHING .
I have also found it safer for me not to go to Turkey when my husbands extended family goes .
WOULD NEVER go to N Korea and am sorry I can see at my age, I will never go to Baghdad beyond the fighting and the Taliban etc .. I would have loved to have taken home some of the fabrics and art , seen decor/ designs of some of the homes and the food . That place wont be back to normal for a very long time if ever. I'd been fascinated by it since I was very young IDK why .
Hoping to go to Cuba and India before its over . My folks honeymooned in Cuba in '55.
Turkey is a very safe destination for visitors, as evidenced by the 40+ million foreign visitors every year--putting it #6 in the world's destinations. Istanbul is as safe as any European capital. I wouldn't head to the southeastern border while the Syrian Civil War is ongoing, but most of Turkey is perfectly safe (aside from driving, which is a whole other subject).
I used to feel exactly like most of you do. That we should turn our backs on those stupid enough to go there or charge the family for the SEAL team bill it takes to get them out but...whatever who cares. It doesn't matter.
Stupid is as stupid does. If their PC slapped them in the face if they typed NK into Orbitz it wouldn't change anything. Let them go. Let them get captured. Let them be poltical pawns. Many do it and nothing happens to them. But some get caught. Some get released right away...some sit there for years and never even get fully acknowledged as being captured. Were they spies? Did they do something stupid? Were they truly unlucky?
Who knows. We will never know. Let their mommas and daddies come on evening news shows and cry and pitch and moan to whatever administration is in office about getting them freed. The bottom line is they are just pawns in the nasty game of politics. And that game is going to be played whether it is truly a spy or a reporter or just a dumb ass extreme mountain biker who crossed the wrong border by mistake. Troops are still going to be risked and sent into harms way for assets and operations we don't know about and if they don't want to risk trying to rescue you...they won't. They always try to talk it out first.
So don't sweat it. If it is meant to happen it will.
They're usually Bible thumpers who think God will protect them so nothing bad can happen since they are on a mission from God to proselytize the heathens.
They're usually Bible thumpers who think God will protect them so nothing bad can happen since they are on a mission from God to proselytize the heathens.
I can't speculate as to how this kid got in trouble but he is not too smart given that recently a guy from Dayton was detained in N Korea for leaving a bible in a restroom at a nightclub thinking that God would see to it that the bible would end up in the hands of the underground church.
I don't believe in "ban going to countries" you just don't know what is the reason a person is traveling there-could be to see a distant relative or pick up the remains of a loved one..and not all traveling is for leisure.
That being said they are warned not to travel to certain countries and given recent crimes against Americans in that country. I do know of a couple that is on Youtube, who traveled to a very dangerous Middle East country, they travel on their bikes filming. Well, the wife was raped (why the husband allowed her to walk around alone, I don't understand) they even stated they knew going in with his wife-they were at risk...
I think one cannot go in with rose colored glasses but going outside one can meet their fate..good luck in this world, we all need it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
How STUPID can you be?
