Travel for the Brave (or Foolhardy)
Saturday - February 20th, 2010 at 6:36 AM by CYOne of the most useful sites that I look at is Wikitravel, the Wikipedia equivalent for travelers. The information there is peer-contributed and edited, and it serves as a useful amalgamation or as a start point to get key pointers before you branch into country-specific sites for more details.
Just for fun: I took a look also at what’s generally regarded as some of the world’s most dangerous cities, and to see what Wikitravel has to advise for travelers to those places. Not that I intend to go there, ever, of course – but it’s still humorous to read what they have to say, and they certainly don’t mince words. All quotations from Wikitravel.:)
“At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the easiest method for staying safe in Somalia is not to go in the first place, as it is a dangerous country. Kidnappings and warlordism are all common in this country.”
“As of 2007, independent analysts said were no more than 2,000 separatist combatants still fighting. By traveling to Chechnya you are taking a serious risk. Kidnappings and unexploded mines and munitions are widespread, while terrorist activity and shootings still occur on a lesser scale. Throughout the region, local criminal gangs routinely kidnap foreigners, including Americans, Canadians, and UK nationals, for ransom.”
Just for comparison’s sake, even nearby Jakarta gets a warning. I certainly don’t regard the country as nearly as dangerous as the first two, and this is what Wikitravel says.
“The high-profile terrorist bomb blasts at the JW Marriott in 2003, the Australian Embassy in 2004 and the JW Marriott (again) & Ritz-Carlton in 2009 mean that security in Jakarta tends to be heavy, with car trunk checks, metal detectors and bag searches at most major buildings. Statistically, though, you’re far more likely to be killed in the traffic.”
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How about Singapore? Wikitravel says:
“Singapore is one of the safest major cities in the world by virtually any measure. Most people, including single female travellers, will not face any problems walking along the streets alone at night. But as the local police say, “low crime does not mean no crime” — beware of pickpockets in crowded areas and don’t forget your common sense entirely.”
So far so good – though the next bit perhaps explains exactly how that reputation is reached:
“Singapore’s squeaky cleanliness is achieved in part by strict rules against activities that are tolerated in other countries. For example, jay-walking, spitting, littering, and drinking and eating on public transport are prohibited (even forgetting to flush the toilet will subject you to a great fine). Locals joke about Singapore being a fine city because heavy fines are levied if one is caught committing an offence.”
All too true, though I can’t remember when was the last time someone got fined for not flushing a toilet.:)
It wasn’t too long ago that a lawsuit here in Singapore caught the interest of many readers. That court case was in February last year and revolved around a
Let’s say for instance, a child who isn’t doing well and the teacher tries to provide closer guidance during class. The child still doesn’t improve, and parents demand that the teacher does additional remedial work after school hours. Said teacher wants to devote time after school hours to her child, and parents write to
About 5 years while in Perth in 2005 I had an accident at home that came scarily close to permanent facial scarring. One evening I was preparing dinner in the kitchen, when a couple of my housemates came over to boil water in the mean time.
In case the picture’s unclear: this interconnecting link was on the third floor – i.e. a drop of about 10 metres down if I decided to try what this lady here did with her school yesterday.
The line that takes the cake of course is the last one: that the taxi companies are doing this as a carrot for taxi drivers to drive into Sentosa. Not that I have any intention of visiting RWS soon when it partially opens later this month. But the introduction of yet another premium to be paid only underlines the almost paternalistic treatment of taxi companies towards it drivers.
It was my last day guest lecturing at the college today. The lectures and workshops I did with my Japanese students covered a lot of material. 


I’ve remarked on this blog here that Restaurant Matsuri at my hotel enjoys a magnificent view of the castle both by day and night.











