The world is an amazing place full of awesome people, but far too often people allow fear, mistrust and stereotypes about a destination stop them from travelling, and that is a huge shame. A little bit of trust can go a long way.
I hear it all the time now from people who want to travel the world but never really will. ‘That place is dangerous’, ‘you can’t go there because they are all out to scam you’, ‘I went on holiday and the hassle was just relentless and I felt unsafe’. Honestly it is as sad as it is disappointing and tiresome.
It is true that when you are travelling there will be a lot of people who will try and take advantage of you in one way or another, but this is a generalisation for life itself, bad people aren’t just relegated to those you meet when you travel. And yes, it is true that you need to constantly be on your guard for travel scams, rip offs and con artists, but again using sensible and reasonable safety precautions is just common sense. A certain level of wariness and precaution is absolutely fine, and I would argue even essential, but it is also just as important to not allow yourself to become completely mistrusting of everyone you meet.
One of travel’s greatest gifts is the people you meet and the connections you make along the way, yet so many travellers close themselves off to those connections because they are afraid, they are unable to trust that the world is in general a safe place full of wonderful, kind hearted people.
Of course it is completely sensible to be wary of new people, to keep your guard up a little and not be too trusting, but all too often this can turn into something far more ugly and lead to people becoming afraid, angry and paranoid.
You see it all the time in the mass generalisations of touristy spots like Egypt or the souks of Morrocco. Tourists head to some of the biggest tourist spots on the planet, are surprised that they are packed with touts trying to make money off tourists, don’t know how to deal with them and ultimately run away screaming that the place is dangerous because they felt uncomfortable. This adds to the negative and unfair stereotypes of these destinations and makes people assume that the destination, and by extension the world, is inherently dangerous.
All you have to do is look at any of the comment sections of an article or social media post about Egypt, and about Giza in particular. The hysteria is off the scale.
‘They are all out to scam you.’
‘They are all going to rip you off!’
‘Don’t visit the pyramids, you’ll get hassled so much.’
‘How not to get scammed in Egypt … Just don’t speak to anyone. Period.’
‘I was harrassed constantly. Men. Ugh.’
And yes, these are all genuine comments from a recent social media post about Egypt, and most were from people who had never been but have heard this is what it was like. You can’t go through life like that!
Yes there are touts in Egypt, just like there are in any major tourist destination in the world, and yes sometimes they can be annoying but that is it. That doesn’t mean they are dangerous, it doesn’t mean everyone is like that and it certainly doesn’t mean the entire country is dangerous! But again, this is the mentality gained when people lose trust in others, they believe the stereotypes, they believe the world is inherently dangerous and they jump to knee jerk mistrust as a standard response.
But that isn’t the right response. The one universal truth I have learned throughout 25 years of travel is that the world is inherently good. People on the whole are inherently good, and we are all at the core pretty much the same, decent human beings.
By refusing to trust people outright you risk missing out on that basic human connection, and what is travel without that human connection?
Some of the best adventures I have ever had have been through meeting new people on the road and taking a chance on going somewhere new, some of my best travel memories have been shared with other backpackers I didn’t know at all just a few days previously.
My experiences of a local culture have been enhanced through my interactions with local people, I have been invited to share in intimate cultural traditions, seen past the superficial tourism layer of travel and gained a deeper understanding of local life, all because I trusted myself enough to open up just a little.
And time and time again people have repaid that trust by showing me that the majority of people are inherently good. The Thai massage school that healed my serious sunburn I got through snorkelling too long and wouldn’t take a penny in payment, the villagers who bundled me in a van and helped get me to a lower altitude when I got altitude sickness in the Himalayas, the young girl in Rajasthan who tied her own scarf around my head so I wouldn’t get heatstroke, all of these things would never have happened if I kept hold of the mentality that they were just out for themselves and I should dismiss them out of hand.
You have to trust just a little when you travel. Trust not only that the majority of people are inherently good, but trust yourself as well. Trust in your own instincts and your own ability to look after yourself. Trust that your own basic common sense will allow you to navigate any potential pitfalls and problems safely, and trust that you will have an amazing adventure around the world, if you are just willing to take that first step and get on that plane!
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How To Avoid The Annoying Touts In Egypt.
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The Reality Of Fear And The Truth About Travel Safety.