Five “trouble spots” that are okay to visit
Sitting Buddha in a temple in Chiang Mai. Photo: Christian Haugen / Flickr Creative Commons
As usual, the media is full of stories of disasters rocking foreign countries. For a good status report, check out this CNNMoney article: 5 tourist spots in turmoil.
Savvy travelers are cashing in on the deep discounts being offered by travel providers. I know an American expat in Thailand who’s been booking Air Asia flights like crazy to take advantage of cheap flights to Chiang Mai and the Thai islands.
South Korea has been in the news due to having a submarine allegedly destroyed by North Korea. Lately, the rumbles are fading and it’s back to normal.
Have you ever traveled to a country that was in crisis? Did you go during the problems, or just immediately afterwards? Please share your experiences and tips on staying safe.
September 17th, 2010 at 12:19 am
When SARS was in full swing in Asia, we booked round trip tickets from LA to Singapore for only $250. And the Raffles Hotel (one of the best in the world) was offering rooms for about $200. SARS was only killing the very old and very young. We were 30 at the time and had a great Asian vacation for cheaper than had we gone to New York.
September 18th, 2010 at 12:16 am
I arrived in Thailand just after the recent troubles and did not notice anything different from my previous visit. Only a small section of Bangkok was affected, and people outside of the city said there was no trouble at all, life went on as usual.
September 18th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
I lived in South Korea for one year, up until this past July. Totally fine, nobody there is worrying about the North. Of course you cannot go into the North at all now, not even on the short tours they used to give. Also, traveled around Thailand for three weeks in July, including Chiang Mai area, Bangkok, and Koh Phangan/Koh Tao area. No problems there either. People just said to stay out of the areas of protest and you would be fine.