Taking Worthwhile Risks While Traveling
In a recent article at The Traveler’s Notebook, Tim Patterson writes about “10 Travel Risks Worth Taking“. His first suggestion is to pick a travel destination on a whim. I’ve discussed this same idea here at Vagablogging before, when I mentioned my “Travel Suggestion Jar”, which I use to randomly pick a destination.
Patterson also suggests trusting in the kindness of strangers, saying that clinging to the comforts of tourist zones only creates a false sense of security – after all, that’s actually where the thieves and scam artists go. In my experience, this idea proves to be right. By trusting in strangers during your trip, you open yourself to having more experiences and gaining new friends.
The other ideas in the article are a bit more controversial especially the one about declining anti-malaria medication, which received some criticism from readers. According to Patterson:
Most anti-malaria drugs are expensive and their side effects are potentially nasty. Unless you’re going to travel rough in a part of the world where a deadly strain of malaria is common, like rural areas of West Africa, I don’t think you need to bother with anti-malaria meds.
Despite other people’s negative reaction, I tend to agree with him. I’ve lived and traveled in
Southeast Asia all my life, where Patterson says many travelers take anti-malaria drugs daily. The truth is, I don’t know anyone who’s ever contracted malaria. In fact, except in Africa, dengue fever is much more common for travelers than malaria. The overall solution? Mosquito repellent.
The last suggestion in the article is that travelers should ignore their email for weeks. I agree that doing so is worthwhile – even if you think you’ll miss out on some ’emergencies’. In time, you’ll find that those seemingly urgent things really aren’t that important. Spending a few days free from the email or the computer can feel liberating.
How about you, what travel risks have you taken? Were they worthwhile?
September 11th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
What’s the possibility that you don’t know anyone who’s contracted Malaria because they all took their anti-malaria pills?
I’d be curious to know if there would have been anyone who did, if they didn’t take the pills.
September 12th, 2008 at 12:53 am
No, they really didn’t take it. Plus, the locals can’t even imagine doing it – it’s not part of their lives.
Dengue, however, is more common, with outbreaks in urbanized areas. I know at least 2 people who have contracted it, and even more if you count the cases of “a friend of a friend”.
September 12th, 2008 at 5:44 am
Thanks for the shout, Celine!
I know a couple people who have caught malaria – my mom, in central africa in the 70s, and a student who was in senegal. There are certainly places where malaria drugs are necessary, but in SE Asia anyway, the risk is overblown.
Good point that dengue is more of a concern, and bug spray is key.
-Tim
September 12th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Thanks for dropping by Tim.
I’d just like to reiterate that as my quote from Tim’s article says, as well as my own article itself, that the malaria problems in Southeast Asia are the ones that are overblown. In Africa, there’s a real risk.
September 12th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
Are there any positive benefits to taking the medication, while in SE Asia? For example, if taking Malaria pills gives a traveler
enough courage to visit more rural areas of Cambodia, for example, and interact with the locals, isn’t that a good thing?
September 17th, 2008 at 4:12 am
I lived in West Africa for about 5 months last year, and spent almost all my time in more rural areas. While I did bring the prescription with me, I never took my (daily) antimalarial meds more than a couple times. I also didn’t use bug-spray a single time, and my window screens had gaping (6+inch) holes in them, and I wore flip-flops, skirts, and tank tops at night. I never caught malaria. BUT, I did get both the Typhoid, and Cholera vaccines prior to traveling, but still came down with pretty severe cases of both, on separate occasions. Henceforth, I will no longer be getting any vaccines (or anti-mal.) for any future travel. Not worth the cost, or the hassel, or the damage to the immune system.
Full disclosure, though: Many, many of my friends have gotten malaria (both my “Western” friends, and “local” friends). Some while taking the meds religiously, some while not taking them at all. I suppose you just become desensitized to it after awhile; not the illness, but the reality/commonness of it. It wasn’t unusual to be like “Hey, where were you last week?” “Oh, I had malaria” “Oh really? That sucks”
September 17th, 2008 at 9:52 am
@ Scott: That would depend on the meds and the person taking them. Some people taking Lariam report hallucinations, bad dreams, and difficulty sleeping – not something I want to experience when I’m overseas. Other drugs have different or less scary side effects. A good, long conversation with one’s doctor is best for those who really don’t want to explore SE Asia without taking anti-malarial meds.
@ Sarah: Typhoid and Cholera are horrible. So sorry you went through them despite your vaccines.