Quote: (01-19-2017 08:39 AM)superschalk Wrote:
Quote: (01-19-2017 04:24 AM)BlackUniform Wrote:
Sounds like I don't need to go to Africa, the place will be a lot of fun.
South Africa (not Africa in general) is much more unsafer than I felt in Medellin. I was staying in upper Poblado close to Rio Sur and always felt safe even when walking home from the clubs in Rio Sur during the early morning hours.
I also did a day trip to Bello using the Metro and got drunk there also never felt unsafe. I went to many football games of Atletico National. People where always friendly there and I took the metro back to Poblado in the late evening after the games without any issues.
However and I know this from living most parts of my life in Africa, that some of these places in Medellin give you a false sense of safety and if you are not careful things like Scotian mentioned can happen to you if you are unlucky or stupid.
In my opinion three types of foreigners coming into developing/3th world countries.
1. True backpackers: these are generally long term travellers, they focus on nature, trekking and immersing in the culture. They can get into trouble, because of the odd places they go to, but in general they are travel savvy, speak the local language and know how to take care of themselves in difficult situations. They don't go looking for trouble and are more likely to break a leg than get scammed/drugged. I can respect these people and they are often interesting to talk to for a while and can tell you about nice places to check out.
2. Hipsters/young travellers: the people you see in Poblado. They want to take instagram/fb pics, tell their friends they went to Colombia, but at the same time stay in their safe expat/foreigner bubble. In general I dislike these people, but safety wise they are better off then me. Sure, they will get robbed on the street for looking like faggots, but they won't go near undiscovered territory, shady afterparties, small villages and they won't look to communicate with the locals beyond what is necessary. They can get into minor trouble, panic because of it and then hide in their hostel room while telling all their friends in the west that they nearly died over social networks.
3. Hardened travellers/adventure seekers: I think a lot of RVFers fall in this category and so do I. People like this are used to travel to many places and are in many cases (me included) somewhat addicted to the adventure, adrenaline rich lifestyle. They will immerse in the culture, feel excited to go to a shithole areas to bang a local whore and truly happy when they arrive in a place where they see no backpackers whatsoever. The first time I arrived in parque Lleras, I thought to myself, I need to get the fuck out of here. I took a picture while in a club in Lleras and told my two less travel experienced friends: "look at this picture, the club is filled with gringo backpackers and ugly white girls, is this why you wanted to come to Colombia? I'm getting the fuck out of here". This are also the people that can get into some serious trouble from time to time.
Go to see the thread 'where's the biggest shithole you've been' and the members who've been to places like Africa , Bangladesh, Venezuela, Mali, Pakistan, Honduras, etc. fall into this category probably. I've also had the luck to speak to people of the older generations who lived like this while I was living in Rwanda. These are the type of guys that went into the Congo fi in the 70s-80s and never went back to the west. They lived in over 10 or 20 countries and have visited over 50 and guess what? At 60 year old, they have families with hot local women 30 years younger, their mind is sharp as a tool, they joke and party like they are still in their twenties and their knowledge entails cultures from all over the world. Most won't have lived a clean life and have gotten multiple times in very serious situations, but don't think they have any regrets.
If you read these stories and think, I should not go to Colombia, then you are not one of these people. I am the member that Scotian talks about getting scopolamined recently and robbed/injured in Medellin, but if I would get holidays now I would love to go right back and probably stay in Bello or another local area. That's part of the lifestyle and shit happens, but you get a ton of stories for it in return and the ups are higher than the lows.
Now, when comparing Africa to South America, having lived in both, streetwise I think S.America is more dangerous. In places like Venezuela, Honduras, El Salvador, etc. you will get robbed faster than in any place in Africa. Criminal culture is stronger there than in Africa (at least than in East Africa that I know well). South Africa I'd say has similar problems as S.America, because they have so many junkies and crime is a normal option in their culture. In Capetown you see a lot of desperate crack junkies for instance that you wouldn't see in say Kampala or Addis Abbeba. But off course if you go into rebel areas or war zones in Africa, that is another level. I've been on my own to East Congo (Goma) and North-Ethiopia (Afar region). In places like that you need armed protection going into the wild, I got escorted by a team of kalashnikov holding military guys and that is needed. A life is worth absolutely nothing there! Parts of Niger, Mali, CAR, Somalia, Erithrea, Nigeria, Sudan and so on belong to this category.
Colombia has its dangerous areas as well and a lot of people are involved in crime, but nevertheless it's an amazing country which has pretty much everything. I hope people read the stories here and understand a bit of the nature of the country, but still think, let's go check it out.
Unless you are a hipster, then stay the fuck home, you will get shot at the airport upon arrival!
![[Image: Mujeres+Mundial+Brasil+2014+selecci%C3%B...mbia+2.jpg]](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lmh8o33teWQ/U0CY17z1uBI/AAAAAAAAB6w/caTl3ROczFY/s1600/Mujeres+Mundial+Brasil+2014+selecci%C3%B3n+Colombia+2.jpg)
