After reading this thread I don't see what value there is in South America or SE Asia that can't bettered by a big screen TV and some National Geographic and Food Channel and BBC DVDs
McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
101–110 of 113 posts
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretending to be Dutch is not such a good idea. Almost all dutch people speak very good English. In fact I've noticed that some Dutch people will get a bit offended if you ask if they can speak English because they all can. So if the officer knows anything about the Dutch they will know you are taking the piss. On an unrelated note. I dont know about other countries, but in the UK I believe it's a criminal offence to…
There is not much to pretend, I am Dutch... it also says so in my passport & driving license. And my English, as you can see is absolutely terrible.
Hah! Your english is so good I assumed you are a native speaker, it never crossed my mind that you are Dutch; I can't even tell if your last sentence is sarcastic or advanced level self deprecation :-)
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#103Do this if you want to be an abrasive dipshit who the host community rejects. This guy is a colonialist-tourist, not a traveller. You can feel his contempt for the people and the lands he is "visiting" seething through.
I read it opposite from the way you did. He seems very sympathetic and respectful of the local norms. I don't read any contempt in it. He appeals, respectfully, in several places to the standards the local populace holds the police to. He's sympathetic to the police making only a dollar an hour.
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
Pretending to be Dutch is not such a good idea. Almost all dutch people speak very good English. In fact I've noticed that some Dutch people will get a bit offended if you ask if they can speak English because they all can. So if the officer knows anything about the Dutch they will know you are taking the piss. On an unrelated note. I dont know about other countries, but in the UK I believe it's a criminal offence to…
Has a Briton ever been punished for paying a blackmail in a foreign country? Seems unlikely.
I don't know, and I doubt anyone has ever been arrested for bribing a police office over a speeding ticket. But I think a few people have at least been investigated for paying bribes to gain contracts for things like oil rights and arms deals. So, be careful boasting about your arms deals on HN :-)
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
I've not been to south america, but I spent a fair amount of time in south east asia. Different part of the world but similar practices and yes the basic details of his story checkout. Police do setup roadblocks on random days on random roads in order to "check things". In Cambodia and Thailand a favourite was to check that you had the "correct helmet" a law recently being passed that meant you had to wear a helmet w…
The police setup checkpoint happened to me once in Brazil. They let me pass that time because they had their hands already full of drivers to "deal" with.
It varies a lot, depending on where are you in Brazil (city/location), how busy are things, etc
I'd say most are 'legitimate' (usually Rio is the exception) and if there's nothing wrong you'll just go through without a problem.
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#106Earlier quoted context omitted.
Has a Briton ever been punished for paying a blackmail in a foreign country? Seems unlikely.
I don't know, and I doubt anyone has ever been arrested for bribing a police office over a speeding ticket. But I think a few people have at least been investigated for paying bribes to gain contracts for things like oil rights and arms deals. So, be careful boasting about your arms deals on HN :-)
To be fair these tend to be large multinational companies that have their investigations closed by the then prime minister.
That's a lot of oil being used to lubricate the wheels of justice.
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#107I spent a month across the Yucatan in Mexico, Belize and around Costa Rica 5 weeks ago, I didn't experience anything like this at all, I sense an element of desperation, anger and blatant bullshit amongst this post. Belize was a really warm welcoming country, I've travelled every continent and its up there in my top 5, so to read this is so contrary to my image of a wonderful country.
My guess, and I could be wrong, is that during your limited time (1 month split between three countries) down here, you most likely traveled by bus with a bunch of other tourists, to places frequented by tourists.
I've spent a year and a half in Mexico and currently live in Guatemala and have driven across Mexico and Belize in my own vehicle a number of times and have paid many bribes.
Your version of Belize might be warm and welcoming, but how close is your version to reality? How much time did you spend there? Did you ever drive your own vehicle and have to deal with road side inspection points, or was that handled by the bus driver?
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#108I have lived in Mexico for the past year and a half and have just moved to Guatemala. During my time here I have driven my Mexican plated car across Mexico three times, across Belize once, and Guatemala twice.
Depending on the area you can either go a whole day driving without being stopped or be pulled over ten times in an afternoon.
Paying bribes has mostly been for things I have done wrong: no seatbelt, no insurance (Belize), not having my license on me etc...
When I first moved to Central America I hated the idea of paying bribes. I hated the idea of such obvious corruption. Now, if I'm in the wrong, I welcome having the ability to pay a small amount of money to avoid what would be a certain large fine and possibly having my car towed and impounded in my own country (Canada)
I have had yelling matches with Mexican border guards at the Belizean border demand an exit fee which doesn't exist and take my passport, threatening to not return it if I don't pay. The majority of tourists that cross the border just pay the $20 without questioning it.
I've had an M16 shoved into my body and surrounded by a group of cartel members with threats of cutting out my tongue. (Which turned out to be their way of playing a joke to scare me, before cooking my girlfriend and I dinner and getting us drunk, sitting around on a beach at night while they balanced automatic rifles on their laps.
I've spent an hour on the side of a desolate highway at 2 in the morning in Belize, smoking cigarettes and working out a bribe with drunk police who pulled us over for not having insurance in their country (we crossed over the border at 8 at night and their insurance office at the border closed at 7 and we tried to make it across the country overnight). We ended up talking them down from $400usd to $20 to hire their services for a police escort to Orange Walk, and helping us find a hotel to stay in until we could purchase insurance in the morning.
The majority of people visiting these countries will never have a negative experience. If you decide to spend any time living in one of these countries like John, then you will most likely, eventually, run into some sketchy situations.
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#109I spent 9 months backpacking from Guatemala to Buenos Aires. There are thousands of people who do this sort of thing every year, and you'll meet lots of expats. In fact, until you hit Colombia, you probably can get by without knowing much Spanish. Personally, I would just skip this article, buy the Lonely Planet and live a little. Some places that I'd recommend seeing: http://wikitravel.org/en/Antigua_Guatemala http:…
I would be interested in visiting some or most of these countries in a few years time. At the risk of sounding cliched, I don't obviously want the touristy experience but want to experience the country(ies) and am prepared to do that for a few months. I currently know zero spanish, do you suggest picking up a guide book or should I invest time learning it at a school (I live in SF)?
In addition to learning spanish, check out https://www.couchsurfing.org/ . If you really want to experience a place than living / hanging out with locals is a great way to start. I've had some amazing experiences through couch-surfing over the last few years and made life-long friends.
Re: McAfee’s Third World Travel Guide
#110Is there anyone who has lived in one of these South American areas like Belize for a long time able to confirm any of this system of paying bribes to police officers at traffic stops? Also, is his statement about police 'planting drugs' just so much self serving nonsense, or has anyone ever had a police officer actually do that? The entire essay sounds somewhat specious to me...
I lived in the Caribbean for a while and this kind of bribery didn't happen in some countries, did happen in others, and "expedite fees" were universal, as well as generally being charged more as a foreign person. How they defined foreign was amusing, as a native of a neighboring island was considered a foreigner, and another native from the same neighboring island was a local, even though the latter had lived in Miami and NYC for most of his life.