About Robert Schrader

Recent Posts by Robert Schrader

On Israel’s Eilat and Egypt’s Red Sea Beaches

Israel is roughly the size of the U.S. state of New Jersey, so I have to give the country kudos: For such a small place, they have a hugely diverse range of landscapes and destinations. From snow-capped mountains in the north, to Tel Aviv’s coastline to the vast Negev desert in the south, the Holy Land is a wholly rich place to travel.

The majority of Israelis I met were adamant that I had to visit Eilat, Israel’s Red Sea resort, particularly when they found out I would be traveling to Egypt from Israel overland. Indeed, I had no choice but to pass through Eilat and even spent a few hours there, waiting for my Egypt visa.

Unfortunately, I didn’t feel compelled to stay in Eilat, even though I probably technically could’ve. I don’t want to discourage you from visiting Eilat — I simply hope my reasons for not having spent much time there will help you decide whether or not you should.

Eilat is Busy

I arrived in Eilat at about five in morning, having taken an overnight bus from Tel Aviv. The streets and shores of Eilat were mostly uninhabited around that time — I probably could’ve heard a pin drop just a few minutes’ walk from the Eilat bus station — but if anything, this just drew more attention to the ridiculous extent of development in Eilat.

I simply can’t imagine why anyone would travel to Eilat for relaxation. Near the city center, anyway, the coastline is so dominated by hotels, umbrella-covered beach chairs and a cluttered horizon that it makes disgusting U.S. beach communities like Galveston and Atlantic City seem tranquil. As the sun began to rise, my attention was drawn to Eilat’s city center itself, with extends unbroken over the desert just before its meets the sea.

To be fair, Eilat’s beaches seemed to get more beautiful and quiet as I sped out of town in a taxi bound for the border crossing with Egypt, but unfortunately, my mind was already made up by then.

I Was In a Hurry

I’d stayed in delightful Tel Aviv nearly a week longer than I originally planned (and longer than my schedule allotted, for that matter), so I quite literally had to make a beeline for Egypt. At most, I had enough time to spend a full day and night in Eilat before crossing into Egypt’s Sinai peninsula.

This being said, I don’t know that I would’ve stayed in Eilat, even if I hadn’t been in such a rush. I probably would’ve been less focused on my task at hand — which was getting a tourist visa to enter Egypt — and, perhaps, more open to seeing the subtle beauty of Eilat that attracts hundreds of thousands of Israeli and foreign tourists to the area every year.

Egypt Visa in Eilat

Unless you plan to travel exclusively in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula, you’ll need to obtain an Egyptian tourist visa before you attempt to cross the border into Egypt, if you’re an American anyway. You can obtain an Egypt visa in Eilat at the Egyptian consulate in Eilat, the same day you apply for the visa no less.

The Egyptian consulate in Eilat is open from 9:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday. The location of the consulate within Eilat is marked clearly on tourist maps all over Eilat and if you get lost, friendly locals will be happy to help you find your way.

Bring visa payment in Israeli shekels (the fee is 100 NIS as of May 2012), one passport-sized photo (you can have it taken at any photo studio in Eilat) and a passport with at least six months remaining validity. Fill out the Egypt visa application and submit your materials as close to 9:30 a.m. as possible. The consular officer will inform you of your specific pickup time, which will probably be after lunch.

Egypt’s Red Sea Beaches Are Better

I got my Egypt visa around 1:30 p.m., and hopped straight into a taxi bound for the border crossing with Egypt. Even without crowds, you can expect to spend about an hour crossing the Egypt-Israel border. Although exiting Israel is quick, security at Taba, the Egyptian frontier town, is stringent, and your bags are likely to be searched.

If you plan to travel by bus to your destination in the Sinai peninsula, politely decline offers from the taxi drivers who will no doubt harass you as you exit the border facility — the station is literally five minutes away on foot.

Whether you travel to Bohemian Dahab or busy Sharm el-Shiekh, I can assure you of one thing: The Red Sea’s beaches in Egypt’s Sinai are in better than those you find in Eilat, particularly if you can make it to Ras Mohammed National Park at the southern tip of the peninsula. Egypt is also significantly cheaper than Israel, which is an added bonus.

River Market Energy Meets French Colonial Influence in Vietnam’s Hoi An

Vietnam was a French colony for most of its modern history prior to the Vietnam war, and French influence is still strong throughout the country. Nowhere in Vietnam is this influence more pronounced than in the town of Hoi An, located on the central Vietnamese coast near the large city of Da Nang.

Hoi An is a relaxing place to stop for a few days as you travel north or south through Vietnam. But it’s also a marvelous intersection of Vietnam’s French-colonial past and the local culture that has been sustaining people long before the arrival of the French, all in a beautiful coastal setting.

Hoi An is near the coast, but not exactly on it. Rather, the town sits on the banks of the Thu Bon River, a waterway that is not only beautiful, but life-sustaining.

Although you will probably arrive in Hoi An in the late morning, do yourself a favor and wake up early the first morning you wake up in Hoi An. Walk or bike over to the river and take in sunrise with the locals.

When I say “life-sustaining,” I mean it. As this scene from a river market depicts, the river is a central part not only of culture in Hoi An, but also a source of sustenance for the local community. The riverbank is where fisherman deposit their catches early in the morning, and where their family members set up markets to sell the portions of their bounties they don’t personally need throughout the day.

In general, the further away you get from the river, the more pronounced the French influence in Hoi An becomes. The architectural style of buildings in Hoi An is decidedly French, although the color selections and bougainvillea vines growing over the buildings gives them a flair that’s hard to mistake for anywhere but Vietnam.

Although Hoi An is extremely small — you can literally walk across the entire town in 20 minutes, and that’s if you’re moving slowly — it is home to a number of permanent storefronts, and not just the collapsible markets that dominate much of Vietnam. Some Hoi An travelers associate this architectural style with commercialization but to me, it gives the town an Old World stateliness that’s intoxicating.

You could conceivably spend your entire time in Hoi An exploring the town center, but why? I encourage you to rent a bike, either from your hotel or from any of the several bike rental facilities in Hoi An, and head east over the Thu Bon River. Many delights await you on the other side!

Indeed, Hoi An is so small that the scene just a few minutes outside the town limits is almost completely tropical and uninhabited. Whether you’ve been traveling in Vietnam for a week or a month, this tranquility will be welcome, as if Hoi An’s compact size and laid-back energy weren’t refreshing enough.

Approximately 20 minutes’ ride eastward from Hoi An’s town center is an actual beach! Not only is An Bang Beach relatively undeveloped, extremely clean and pin-drop quite, but when I was there anyway, the crowd was decidedly more local than tourist. I don’t know if I would bank on this being the case for you, however, with how booming Vietnam’s tourism industry is at the moment.

Head back to Hoi An’s center at night to see the town — and, as you see, the river — quite literally lit up. Even if animal lanterns like this tiger aren’t present when you’re there (I believe this was part of a special festival), you can still shop for colorful lamps and lanterns at stalls on the east bank of the river.

Camel Tours & Kangaroos Australian Style…

Seeing wild kangaroos when I traveled to Australia wasn’t enough for me — I wanted to see wild kangaroos on the beach! You’ve probably had a similar idea if you own the latest edition of Lonely Planet’s “Australia” guidebook, whose front cover depicts (wait for it) a kangaroo on a beach.

Several of my Australian friends told me that kangaroos liked to hang out on various beaches in New South Wales, but such hearsay wasn’t enough for me as I made my way north along Australia’s east coast.

Thankfully, Davina at Uluru Camel Tours in Australia’s “red” centre provided me with more specific instructions: To visit the so-called “Look At Me Now” headlands near the town of Coffs Harbour, a few hours north of Sydney.

Transport To “Look At Me Now” Headlands

Australia’s Coffs Coast region is basically devoid of public transport options, so traveling to the “Look At Me Now” headlands to see kangaroos on the ocean isn’t as simple as hopping on a bus. To make matters worse, the only road that links Coffs Harbour with Emerald Beach (the most adjacent settlement to the headlands) is a highway, which means that biking is out of the question.

If you stay at Hoey Moey hostel in Coffs Harbour, you can join one of the organized tours to the “Look At Me Now” headlands, which occurred on Mondays when I stayed there in February 2012. Of course, seeing kangaroos on the beach was my birthday present to myself, and birthday happened to fall on a Sunday in 2012.

As a result, I hitchhiked to “Look At Me Now” headlands, which is essentially your only option for seeing kangaroos on the beach in Coffs Harbour if you haven’t rented a car or campervan.

Where Are The Kangaroos?

When you arrive at the Emerald Beach parking lot, walk over to your right side and enter the “Look At Me Now” headlands. The footpath hugs the cliffs that rise above the ocean, which sits off to your right. As a result, you will see the kangaroos (if they are out) off to your left side.

Notice I said “if they are out”: You aren’t 100% guaranteed to see kangaroos when you visit the “Look At Me Now” headlands. Obviously, there are ways to increase your chances. Going early in the morning is one of them. Good weather — sunny, but not too hot — also makes it more likely that you will see kangaroos by the sea.

Another tactic is simply to wait. The kangaroos live at the headlands, so even if they’re not “out,” they are “there,” specifically in the shrubbery that sits within the fenced “wildlife” reserve area. If you wait long enough, one of the friendly marsupials might surprise you.

Wild Kangaroo Etiquette

Notice also that I said “wait”: You should under no circumstances wander into the brush (the kangaroos’ home) and try to scare them out of it. Indeed, I’ve just used the term “friendly” in a very figurative sense — although kangaroos are unlikely to pre-emptively attack you, they are wild animals, and their behavior can be unpredictable.

Does this mean you can’t get close to the kangaroos in order to photograph them with the ocean in the background? Of course not. But you shouldn’t try to touch wild kangaroos. You must be especially cautious if, like me, you’re lucky enough to see a baby kangaroo or “joey” hanging out by itself.

I was photographing some of the larger kangaroos at the headlands — there were around a dozen or so there when I went — when I tripped over some shrub roots, only to notice that a little joey was lying underneath the shrub’s branches. The joey’s father didn’t seem too happy that I had quite literally stumbled upon his son or daughter!

Other Coffs Harbour Activities

Sleepy Coffs Harbour is a highly-underrated Australian destination and often plays second fiddle to Bohemian Byron Bay, located a few hours to its north.

Ecotourism Shines in Santa Marta & Minca Colombia

Santa Marta, Colombia has gained a reputation as one of the most popular places to travel in Colombia, but the town of Santa Marta itself is dingy, dirty and less than picturesque. In fact, Santa Marta acts as more of a hub for the extensive eco-tourism opportunities that exist within surrounding Magdalena province.

Among these the settlement of Minca, perched in the Colombian Sierra Nevada mountains that rise above the sea, is especially rewarding. Take a day trip from Santa Marta to Minca to trek through rainforest, swim at the base of a raging waterfall and take a tour of an organic, hydroelectric coffee farm that’s been operating continuously for almost two centuries.

Minca is relatively close to central Santa Marta; depending on where in Santa Marta you’re staying, the journey takes between 45-90 minutes. If you stay at the Dreamer Hostel (about 20 minutes from central Santa Marta in Mamatoco), take one of the hostel’s organized tours, which costs 25.000 COP and departs on select days of the week.

Most tours of Minca have three parts: A tour of La Victoria, a local coffee farm and packaging center; a trek through the rainforest followed by a swim in a waterfall at the end of the trek; and a panoramic view of the region from a local mirador. The tour almost always occurs in this order, but it’s by design: Heavy early afternoon rains in the Sahara Nevada make the indoor areas of La Victoria the only place you want to be.

Don’t let the word “tour” fool you: Your trip to La Victoria will be extremely enlightening. The coffee purveyors here have been in business since roughly 1850 and still use the same process (and, in fact, many of the same facilities) they have for a century and a half. The entire operation is not only organic, but hydroelectric; The stream water used to wash coffee beans and transport them through the refining process provides all the electricity La Victoria consumes. Your tour guide will explain the long journey a single coffee bean takes from the coffee plant to your cup, which you enjoy both before and after the tour.

Although the rain can be annoying if you’re wearing inappropriate clothing or carry expensive electronics with you like I do, seeing the forest kissed with moisture after the storm is among the most beautiful sights you’ll ever see. I’ve rarely seen lushness like this anywhere else in the world.

Once the rain has let up you begin your hike, which takes you about an hour down into the Sierra Nevada’s rainforest. Our guide, who is a local of the region, was nice enough to locate (and harvest) some mangoes for us as we made our way along the path. He also kept about two dozen for himself!

Although you are, at most, two hours from central Santa Marta, you will feel much further away as you hike into the Sierra Nevada. This becomes particularly clear if you look up, the sky framed like a picture by the surrounding canopy. The pace of the tour may be faster or slower, depending on how many people yours includes, but try to pause and enjoy your surroundings for at least a moment.

One of my favorite parts of the tour was walking over a rushing river on a rickety, wooden bridge. This was exhilarating enough in and of itself, but a Swiss traveler on a different tour took it another step: He was actually lying down on the bridge. I snapped this photo while I was waiting for him to move.

Unfortunately, the rushing river was a bad omen of sorts: The rainstorm had rendered the waterfall (and the river) unsafe for swimming. Actually “bad” is not the word — it was great to look at! Here’s to hoping you’re able to swim at the base of a waterfall when you take a tour of Minca, Colombia.

Things To Do Do & Not Do When Travel Sickness Sets In

(Disclaimer: I should probably clarify right off the bat that when I say “travel sickness,” I mean “food-borne travel illness.”)

You could say I’m something of an expert in dealing with food poisoning during travel. Although I’m generally healthy — at home, I almost never fall ill, the occasional cold or sinus infection notwithstanding — I usually succumb to at least one bout of food poisoning per trip.

I would like to tell you that avoiding food-borne illness during travel is as simple as being judicious about where you buy your food but unfortunately, microbes don’t only hang out in sketchy-looking restaurants and food stalls. Indeed, your best defense against food poisoning when you travel is learning to recognize its symptoms quickly, and to deal with them effectively.

Signs and Symptoms of Food Poisoning

If you read my article about the Christmas I spent sick in Shanghai, you’ll know that I had formidable experience with food poisoning prior to departing China on my “big” trip. When I started getting chills as night fell in humid, balmy Vientiane, Laos a few months later, I knew something was up.

I returned to my hotel room after I finished eating with the intention of changing clothes, only to find myself too cold, tired and achy to get up off my bed. To be sure, I’ve found that food poisoning usually comes on in a subtle, deceptive manner, mimicking a generally feeling of fatigue and, as time passes, malaise. If you start getting a headache or body aches to complement your chills or tiredness, you should probably be concerned.

Ironically, I’ve found the gastrointestinal symptoms of food poisoning are among the last to set in. If we assume I went back to my Vientiane hotel room at 8 p.m., it wasn’t until probably midnight that I took my first trip to the toilet. Unfortunately, once you do start experiencing these symptoms, they are unlikely to let up quickly.

Thankfully, although you will alternate between vomiting and diarrhea, none of your excretion is likely to be particularly explosive. When I fell ill in Mandalay, Myanmar a few months after getting sick in Laos, I more often wanted to shit or puke than felt I had to — the pain and pressure in my abdomen alerted me to the presence of an unwelcome visitor that needed to get the F out.

Seeking Medical Treatment During Travel

Unfortunately, travel illness isn’t always something you can get over without medical treatment. Out of the half-dozen or so times I’ve fallen ill with food poisoning during travel, I sought professional medical attention for two of them.

My fever in Laos got so high that I was concerned it was Dengue, so I took a tuk-tuk to Vientiane’s international hospital before it opened, and waited for the staff to arrive. After hours of examination, testing and a relatively substantial blood sample, I was given a huge bag of pills to cure the bacterial infection that had control of my digestive tract.

In Myanmar, I become so incapacitated by my sickness that I braved a 30-minute journey in the back of a pickup truck to the only English-speaking doctor in Mandalay. As the medical professional in Laos had done, he prescribed me no less than 10 different medications, from antibiotics for the infection to activated charcoal to combat nausea.

Of course, I allowed my other four instances of food poisoning to run their courses, so I’m not sure to what extent seeking medical treatment for travel sickness actually helped me fight it. Perhaps the benefit was entirely psychological? As a general rule, if you feel like you aren’t getting better after a day or so of sickness, seek medical attention, if only for peace of mind.

Travel Sickness Coping Strategies

Whether you head to a hospital or tough it out on your own, it will take some time for your food-borne travel illness to dissipate. The first coping strategy I recommend is that you get your own hotel room — or, if you’re staying in a hostel, a private single with an ensuite bathroom.

Quiet and privacy will not only increase the quality of your rest, but they are also practically beneficial. When I fell ill in Essaouira Morocco after eating sketchy street meat, I was in probably the most echo-y hostel I’ve ever stayed in. Every time I vomited (thankfully, not much came out of the back end during this particular bout of travel sickness), the heaving sound reverberated throughout the entire building.

If your room has a bathtub, occasional hot baths can help you alleviate fever symptoms, although you shouldn’t overdo it — I usually do. Not surprisingly, frequent dips in extremely hot water will raise your temperature even higher, which can have disastrous consequences if you aren’t careful.

Once you get your appetite back, eat mild, bland food, but don’t just buy the cheapest thing you can find at the supermarket, even if you’re on a strict budget. Pampering yourself, even slightly, is essential to recovering from your illness.

How Long Should You Rest?

My recovery times have been different each time I fell ill with travel sickness. In Laos, I got sick on a Tuesday night; on Wednesday night, I was on an overnight train to Bangkok, albeit extremely reluctantly.

In Myanmar, I was incapacitated for around 48 hours before I flew back to Thailand. My Moroccan sickness was a 24 hours bug; At the end of my recent trip to Australia, I experienced fierce gastrointestinal discomfort for a solid three days, including when I was trying to enjoy Whitsunday Islands.

You should allow yourself as much time as you feel you need to recover, but keep in mind that at some point, you need to take control over the sickness (and your weathered body) and get going again. A body at rest will stay at rest; and it’s your job to put yours back into motion, which is the key ingredient in getting back to 100% and traveling at your normal intensity level.

What You Need To Know About Working Visas in Australia

If you want to work legally when you travel in Australia, you need to obtain what’s called a “Working Holiday” visa from the Australian government. This isn’t to say there aren’t plenty of illegal positions available — there are — but if you’re looking for consistent, reliable work in Australia, your chances of finding it without a Working Holiday visa are quite slim.

The Australian Working Holiday visa is restricted, so people from certain countries and beyond a certain age range aren’t able to get one. Likewise, although a Working Holiday visa technically permits you to work for any employer in Australia, some employers won’t hire you if they know you’re in Australia on a Working Holiday visa.

Requirements for Australian Working Holiday Visa

Australia’s Working Holiday visa is intended exclusively for individuals between the ages of 18-30, according to the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Two classes of Australian Working Holiday visas exist. The first (subclass 462) is for citizens and nationals of Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and the USA. The second (subclass 417) is intended for citizens and nationals of Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malta, The Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.

No matter which of these categories you fall into, the same restrictions apply to you. Namely, you may work for each employer no more than six months and study for no more than four months. The initial term of the Australian Working Holiday visa is 12 months, although you may apply and be granted a second year if you successfully complete the first and can find a company or government agency willing to hire you.

The Australian Working Holiday visa ultimately pays off but initially, you’ll need to foot the cost. The cost of Australian Working Holiday visas for both subclasses 417 and 462 is A$270 as of May 2012.

Employment Opportunities in Australia

Australia’s economy is booming at the moment, due in large part to the strength of the mining industry in the Western part of the country. As a result of strong export numbers to China and other Asian nations, it isn’t likely for this sector of the Australian economy to cool anytime soon. From what I can gather, you are practically guaranteed to get a job in mining, if one interests you.

Another popular employment choice for foreigners in Australia on a Working Holiday visa is, strangely, picking fruit. I met a girl named Keirra in Brisbane and again in Cairns, where she was planning to pick bananas with some men she’d met. This work certainly isn’t glamorous, but due to Australia’s high minimum wage (which I’ll discuss in a minute), you can still make a pretty penny doing it.

If mining and fruit picking aren’t your thing, you will most likely work in a service industry position (i.e. waiting tables, bartending) if you travel to Australia on a Working Holiday visa. Although it’s possible you could be hired for a professional job if you already possess the requisite education and experience, it is my understand that most Australian companies are reticent to hire foreigners who are in Australia on Working Holiday visas.

Cost of Living and Travel in Australia

As I’ve mentioned more than a few times on this site, Australia is a pretty expensive place to travel. It’s also quite expensive for living.

Thankfully, for people working in Australia, high costs are at least partially offset by a high minimum wage, which was A$17 per hour when I visited Australia in early 2012. Keep in mind that this is only a minimum. Keirra informed me that she would be making A$20 per hour pduring regular hours, A$30 per hour on Saturdays and a whopping A$40 per hour on Sundays — to pick bananas! Mining industry jobs are reputed to be even more lucrative, with annual salaries over A$100,000 far from uncommon.

If you work in the service industry when you travel to Australia on a Working Holiday visa, you should expect to make around A$20 per hour, from my understanding.

Working Illegally in Australia

So, what if you’re over 30 and/or aren’t a citizen or national of one of the countries listed? I’m obviously not going to officially recommend that you work illegally in Australia, although plenty of people do it. You should understand that working illegally in Australia, as would be the case in the vast majority of countries, can result in punishment or even deportation.

If you’re traveling in Australia and looking to save, one option is to volunteer your time at a hostel in exchange for free or discounted room and board. This is perfect legal and is a better way to go about working in Australia without a Working Holiday visa than getting paid cash under the table.

Teaching English & ESL Overseas…

Teaching English overseas, whether you do so in Asia, Europe or the Middle East, is a great way to save some money or take a break from your life “back home.” If you’re passionate about education, it can even be the start of a rewarding, lucrative career.

But what if you don’t want to teach English for the rest of your life?

I can relate. After eight months teaching English to adults in Shanghai, I’d had enough. To be fair, this has almost nothing to do with my students, and nearly everything to do with EF China, where I worked. But no matter!

Whether you’re nearing the end of your teaching contract or are just about to hop on the plane, it’s important to have an exit strategy ready so you can effectively build on the momentum you gain while teaching English overseas — you don’t want to simply “go home” and live the life you had before, do you?

Overseas Jobs and Internships

For English teachers who love the expat lifestyle (but not so much the actual task of teaching English), it’s possible to procure non-teaching jobs and internships overseas. In Asia especially, demand is high for educated native English speakers, particularly if you have some experience in the industry in which you want to work.

Your teaching can even bolster your qualifications. My former Senior Teacher Lillian, for example, has gone on to work in language training with Cathay Pacific Airlines in Hong Kong.

Of course, some people will want to stay in the English instruction field, perhaps just not at their school or in their current country. After I finished at EF (but before I procured the location-independent income that allowed me to travel basically at-will), I gave private English lessons to high school students through an agency in town.

Likewise, many English teachers in a particular country simply seek out employment in a different one. It’s popular, for example, to teach English in Korea for a year, then move to China or Japan.

Freelance Work Opportunities

Procuring freelance work is another great way to build on the economic momentum you gain teaching English. Freelance work is particularly awesome if your post-ESL goals include traveling, as accepting freelance gigs and positons enables you to work –and, thus, make money — while you travel. For me, freelancing has obviously comprised writing — and not only about travel, but about topics as diverse at electronics, retail and the law.

Travel the World With Savings

The greatest potential benefit of teaching English overseas is that you generally earn significantly more than your local cost of living. As a result, you can save several thousand dollars over the course of a year if you play your cards right — most people don’t.

If you finish your contract and don’t have any specific desires or inclinations, traveling for a few months can clear your head and allow you to formulate a “next step” that advances you forward. A word of caution, however: I wouldn’t advise returning “home” until you’ve figured out what you ultimately want to do, lest you regress into the life you fled when you went overseas in the first place.

When and How to Quit Your Job

The majority of English teaching contracts are for one year, although some may have shorter terms, usually six months. Regardless of how long your contract lasts, there is a chance that you might not want or be able to fulfill it.

In this instance, you need to read the document carefully to see if you can terminate the contract prior to its completion and, if so, what regulations and/or penalties apply in the event that you do.

At EF China, for example, I needed only to give 30 days written notice and allow the company to cancel the Chinese residence permit it gave me. Although canceling a contract outside the agreed-upon terms and conditions will only rarely result in a severe legal penalty, you probably don’t want to carry around that sort of bad karma with you the rest of your life.

May Day Travel in Bogotá, Colombia

One of my main objectives in traveling to “dangerous” places is to avoid danger and, by way of example, disprove such labels.

I set out in Bogotá, Colombia this morning with the intention of doing just that. By the end of the day, however, I was trapped in a women’s bathroom with a dozen other people, covering my nose and mouth for fear of breathing in tear gas.

Initially, my day went swimmingly, all though I did notice a huge number of police officers — to the tune of no less than 1,000 — as I strolled through La Candelaria, Bogotá’s historical center. To be fair, this part of Bogotá is more than a little sketchy, so for perhaps the first time in my life, I felt as if the police were my friends.

Upon arriving in Plaza de Bolivar I realized that the Bogotá police hadn’t filled the streets to protect me and my gaudy camera, but indeed to pre-empt May Day. For those of you who don’t live in socialist countries, “May Day” is a socialist holiday of sorts that occurs on May 1 of every year, and involves citizens protesting governments. Or something? Again, I didn’t really think much of it.

I continued making my way through the streets of La Candelaria, convinced that every officer I passed was in place to prevent the sketchy people standing between the two of us from harming me. Ironically when I snapped a photo of this dog, no police were around to prevent an (admittedly harmless) beggar from begging me for 2,000 pesos colombiános.

I wrapped up my stroll through La Candelaria with shots of some of the amazing architecture in the neighborhood. These photos shouldn’t require much narration:

After that was over, I headed west down Carrera 3 — in Bogota, streets called carerras run east-west, while calles run north-south — in search of Monserrate, a hilltop park that’s purported to provide the best view in Bogotá. The walk to Monserrate begins with a row of reflecting pools that seems to extend forever.

Bogotá is different from most of the other South American cities I’ve visited in that typically the “downtown” area of a particular city is the “bad” part. Hostels tend to exist only in “safe” areas. I wouldn’t say that the area either La Candelaria and the area between it and the entrance to Monserrate are unbearably sketchy, but much of the imagery I took in on my way to the mountain entrance was foreboding, to say the least.

The climb up Monserrate is relatively strenuous, although you won’t bat an eye if, for example, you scaled Machu Picchu. If you do need to stop, most of the places where you can do so make for great photo ops.

In addition to the view you enjoy from Monserrate, the peak is home to a tranquil garden filled with flamboyant religious imagery, quaint cafés and a church:

If you walk past all this, you end up in a decidedly more local, less “nice” market, which is arguably more interesting anyway.

In total, I spent about three hours at Monserrate: One hour getting to the top, an hour and a half exploring what’s up there and half an hour getting down. You see, I made plans to meet the lovely Megan of Bohemian Trails at a coffee shop called Juan Valdez at 1:30 — and at 1:00, I was just beginning my descent down the mountain.

Eventually, I found Megan and the coffee shop and we began a lively discussion about traveling, writing and how much better we are than everyone else who does those two things. (I kid, kind of). I noticed a sketchy character wearing an “Anonymous” mask and snapped his picture. What followed after this was a blur.

I remember that a huge mob of people from the street ran inside a café, and people who’d already been in the café were ducking and running for cover. Megan and I assumed this meant that someone in the street had a gun.

It wasn’t until we’d changed locations within the coffee shop no less than a dozen times that we asked what the problem was. The police, it seems, had thrown tear gas at protesters in the manifestation in order to get them to disband. Here we thought we were about to be robbed at gunpoint, and it was tear gas! This is not to say that tear gas isn’t serious, but I felt no tears coming on, personally.

I would learn after this ordeal that May Day probably isn’t the best day to begin a trip to Colombia. Oh well! Here’s to hoping this is the most dramatic thing that befalls me during my stay here.

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