| | |  Travel & Outdoors | April 2009 
Stay Safe When You are Traveling
 PVNN
 |  | I thought about a lesson I learned years ago on a trip to New York City when a young honeymoon couple sat in my travel agency last week asking me if I thought it safe to go to Mexico right now with all the talk about the drug cartels and the killings. |  | | |
It wasn't easy, but, somehow I managed to lose the New York Hilton. Now, lest you think me the dumbest travel agent in the world, may I explain?
The incident happened years ago when a group of friends and I headed to the Big Apple for a weekend of shopping and shows. Refusing to be deterred by the fact that no one else wanted to see "Evita," I caught a cab in front of the Hilton and headed for Broadway.
The show was as beautiful as the New York night that welcomed the thousands of theater lovers tumbling out into its streets at the end of the productions. The theater district was a beehive of activity, and it soon became very apparent to me we were all trying to capture the most illusive creature of the night — the Yellow cab — and the game was on.
Now, in my haste to become such a city girl, I had made the very fatal mistake of wearing heels — you know, the very high "Sex in the City" type of heels? Since my shoes were definitely not made for walking and the possibility of hailing a taxi seemed highly remote as the minutes ticked away, I made a tactical decision. Instead of waiting with the masses into the wee hours of the morning, I thought it made sense to walk out of the crowd and snag a stray taxi as it circled back for more passengers.
Broadway was already packed with the after-theater crowd, so I headed in the opposite direction. It really did not bother me that none of the crowd seemed to think enough of my ingenious plan to follow. Since, in a city like New York, you are seldom alone, I just kept walking, hoping a taxi would magically appear in the next block or so.
Eventually, I began to pay a bit more attention to the area I was strolling. The previously charming neighborhood cafes filled with their Saturday night locals had been replaced by Bourbon Street haunts. In my beautiful emerald green silk dress I had purchased from Signatures for my trip to the big city, I suddenly felt overdressed, although I will admit my stiletto-like heels seemed quite the fashion accessory for the ladies of the night who were working the neighborhood like crazy.
I know it is almost impossible to recall, but this incident took place in a time when there were no cell phones, and, in this neighborhood, the pay phone booths had been vandalized. The few people with whom one might dare to make eye contact with either spoke no English or feigned ignorance as I asked directions to the New York Hilton.
It was almost midnight when I came to the conclusion that I was not only totally stupid but hopelessly lost. To dig myself out of the hole meant retracing my steps and heading back to the theater district. I was so busy chastising myself for my lack of patience and dumb idea of stumbling off in the wrong direction in search of a taxi, I failed to see one of New York's finest pull up beside me.
"Are you lost, little lady?" he asked, and, after I had spilled out my pathetic story, I was given a free ride back to the New York Hilton in a police car. I was very lucky my wrong turn did not put me in harm's way.
I thought about the lesson I learned on my trip to New York City when a young honeymoon couple sat in my travel agency last week asking me if I thought it safe to go to Mexico right now with all the talk about the drug cartels and the killings. I knew this trip was their first time out of the country, so I wanted to be totally honest with them. I told them about the U.S. travel alert issued for Juarez and Tijuana, Mexico. How the threat of violence is very real in these areas, but then I explained the distances between Cancun, Cabo, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta from these border towns, as well as the importance of taking the same precautions you should take whether visiting New York or New Orleans. Simple rules of travel always apply:
• Be aware of your surroundings.
• Don't flash cash around.
• Keep the jewelry to a minimum.
• Go out with friends, instead of alone.
• Don't leave a drink unattended.
• Excessive alcohol consumption and unruly behavior can cause serious problems.
• Never buy drugs nor even act interested if approached.
• Drinking on the street or on public transportation or making obscene or insulting remarks are considered criminal activities in Mexico, so make sure you are aware of a country's laws.
• In an emergency, contact the closest U.S. Embassy or Consulate.
I also told them firsthand reports from families returning from spring break trips last week to Mexico who said they felt perfectly safe during their visits to the beach resorts of Cancun, Cozumel, Cabo and Puerto Vallarta. They saw no violence at all, although they did report security checkpoints on highways and more police presence than ever before.
In Cancun, one family told about an elite SWAT team that patrols the streets from the Mayan Riviera all the way to the city of Cancun in open air Jeeps. They are easy to spot because they wear black ski masks on sunny days. Tourism is extremely important to Mexico's economy and even the drug lords benefit from that.
"Yet, it's all about your comfort level," I advised the young couple wrestling with a decision about whether to go to Cancun. "Bad things happen regularly in cities all around the world, but, I understand, the difference is that Cancun is supposed to be perfect — because it looks like paradise."
Maybe before we blacklist an entire country like Mexico, we need to look at the bigger picture.
You know, in more than 30 years as a travel agent, people have told me...
Don't go to Israel, because of Hamas.
Don't go to Japan, because of the Yakuza.
Don't go to Ireland, because of the IRA.
Don't go to Spain, because of the ETA.
Don't go to France, because of the Algerian terrorists.
Now they are telling us not to go to Mexico because of the drug cartlels? Do you think some people don't come to the U.S. because of Sept. 11?
What a shame that would be.
dianne(at)monroetravel.com. |
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