Issue link: https://bluemagazine.uberflip.com/i/25233
,SPECIAL FOCUS: TO GO OR NOT TO GO .. • Text: Don George Don George is the Global Travel Editor for Lonely Planet Publications and appears frequently on television and radio and at conferences around the world. His Traveler at Large column appears weekly on lonelyplanet.com. The horrific attacks of 9/11 shook the travel world to its core. Would-be travelers immediately began to worry about the safety of flying and of travel in general. The Thorn Tree bulletin board on Lonely Planet's website-a place where world- wanderers usually swap tips about border crossings, bus routes, beaches and bungalows-was deluged with questions from people who had planned trips or already booked tickets, asking what conditions were like in this city or if that country was safe to visit. Of course, it is extremely important for travelers now to keep abreast of current events, especially in the regions they are planning to visit. This means listening to NPR and BBC, reading the major newspapers and scouring the Internet, from Salon to the State Department's travel advisories, and especially seeking out regional publications online and using on-the-ground traveler-corre- spondents. It would certainly be foolhardy to wander into areas of ongoing war- fare or pronounced social unrest-but it is equally foolhardy to allow a vague sense of dread to permanently ground your travels. I believe that, even today, the world is essentially a safe place and peo- ple are essentially kind. I also believe that the world needs travel today more than ever before. Travel is the single greatest hope for humankind: When we travel, we gain a new appreciation of the complex differences and simple similarities that grace and undergird our globe. In this sense, we need to travel now in order to continue building real bridges of understanding and compassion between people. But we need to travel now in another sense as well. Beset as we are by images of terror and tragedy, we need to remind ourselves of the preciousness as well as the precariousness of our planet-of its awesome natural splendors and cultural treasures, and of the mind-opening lessons and heart-deepening con- nections travel bestows. But is it safe? When I graduated from college in 1975, I moved to a suburb of Athens, Greece, to live and teach for a year. Shortly before this time, a repressive junta of colonels had taken over the government by coup. Though they were generally despised by the Greeks, these colonels were supported by the US administration. It seemed a tenuous time to be an American in Athens, but expe- rience quickly taught me two valuable truths. The first was that common people are uncommonly wise. They know that no single person can control what his or her government does-and that people may not even support their government actions and policies. So while vir- tually all the Greeks I encountered, in the city and in the hinterlands, railed against the US support of their despotic government, they treated me with unfor- gettable hospitality, warmth and kindness. The second lesson was that distance distorts. Loudly orchestrated demonstrations were frequently held outside the US embassy in downtown Athens, and the most flagrant of these would be shown on the evening news back home. Immediately I would get anxious phone calls and letters from friends and family. Aren't you afraid? they would write. Don't go out! they would counsel. Come home! they would implore. But Athens was my backyard, not the other side of the world, and I knew that the danger zones were restricted to a ten-block area around the embassy. All the other glories of the city-the Acropolis, the Plaka-were as safe and accessible as ever. I think the world now is like Athens was then. If we peer through the extraordinarily narrow window-slit of news coverage, we could conclude that the globe is a place of unremitting danger and devastation. But we travelers should know better. Most of the globe today is as safe and welcoming as it has ever been. Of course, you should not venture into areas where bombs are falling, troops are fighting or protests are wreaking turmoil in the streets-just as I avoid- ed the US embassy in Athens. As for the rest of the planet, all the glories are still there-the temples and museums, the rainforests and peaks, the sidewalk cafes and sparkling lakes and closet-sized craft shops. Dancers and painters and performers still make their magic, and everyday people still lead everyday lives-and still welcome strangers with warm curiosity and hospitality. The biggest difference is that the boulevards, beaches and trails that used to be crowded are now almost deserted, and that the costs to reach them are in many cases lower than they've been in years. So here's my heartfelt advice: Go! Pack your common sense, but don't be paralyzed by the unknown possibilities. On the contrary, let the possibilities transport you! Where have you always wanted to go? What have you always want- ed to do? What wonders will you discover when you get there? What life-chang- ing people will you meet? Talk with them, laugh with them, explore their lands; your steps will be like tears of joy in the parched global garden, and hearts will blossom and minds will take root wherever those tears fall. 39