妇女旅行的危险目的地：神话或现实？

贝丝·惠特曼（Beth Whitman）

如果您进行研究并采取一些常识性预防措施，那么在国外，女性旅行很少是危险的。

有了最好的意图（在我开始一次盛大冒险之前）我的朋友，家人和同事通常会对我说……您可能会死……您可能会被扔进监狱……您会陷入事故。我总是可以在他们的眼中看到它，并在他们的告别拥抱中感受到它。我知道他们真正想的是：“我再也见不到你了。”

My journeys are generally not terribly risky. I am not bungee jumping (a “sport” I have yet to try). I may be driving from New Jersey to Alaska, trekking around the Pacific Rim countries for a year, making my way around India for a month, or riding my motorcycle from Seattle to Panama.

While these were all solo trips, I would argue that none of them were particularly dangerous in and of themselves. “Really?” you might ask. Yes. To begin with, I was well prepared for each trip by researching my destination(s) and understanding exactly what I was getting into. Time spent probing up front had the added benefit of building my confidence when I subsequently discovered that taking these trips was not much more hazardous than staying in my own backyard. (OK, perhaps there was a little more danger in the motorcycle trip).

这使我想到了一个人如何定义危险的旅行，这对女性意味着什么。由于该地区，有些旅程本质上更加危险。那些被认为并因此被亲人以及我们自己的政府贴上危险的人；以及涉及风险活动的人。

在那里e危险的地方

Yes, there are dangerous places in the world. I won’t deny that. War zones come to mind, as do destinations where severe political unrest threatens to destabilize the region and infrastructure. Sometimes a situation can change so quickly that one might be put at risk without any foreknowledge of impending issues.

话虽如此，我有一个朋友贝蒂（Betty），她每年前往阿富汗和哥伦比亚（Columbia）进行志愿工作（她的80多岁）。她总是完好无损地返回四肢（和冒险感）。

I recognize that this is an extreme example and am certainly not advocating travel to a region heavily occupied by the U.S. military, where no one is immune to the relatively frequent attacks of terrorist groups. But when I am asked (which is often) about which destinations are “safe” or “dangerous” for women travelers, I refuse to answer because what may be safe for one woman may be a far stretch for another. Circumstances, ethnicity, travel experience, and confidence should all factor in to one’s decision. And ultimately, only the individual can know the right answer.

对我（或任何人）来判断什么是对/错或对他人的安全/危险是完全不合适的。毕竟，如果贝蒂能够继续前往飞往喀布尔的航班以抛弃孤儿护士，我认为我们其他人几乎可以做任何事情，您不觉得吗？

Perceived Danger

There are destinations that we are merely led to believe are dangerous. Take Bali. After the bombings in Denpasar in 2002, the area was put on the U.S. Department of State’s Travel Warning list, urging Americans to avoid the region. Interestingly enough, the U.S. government recommended we all travel to New York City after the September 11th attacks. In both cases, we were fed information in order to change our perceptions of both destinations: Bali is dangerous and New York City is not.

尽管不应完全驳回政府发出的旅行警告，但重要的是要在旅行社区中进行自己的尽职调查，以确定警告的严重程度以及您的目的地的真正安全性。

论坛和博客定期更新，并提出个性化信息和意见，这些信息和意见解决了居住在这些“危险”地方的个人的当前主题。通常，可以遵循简单的预防措施，以挫败最常见的问题：小偷，男人不必要的进步，并被不道德的零售商，出租车司机或货币兑换商剥夺。

Living Dangerously

It may not be your destination that adds the element of adventure but your choice of activities (e.g. bungee jumping), mode of transportation (a bus careening through the Nepalese mountains), or perhaps what you eat. In Vietnam, I was once honorifically served some fish organ which remains unknown to me. Holding down my gag reflex was difficult but made for a memorable meal!

冒险作家基拉·萨拉克（Kira Salak）是第一个在马里尼日尔河上划600英里的人，到达廷巴克图。她还是第一位穿越巴布亚新几内亚的女人。基拉（Kira）选择了并不完全被认为是“安全”的目的地，她还添加了一些非常不寻常的元素（分别是划皮划艇和丛林），但已经活着讲述了这一点和许多其他故事。

您也可能喜欢在边缘生活。但是对于每个人来说，这种优势都会有所不同。作为一名大学生，我的优势正在放学一个学期，并在美国开车三个月。现在我在不丹徒步旅行。

随着时间的流逝，我们的挑战发生了变化，希望我们变得更多，而不是冒险。在我最近的一间女性旅行讲习班中，一名75岁的参与者苏与我分享了她希望伸展旅行翅膀的愿望。在探索了西北太平洋并习惯了宿舍之后，她期待着自己的第一次出国旅行。她对海外旅行的渴望将在哪里领导？不列颠群岛？越南？韩国？对她而言，这些目的地将是一个生活大的机会。

We do not all have to be Bettys or Kiras. We can simply follow our passions, as Sue is soon to discover, no matter how small or grand.

这个女人的世界

There is a perception that danger awaits the woman traveler. We mayappearto be meek and, therefore, easy prey. However, we actually have attributes that help us overcome these potential weaknesses.

我已经采访了100多名女性。这些勇敢的女性中有几个发现自己处于不舒服的位置，例如，他们被迫进行性接触。共识是，他们在发生之前“感觉到”了一个问题，但不太知道如何从情况中解脱出来。换句话说，他们都知道有些不对劲，但没有信心或没有预见到自己的情况。（我可能会补充说，这些妇女都没有被强奸了 - 这种情况的吸引时间远远超过对她们的舒适性。）

The overwhelming majority of women I interviewed tended to listen to their instincts, approached their travels cautiously, and never got into any trouble to begin with.

But whatever your adventure entails, it is nevertheless prudent to build up your level of confidence by taking a self-defense course and making practice runs (such as an overnight trip) before you take on a bigger journey.

You do not need to go climb Yosemite—just step out of your comfort zone, enjoy the tiniest bit of danger and you will feel that adrenaline rush. We all have it in us.

贝丝·惠特曼是Wanderlust和口红guides for women travelers.