When traveling outside of your home country, experts advise being concerned about political unrest, weather-related events or just the good old criminal activity that can take place anywhere. The National Geographic Channel series that premieres Wednesday night, takes travelers inside what should be one of their worst nightmares as they are Locked Up Abroad.
Originally titled Banged Up Abroad in 2006, the British documentary/docudrama has gone all over the planet recreating stories of travelers arrested and thrown in jail. Fans of the show know skipping that urge to smuggle drugs in or out of a country will go a long way to keeping them out of jail.
Focusing on the events that led up to their arrest, each episode reconstructs a real-life story of otherwise ordinary travelers who get on the wrong side of the law in a foreign land.
The season opener returns to Thailand where NATGEOTV tells us:
“Tim Schrader left his life in Australia to work as an English teacher in Bangkok. While he loved teaching, he was struggling financially and agreed to smuggle between 4 and 8 kilos of heroin for $10,000. Caught by Thai customs officers with more than a hundred times the amount of heroin needed to secure a death sentence, he knew he was finished. But his life changed again when, more than five years after his arrest, Tim received a royal pardon on medical grounds and was free to fly home.”
Want to get warmed up for the season opener? Start with GadlingTV’s Travel Talk – Thailand Part 1: The First 48 Hours, one of our favorites.
The all new season of Locked Up Abroad premieres Wednesday at 8PM Eastern time. A new Locked Up Abroad iPhone App has behind-the-scenes details about episodes and updates on the new season. Watch videos, test survival IQ, and interact with other fans through Twitter and Facebook.
Flickr photo by puuikibeach