The Sydney Times Herald is reporting the uncanny story of Mr. and Mrs. James and Jenny Cairns-Lawrence, a young couple from Dudley, United Kingdom, who seem to have a knack for choosing vacation spots where terrorists are about to strike: they have found themselves in New York, London and Mumbai during the exact times that each of the three cities were viciously attacked by terrorists.
Says Mrs. Cairns-Lawrence, “It’s a strange coincidence. The terror attacks just happened when we were in the cities. I shouldn’t be laughing about it, but it is a strange coincidence.”
Dude, remind me to check where these two are the next time I plan an international trip. And as one of my Gadling colleagues said, aren’t people like these usually called “persons of interest”?
Here at Gadling we’ll be highlighting some of our favorite sounds from the road and giving you a sample of each — maybe you’ll find the same inspiration that we did, but at the very least, hopefully you’ll think that they’re good songs.
Got a favorite of your own? Leave it in the Comments and we’ll post it at the end of the series.
“King of the Road,” my first Sounds of Travel pick, evokes the spirit of independence. It’s an ode to the traveler who strikes out alone without a care in the world.
“500 Miles” by the Proclaimers, however, is a tribute to traveling with another. In my case, this travel often has been on foot– literally.
My husband is a walker. He has great big feet–size 14. When I met him when we lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, one of the first things I noticed is his need to walk. He has a way of striking out into the world in great big strides wearing boots that could double as door stops. Not long after I met him, I was hoofing it to keep up.
One of our first forays into mega walk travel was on a camping trip into the Gila Wilderness in southern New Mexico.
“How far are we going, exactly?” I wanted to know when he suggested such a venture. It’s not the walking I mind– it’s the carrying stuff. “It won’t be that far,” he said. “By the way, there are a couple places we’ll have to cross a stream.”
“Okay, sure,” I said, not mentioning my phobia about wading through water–or rather, I did have a phobia about wading through water. After crossing the stream at least 14 times, I was cured.
That walk was just the beginning.
“How about a trek in Nepal?” he suggested as our first Christmas vacation while we were living in Singapore. “We’ll hire porters to carry our stuff.”
That trip took us from Jomsom to Pokhara. Two other couples went with us. It’s not the going up a mountain that hurts all that much if you go slowly. It’s the going down that is hell on knees.
“There are pack-mules AND porters to carry stuff,” my husband said to entice me. The only time I whined a bit was when I noticed how dry my skin was becoming in the thin mountain air. “I don’t know if my skin can take much more of this,” I said, thinking that in another week I’d look one hundred.
“Why don’t you ask the women here what they do?” my husband said, casting his gaze towards a group of women in the distance who were wrestling with rubble and dirt while hoeing a field. He’s sympathetic that way.
Still, whenever he slips on those massive Red Wing boots of his to head out the door, calling for me to come with him, I know it will be an adventure–one that I wouldn’t be taking if I wasn’t willing to share the road.
The first time we heard “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)” we were on a date seeing the movie “Bennie and Joon.” The song was the movie’s theme song and Johnny Depp was one of the stars.
When we got married, three weeks before we moved to Singapore, this song was the recessional at our wedding. For a traveling pair who walks, it seemed to fit. Whenever I hear the Proclaimers belt out this song in their jaunty, Scottish Irish fashion, I see images of all the places my husband and I have passed by from the simple walk in the neighborhood to the expanse of a spectacular vista.
One of my two most favorite images of the miles we’ve traveled is of my husband winding through the streets of the Old Quarter in Hanoi with our daughter perched on his shoulders high above the crowd when she was three. My other favorite image is of him strolling through the streets of Bangkok swinging our then 3 month-old son in his Graco car seat carrier like our son was a purse.
Yep, he’d walk 500 miles–and 500 more. Honestly, I would too.
It’s always been hard for anything to get in the way of the normal functioning of Mumbai. But the recent terror attacks paralyzed South Mumbai for about 3 days, and left the rest of the city home bound, shocked, and glued to news channels.
I was there when the attacks happened, but luckily not in South Mumbai. As schools, colleges, and many companies remained closed, the city was relatively quiet. The mess was over Saturday morning (29th November), after which everything has been back to normal. Trains, buses and taxis are back to their usual frequency, offices have opened, the airport is functioning as usual but with tightened security.
Some of the hotels are back to normal as well, others are not taking new guests until things are clearer. Many of the South Mumbai hotels are not allowing people to enter the restaurants and cafes unless they are staying at the respective hotel.
Especially since tourists were the target in Mumbai, most countries have issued travel warnings and even bans for people to fly to India. Post attacks, a British report has named India one of the top 20 most dangerous places to visit. There are currently many rumors floating around that the next attacks are being planned along India’s west coast, specifically Goa and Cochin. All of India’s big cities are on high alert. But really, who knows? There were no concrete official terror warnings or alerts with regards to Mumbai before the attacks happened. Sometimes, as stupid as this may sound, when places are officially on “red alert”, I think they are probably the safest places to visit. Terrorists know that those places have heightened security, so attacks are difficult.
So what should you do to assure your safety as much as possible when you are in a foreign city?
Here are my thoughts: 1) Awareness and vigilance: Be aware of the socio-political situation, and have background on previous dangerous occurrences in the place you are going to. Keep track of local news and what’s generally happening by looking through the local newspapers everyday. 2) Register yourself at your Embassy: If you are going to be somewhere for at least 4-5 days, it’s worth the effort to take a trip to the local embassy of your country and inform them of your travel plans in the country. Should something drastic happen, finding you may be less difficult. 3) Stay away from large crowds during religious festivals: The pretext of much terror is religion, especially in India. Although it may be a great cultural experience to attend these festivals, when in doubt of safety, avoid being at the prominent spots. 4) Change your routine: If you are a foreigner in India, staying at the same place for more than a few days, it might be safer to vary your route when you go about daily activities (groceries, walk, etc). 5) Talk to locals: When in doubt about going somewhere in the city, talk to locals you can trust, for example your hotel/hostel staff and friends, they should be able to give you a reasonable idea of the situation and will help you make further travel decisions. 6) Take a taxi/rent a car: If the city you have been in has recently suffered attacks, it might be better to take a taxi or rent a car rather than take pubic transport in and out of the city.
If you choose to travel to Mumbai any time soon, you will feel the tremendous anger of the locals, and a general air of sadness and anguish. It seems that there will be a large demonstration tomorrow at the Gateway of India in Mumbai, where people will gather to express how let down they are and demand action.
FYI: The only place in India under consistent and official travel warning is Jammu and Kashmir.
Ever since the news came out about the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, I’ve been reading about people’s personal experiences and reactions. They remind me of one reason why the World Trade Center made such an impact when the towers came crashing down, as well as why travel to distant places makes the world, and what happens in it, seem so much more relevant.
When the towers were attacked and the world reacted, it reminded me slightly of the reactions when Princess Diana died. The reactions weren’t the same, or for the same reason, but Diana’s death was one that had significance to people everywhere. There was an emotional connection. The towers and Princess Diana were symbolic in a way that that most recognize their importance. There are few events that hold the entire world’s attention.
When Princess Diana was killed in that awful car crash there was a riveting affect. People tuned in for days. The World Trade Center will never quite fade away. Can’t you still see it’s shadow whenever you see the skyline of Manhattan and recognize where they should be? Then there are the people who were lost who will remain forever as a part of a shared history that we haven’t been able to set aside because how can we?
In other circumstances, when images aren’t so iconic, but other dreadful events occur in the world outside the boundaries of our day to day existence, we might say, “How dreadful,” when we look at the TV screen, but then go about pouring ourselves a cup of coffee, or wonder if we have enough clothes to last a few more days–or do we need to do a load of laundry after all?
When I heard about the troubles with terrorism in Mumbai, I felt connected somewhat because of my own experiences in India and because I have friends who are living there. They could very well be in Mumbai right now. The places that have been targeted are the very places they might have gone. But, I am still a bit distracted from Mumbai from my Thanksgiving feast and the fact that I am in Cleveland and heading to Denmark in a few days.
Others, though, have had a much more dramatic reaction because they were just in Mumbai–or they are there now. For them, there isn’t a distraction. One account is by Carl Hoffman, a contributing editor of Intelligent Travel. Hoffman was recently in Mumbai at the Leopold Cafe and Bar, one of the establishments where patrons were attacked. At the time of the attack, Hoffman was safely in New Delhi, but the news has carried personal meaning. I’m sure he can picture each table, the ambiance and where he sat. Perhaps he can still taste his drink or what he ate.
Another account that caught my attention is Steve Simms’ story. His story was told by someone else in this New Zealand Herald article. Simms is staying in a hotel across the street from the Taj Palace and was watching it burn. Normally, Simms stays in the Taj Palace, but there weren’t rooms when he arrived so he stayed across the street. From his hotel room at the time the article was written, he could see the window of the room where he normally stayed in the Taj Palace.
Both of these men’s accounts is an indication of what happens when you travel. You have a personal response to a place that does not fade easily.
When we travel, places no longer remain abstract. It becomes harder to just do our laundry or have that cup of coffee. When we hear the news in the world, every place has aspects of the Twin Towers or Princess Diana. As the world becomes smaller, disasters in the far away corners of the world feel as if they are in our own backyard.
Reading their accounts is one way that we can find out that we do care after all, and whether the laundry gets done or not is not particularly important. Right now there are places in Mumbai that may or may not be the same–ever.
Of course, there are the other people who have never been to India, but who are forever connected, even though they may never set foot in Mumbai. They are the people like those in Brooklyn who are anxiously waiting to see if their beloved Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka are safe. This rabbi and his wife are among the hostages. Their two year-old son and his nanny escaped. [see New York Times article.] For them, the connection to Mumbai is personal, although they may have no idea about the significance of the Taj Palace.
Fear exists even in the most intrepid travelers. As a solo, female traveler stepping off the plane in Vanuatu, Myanmar and Colombia last year, I had little knowledge of exactly what I was walking into. However, the one thing I have going for me every time I travel to some less-trodden destination is that, although I carry a U.S. passport, I don’t look American and I’m from a state that sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from the mainland.So, when people ask where I’m from, I tell them I’m from Hawaii. Sometimes they don’t know where that is. Sometimes they think it’s a country in itself. Only rarely do they know that it is part of the United States. There’s an advantage to looking the way I do and being from where I am: They don’t have to know I’m American. But plenty of Americans cannot hide behind their fair skin, accent, or residence, so most stay at home for fear of the unknown.
As of late, I have become increasingly interested in news from Cuba. My friend and I are planning a trip there early next year and quickly discovered a lack of resources and general antipathy for American tourism in Castro country. We hope to help out for a week in Cuba with hurricane relief, but even a complex Google search for “volunteer in Cuba” came up empty. The message coming from Cuba is clear: “We don’t want help from Americans. Stay out of our country.” This message is increasingly resounding around the globe, and the state of American tourism is, I would say, grim right now — and the hope that Obama can turn things around come January just isn’t enough to quell our fears.
