Travel Safety: Murder rates for Central American countries

"Jamaica is the world's most murderous country, followed by El Salvador, Guatemala and Venezuela. But smaller Caribbean islands are catching up fast" according to The Economist.

What are the countries in Central America with the lowest murder rates? Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama. On the northern end of South America, Suriname and Guyana appear relatively safe. The Caribbean? Dominica, Barbados, and Grenada have low murder rates.

The very few countries whose citizens may visit the U.S. without a visa

Travel is booming worldwide -- except in the United States. . . .

Overseas arrivals to the U.S. have declined 11% this decade, to 23 million in 2007 from 26 million in 2000. Travel is the world's largest industry, currently worth $5 trillion, and it is growing 6% a year. It employs almost a quarter of a billion people. And yet the U.S. is missing out on this wonderful human commerce. . .

Why? American arrogance. The United States is a crass, greedy and rude host.

To start, we treat foreigners as criminals until proved otherwise.

These are the 29 countries whose citizens may visit the U.S. without a visa: Andorra, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, San Marino, Singapore, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Britain. It's a near lily-white list. The rest of the world's people -- all 5 multicolored billion of them -- are suspect. And overseas, they know the U.S. thinks that.*

Canada, by comparison, accepts nonvisa visits from citizens of more than 50 countries. The European Union exempts all EU-member nations, plus another 43 countries, including South Korea, Brazil, Chile and Mexico. So it's easier for a Mexican citizen to visit Europe than the United States.

. . . For those still determined to visit the U.S., the visa process involves going in person to a U.S. Embassy or consulate for an interview. And as the woman in Belize learned, there are no refunds if your visa application is rejected. Why are people turned away? Scruffiness, unsuitability, past contributions to Greenpeace or general ickiness. Read the State Department guidelines -- visitors must satisfy consular officers that they deserve to enter. But consular officials do not have to explain reasons for rejection, and they don't.

That's an excerpt from a important article about US tourism by Eric Lucas. It appeared in the Los Angeles Times on Feb. 19. I post this now, having just spoken to friend from Austria who is just recovering from a three-week depression brought on by his abusive treatment by the US Customs on a recent visit to the United States. I previously blogged about the horror-story that was one young Icelandic woman's trip to the US. (In both cases, the abused visitor was from a visa-exempt country). People all around the world have stories like these to tell.
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* In March the US government added Estonia to the list.

Kenya and the moral imperative of tourism

We've got to support Kenya tourism. Otherwise the wide open ranges where the lions, tigers and elephants roam will be fenced-in and sold off to farmers. That's the message of an important NY Times article that appeared last week by Jeffrey Gettleman, the reporter who covered the post-election rioting in Kenya for the paper. The warning is ominous, the solution as clear as the African sky:

Tourism could take among the longest to bounce back, because it is especially sensitive to perceptions, and the well-publicized bloodshed of the past two months has badly dented Kenya's image. Last year, the country had more than two million tourists. In January, there were only 55,000 new arrivals, well below projections.

The downturn also threatens to reverse the momentum that Kenya has made in recent years to protect land and animals. Government officials are worried about out-of-work guides and trackers poaching game. Village elders in animal-rich areas who had been persuaded that conservation and tourism would be profitable have been re-examining this equation and considering selling off their land.

Sales mean farms, and farms mean fences, which could block the millions of zebra, wildebeest and antelope that migrate across the famous Masai Mara game reserve each year, possibly endangering one of the most spectacular gatherings of animal life on the planet. "It's absolutely catastrophic," said Calvin Cottar, the owner of an upscale safari camp.

The message couldn't be more clear: to help save the hippos, giraffes, and hyenas, get planning your Kenya safari. And with agencies slashing rates, its never been more affordable. But is it safe? It's safe enough.. Gettleman writes:

The truth is that most of the violence has subsided and it never really touched the tourist areas, like the Masai Mara.

But many Western governments seem to think otherwise. Australia is still warning its citizens traveling to Kenya to stay indoors, not exactly the greatest plug for game watching.

Some risks are worth taking. And governments of rich countries should stop teaching their citizens to behave like scared y-cat ninnies.

Tourists told to leave Tibet

China's government said today that all tourists are to leave Tibet. I am blogging the Tibet crisis here.

Hong Kong on flu alert

Three children with flu-like symptoms have died, and schools across Hong Kong have been closed down early for the holidays.  In the wake of SARS, Hong Kong authorities are not taking any chances this time.  And there has been a run on surgical masks in Hong Kong stores.   Nevertheless, scientists say the new flu strain is not especially dangerous, and the cause of the deaths remains uncertain.
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Bloomberg

Dengue fever warning issued for Thailand

Bangkok:  The Public Health Ministry issued a warning yesterday, saying the country is experiencing the worst outbreak of dengue fever in a decade, with more than 4,000 people infected by the virus in only two months.  

Most of the cases were in the central provinces.  Cases tend to fan outward from Bangkok over the course of the year.   More about dengue fever and this year's epidemic in Thailand here.
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Bangkok Post

World's most polluted city?

It's Baku, Azerbaijan.  "Fetid water, oil ponds and life-threatening levels of air pollution emitted from drilling and shipping land the former Soviet manufacturing center at the bottom of this year's list as the world's dirtiest city."
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Forbes, "World's dirtiest cities"

Best watch for travel? A navigable menu trumps other features

There are lots of digital watches on the market with interesting features. Unfortunately, it doesn't make a lot of sense to select a watch based on exotic functionality or appearance alone.

I do a lot of outdoor sports, and I've tried several brands of digital watch. Most digital watch manufactures seem to practice poor quality control. That's why like Casio G-Shock sports watches.* They are rugged and durable. Some new lines of G-Shock watches don't look like geeky digitals: they have analogue faces, and some are stylish. Moreover, Casio designers put a lot of thought into how their menus work. Easily navigable menus are absolutely key to the enjoyment of any electronic device.

Casio's cameras also have superb menus. Casio is like Nokia in this respect -- designers at both companies have put tremendous thought into making the menus simple and intuitive. By contrast, menus seem like an afterthought on many Samsung products.
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* This post just reflects my own opinions, it is not a sponsored or paid piece. I do not accept payment to write reviews for products or services.

Thruvision: T-waves for safer travel?

Thanks to a new technology, travel is about to get a lot safer. Reuters (via DoctorBulldog) reports:

A British company has developed a camera that can detect weapons, drugs or explosives hidden under people’s clothes from up to 25 meters away in what could be a breakthrough for the security industry.

The T5000 camera, created by a company called ThruVision, uses what it calls “passive imaging technology” to identify objects by the natural electromagnetic rays — known as Terahertz or T-rays — that they emit.

The high-powered camera can detect hidden objects from up to 80 feet away and is effective even when people are moving. It does not reveal physical body details and the screening is harmless, the company says.

The technology, which has military and civilian applications and could be used in crowded airports, shopping malls or sporting events, will be unveiled at a scientific development exhibition sponsored by Britain’s Home Office on March 12-13.

The technology truly space-aged:

ThruVision came up with the technology for the T5000 in collaboration with the European Space Agency and from studying research by astronomers into dying stars.

The technology works on the basis that all people and objects emit low levels of electromagnetic radiation. Terahertz rays lie somewhere between infrared and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum and travel through clouds and walls.

Depending on the material, the signature of the wave is different, so that explosives can be distinguished from a block of clay and cocaine is different from a bag of flour.

This sounds like an a truly astounding new technology with many applications.

Dengue fever cases up by 40% in Thailand

From January 1 to February 9 of 2008, dengue struck 2,824 people in Thailand. During the same period last year, 1,702 were affected. The disease has killed four people so far this year. During 2007, 29 people died of dengue fever and 60,000 people came down with the illness.

According to Dr. Praj Boonyawongvirot, permanent secretary for Public Health, "there were signs the number of dengue fever patients would rise this year due to the effects of global warming and striped mosquitoes – which carried the disease – were now able to give birth faster and better withstand drought."

In 2004, scientists studying dengue in Thailand found the disease spreads outward, beginning in Bangkok: ". . .the disease radiates outward in a traveling wave from Bangkok . . . to infect every province in the country. According to the researchers' analysis, the spatial-temporal wave travels at a speed of 148 kilometers per month and takes about eight months to spread through the entire country."

There is no drug treatment for dengue.

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MCOT

The new treatment for malaria

Southeast Asia -- particularly Laos and Cambodia is renowned for harboring resistant strains of malaria, the deadly mosquito born disease. Malaria carrying mosquitoes bite in the evening and at at night. Wearing long sleeved shirts, pants, and staying in sealed air conditioned bedrooms -- or using a chemically treated mosquito net -- goes a long way toward preventing the bites that cause malaria (or dengue fever, a common mosquito-born disease for which there is no drug treatment).

The world breathed a sigh of relief when artemisinin -- a Chinese and Southeast Asian herbal treatment for malaria -- was rediscovered by modern scientists. Artemisinin Project explains the trajectory of this ancient therapy to its modern pharmaceutical application:

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other development agencies first endorsed artemisinin-based therapies for the treatment of malaria in 2004. The WHO 2005 recommendations for first-line malaria treatment include several ACTs - in fact, all six recommended therapies include artemisinin derivatives.

Recently fears have arrisen that this brilliant new malaria drug might soon become ineffective, as in Southeast Asia some mosquitoes have shown resistance to the drug. This concern prompted the World Health Organization's director-general to tell drug companies they must not market the drugs made from the Chinese plant artemisinin except in combination with other, older malaria drugs. The biggest manufactures of the drug were quick to comply with the demand, but some doctors assert that certain patients require artemisinin monotherapy.

A 2006 study on traveler experiences Artemisinin therapies advises:

Artemisinin derivatives, such as artesunate, artemether and dihydroartemisinin, are the most parasiticidal of all the antimalarial drugs against Plasmodium falciparum . . . However, several challenges remain, including the limited availability of GMP quality drugs, the emergence of fake drugs, and their optimal deployment in malaria-endemic countries. . . . Artemisinin-based drugs are easily available in several malaria-endemic countries and are sold as mono- or combination therapies. They are manufactured in several countries, packaged differently and contain package inserts of varying quality and accuracy. WHO currently recommends malaria-endemic countries to use three days of an artemisinin-based combination treatment (ACT) e.g. artemether/lumefantrine (A/L), artesunate (4 mg/kg/day) plus an effective, longer acting partner drug, such as amodiaquine or mefloquine [3]. If used alone, seven days of treatment of an artemisinin derivative is necessary because shorter courses result in unacceptably high rates of recrudescence. . .

Travellers should be aware that artemether/lumefantrine is known as Riamet® in temperate countries and CoArtem® in malaria-endemic countries. Adult Riamet® contains 24 tablets (six dose regimen) but adult CoArtem® contains only 16 tablets (4 dose regimen).

Let's say you get malaria on your trip to Southeast Asia. Unless you came prepared -- or get yourself to a Bangkok hospital quickly -- the anti-malarial medication for sale at the local hospital in Laos or Burma could well be fake. I blogged about fake drugs here.

Because of the fake drug problem, if you are traveling in an infested area, consider getting a prescription for the treatment before you go. Another option is to start taking preventative drugs prior to your entry into a malarial region.*

For country-by-country information about diseases, including malaria, and appropriate medications, I recommend Britain's NaTHNaC (National Travel Health Network and Center) sponsored by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The website is excellent.

Generally speaking, unless you are going off the beat-and-track sensible clothing, air conditioned or (at least) well-sealed sleeping quarters, and some applications of mosquito repellent is likely to prove sufficient precaution against malaria. These precautions are necessary anyway, to protect you against dengue fever, for which there is no drug treatment.*

What else? Well, in my opinion mosquito coils are not a good idea. Certain natural alternatives to Deet stack up well -- at least in the laboratory.
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-Artemisinin Project
- Welcome Trust has the story behind the (re)discovery of the drug.
* Modern drugs used preventively against malaria include mefloquine (Lariam®), doxycycline (available generically), and the combination of atovaquone and proguanil hydrochloride (Malarone®). Lariam ® is the subject of great controversy: "Scores of Peace Corps volunteers are coming forward saying that over the past 12 years they suffered crippling paranoia, anxiety, hallucinations, memory loss, suicidal behavior and physical ailments from seizures to vision difficulty because of the drug handed out by government doctors to prevent malaria," reported UPI in 2002. Malarone ® is a new drug which happens to be quite expensive but I have not found any reports indicating it to be especially unsafe. Doxycycline is safe for most people and cheap.
** In recent years, there have been cases of dengue in every Southeast Asian city, including Singapore. Dengue, like malaria, can be fatal. In Thailand alone, 60000 cases of dengue and 29 deaths were reported in 2007.

Air quality warning issued for Bangkok

Bangkok residents have been warned of harmful dust levels which have been rising since late last month. The dust is expected to shroud the city for at least another month. Pollution Control Department chief Supat Wangwongwatana told city residents to take a look at the morning sky each day to evaluate the situation. Dust will be worse on a ''foggy day'', he said.

The department reported on its website yesterday that small dust particles in the air in Bang Khunthian, Din Daeng and in Bang Kapi areas have exceeded safe levels.

Din Daeng was the worst-hit area with particulate matter smaller than 10 microns (PM 10) measured at 205.8 microgrammes per cubic metre (ug/m3), almost double the safe standard of 120 ug/m3. . .

Unusual climate patterns had prolonged the problem, he said. Natural Resources and Environment Minister Anongwan Thepsuthin yesterday expressed concern over the dust problem, which is partly caused by exhaust emissions from vehicles. She told the department to dispatch mobile units to inspect air quality in high-risk areas, including congested traffic areas.*

The article notes that the pollution level in Chang Mai yesterday was 144 ug/m3. At one popular tourist destination, the old capital of Ayutthaya, fine particle pollution was at 255 ug/m3 today -- the highest PM 10 score in the whole country. Another tourist resort, Phuket, reported the lowest pollution in the country with a reading of 30 ug/m3 .

The Pollution Control Department website has all these figures, and these are updated daily. It is most useful if you are trying decide whether it's safe to go running.

Thailand Pollution Control Department Website key pages:
- pollution level in Bangkok today
- pollution levels in other cities in Thailand today.
- Bangkok pollution forecast

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* Bangkok Post

Big corporations are corrupting Thai noses

In the past year, Thailand has fallen for air fresheners in a big way. It seems like every other taxi sports an air-conditioner-activated bottle of pretty smelling chemicals in a small plastic vile. Invariably I get out of the taxi with a headache.

Thailand's most popular brand of air freshener is called Stella. In my own experience, the stuff is pure lung-poison. I was in a bathroom when it was being sprayed with the stuff, and had a nasty cough for weeks thereafter. And it doesn't even smell nice.

This development is very sad. Thailand is renowned for its exquisite array of floral scents; over the years a whole industry has arisen. It's based on cultivating and harvesting natural flowers and plants selected for their fragrances. But the exquisitely sensitive Thai nose is being corrupted by big corporations determined to mass market some smelly -- and toxic* -- chemicals.
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* Air fresheners are hazardous to your health -- as one blogger who researched the question discovered.

Oink of the day

"I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals."

- Winston Churchill

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h/t Sullivan

Greetings from Bangkok

In December I was greeted by a Thai royalist holding a candle. He was a participant in the celebration held near the Royal Palace in honor of HM the Kings's 80th birthday (I posted some spectacular scenes from event here).