FEAR GRIPS AMERICA - PART II
 

Using FF miles I plan trips one year in advance.

Last year I tentatively booked tickets to island hop this summer in the Greek Islands. About a week after i put the tickets on hold I started having reservations with the uncertainty in the Middle East, opting instead for Maui. I leave for Maui next week.

Now I find myself in the same predicament for next summer. I want to once again plan for the Med. cruise or Greek Island hopping but with the recent flareups of terrorism and unstable situation in the Mideast I feel uncertain about booking one year out.

My other option is taking friends with us back to Maui again next summer, an Alaskan cruise, Bangkok/Angkor Wat, or the Med. cruise.

Are my fears unfounded? For some reason I think a ship bobbing in the Med. with loads of Euro. and Americans would have a big X on it? Is this rational?

I'm curious if other people are having the same uneasy feeling about foreign travel? I travel quite frequently overseas and have had no qualms with it until now.

I am going on my next 2 triips and THEY are not going to interfere with my plans. That is what THEY want you to do. I work in Washington' (life goes on)

So do I, and I can say I was scared last October to pump gas. Weren't you?

Meaning it's not always that easy.

Just returned from the Golden Princess Barcelona t o Venice with two stops in Turkey.
Never once felt unsafe. Already planning for Bankok to Sydney in 2005.
Life must go on, in my opinion.

techydude: you bet I was scared in the Washington area pumping gas with the sniper loose. I live near all the MD activity. My chances were better overseas.

Big Daddy, you should check the CDC's web site to make informed decisions about your health risks.

For example, according to the CDC, you're much more likely to die of gunshot wounds by staying in the U.S. this summer.

"During 1993--1998, an estimated average of 115,000 firearm-related injuries (including 35,200 fatal and 79,400 nonfatal injuries) occurred annually in the United States."

By comparison 3000 people died during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. About 62 people per year die on account of firearms in Greece.

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5002a1.htm

Big Daddy - I completely understand your feelings. I flew with no fear at all inside the states 3 weeks after 9/11, but felt a little uncomfortable when I flew to Japan last summer. There's not always a logical basis for our fears, but I think it's okay to think twice about anything that gives you an uneasy feeling. That's what we have "gut feelings" for.
I ask myself, "am I going to be thinking and worrying about it enough to ruin my good time?" If the answer is yes then I change my plans.
However, having said that, I will say that my greatest travel regret is that we allowed the same uncertainty about the middle east to keep us from traveling in the area many years ago (my husband is Jewish and I was a US Govt employee) and we always thought we'd go "when the situation is more stable and travel is safer". Needless to say, the situation has only worsened. We should have gone years ago.

No, it's not rational, IMHO.

You know, last September if we had discussed snipers at the gas station, we would have had to admit that there was a risk, but the risk was very, very small. Practically zero risk. In October, our perception of the risk changed. Maybe it was 100 times riskier than we perceived a month earlier, but it was still an extremely small risk.

You have a list of great options. I suggest choosing the one you want the most. Life is risky.