Not Recommended for Family Vacations

Most of us like to travel, to see new places and experience new things. There are, however, some places that probably ought not to be on your vacation bucket list. Courtesy of TheRichest.com, here are the ten most dangerous cities in the world ...

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - One of my favorite old movies is the 1933 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film "Flying Down to Rio." Nowadays, "Flying Over Rio En Route to Someplace Safer" would probably be a more accurate title. Terrible slums and rampant street crime make it a dangerous place, even though the murder rate has actually gone down a bit over the last few years.

Cape Town, South Africa - Huge ethnic divisions and economic disparities have led to wide class divisions, with crimes like kidnapping, rape, murder and robbery - often racially aggravated - very common. The scenery is beautiful, but perhaps it's better viewed from a distance.

Guatemala City, Guatemala - As with so many other Central American locations, drugs, gangs, poor public infrastructure, and corrupt police have created a dangerous stew of violent crime.

Baghdad, Iraq - Once a thriving, relatively tolerant city with a street dedicated to bookstores*, it's now largely a dangerous wasteland. And we had a large hand in making it that way.

Acapulco, Mexico - Agnes and I actually visited here briefly in November of 2008 on one of our cruise vacations. As with almost everyplace else we visited in Mexico, I was amazed at the number of heavily armed private guards and police everywhere. Seeing the famous cliff divers was great ... seeing evidence of the need to protect against deadly crime everywhere, not so much.

Caracas, Venezuela - Drugs, gang wars, and rampant street crime make this an extraordinarily dangerous city, cited as the “Murder Capital of the World” in 2008 by Foreign Policy magazine because 510 people were murdered in the month of December alone. And the murder rate has increased since then ... by an estimated 67%!

Kabul, Afghanistan - As the article says, "The desperate struggle between the local government, power-hungry militant groups, terrorists and American forces have created a hostile environment in which anything can happen at any time."

Karachi, Pakistan - Not just extremely violent and religiously intolerant, but a major center for sex slavery and human trafficking.

Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - Corrupt police, drug gangs, murder, and kidnapping ... and right across the border from El Paso. Need I say more?

San Pedro Sula, Honduras - Armed drug gangs, illegal traffic in weapons, and the highest murder rate in the world - about 169 per 100,000 residents make this a poor choice for a vacation getaway.

That staycation doesn't look so bad any more, does it? You could also visit Washington, DC, where street crime is a problem, but one that's overshadowed by the higher-level crime centered on K Street** and Capitol Hill.

Have a good day. Travel smartly.

More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

* Since destroyed by religious fanatics who don't think anyone should read anything but the Quran.

** Where most of the big-name lobbyists have their headquarters.