The Official September 2017 Study Group Forum

[Alexandros]

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[oopsu812]

I wanna get out of this city so badly, jeezus.

@DJ do u mind if I backpack with u around the Middle East.

Lulz, my best friend was hating on your city for a solid half hour today. He's not a huge fan either.

I want to backpack around the ME too!

Your best friend and me should be friends. (It's an ok place to visit but it's close to 2 straight years (3 yrs when I graduate) I've been living here by myself with only a week or so here and there somewhere else, haven't travelled since highschool. getting very antsy.)

We're all joining you backpacking around MENA, Dj.

That's understandable. I've lived in the same place my whole life, with only a couple of 3-6 months long breaks, so I get how you feel. I'm hoping to at the very least go on a road-trip across the country, but I'd really really love to backpack through Central America.

It's prob because I haven't left my apartment since Tuesday.

I'll be able to home for a bit in a month or so and will be able to see friends and go hiking, biking, etc, so hopefully that'll get some of the antsiness out.

Yeah I can't imagine that's too healthy, but it's good that you'll get to have a bit of a reset once you're home for a bit. It helps that it's finally spring too, eh? Warm enough some days to drink on a patio or have a picnic.

ETA: I'd recommend it. I solo backpacked between HS and UG, and was very happy I did. I credit it with raising my confidence to its current level, which has made my life much better.

[dj9i27]

I went to Berk

[Lalalsat96]

I got there super early(check-in was 9ish I got there at so I was in Room 1 and seat 1 lol After profusely vomiting in the bathroom for 15 minutes, if TMI sorry. Explains why I'm here.. The long part is them looking at your ticket then you see everyone there and I just went, "holy shit, I think I can pull a 177+ here" really fucked with my psyche. Just go in robotic and you'll be fine.

Lol to most of that. Essentially if I don't get cocky or too confident i will likely hit my goal score- why are you retaking btw(are you retaking) ?

[abujabal]

OK definitely do not take that bus in that case. Wearing a balaclava will not go well for you at all. You'll definitely want a local vetted guide in Cairo as well, unless you can hold your own in Egyptian Arabic. To be clear here, a lot of the people in my circle are MENA specialists, and even they pause at Cairo depending on their skin color. To be clear, it's a totally fine, safe place, but also worth being careful, because you will stand out, especially given the drop-off in tourism.

Given the languages you mentioned, you would love Morocco. I'm also a French speaker (at this point I should probably throw in a no quote ask - if possible, would you mind editing your prior post? I'll edit mine to add a no-quote), and Morocco was great because everyone speaks French, which makes it fun to get around and see more than just touristy things. Some of the most fun I've ever had was in Rabat.

Given your friend group, Tajikistan is also worth checking out. It's pretty much where the US parks all of its Iran people+Farsi learners because they can't go into Iran, so your friend would be a huge asset.

[Alexandros]

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[dj9i27]

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[dj9i27]

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[dj9i27]

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[oopsu812]

Eastern Europe is also brilliant, particularly the Balkans. Very affordable and accessible for all, and there's a great mix of culture, history, nightlife, nature, nice and rough areas, etc. I preferred it to most of Western Europe honestly.

[abujabal]

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Oh for sure for sure. Just to be clear though, this is a whole different level. It can easily get dangerous, and the issues are compounded by language barriers, our current leadership, and other exogenous factors that can take what was a pleasant day out into a VERY bad situation. Even as a brown dude with good Arabic, there have been times where it's been obvious I'm not from the area, and that was enough to make me jet out of the area real fast.

Do not go to Afghanistan.

I'd give Morocco about 4-7 days, Amman 1-2 + a Petra day trip+another 2 days in the desert, and then Israel 3-5 as well. Then I'd add on something else within reason. The UAE is more than just Dubai, which is why I suggested it. Check out Abu Dhabi, or Doha which is nearby. Istanbul is a risk because of the political situation, so I would not go.

To be clear, there are more places that you shouldn't be going than you should be going right now. Definitely get the adventure-seeking, and you absolutely can get it in some safe countries, but there are some countries where you would be absolutely insane to go to as a white dude, and even more where it would be probably fine, but still WAAAAY more of an acceptable risk than you should be taking.

I second the mention of the Balkans.

[Alexandros]

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[dj9i27]

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[Alexandros]

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[dj9i27]

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[oopsu812]

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[Alexandros]

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[oopsu812]

Eastern Europe is also brilliant, particularly the Balkans. Very affordable and accessible for all, and there's a great mix of culture, history, nightlife, nature, nice and rough areas, etc. I preferred it to most of Western Europe honestly.

Eastern Europe's amazing. Have you been to Romania? Coolest country. Would love to go back and see more of the region.
Macedonia is the closest I've got to the Balkans but it looks gorgeous.

I have been to Romania! Really really beautiful place, with incredibly kind people. I'm desperate to go back for more. It's crazy that there's still such a generally negative view of Eastern Europe in North America. Don't quote this, but I felt safer as a tiny white gal in Eastern Europe than I did in a good chunk of Western Europe, lol.

Macedonia is such a bizarre place. Skopje might be the weirdest city I've ever been to. I know it's "touristy" but Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is friggin' beautiful. One of the prettiest places I've ever been. There are places like that all over the Balkans. It's getting more popular now though, especially since Game of Thrones started filming there.

[abujabal]

Haha for sure - and I hope I didn't come off as dismissive, certainly wasn't intending to be. I don't think the issues that you'd run into are those that the government would cause for you, but rather people in the cities. As with Detroit, there's a lot of times where through experience, you'd just know "wow this is clearly not a place I'm supposed to be " or "hmm, this is clearly going to turn into a dangerous situation if something goes wrong, I'd like to not be here". That's made monumentally harder when you don't speak the language and the culture is foreign. I've spent time in many Middle Eastern countries, and even then Cairo had me on my toes a lot more than I was used to.

The issue is mainly dynamic. There are people who hate the US in every country. There are a lot in certain countries, and in certain countries, those people are willing to do things to you and express their frustration openly. Sometimes violently. In Egypt, there are more of these people who live near or around the touristy zones than normal. There are also waaaaay more friendly people who are just living their lives, but it's always a risk. That's why I'd say local guide or bust. I'd really recommend that you don't do Egypt with the level of experience it sounds like you have with the region. And I don't mean that to be rude at all, and I hope it doesn't come off as dismissive. It's just...very different right now.

The other thing is that countries that are safer and have less of a risk factor are incredible and have tons of culture/spots to see/history and whatnot. And they're all generally unexplored because most people think of the Middle East and get stereotypical images of ISIS types coming to get them. So you can go to Jordan or Morocco or the UAE or Oman for really cheap and have tons of fun and see some things that some of even the most experienced travelers don't ever see. It's fun like that. Like I hate saying "oh hey don't go to X, Y, or Z country because they're dangerous" when I have white friends who live there, but even they concur with the assessment.

Hope this is coming off as well-meaning and friendly as I'm intending it to be. Not trying to be some sort of douchebag travel agent haha.

[dj9i27]

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[Alexandros]

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[abujabal]

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[MediocreAtBest]

Eastern Europe is also brilliant, particularly the Balkans. Very affordable and accessible for all, and there's a great mix of culture, history, nightlife, nature, nice and rough areas, etc. I preferred it to most of Western Europe honestly.

Eastern Europe's amazing. Have you been to Romania? Coolest country. Would love to go back and see more of the region.
Macedonia is the closest I've got to the Balkans but it looks gorgeous.

I have been to Romania! Really really beautiful place, with incredibly kind people. I'm desperate to go back for more. It's crazy that there's still such a generally negative view of Eastern Europe in North America. Don't quote this, but I felt safer as a tiny white gal in Eastern Europe than I did in a good chunk of Western Europe, lol.

Macedonia is such a bizarre place. Skopje might be the weirdest city I've ever been to. I know it's "touristy" but Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is friggin' beautiful. One of the prettiest places I've ever been. There are places like that all over the Balkans. It's getting more popular now though, especially since Game of Thrones started filming there.

I'm from Eastern Europe, and I think people should definitely visit. It's different enough to where you're experiencing something totally new, in Western Europe it's amazing but sometimes I felt like it was too similar to the US. The Balkans have their own thing going on. Hitting Dubrovnik in the summer is a must, Belgrade has some serious nightlife, Montenegro has great beaches as well. You could always venture away from the tourist areas, I'd bring someone who speaks the language along with you, just to avoid the language barrier. I know in my hometown you wouldn't get too far only speaking English haha.

[oopsu812]

Eastern Europe is also brilliant, particularly the Balkans. Very affordable and accessible for all, and there's a great mix of culture, history, nightlife, nature, nice and rough areas, etc. I preferred it to most of Western Europe honestly.

Eastern Europe's amazing. Have you been to Romania? Coolest country. Would love to go back and see more of the region.
Macedonia is the closest I've got to the Balkans but it looks gorgeous.

I have been to Romania! Really really beautiful place, with incredibly kind people. I'm desperate to go back for more. It's crazy that there's still such a generally negative view of Eastern Europe in North America. Don't quote this, but I felt safer as a tiny white gal in Eastern Europe than I did in a good chunk of Western Europe, lol.

Macedonia is such a bizarre place. Skopje might be the weirdest city I've ever been to. I know it's "touristy" but Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is friggin' beautiful. One of the prettiest places I've ever been. There are places like that all over the Balkans. It's getting more popular now though, especially since Game of Thrones started filming there.

I'm from Eastern Europe, and I think people should definitely visit. It's different enough to where you're experiencing something totally new, in Western Europe it's amazing but sometimes I felt like it was too similar to the US. The Balkans have their own thing going on. Hitting Dubrovnik in the summer is a must, Belgrade has some serious nightlife, Montenegro has great beaches as well. You could always venture away from the tourist areas, I'd bring someone who speaks the language along with you, just to avoid the language barrier. I know in my hometown you wouldn't get too far only speaking English haha.

I agree, although I don't think Western Europe is anything like the US. The tourism industry in Western Europe is just much more developed and less intimidating for people. That's definitely starting to change though. Croatia, especially Dubrovnik, is every bit as expensive and touristy as Western Europe now! Belgrade is wild. Might be my favourite capital city outside of London. I did visit every country in the Balkans (except Kosovo, whatever your opinion is on that, lol), but I'd love to go back and rent a car and have more time. I found a lot of people were just surprised and excited that someone was interested in visiting their country/city!

[MediocreAtBest]

Eastern Europe is also brilliant, particularly the Balkans. Very affordable and accessible for all, and there's a great mix of culture, history, nightlife, nature, nice and rough areas, etc. I preferred it to most of Western Europe honestly.

Eastern Europe's amazing. Have you been to Romania? Coolest country. Would love to go back and see more of the region.
Macedonia is the closest I've got to the Balkans but it looks gorgeous.

I have been to Romania! Really really beautiful place, with incredibly kind people. I'm desperate to go back for more. It's crazy that there's still such a generally negative view of Eastern Europe in North America. Don't quote this, but I felt safer as a tiny white gal in Eastern Europe than I did in a good chunk of Western Europe, lol.

Macedonia is such a bizarre place. Skopje might be the weirdest city I've ever been to. I know it's "touristy" but Lake Ohrid in Macedonia is friggin' beautiful. One of the prettiest places I've ever been. There are places like that all over the Balkans. It's getting more popular now though, especially since Game of Thrones started filming there.

I'm from Eastern Europe, and I think people should definitely visit. It's different enough to where you're experiencing something totally new, in Western Europe it's amazing but sometimes I felt like it was too similar to the US. The Balkans have their own thing going on. Hitting Dubrovnik in the summer is a must, Belgrade has some serious nightlife, Montenegro has great beaches as well. You could always venture away from the tourist areas, I'd bring someone who speaks the language along with you, just to avoid the language barrier. I know in my hometown you wouldn't get too far only speaking English haha.

I agree, although I don't think Western Europe is anything like the US. The tourism industry in Western Europe is just much more developed and less intimidating for people. That's definitely starting to change though. Croatia, especially Dubrovnik, is every bit as expensive and touristy as Western Europe now! Belgrade is wild. Might be my favourite capital city outside of London. I did visit every country in the Balkans (except Kosovo, whatever your opinion is on that, lol), but I'd love to go back and rent a car and have more time. I found a lot of people were just surprised and excited that someone was interested in visiting their country/city!

If you haven't been, Novi Sad in Serbia is a really cool city, although it still has some scars from the 1999 NATO bombing. Sabac during "vašar" towards the end of September is pretty crazy too. Bosnia can be a little rough around the edges but there are definitely cool places outside of Sarajevo and Mostar, Bosnia has a lot of natural beauty. You're right about Dubrovnik, most of the Croatian coast is like that. I'd avoid Kosovo lol.

You're right about Western Europe being different from the US, I articulated that poorly, I think it just sort of has a more "familiar" feel than Eastern Europe might for people who are from the US. Probably since, like you said, the tourism industry is more developed.

I'm visiting Dublin in September so if you've been and have any tips/suggestions I'd love to hear them!