Originally Posted by
bhrubin
Oh Robyn. You and I don't seem to be in line on anything on these forums! :-)
Yes, I'm gay and Jewish-raised (now atheist)--but that hasn't stopped me from having fabulous travel to Indonesia (Java, Lombok, Moyo), Jordan, Egypt, Mozambique, etc. We had booked our trip to Moscow for last October before the anti-gay laws were passed, and we went anyway--and took photos kissing in front of St. Basil's Cathedral in our own form of protest...with nary a reaction or comment.
We are adventurers, and we like to experience other cultures and see other places. We expect we will have no problems in Istanbul, much as we've had no problems in Cairo, Amman, Jakarta, Yogyakarta, etc. Most Muslims we've met have been incredibly friendly, a little curious, and usually end up asking questions once they felt comfortable with us. Those who weren't never bothered us--nor would we likely allow that to happen. I'm a fairly bad-a** type of guy. :-)
I often say that people get what they give. I assume the best from the people we meet in our travels, and that's usually what we experience.
FYI, we are avoiding Uganda in December when we go gorilla trekking, choosing instead to stay in Rwanda--lest you think we really are crazy. :-)
Well I wish you good luck in your travels - and will leave the Omni aspects of this discussion to Omni. Our biggest problems in some of the more adventurous places we've gone to - like Egypt - have usually been along the lines of food poisoning/turista. Then again - we were in Egypt in 1981 - a few months before President Sadat was assassinated. Kinder gentler times.
I'm not sure that Rwanda is less crazy than Uganda (don't know much/anything about either place). About the most I'd say WRT places like that is make sure you get all the required/recommended shots. Don't know how old you are - but our doctors tell us that as we get older - the immunity conferred by our childhood vaccinations diminishes/disappears. So we need to be revaccinated for some things (like whooping cough - which is making a comeback even in the United States). Also - we need shots we've never had before (like shots for Hep A).
Also follow all recommended food precautions. One reason we avoid second/third world countries these days is we're absolutely awful when it comes to following these precautions. And there's no better way to ruin a vacation than winding up sick as a result of something you've eaten.
BTW - we've found that Japan is a great place to travel. Both in terms of exploring a new culture and eating great food. Without having to worry about anything - except perhaps jet lag
. Robyn