Post

I was fortunate enough to have a gig that required me to go to Phnom Penh several times to work with civil-society NGOs there, from 2015 to 2017. My Cambodian colleagues (however gendered) knew how to be safe, and I paid attention to their (welcome) safety advice rather than giving a lot of my own.

Well, I, a cis male, can give a tip: when abroad, don't pass out on the hood of a govt official's Black Car.

I’m not a hardened operator by any means, but I’ve still definitely tested the boundaries of safety before, knowingly.

Definitely.

when I was a mere teen traveling alone abroad I would always gravitate to my fellow queers and weirdos for protection and advice

And often great tips for cool things to do and great people to meet!

Speaking as someone who has literally cluelessed his way out of both a mugging and a separate police bribe shakedown, the only travel advice I have is bring somebody with a sense of direction so you can be aware of your surroundings without having to stare at your expensive phone for the map

My trans kid has been riding subways solo in foreign cities since he was 12. Yeah, he's got radar.

I had a conversation with some cishet guys recently in which I put them into silent contemplation for a few moments by saying "I've been to two countries where it was illegal for me to exist".

I got one young guy I met in Kabul in 2004 planning to travel though Afghanistan and then on to Pakistan to read all about what to do when kidnapped for ransom to try to dissuade him of doing this. I never heard about or from him again and no idea what the idiot got into. Hopefully he found his way

Funnily enough, because I married a photojournalist, something we established on our first date was that each of us (my now husband and I) might have reason to choose a calculated risk to travel somewhere dangerous & we each could accept that. Came in useful when I was a CSA astronaut candidate.

As a former young man, I can attest to the truth of this.

But I can still correct her form in the gym, right? By tapping on her headphones that she has firmly placed over her ears to block out the sound of chuds?

As the guy who spent 20+ years getting them out of trouble, I’d always say: If they could make good decisions, they wouldn’t be in our waiting room.

Had to stop a fellow American getting beat to death with stools after he trashed a street vendors table in Beijing. Couldn't have out fav drinking spot shut down for months after all.

Other countries are not Disney World for mediocre white guys to do with as they choose 😮

They are our strongest soldiers. Very much reminds me how the entire cottage industry of findom probably wouldn't exist if it weren't for mediocre men who have failed upward their whole lives.

in the classic “drunk sailor rolled for his wallet and other valuables” mode?

Ah, yes, a bad customer can become a good customer by paying enough.