Dangerous Places of the World - North Korea, ISIS, and Central America

North Korea

When asked to think of dangerous places around the world, people usually come up with North Korea. Truth is - North Korea is actually one of the safest places on Earth (if you abide by the law, that is). There's no crime whatsoever, no theft, no kidnappings, no murders (not counting 'official' business, of course).

One of Pyongyang's landmarks - the Ryugyong Hotel

If you're a tourist, and you don't intend on deviating from the rules, you don't have to worry about safety. It's also really easy to get into North Korea, and no I'm not talking about taking a few steps into it from South Korea at the demilitarized zone. China is North Korea's only ally, so if you want to enter North Korea, go through China. There are specialized tour agencies that bring you in, like Koryo Tours. It's not exactly backpacker friendly, though it doesn't cost as much as a trip to Antarctica.

Even if you're American, the people known in North Korea as 'The Imperialists', the ones who started the Korean War and from whom North Korea's Eternal President Kim Il Sung liberated, it's possible to get in without much hassle. You just have to fork out a little more of that green.

You can get on a train in China, all the way from Dandong and travel into North Korea via the Sino-Korea Friendship Bridge. North Korea even has its own airline, called 'Air Koryo', though it's supposedly the worst in the world (the ONLY 1-star airline) - but it's not much different from other domestic airliners, such as US Airways, either.

Before you enter North Korea, be prepared to have an open mind, because it's like going to a new world. You can't carry any of your existing opinions or ideology inside, and you should try to understand the North Korean way of life. Think about it, there's no way you'll be able to change anything alone, and you'll only get yourself in trouble if you do. All you have to do is stay with the tour guides, avoid talking crap about North Korea, avoid taking unflattering pictures of North Korea, address the Great Leaders as Great Leaders, take full pictures of paintings rather than cropped, and always take pictures of the Great Leaders (paintings, statues etc.) from the below - never above. Simple, right?

One of the rules: always take pictures of the full painting, never crop them

The North Korean ideology is centered around self-sustainability and self-reliance (Juche) - which is one reason why North Korea has isolated itself from the rest of the world. Most locals have not seen what foreigners look like before, and they get pretty shy if they see you. Locals in Pyongyang (North Korean's capital city) are supposedly home to the nation's most privileged, of course 'privileged' is relative to the standards of the rest of North Korea, and not to your home country. You'll get to see more locals in Chongjin (but not so much interact, unless you get lucky), and other areas outside Pyongyang.

Local North Koreans also have access to a type of internet. It's actually a North Korean intranet that only displays North Korean websites - of course.

One of the major attractions of Pyongyang is Arirang Mass Games, sadly the last games were held in 2013, and were stopped in 2014. BUT, it's set to return in 2015 and it's said to be grander than ever. I guess because it's past the 100th birth anniversary of Kim Il Sung. The Mass Games are literally the largest human performance, and human mosaic in the world - where tens of thousands of human beings hold up colored cards and act like pixels on a computer screen to create pictures. There are lots of performances that feature humans working in unison with one another - think the 2008 Beijing Olympics, but with more people and less technology.

The Mass Games - the picture behind is a mosaic made from human pixels

A fun fact: North Korea's current leader Kim Jong Un's famous hairstyle was a result of him being afraid of barbers - so he decided to cut his own hair. Also, he looked way different from when he was a student studying in Switzerland than he is now. He has appeared to have grown to resemble his grandfather, Kim Il Sung - which spurred rumors of him undergoing plastic surgery to look more like the Eternal President. Of course, the (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) has denied this. It's funny how the Great Leaders have great fears - Kim Jong Un was afraid of barbers, while Kim Jong Il was afraid of flying.

Also, North Korea has one of the world's most advanced hacking capabilities. Recently, the country was accused of hacking into Sony Corporation and releasing private documents as well as unreleased and currently showing movies online (like the WWII movie, 'Fury' for example). This was because North Korea had expressed its great discontent at one of the company's upcoming movies, 'The Interview' - which depicts two American TV show hosts going to North Korea to interview Kim Jong Un, while secretly being hired by the CIA to assassinate him. From the trailer, it looks like they find out that Kim Jong Un was a 'cool guy' after all - but of course that's because it depicts him secretly embracing American culture - such as Katy Perry songs.

ISIS in Syria, Iraq & Lybia

The real dangerous places would be places like Syria, where the terror organisation 'ISIS' is trying to create a new Islamic state by capturing land from Iraq, Syria, and recently Lybia. However, it has outlined a vision of establishing a caliphate uniting the entire Arab world - by eradicating and conquering all those that oppose it (similar to what Hitler planned, and what Qin Shi Huang did to unify China through his wars of unification with 6 other states). Lots of innocent people, including foreigners have already been kidnapped and executed. ISIS is a breakaway group from Al Qaeda, the terror organisation responsible for the 9/11 attack in New York in 2001. They were so much more extreme than Al Qaeda, such that even Al Qaeda denounced any affiliation with them. 

The ISIS vision of the world (in black)

There are 2 main groups of Muslims in Iraq, the Sunni and Shia denominations (like the Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland). Iraq has a majority Shia population. Before the US invasion of 2003, Iraq had a minority Sunni government. However, the US helped established a Shia government, and eventually left. 

Iraq is special because the majority of the Arab nations have Sunni majorities, while it has a Shia majority, so many Sunni rebel groups emerged in the region to try to take power from the new Shia Iraqi government after the US withdrawal from 2007 onwards. However, the rebel groups did not work with one another either, they were fighting against the Iraqi government as well as with other rebel groups to claim power for themselves.

ISIS was one of these rebel groups (among others such as JRTN, JAI, the Kurdish YPG etc.), and was one of the more successful ones. All that combat experience helped the group develop better tactics and strategies, which came in handy when the Arab Spring caused protests against the Syrian government and the subsequent emergence of Syrian rebel groups who fought against the Syria government. This unrest allowed ISIS to continue its expansion into Syria from Iraq to build its vision of an Islamic state.

As ISIS took towns and cities, they extorted riches from local populace as well as sold oil from the oil-rich lands they captured - which is how the group grew to be THE richest terror organisation in the world, even wealthier than Hamas

The group has also captured many Europeans, and exchanged them for millions of euros in ransom from European governments. That's one reason why the US government has refused to pay for hostages, so that ISIS might realize that it was not a good source of income and to discourage future kidnappings. The price though, is that many of these hostages get beheaded, as you might have seen in their high-profile threat videos.

American journalist hostage, James Foley (in orange), about to be beheaded by 'Jihadi John' (in black)

You might notice that the hostages usually wear orange jumpsuits - this is the same color and design as that worn by prisoners in the US's Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, where terror suspects are known to be held and tortured by unconventional methods - and the ISIS videos are in protest of that. So if you're a tourist, there is a high possibility of being captured, imprisoned for months, and finally getting beheaded - especially if you're from a western country - North America, Europe, or Australia.

Central and South America

Many Central and South American cities are also known for their danger. Drug cartels are rampant in many, and gang violence is not uncommon. 

Central America is part of the North American continent. The 2 continents of North America and South America are actually separated by a swamp called the Darién Gap, located between Panama (part of Central America) and Colombia (part of South America). This gap breaks the Pan-American highway, which means that no land vehicle can cross over without using ferries or rafts. This also means that smuggling drugs over from Colombia, possibly the world's greatest producer of hard drugs such as cocaine would be increasingly difficult. For this reason, the US has not made any effort to connect North and South America by land. 

In Colombia, you can even buy Marijuana (above) and Cocaine (not shown) from street side shops in neat packages

Speaking of the country Panama, it actually used to be part of Colombia. The country has an interesting history, but the gist of it is that Panama had a strategic location with its Panama Canal, and the US wanted in. So the US went on to support an independence movement in Panama, in order to take control of the Panama Canal and voila - new independent country of Panama!

If you ever go to South America, you'll find that coca tea is a popular drink amongst locals and tourists. It's made from coca leaves and is available in cafes, restaurants, souvenir shops etc. But guess what - coca leaves are the same ingredient used to make cocaine. It comes from the coca plant, which originates in South America (explains the drug cartels). Coca tea uses only the raw coca leaves, so it doesn't quite count as cocaine. However, if you drink the tea, it would show up in a simple urine test, so watch out! And no, you don't get high by drinking coca tea. Also, take note that coca tea is illegal in the U.S.

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Violent Central American Cities

Central America is home to some of the most violent cities in the world. The most violent city would be San Pedro Sula in Honduras, where there are 3 murders everyday on average - and that's just on an average day! One can only imagine the numbers on a bad day. Also take note that the 3 deaths are only intentional murders, and does not include deaths from accident and/or manslaughter, which can be much higher. 19 homicides on average may not seem that high, but the population is only over 400,000 people. Murdering a child for no reason is just a day to day affair. At that rate, I guess the population is only sustained because the Hondurans must be great at making babies.

Surrounding countries, such as Guatemala, are not too far off either. To my knowledge, Guatemala City, the capital of Guatemala and known to locals as 'Guate', is the 8th (or approximately 8th) most dangerous city on Earth, with about 16 murders a day on average. The Mara 18 (or 18th Street Gang) is a well-known gang in Central America, and Guatemala City is one the gang's homes.

To add salt to the wound, Guatemala City is also haunted by natural disasters that seem unnatural. I'm talking about sinkholes. Guatemala City is also infamous for sinkholes. What are sinkholes? They're basically giant holes that appear in the ground while swallowing everything within its radius. Imagine having a nice dinner at home with your family at home, when suddenly the whole house just falls into a bottomless pit bringing you along with it. Sinkholes are unpredictable and usually unexplainable. Nobody knows where they come from or how they come about. They are pretty scary things.

Here's what a normal sinkhole looks like:

Sinkhole in Beijing, China (2010)

Here's what a sinkhole in Guatemala City looks like:

Sinkhole in Guatemala City (2007)

Sinkhole in Guatemala City (2010)

Besides the murders and sinkholes, there is also unrest in the city. During the 36-year Guatemalan Civil War years ago (1960-1996), the Guatemalan government is accused of committing genocide among the local Mayan population, by the Guatemalan people. Only recently, were the bodies allowed to be dug up with DNA testing done to identify who had been killed. But the Guatemalan government is still denying that there was a genocide. So while I was there, protests about government's denial were going on - local police were running around with riot shields and guns. There was a police officer on almost every street corner.

BUT, that didn't stop civilians from walking around carrying shotguns. People at tuck shops and corner shops were just standing or sitting, chillin' with loaded shotguns on their shoulders. The shops themselves are barred or caged, and you can't inspect the goods (mainly food) you want up close. You have to point to it so the shopkeeper can go to physically get it, then you pass your money and receive your purchase through a tiny hole. If such measures are needed, it's a telling sign of how often robberies happen.

Chicken buses (those cheap crowded buses) are cheap (1 Guatemala Quetzal for a ride, approximately $0.13 USD), but usually pretty squeezy and it's risky to take one of them because they usually get hijacked or assaulted by bandits - as I was told by a local Mayan.

City chicken buses are red, they are cheap but dangerous - avoid them

The city is also extremely polluted, with thick dust particles everywhere. Though ironically, there's always a blue sky. The pollution comes from dust particles and vehicle fumes, many of which do not have catalytic converters. Moreover, because the city has a higher than average elevation (1,500 m above sea level), it's colder and harder to breathe as well.

I also met a Taiwanese lady out of the blue. Apparently, she had been living there for 13 years on some humanitarian mission. She was so excited to see me and my companion, and began speaking to us in Chinese. However, she also began to worry for our safety, telling us how it wasn't safe and that we should be careful with our things.

Also, Guatemalan dogs might not be fed enough. I saw a pet dog chasing after pigeons, and after it caught one - it tried to EAT it! Its owner came along running and shouting at the dog, and forced the dog to spit the pigeon out.

Poor bird after his head got chewed on by a pet dog

People tend to have bad impressions of places like these before they get there, but are pleasantly surprised when they get there. North Korea is one such example. However, before I got to Guatemala City, other travelers had told me that going to Guatemela City was crazy and dangerous. Well, they weren't exactly wrong.

But as intimidating as the city was - speaking to the locals made it seem much friendlier. The picture I've painted above makes the city look like an unattractive grey and dark dystopia, but it's actually quite a nice place, if you weren't aware or subjected to any of its dangers. It also helps that I'm not an attractive female, and that I look like a hobo. Except for the fact that I was carrying a tripod stand and a huge camera, I was pretty much covered. The camera drew a lot of attention.

In Guatemala City, dress and look like a poor hobo, and you'll be just fine - but remember, sinkholes don't discriminate