That's unfortunate. I was in Venezuela for about 4 months total (2 trips) walking around Caracas at night occasionally solo and never had one problem. Ditto for Colombia, although i did see people killed there (apparently drug related).

There were 2 travellers i met in Merida who were robbed in the street, but that was the extent of it.

IMO safer to walk the streets of Caracas than many areas in New York.

Sounds a lot like my trip to Sao Paulo. In the car on the way to the hotel we got held up by gunmen on motorcycles. Definitely put a damper on the visit.

Chile

http://www.fuckingnikki.com/sanpedro/sanpedro37.jpg

Southern too...

That sounds great!

Ok Goa is going on the "look into more" list for Asia :thumbsup

i've been to brasil 3 times, all to fortaleza. i haven't hit rio or sao paulo, the main tourist cities, but from what i've seen brasil is amazing IF you have the right people with you. that means a local group and body guards. its gotten pricier since i started going, but is still relatively inexpensive. i've always had a great time, the food is great, the people for the most part are friendly and the beaches/areas are picturesque. but i've always had bodyguards and the locals to take us to the right spots and keep eye over us.

pipe crew came with me last year, i think he enjoyed it. we did a summer carnivale party called fortal, like mardi x10. i did carnivale this past march, and i hope to do fortal again this summer. pipe crew also did venezuela, said similar things about the safety things. he didn't have anything happen to him, but he had the right people with him keeping an eye over him.

i think anywhere you go, try to go somewhere that you can trust someone to really get the full experience.

also if you go to brasil, start studying portuguese, they don't speak a word of english down there. lot of hand signals, translating going on cause i don't know anything besides "oui", their "hello"

Morocco is an excellent time. North Africa in general is my favorite place to be.
Start in Tangier, take a ferry from Algeciras in southern Spain if you have time.

Tangier is an extension of Madrid or Barcelona in many ways. Best opium tea i ever had was there. you can buy it in the old market. look for the old fat ladies selling herbs...keep it on the down low. Tangier at sunset on hasisheeshay is a wonderful memory...

In the kasbah beware of cons... In general I would say its worth 2-5 bucks to hire 1 fly to keep 1000 off you...either that or be fluent french, spanish or arabic. i know the last. little of first two...keep a sharp instrument, not knife, close at hand at night in old medina...and be hard. softies get taken for more than a ride. not up to it? go in a tourist group. boring but safer.

liquor is sold by jews but dont get wasted in public. drink in restaurants or in your room.
hookers are usually in the sidestreet cafes and restaurants off the main boulevard...you will recognize them. for the most part, only chicks who will openly check you out.

Hang out in cafes, hike around Cap Spartel...take a taxi or bus down to Larache is cool as well...

Berbers towns along Med coast are fun but pretty wild. Be prepared for a lot of fighting. Hand to hand. Keeps you alert...its all for fun.

Some cool art galleries and what remains of the old literary scene can be ok. Most are dead or moved on. In tangier.

Going south, take a train... do the overnight sleeper or 2nd class, kill 2 birds with one stone - travel/sleep.

check roman ruins...mind blowing...volibulis, fez, around northern coast...

Marrakech is my favorite city. Next to Fes, next to Tangier, lol.

if you have time, test your guts and go up into the Middle Atlas. Women are amazingly beautiful...but berber dudes are hardcore badass. Got into a hotel fight once there, Started inside went outside...cops...aint no cops up there. lol.
Met a couple working girls who followed my partner and i from rabat, the capitol. Girls were trying to pose as journalists, no one bought it. Got ugly but lead, a few days later to an orgy up in the mountains...chicks look asian up there. saudis fly in all the time, drop 50k$ US and buy one or 3. they are really, really, beautiful. really.

These/berbers are the dudes who stopped romans dead in their tracks... and just about every other invader since.

Marrakech is where africa meets arab world meets mediterranean...
beautiful women, great food. Place to hang is djemaa el fna. Easy to get laid - tourists and locals...But dont act like a cock on the walk...they will knock you down with datura leaves or knives...worst is datura leaves...
ex-wife was from there. Met her at a "leila."

Feeling bold - go into the sahara...

I've taken trucks and land rovers into western sahara, mauritania, mali and east into chad and sudan...its a fun ride. my cover was counting sheep for CIA bt was actually recording music and dance for film and music companies. still my side gig.

plan on several months....key to morocco is stay in few places long time or go for a long time period. if you have only 1-2 weeks hit 3-4 towns max. otherwise, not as fun.

if you are cool, they will know it. if you are not, they will know it. you will meet many guys in the street never been to school a day in their lives but they fluently speak 8-10 languages...

Been to Siwa, place of cleopatra's well...thats at Libya/Egypt border. wait for that trip.
If you go now, they will think you are radio america/usis.

Japan is cool, have lived there...take money. You will need lots unless you slum it...and i would not...perhaps. ;)

DWB has Thai covered... I like Malay and Burma border areas too.

Checkout Central America, Jaco, Costa Rica and Panama City, Panama are awesome quick trips.

Thanks for the input guys :thumbsup

Costa Rica looks lovely :thumbsup that is on my list aswell.

Gosh, how to pick just one of the beach towns in Venezuela... I grew up there and you would need at least a month to see all the beauty that Venezuela has to offer, cant complain about that currency exchange either!

Been to all 3 actually:)

Thailand,S.Korea,Singapoore and Japan are must see in Asia
Mauricius,Madagascar,S.Africa rep,Egypt for history and Maroco in Africa
And S.America is just entirely nice:)