In guide-books and the like you sometimes read about pervs
who spy on female travellers through keyholes or
strategically placed "peepholes" in hotel bedrooms and
bathrooms. Not to mention intrepid types who
accidentally-on-purpose let themselves into your hotel-room
in the middle of the night!
How much of a prob have women found this to be in reality?
I was thinking specifically of the Middle East but I'd be
interested to hear from anyone with stories to tell about
such unpleasant behaviour!
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Sorry about the spelling mistakes in my poting, just bad
typing.
It happened in Wokai (Togian Islands), Indonesia in 1995. A
German girl was staying at Wokai Cottages and one of the
staff (a guy about 20 years old) climbed through her
open bungalow window at night and was sitting on her bed
watching her when she woke up in the middle of the night.
She let out a scream, and the guy left the room. Apparently
the guy never touched her but was just watching her. In the
morning she reported the incident to the police. The guy
was fired from his job and I learned the following year that
the police beat him up in the police station for what he
had done. Another girl was taking a bus through Sulawesi
alone at night. She dozed off and when she woke up the man
sitting next to her was holding her hand. Harmless, but
still obviously an invasion of privacy. This type of
behavior is common in Indonesia.
[Timestamp: Tue 9 Feb, 13:35 Tasmanian Standard Time]
I actually didn't have this problem in 4m of travel in
the
ME (at least not that I know about!). Did encounter it
once in Malaysia (a Muslim guest house in Kota
Kinabalu)
though - actually it happened to my travelling
companion
and when she caught the guy and yelled at him, he
started
yelling back as if to say 'how dare you protest when I
am
just having a good healthy perv!'!!
[Timestamp: Tue 9 Feb, 15:40 Tasmanian Standard Time]
I had a tailor make a shirt for me. He suggested I try
it
on to see if it fit so I went upstairs to the "change
room"
and while I was in it realised they had rigged up a
mirror
across the room that tilted down so the guys in the
shop
could see me from DOWNSTAIRS! (I saw them in the mirror
gaping...) VERY UNPLEASANT and sneaky.
Also an Israeli guy in one hotel went around harassing
all
the single female travellers, knocking on their doors
continuously, pinching their bums in the hall and he
touched
my foot while he thought I was asleep. I was sleeping
on
the roof because it was so hot and heard him coming and
pretended to be asleep...when he touched my foot I
startled
him real good--bolted upright and screamed "don't you
EVER
fucking touch me again". He scurried away quickly to my
amusement. The next day myself and 2 other women he
harassed confronted him; he was verbally abusive so one
of
the women plowed her fist into his chin. Very
satisfying to
see.
A good idea I read further down--take a rubber doorstop
if
you might be staying in hotel rooms with
dodgey/inadequate
locks.
I was in a small pension (3 bedrooms) near Frankfurt sharing
a room in a private home with another woman from my
office. We had just returned from a tradeshow and had
changed clothes to go to dinner when the elderly (about 70)
man who owned the house threw the door to our room open.
Wasn't dangerous because the other 2 rooms were occupied by
men from our company, but you gotta wonder why he used his
key and opened the door when he knew darn well we were in
the room. He didn't speak English and we didn't speak good
enough German to confront him, but we yelled and gave him
mean looks. Bring a doorstop
I was resting on my bed in my undies after a shower, in a
guesthouse in Delhi when I looked up to see an eyeball
peering down at me from a broken window far above (led to
3rd floor stairs somehow). I yelled, he ran, and that was
it. The owners were very unconcerned, and just commented
that "it was probably a young man visiting from the country
and he had never seen an American girl." They seemed to
think it was perfectly fine for him to peek in the interest
of cultural exchange! ;-)
I actually found muslim men to be very respectful of women.
The only freaky experience I ever had was actually in
Canada and a woman. I was staying at a backpackers in
Vancouver and this woman on the bunk above mine kept peering
over at me when she thought I was asleep. Harmless but
freaky. The other girls in the dorm said she stared at them
in the showers.
From: Dr. Sushanta Roy Choudhury ,27 Dum-Dum Park, Calcutta-700 055, India. at 1050 hrs IST on Friday 12th Feb 1999 from Calcutta, India.
______________________________________________
Would you kindly let me know by ordinary mail the status of my travel-info letter-package on India/South India that I sent to your Victoria address by courier post on 14th Jan 1999?
I do not have an e.mail address, so please write to me by ordinary post.
Apart from sending considerable travel information in that package, I had also requested to be considered for co-authorship for LP-India/South India guidebooks and for
other possible future book projects.
i'm currently finishing off my uni degree this semester &
heading over to UK at the end of June. I'm meeting up with
friends and we're going to go on a 3 month tour on the
eurail system. This is going to cost about $1,600
Australian dollars for a Youth pass of unlimited travel for
the entire 3 months. I've never been to the UK or Europe &
i was just wandering if Eurail was the best travel option.
i'd also like to find out a bit more about the European
festivals that are on around that time, e.g oktoberfest,
the running of the bulls and more partying festivals that
just can't be missed.
After my 3 month tour i'm going to look for work in the UK
& i was just wndering how difficult it is to get a european
passport. My father was born in Germany and my mother was
born in Poland. I'm trying to contact the consulates of
these countries but was just wandering if anyone had any
hands on experience. Both my parents and i are Australian
citizens and i just need to find out if and how i can get
dual citizenship or access to a european passport.
I know i can get a working visa for the UK but a eurpoean
passport would be so much better for work in europe.
I'm looking forward to the trip of my life and spending the
new years millenium in a foreign rockin town, any
information would be so much appreciated!!!!!!THANX
i'm planning on doing a european tour for 3 months on the
eurail system. it's going to cost about $1,600 Australian
dollars for 3 months of unlimited travel between the 17
countires offered.
just wandering if anyone thinks it's a good deal or if
there's other ways to get about.
any suggestions would be much appreciated!!!THANX.......
Anybody with Africa-experience?
I'm planning to start in Egypt and I got 3m time. What's
better: Checking out Egypt for 3m or travelling down to,
let's say, Djibouti (where I've got family)?
The problem is that I have to get back to Egypt for my
flight back to Holland. Any comments (exept for my
spelling)...
Dear Anna,
My wife and I travelled one year from Bali to Europe. The
trouble started from North India onwards, Pakistan,
Afganistan, Iran and Turkey. She sufered a lot but did not
let it go. She knew she was there because she wanted to be
and took their culture with respect.But they have a
different way of seeing women in the society specially a
Western one. They touched her (with me by her side) and
somethings almost smashed her on the face because she tried
to argue with them. I remember once in Pakistan. I was alone
talking about soccer with the males in a Bank and everyone
was talkative and happy. When Mirian arrived everyone was
silence and stopped talking.
She was always dressed up properly. Scarve on her head, long
leaves and long pijamas. But they new she was an Western
woman.
I have learned one thing that I did know at that time. You
never walk hand-and-hand with a woman in the streets.
It is never too late to learn. I went to Morroco last year
and nothing happened to her. She loved all the countries she
have gone to and forgot the bad things that had happended.
G
A couple (unmarried) I know spent one night in a guesthouse
in Quetta, and two or three times during the night the
landlord let himself into the room - presumably in the hope
of catching them having sex.
Who out there has ever been to Mexico? I have and it's fine
for a visit but I would'nt want to live there. I had to
hussle the streets, live either in huts made of palm leaves
ora 12 by 12 block room. Try that for two years. The good
is that Inow speak fluent sanish. Now there's an experiance.
seeya,
Tinker Bell
I was in Indonesia about five years ago and had a few
problems with local men peeping through the windows. Be
sure to check your hotel room for any extraneous holes in
the wall as well as watch out for the key hole. This is
NOT an uncommon occurance in Indonesia!!
I lived in Morocco for two years. My experience with Arab
countries is that they are often more respectful of women
and tend to keep their distance on transportation and in
other public situations. I was never groped or grabbed the
whole time I lived there. If you do feel invaded upon,
just shout "hashooma!!" which means "shame". It works.
India is another story. Indian men are quick, slick and
sure to touch you. Be tough and remember that eventually
you can leave. Try to focus on the good aspects of Indian
culture. Remember, for all the awful encounters you have,
there are thousands of nice Indian people you passed on the
street, but never had the chance to meet.
Many cheap accom places in Sumatra Indonesia had strategic
holes in the walls/doors. We'd take a good look around in
the daylight - you'd see the sunlight flooding in, and then
stuff tissues in the holes.
In Kuala Lumpur we stayed at a cheap hotel with a bathroom
down the hall. The room next to the bathroom had a big fat
Muslim guy in it. As you'd walk past to the bathroom he'd
always have his door open and gawk at you. One day I only
had a sarong on going for a shower and he grabbed me and
pulled me into his room - I was so terrified, and my
husband didn't hear anything as he had a walkman on!
I managed to kick him and escape - but it really shook me
up. We complained to the manager and never saw the big guy
again. YUK!
the only problem i've ever had was at the first guesthouse
i ever checked into. There were strategic holes in the door
(i stuffed them with tissue when i noticed the light
streaming through them from my balcony light in the
evening). I caught the owner in my room as I returned that
night and failed to get an explanation out of him for why
he was there. I decided to find a new place to stay the
next morning and that night awoke to the owner letting
himself into my room again , and after a few yelled
expletives he made a swift exit. I left the next morning
and have never had any other problems at other losmen or
homestays. But I always use a door stop now!!!!
has anyone found a problem in the western countries, like
UK, France, Netherlands? I just want to be prepared thanks.
Looking for info on family travel (2 adults,2 kids, 15 yrs
&11 yrs) in Italy. We plan to spend 3 weeks, end of June
and two weeks in July. Renting small car. How busy is
Italy at that time? Can we find inexpensive accomadations
in major cities or in the Lombardy area without
reservations? Hope to hear from someone who's been there
This thread seems to have lost its way a bit, but I'm
actually replying to the original posting, Peek-a-boo.
The only experience of this (at least that I know about)
was when I was travelling with another female friend, and
we met an English guy in Israel who persuaded us that we
needed a male to look after us in Egypt. We thought he was
a bit creepy, but also thought he was probably right as we
were quite young and inexperienced travellers at the time,
so he came with us. The first night all 3 of us slept in
the same room. According to my friend, in the morning this
guy woke up early and was taking photos of me in bed while
I was still asleep. She didn't want to confront him in case
it made things awkward for the rest of the trip, but after
that we insisted on separate rooms. I guess the moral of
this story is be careful about who you share a room with,
and trust your instincts.
With respect to Peek-a-boos I have travelled a fair bit in
India alone and with my boyfriend. We have been more
bothered with being put rooms with peepholes, young men
barging into our room without knocking than when I have
travelled alone. There is lots of curiosity (in India
anyway) about couples of mixed ethnicity so if you and your
partner fall into that category... be warned!
Definitely recommend a rubber doorstop, has prevented people
perving in Manaus and parts of Asia. Now won't travel
without!