In light of the very tragic, very sad news of the four gay men who were killed by a serial murderer in the UK, I offer the following advice. I got this advice from my mom, refined message from Lonely Planet guild books and field testing through out the world by me - I've done a lot of "wing it, seat of the pants, on my own" traveling. Do not take anything from strangers and eat / drink it. In the Lonely Planet guidebook for Thailand it indicated a favorite ploy of thief's was to offer you candy generally in for form of chocolate. Yep even from a wrapped candy bar. The chocolate may be laced with a drug to make you go to sleep, so once asleep, the thief can take what ever he/she wants. This rule also applies to soda pop, mainly glass bottle form. It's very easy to seal a glass bottle with a cap. This also means mixed drinks / beer at bars / pubs. And if you go to the bathroom, leaving your beverage unattended, don't drink it when you come back. (I generally take my beverage with me into the bathroom. ) Well isn't that interesting. By chance the number of posts I submitted to ECs, with this posts, is "666" http://emptyclosets.com/forum/curre...tears-heart-breaking-gay-men-murdered-uk.html
Word up, don't take anything from strangers period. It could be laced with drugs or other chemicals that could be lethal. And never hop into a stranger's car (unless its a taxi, lmao). I know this sounds like Grade 1 6-year-old shit, but you'd be surprised what people would do these days. Stay safe, y'all <3
I take drinks from strangers in bars/clubs, but only when I see the bartender make it/open the bottle though, and then I always keep an eye on it. I generally take my drink with me to the bathroom too, or leave it with a friend. But that's more because I'm afraid someone will take it, not because I'm afraid it'll be drugged When I end up at someone's place, I tend to only drink tap water. So yeah bottom line - always keep an eye on your drink. Should be common sense.
This "one bad apple in the bowl of perfect fruit" is sad. I've hitched hiked in many parts of the world, yes even in Germany, timo. Each time I weigh living life and being safe. I stop for hitch hikers and give them rides. 99% of the time it's just fine. And I invite people to stay at my home when they are in need. Why do I do this? Because I want to be human towards others and I want to be treated as a human by others. I will not let the bad apples set the life agenda. There's a certain level of safety when interacting with others that must be maintained until you know the person you are interacting with.
