True. Had a friend head to Central America to surf (I don't recall which country). The first cab he hailed took him to an alley where others were waiting and he was robbed of his passport, cash.
End of trip.
Please don't interpret this as my painting the whole of Central America as dangerous. This is anecdotal but perhaps a cautionary tale? I suspect if he had not grabbed a cab but rather found a bus or some other sort of mass transportation his whole trip could have turned out wonderfully.
Catching a cab from the airport in a new country after a flight is a pretty common thing to do no matter where you're going. Depending on flight length you might well be too tired to really navigate public transport in a new city in a foreign language.
Countries where you're likely to be kidnapped (or driven to a bad neighborhood, and charged a lot of money to get back, etc.). Russia, Brazil, Mexico, etc.
I don't travel to Russia anymore, and won't go to Rio or Mexico City without private security.
End of trip.
Please don't interpret this as my painting the whole of Central America as dangerous. This is anecdotal but perhaps a cautionary tale? I suspect if he had not grabbed a cab but rather found a bus or some other sort of mass transportation his whole trip could have turned out wonderfully.