Hotspots and travels
Armed conflicts and escalations that periodically break out in the world do not prevent tourists from travelling to combat zones despite numerous warnings from travel agencies. On the contrary, the demand for trips to the countries with combat zones sometimes significantly boosts. Today’s travellers lack some thrill. Quiet and slow paced life provokes the so-called “hunger for adrenaline”. The latter pushes men not just to visit combat zones, but experience the real danger in the territory of the conflict. People who really want to experience some shock and remember it all their lives will never die out.
To decide where to go, they visit websites of Foreign Affairs Ministries to find out a list of countries to stay away from. These are the ready-made routes. There is just one trouble — not everyone would survive this trip and your ride may turn into a one-way trip. A car (your own or rental) allows you not just to come closer to the combat zone, but also leave it as fast as possible if the situation suddenly worsens.
Weigh up the risks
If you step on the combat zone, you may not only lose your car, health but also life. In other words, this will be a one-way ticket trip. Anyone who is going on a trip to the combat zone should be acutely conscious of it. Lack of responsibility may result in a tragedy. That is why we recommend you travelling with no kids, people with the unstable psyche, pregnant women and the elderly. You may be taken captive by one of the conflicting parties. In this case, don’t even think about seeing your car again.
When you have an opportunity to travel alone, on the one hand, you make your own decisions and do not need to ask for anyone’s advice. On the other hand, if anything happens, there will be no one to save you. Thus, having someone who is eager to experience the same thrill as you and share it would come in very handy.
Ideally, at least one traveller should be familiar with basic medical training. In case of injury, this person can give first aid. He will also pack a first aid kit taking into consideration specifics of your trip (he will pack more hemostatic drugs, painkillers, and dressings).
Choosing a region for the extreme trip
Organized extreme tours are no more surprising nowadays. However, if you decide to go on a car journey, that means you travel rough, i.e. you don’t stick to predetermined date and terms. You plan your trip yourself.
Keep in mind that you can’t tour Donetsk and Lugansk regions by car because you’ll have to cross the battle line. Moreover, you can lose your car when caught in the crossfire or due to expropriation. In Vietnam, Israel, Ceylon (Sri-Lanka), Somali, etc. you can rent a car and if you are lucky, you can look at real fighting from the outside (risking your life).
If you reach out to the military (by giving them money), you can even try target practice using combat weapon.
In most cases, cars with civilians are not allowed to enter combat zones. Thus, a car will only help you to come closer to the hotspots. However, after you reach the desired place, you will have to go further at your own peril and risk. If you don’t want to leave the car (which is quite reasonable since no one guarantees that your car will remain in place), choose positions on the heights where you can watch the clash from your car using binoculars or night vision devices.
Even tracer bullets may fascinate such tourists apart from other emotions they may feel. One can often meet tourists travelling by car in the territories where the rebels were recently driven out or places left by regular forces. These tourists make detailed videos and photos of ruins and tragic scenery of destruction, devastation, approaching death.
A car for the extreme trip
If you are going on a trip to the combat zone, we recommend you to choose an off-roader since road conditions in hotspots are quite poor (if there are any). Thus, a four-wheel-drive car designed for off-road conditions will be a real treasure. Your car should be equipped with everything one may need to take on a long trip (food stock, fuel, first aid kit, burners, blankets, tents, sleeping bags and ground pads, tools, spare parts) as well as helmets both for the drivers and the passengers, body armours, comfortable shoes (something like mountaineering shoes or combat boots), rucksacks.
Mobile communication and Internet in combat zones may not function at all or function with interruptions. That is why it is better to find large roadmaps of the region you are going to visit.
Don’t forget to take your International Driving Permit. It won’t save you from the bullets or fragmentations, but help you to avoid problems with police enforcers and other representatives of the legal authorities. We recommend you to apply for the International Driving Permit prior to your car trip to a combat zone.
Take care and have a safe trip!
