# The Possible Dangers of Collecting in Remote Areas of Foreign Countries..



## MaartenSFS (Sep 6, 2008)

Oke, yesterday I got back from an amazing trip to some deep bamboe and broadleaf rainforest. We found plenty of wildlife (Although it's difficult to completely satisfy me ) and explored some hidden minority hilltribe villages. All was going well (Except that it was raining and some the roads were a mess whilst we were driving motorcycles) until on the way back home..

     As I was drinking the ice tea that I had just purchased I see my mate John's eyes go wide - a look of shock. I turn around and holy sh*t a cheap mini van screeches to a stop and about seven or eight men with swords come out and start randomly hacking at this one man not five meters away from us.

I turn back to John and say: "John, don't look at them. Let's go - NOW." But John wasn't listening. They did see us, but they had already finished their deed and were back in the car and sped off.

We stayed several more minutes to check the severity of the wounds and make sure that the local bystanders had called the police. The entire bussling little community had done exactly nothing to help. If we had pulled out our cameras or something I may not have had the chance to tell you this story. 

He wasn't moving for a long time, was lying in a crumpled heap, and blood was pouring out onto the pavement from somewhere in his darkened clothes, but eventually he stirred and I heard him swearing in a low voice. The man survived the attack (If he made it to the hospital on time) and, according to John, was saved by his belt buckle, which was cut in half. These high-quality stainless steel swords were the length of one of my legs (I'm 1.92m tall), had serated edges, and the tip was curved and very sharp, designed for one thing only - to kill.

The moral of the story is not that you shouldn't go out and explore. By all means, go! But be weary and NEVER try to interfere more than just showing your pressence, because you never know what is going on behind the scenes. Our pressence may have motivated them to leave earlier and not finish the job (Or they were just teaching him a lesson).

In this corrupt society there really is very little that we could have done. We could have gotten the license plate of the car (in retrospect), but when the enforcers of law are the mafia, or at least some part of it, who do you tell? Especially when you are a foreigner in a land with questionable ethics unlike our own. Stay calm and use your brain when in these situations and you should be alright (At least in China).

Have I mentioned that they had $%&@^# swords?!!!


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 6, 2008)

O, and many countries have areas that foreigners are not allowed to go to. If you still do enter these areas... uh... be careful? I don't even know where we are allowed to go, but so far it's been great fun!


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## syndicate (Sep 6, 2008)

omg thats crazy.glad your ok!


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 7, 2008)

Thanks. I still can't believe it! But it doesn't detract from the trip. This area of China has a lot of good wilderness areas. Supposedly there are bear, monkeys, wolves, wild boar, and [remotely] possibly clouded leopards..


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## barabootom (Sep 7, 2008)

Sounds like a horrible thing to have to watch.  I've always believed the biggest danger in any larger city or remote area is people.   You can meet some incredibly nice people but you are also at the mercy of local thugs.  One time I was robbed at 2 pm on a bright sunny day leaving a subway station in Mexico City.  There were 50 people nearby and nobody did anything.  There was a policeman 20 feet away on the corner and after I lost my money I ran to him confused why he didn't do anything.  He told me that the area where I was robbed wasn't his responsibility, and that I had to report the problem to the policeman inside the subway stop.  I couldn't get any help but I was furious.  As I walked away, a 20 year old Mexican came up behind me and told me the police protect the gang at that stop and I shouldn't make a fuss.  I ignored him and went about a block away and found a policeman.  I demanded to know where the police station was because I wanted to report what happened.  He got on his radio and within 5 minutes there were 20 police around me.  Most on bicycles but a few in cars.  One of the officers in one of the cars told me I shouldn't waste my time reporting what happened because the thieves were long gone and I couldn't give a good description and I would waste all day at the station and nothing would happen.  I was surprised the police didn't want me to report anything and I got spooked with so many police standing so close to me.  I half expected them to push me into a car and take me away.  So I backed away, quickly hailed a taxi and got out of there.  So much for justice.  No matter where you are you are at risk.  I would agree it is best to use caution.  I laugh when I read the US has a problem with incarceration because we have more people in jail than any other country.  The truth is overall our justice system works better and our police are far better.


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 7, 2008)

Wouw, I think you are luckier that some people I know that had their coach hijacked in Mexico at gunpoint and every single thing on them save their undergarmets stolen. Today my martial arts teacher told me that last February he witnessed a similar incident on a square not far from my martial arts school. When I described the blades to him he said that they had the same thing and that their victim wasn't as fortunate as the one I saw. Both were also in broad daylight. I thought the law enforcement in the West was bad too, but at least they aren't on the side of the criminals!

I forgot who said this, but: "Who will guard the guards themselves?"


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## Drachenjager (Sep 10, 2008)

MaartenSFS said:


> Wouw, I think you are luckier that some people I know that had their coach hijacked in Mexico at gunpoint and every single thing on them save their undergarmets stolen. Today my martial arts teacher told me that last February he witnessed a similar incident on a square not far from my martial arts school. When I described the blades to him he said that they had the same thing and that their victim wasn't as fortunate as the one I saw. Both were also in broad daylight. I thought the law enforcement in the West was bad too, but at least they aren't on the side of the criminals!
> 
> I forgot who said this, but: "Who will guard the guards themselves?"


another good reason that the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed...


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 11, 2008)

I digress, China is much safer than America because it lacks this privilege. Imagine if a billion disgruntled Chinese all had weapons.. So has the government. Because I did nothing to interfere with the mafia I was in no danger. Had I interfered, I would be dead. In China you don't just get gutted for walking down the wrong street at the wrong time, but for doing stupid things and pissing the wrong people off - which, if you have half a brain, is easy to avoid.


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## crpy (Sep 11, 2008)

MaartenSFS said:


> I digress, China is much safer than America because it lacks this privilege. Imagine if a billion disgruntled Chinese all had weapons.. So has the government. Because I did nothing to interfere with the mafia I was in no danger. Had I interfered, I would be dead. In China you don't just get gutted for walking down the wrong street at the wrong time, but for doing stupid things and pissing the wrong people off - which, if you have half a brain, is easy to avoid.


Until the gov does you in for spitting on a picture of the party leader,


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 11, 2008)

crpy said:


> Until the gov does you in for spitting on a picture of the party leader,


Haha, doesn't happen. People get executed for fraud and corruption, though, which I think is a good thing. Surprisingly, China is quite free if you can afford it. ;P If you can't and are not a minority it sucks. I wouldn't call it communism, though.


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## crpy (Sep 11, 2008)

MaartenSFS said:


> Haha, doesn't happen. People get executed for fraud and corruption, though, which I think is a good thing. Surprisingly, China is quite free if you can afford it. ;P If you can't and are not a minority it sucks. I wouldn't call it communism, though.


One thing I pride myself in is absorbing the beauty and history of countries I have visited. I have not been to Asia, but I know its beautiful. So I'll just shut up about it


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 11, 2008)

crpy said:


> One thing I pride myself in is absorbing the beauty and history of countries I have visited. I have not been to Asia, but I know its beautiful. So I'll just shut up about it


Don't worry, nowhere's perfect (Here is far from it). You fell for a common stereotype hyped by the Americans. You may be forgiven for this..


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## Odinp13 (Sep 11, 2008)

So much for vacationing in 3rd world countries.


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## crpy (Sep 11, 2008)

MaartenSFS said:


> Don't worry, nowhere's perfect (Here is far from it). You fell for a common stereotype hyped by the Americans. You may be forgiven for this..


I wont take up your thread but it would be interesting to sit down and have a philosophical talk with you sometime, maybe over some rice wine


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## Sooner (Sep 11, 2008)

The sword part blows my mind.

I guess it scores style points..if you really want to show that you don't mess with the mafia or a gang, a bunch of sword-wielding thugs will be more terrifying than guns.

On a lighter note, a mob of guys running will be terrifying as in this case:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE1-i57TBBM


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 11, 2008)

crpy said:


> I wont take up your thread but it would be interesting to sit down and have a philosophical talk with you sometime, maybe over some rice wine


Haha, since I haven't any $$$ you are welcome to visit anytime.  Surprisingly seeing that hasn't really affected me more than being more knowledgable about *swords*.


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 11, 2008)

Sooner said:


> The sword part blows my mind.
> 
> I guess it scores style points..if you really want to show that you don't mess with the mafia or a gang, a bunch of sword-wielding thugs will be more terrifying than guns.
> 
> ...


It definetely blew my friend's mind. I think it took him a while to "get over it". I think that it was surreal when I turned around and just see them hacking away at this bloke, almost in slow motion (Adrenaline). I would prefer to see someone mowed down by guns any day - this was f***ed up.

I have seen this Japanese programme before. I especially like the last one where everyone ducks. :razz:


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 12, 2008)

Odinp13 said:


> So much for vacationing in 3rd world countries.


Third world countries are where you probably get most of your pets from. It's not always the locals fault that their country is in turmoil because they are uneducated and don't know any different or better. It's like a glimpse of our primitive selves. Coming to China was the best thing I ever did (Though this country has its fair share of problems).


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## The Snark (Sep 12, 2008)

This exemplifies cultural difference. A few minutes ago an elderly woman rode past our house carrying a 36 inch sword like machete. When we cleared the brush in around the garden plot I deferred the heavy hacking and slashing to my 55 year old mother-in-law and 2 10 year old boys who are much more adept swinging large knives. Mom or the kids are much better at sharpening the cutlery than I am and I have done it for many years.
Everyone carries some form of large knife here. In the rural areas it is almost mandatory. My jeep carries a 5 pound machete. On two occasions the local police have borrowed this massive concealed weapon to help clear tree branches from roads.

The young studs, the idiot squads as I term them, simply take this orientation one step further. You can buy some version of a katana like sword in hundreds of stores, or from the carts the vendors push along the streets. 

I found it amusing, the difference between American and rural Asian mindset. Horrendous deadly weapon in one place, tool of the trade for daily life in another.


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## MaartenSFS (Sep 13, 2008)

The Snark said:


> This exemplifies cultural difference. A few minutes ago an elderly woman rode past our house carrying a 36 inch sword like machete. When we cleared the brush in around the garden plot I deferred the heavy hacking and slashing to my 55 year old mother-in-law and 2 10 year old boys who are much more adept swinging large knives. Mom or the kids are much better at sharpening the cutlery than I am and I have done it for many years.
> Everyone carries some form of large knife here. In the rural areas it is almost mandatory. My jeep carries a 5 pound machete. On two occasions the local police have borrowed this massive concealed weapon to help clear tree branches from roads.
> 
> The young studs, the idiot squads as I term them, simply take this orientation one step further. You can buy some version of a katana like sword in hundreds of stores, or from the carts the vendors push along the streets.
> ...


Good point, but I'm sure the idiot squads (Xiao hun hun as they call them here) use them for more than just hacking through the bush.  They are basically street gangs. They just wouldn't cut up a Westerner because they lack something called testicles.


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