My scariest story was when I was hitchhiking in Japan. I told the guy I just want to go down the road X as long as he does, but to stay on it so I could catch another ride. He drove off it, into a small town, parked the car, and just sat there, not saying a word. Then he called someone on the phone, and told me "6 more minutes", and then again, didnt say a word. I secretly grabbed my knife from the backpack, almost certain I was being kidnapped -------We were parked in front of a bakery, he was waiting for it to open, and bought me some local famous pastries that he was really proud of and coffee, and then we returned to the road.
My shocking experiences were getting arrested in Liberia, spending 2 nights in a Dominican Republic jail, and jumping out of a paddy wagon in the middle of the night in a remote place of Bolivia. When I was a young woman, I did what you are doing but without the technology. I am now 80 years old. I don't regret the 65 countries I went to alone, nor the time and money spent to do it. Life is only once and we must follow our own star.
Wow!! My favorite type of person on this planet are travelers esp women travelers esp solo female travelers and i love hearing stories from older female travelers!! So glad you followed your star!
@carolehartley7716 . Liberia is my beloved country, and as Liberians, we take pride in our genuinely warm and welcoming nature. With that in mind, may I kindly inquire about the circumstances that led to your arrest in Liberia?
My only near death experience was when I was visiting my husband's family in Egypt (I'm from the Netherlands) and I got so sick there that I almost died and was fighting for my life for 7 months. Collapsed lung, body shutting down and losing over 25 kilos in that time. From doctor to doctor but only getting antibiotics, now antibiotics resistant, hospital didnt even have me committed even though I was choking on my own blood. It was in Corona time. Later found out I could've had TB but no doctor who checked me for that. Now very hesitant to go back to Egypt again, and with all that corruption there too. But happy to be alive 🙏
Whoever is reading this, I wanted to say I hope you have a great day and that God loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die on a cross for your sins and He rose again from the dead three days later. God Bless! And also, He doesn't want you to go to Hell, but He wants you to go to Heaven with Him but you have to be Saved. How do I get Saved you might ask? Here are the steps below on how to get Saved! 1. Believe that God sent His Son (Jesus) to die on a cross for your sins and that He rose again from the dead 3 days later. 2. Confess to Jesus that you are a sinner and ask forgiveness for your sins and Turn away from your sins. If you sin again after asking forgiveness of that sin, ask forgiveness again and try not to do it ever again. Jesus will forgive you! 3. Ask Jesus to come into your heart and your life and for Him to be your Lord and Savior forever. 4. Build a Personal Relationship with Jesus by Praying and Reading the Bible daily and Live for Him Forever. I'm Praying for you and you are loved (Romans 10:9-13)
My scariest story was when I was in Cape Town South Africa. I was with one of my good friends from work and we ended up having to stay in a hostel because all of the hotels were sold out due to a gold mining convention. We were only there for four days. On night one nothing really happened at the hostel just a normal night. On night two these two guys got in a crazy argument and went outside and one of the guys completely beat up the other one. The worker at the hostel said the police resolved the issue and that everything will be ok. On night three around 11pm the same guys were arguing again and went outside again and the same dude got beat up. The next morning around 8am there was screaming coming from the kitchen which was right outside our room. My friend went out there to see what happened and the guy who kept getting beat up was lying dead on the floor. The guys got into another argument and one of them spit in the other's face so he grabbed the kitchen knife and stabbed him in the chest three times. I remember locking the door to the room freaking out not knowing where the guy was and how I was going to get out.
one of my most shocking stories was when i was in south africa and we happened to be at one of the most dangerous streets/parts of the city where there was heavy gang banging and prostitution. it was pretty late and me and my team started hearing people making whistling noises wherever we would go. we couldn’t see anyone but we heard them passing signals in a sense. and the locals who were with us immediately told us we had to leave so we ran into our cars and left. and apparently the gangs and pimps who ran that place were planning to assault and kill us. we just nearly got it.
I'm South African, under no circumstances do you walk around at night anywhere in the country. I'm 23 and I have only ever walked around at night twice. Also people target tourists because they have a lot of money compared to regular South Africans.
Anywhere near gangs and pimps in the world is not safe no matter where you are in the world. If you stick to the more decent areas you will always run into to trouble..so no surprise. But sorry for any trauma
My dude says he needs to take care about kidnaps, robbers and safety because he is in São Paulo, then he proceeds to record a 20 min video in the middle of the street and even got his shoe polished. I think this says a lot about the reality of the place
@@MyahCat824 im from Brazil I’ve been to more than half of the states and never felt once in danger, I’ve been to São Paulo many times, on the other hand I’ve been to 34 other countries and in many I had strange situations that could end up bad
I have a friend who went to Sao Paulo a few months ago, and they were just walking on a seemingly chill street when suddenly bullets started raining. She and other passers-by ran and took cover inside a Burger King lying on the floor, absolutely terrified.
My only travel near death has been…I was in Marrakech, Morocco last September. And I flew out the morning of the major earthquake that ended up killing 2,900 people. The airbnb that I was staying in collapsed and was destroyed. The craziest part is, I had to fly out a day early to be at a wedding but I had intentions of staying another day or 2 which means I would have been caught in the earthquake (the September 8th earthquake)
Awesome video and stories! 2 years ago me and my girlfriend were wild camping through Colombia and we didnt know anything about the country. We just bought a tent and got into it. On the first day we got kidnapped near baranquilla by a gang with guns, and we had to give all our stuff to them. Next day we without money hitchhiked a banana carrying boat to the nearest island and lived, slept on the top of a a wooden bird watching station for 2 weeks until we could get some money. The locals were very friendly towards us and gave us food multiple times. After that while wild camping in rural colombia we have seen amazing nature, but we also got robbed 2 more times and were mistaken for Haitian migrants while we were wild camping near the Darian Gap near the small town of Capurgana. We then decided to go to Ecuador to have some less intensive experiences. For 2 months it was pretty calm and safe and we felt we found a great place to do wild camping, in the amazon and in the Andes, then one night when we were on the coast near Manta in a completely abandoned part, 2 men with guns and machete dragged us out of the tent, I could escape but they grabbed my girlfriend and put knife to her neck, so I ran back with a huge bamboo and tried to fight them, but they hit me with the machete. After this incident it took us 1 month to get home to europe without a phone, money or bank card. It is still an amazing journey and we cant wait to explore South America more but we learned a lot and these lessons are invaluable. Both Colombia and Ecuador are amazing countries, with the best nature and kind hearted people we ever met, as we learned these counties are just not suitable for wild camping, especially the coastal area. Happy Travels! :)
Oh recently a solo traveler from Philippines was drugged and robbed on his last day in Colombia,. He was drugged in the bar of the hotel he was staying, then stole his belongings inside his room and he woke up in the hospital which they suspiciously trying to harvest his kidney
@@mimathegreat6202 Yes, it's a shame but it happens fairly often in Colombia. Even in cities like Medellin, Cartagena. But it is much better than it was in the 80-90s
Yeah, it’s irresponsible to take your girlfriend to places like this. With that, I almost took my girlfriend to one of the most forbidden places in Myanmar until the locals talked us out of it. Looking back, I was pretty daft to have considered doing this.
You should take that as a warning and that you were lucky to make it out. Don't go back! You've been there, done that and survived. There are many more cool places to see.
My scariest story was when I was in Cambodia with a group of people from school, where we did volunteer work. One of the people in my group had a manic episode that happened after we went to one of the killing fields, which was where the Khmer Rouge killed thousands of people. She started having delusions to the point where she started writing with a permanent marker on her dress. I also heard that she fled the hospital she was detained at and I think it just shows how barebones Cambodian healthcare is. It was scary for all of us just because there was so much uncertainty in our group
@@dova3282Does Haiti look like a vacation to you? Also..people like you can never be pleased with what you’ve got. You make Drew sound like he’s not doing these videos for the greater good. Sit back down will you
"We are all the same" such a great realization. Thank you for your window on the world. Your episodes are very hopeful and inspiring. God bless you in your travels.
I am leaving this comment here so that after some hours, days, weeks, months or years when someone likes or comment on it, I will be reminded to watch this video again
Man, you’ve got serious guts to explore Haiti like that. Thanks for sharing these rare street videos-really appreciate seeing a side of the world most of us never get to witness.
You are unironically living my dream, one day I will have the options to travel (not every country though haha), love your channel so much! You're also such a wholesome and lovely individual, stay stafe
I have two scary travel experiences: I drove from Kerala to Coorg, where the road was completely foggy. Suddenly, I saw a cow directly in front of me. I braked hard, and the car stopped just inches away from the cow. While returning from Ladakh, I passed through Kashmir. There is a city called Kabul, and as a traveler, I thought of trying some food from this city. However, when I entered the main town, I saw people in black clothes and gowns. It was Moharram for Muslims. The police had put up a barricade in front of the main town and told me to leave quickly as the place was not safe. Another policeman told me that an Indian army officer had been killed there in a shooting the day before. I left the place as quickly as I could.
insane how I used to watch you back in 2018/19 and I still remember most of these stories from your videos especially the Chad one lol. You taught me about so many countries I've never heard of before so i wanna thank you and to see you've gotten 4 million subs now is insane. Keep going dude
My scariest travel experience was when I saw a pile of rat carcasses in the kitchen of a restaurant in Guangdong, their staff secretly told me that those rats would be turned into beef steaks later! You have completed five tasks that 99% of humans cannot do, and you are worthy of respect! Thank you for sharing your valuable experience and knowledge, you really did a great job! 👍🤩👏
@@SDArgo_FoC They put some spices and chemical raw materials next to it, and the taste will not make you doubt it. He said they have been making it like this for several years! Because I often go there and tip the employee every time, so he secretly told me!
My scariest travel experience; I'm 70 now, I was 21, female, 1st travel alone, France, Paris. On arrival, my purse stolen, no money, couldn't speak French. So sat in streets all day, night, got taken to the Arab quarter, but OK, nothing bad happend, just kept there. Finally got away, got to agency, found job, aupair outside Paris, the man collected me. I don't know how I got the job, I was dirty, smelly, starving, broke. But boy was I relieved. I've never been to Paris again. Sorry for that.
If you are in an emergency situation - like that bus crash, - please do NOT try to bring your baggage with you. It will slow down your escape and the escape of people behind you.. If that bus had caught fire, bringing your luggage could have cost you your lifeor it could have cost the life of someone behind you.
I am always wondering how Drew travels around the world so smoothly since we see nice flawless videos but behind that is so much hard work and stress and etc. You are insanely brave. Thanks for your great work and expanding our horizons.
I wouldn’t take $1 billion to go to the places you mentioned. I love to travel and I’m curious about aforementioned countries but I’ll wait until they’re more stable. So emotionally moving to see these places through your eyes and heart, thank you 🤍
What happens when you die because a lot of people say you just get a free marshmallow and you come back alive and you have to roast that and eat that and then you have the marshmallow and the experience.
It's so odd to see you walking down the streets I'm SO familiar with, since I live nearby, while showing all this footage from other places - and these streets are foreign for you! Hahaha One thing I can say tho: I keep thinking how you're super safe over there and not in a sketchy area at all, however I live here so I'm used to it. I usually say we develop a supernatural sense of danger in Sao Paulo, that you can almost smell it it coming, and know exactly when you're safe and when you're not. Ofc it's bs, but we do gtfo of situations a lot of times just bc of a feeling. Great channel bud!
I love traveling and a lot of the places and things Drew does, but, I choose to live vicariously though him on some of this stuff. He's a bit bonkers. Can't wait to read the book, just ordered it.
“I could’ve been the next Britney Griner”. You could’ve carried drugs through an airport and then acted like it’s because of your passport you got arrested?!
I now realize how lucky have I been during my travels. I've been to over 50 countries, mostly Europe, post-Soviet countries and Asia and nothing really scary happened to me. Maximum a missed flight, severe cold on the way or some guys in Lyon trying to snatch my phone, which I realized only a few minutes after. Still, I'm grateful that I managed to stay safe on my travels.
Dude is walking at a pretty safe São Paulo neighbourhood, Vila Mariana, and it's acting as if he were at a Rio slum. The guy who tried to "rob" him his gopro was walking while doing a video and probably didn't even saw him. Relax bro, be wary at your surroundings but don't panic when there's no need.
he’s so painfully american looking and speaking english it literally doesn’t matter where in são paulo he is in 😭 family friend got his shoes stolen in broad daylight
Easy to judge others’ experiences and to have all the mouth behind a keyboard. Perhaps you should travel to every country in the world to gain some perspective.
@slo88805 Firstly, I do not have any "mouth", I wasn't even rude in my comment, you're too sensitive. Secondly, why should I travel to every country in the world to talk about my home city? I know way more about São Paulo than him, Vila Mariana is a pretty safe neighbourhood and he was walking as scared as if he was in some haiti slum, it makes no sense at all, even more so for a guy who traveled all around the world, you thought he would be better at reading his surroundings and blending with the locals.
Super scary! I was on Las Ramblas street in Barcelona, Spain in a restaurant when the terrorist attack happened in 2017. Scariest moment of my life. I have some footage of it on my Channel, but was unable to record a good video because I was in survival mood.
the scariest experience i ever had was visiting my family in Mexico i was eating breakfast and suddenly a shoot out broke out that lasted 9 hours a dozen people died and many more were injured it lasted a couple hours and thankfully the military showed up and escorted everyone to their homes it was traumatizing to say the least
My scariest experience was in Rio De Janero. I was drugged, robbed and left passed out on the sidewalk. I Woke up the next day in a hospital with an iv tube in my arm. Another time I ventured into a Favella with a friend, apparently the gangsters thought I was recording and grabbed my shirt and pointed several guns at my friend and I. After realizing their mistake they apologized.
My scary moment was when I traveling was in the U.S. with my family. Abit of context I was like around 5-10 and It was my first time to America. The day we were supposed to go to Las vegas we decided to stay another night in California. That same night the biggest shooting in U.S. history 6th biggest in the world.
@@drewbinsky Thanks for the response! You are a big inspiration to me as I want to be a travel vlogger!! Haiti sounds wild hope the country gets better those poor people😭
Scariest was when I was in São Paulo (the same exact city you're filming this video in). I was out late at night by myself checking out places my Brazilian friend's recommended. I was near the Republica district getting some water and snacks from an Oxxo before taking an Uber back to my hostel. After I got my snacks I walked across the street near a park to wait for my driver. The Uber app said the driver was just down the street (maybe 300 meters) but they kept stopping multiple times along the way and it was making me on edge because I just wanted to go back and sleep. As I was checking my phone again to see where exactly the Uber was two teenage boys on bicycles snatched the phone out of my hand and started booking it. I ran after them for maybe half a second and as I was chasing the guy with my phone he started to toss it to his friend to do a quick getaway. As he was tossing the phone he slipped off of his bike due to a streetcleaner rolling by maybe 3 minutes beforehand making the asphalt slick with water. My phone skid along the road towards a bus and luckily avoided being run over. I ran over to it, picked it up, noticed the Uber standing right in front of me, yelled some loud curses at the boys, got in, and that was that. Looking back on the experience I should have 1.) Waited near the Oxxo where other people where 2.) Waited patiently for the Uber to arrive 3.) Not have my phone so visible at night 4.) Not yelled at the teenage boys after getting my phone - they could have had a weapon and used it on a gringo for his iPhone 13 Pro Max. Despite the bad night, I loved my stay in Brazil so much. Can't wait to return again to see all the friends I made while I was there.
I'm really sorry about that experience, man. I'm from Bahia, in the northeast of Brazil, and I have a friend from Los Angeles who lives near my house. What he mentions the most is how much he misses the safety of his hometown. Here in Brazil, people are fed up with petty criminals robbing us. On one hand, we have inequality contributing to the rise in crime; on the other hand, we have laws that don't punish these crimes the way they should. In São Paulo alone, only 4% of robberies are solved. It's a tough situation. Take care!
In 1994, I was taking a local bus from Nicaragua to El Salvador. The kind of bus where people were carrying chickens and stuff . I was a 31 year old American woman, traveling alone. I had long blonde hair, and looked very foreign. As I was going thru customs at the border -- literally a card table set up under a tree -- one of the officers waved me forward. I was very nervous, but it turned out that they just wanted to process me first. They were perfectly nice and friendly, maybe because I spoke Spanish. All the bus passengers were friendly too. So it's not a very scary story, but I was nervous because frankly, they would have had plenty of reason to dislike and be unfriendly to an American.
I love your videos Drew! I would love to see more food and budget ($10 challenge) videos if it is possible! It is amazing how you put your life on the line for our entertainment and to document the world. Keep making these amazing videos!
Thanks for your feedback! My first (ever) videos were the $10 challenges, and after doing about 70 of them in 70 countries, I naturally moved away. But I'm happy to bring them back!
I would love to see more of them! Another idea I had which I suggested on another video was an unreleased footage/behind the scenes video of your North Korea trip. Also, do you have any tips for someone who is trying to make RU-vid videos about countries/geography? (me)
I went to Israel and we went to the Israel-Syria border had an encounter with UN soldiers also a fire was raging on the Syrian side of the border, we also saw lots of soldiers. Fun fact: the Israel-Syria border is the only place in the world where you can see the Israeli and Syrian flags together
Why would you take pictures of random kids? I'm guessing you've never had kids because an adult taking pictures of kids is not okay in any country. Well, at least you learned your lesson.
Damn Drew nearly "died" in Russia ...got caught while investigating an exclusion zone... i didn t understand where the near death experience was in this story but ok...sounds like the outskirts of Paris are more dangerous...just one place where you would wish for a russian police officer
Indeed, no rainbows, and no ponies in this video. Thanks for sharing the downsides of travel. Similarly, I’ve had some downsides but it’s too important to me to quit! Safe travels
I think the best weapon I had when I was traveling alone at night for over an hour on the subway in NYC - was when I opened my Bible to read it (not out loud) I saw in my peripheral vision people move away from me! I felt so safe because of that knowing that people don’t like the subway scammers who always ask for money. And safe because at that particular time, no one knew where I was. I was traveling alone and though I had friends on the trip I’d meet up with, I stayed with separate friends of friends in Long Island City and would travel from there all the way to Brooklyn to meet up with them. We went to do some humanitarian events but also do some street preaching (we did not ask anyone for money btw). We all were there to help a local church to help their members and people in the city outside of the street - level preaching ministry. I was told by people I knew that New Yorkers would be rude but because I once lived in California, I found the NY crowd to be blunt, pretty chill and I really liked that aspect! I even got to have conversations with the “frightening” looking persons. One guy was on the street asking for money because his job didn’t pay enough. Another guy was going to a funeral, he was in prison and could relate to the story in the book I was reading between our conversations. Anyways it was cool trip. And nothing bad actually happened.
So sad Russia is in the same line with Chad, Syria and Yemen. What Pootin did to this country is insane. Could have been a nice and developed country like Canada.
Damn my city, right in the beginning of the video. Yes, its pretty scary, but if you know, you know. Like watch around you, dont use your cellphone in the streets, and have fun, cause here we have all for all people, maybe no the best in our country, cause we got a lot to offer, bu i cant deny that i love my city.
Ive always loved your videos Drew. Were from the same place, so its awesome to see someone from here go out and do what you do 👌 thanks for years of your travels 💯
I stayed at a resort in Mexico one time, and one day when I went to the beach, there were marinas walking along the sand carrying assault rifles. No one seemed particularly worried, and I actually felt a little safer having such dedicated security at the hotel. Won’t find that in the States.
My scariest travel moment was in the bush of South Africa. In Mabalingue National Park. I would go running all the time. But one day I got lost and my 30 min run turned into a 2 hour run not being able to find my way back to out homesite. I finally did! My second scariest moment was in Casablanca, Morocco. I was using the phone as GPS Andy best friend was walking behind me. I noticed two men on a motor scooter eyeing me. I got irritated that they wouldn't just go (waiting at a stop). I Proceeded to walk and Regina followed oblivious. The guy tried to steal my phone as they drove by on the bike. I knew it was coming and held onto it tightly. Then gave them a dirty look after they drove off. I guess ive been lucky.
@@extremebeastreaction6245 child sex trafficking unfortunately is big in 3rd world countries. They had no idea why he is taking a picture or even who he is. Seems justified to me
saw a video the other day of you visiting west Virginia and I have ended up on a sort of binge watching your videos, absolutely amazing and captivating videos. Subscription was inevitable!
GOD IS GOOD! He is divinely protecting you. Drew do be careful please don’t walk around with camera and go pros can never be to sure and safe. Get a heads up of the citizens before hand
