Author Topic: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran  (Read 2574 times)

Mrs Pingu

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Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« on: 09 March, 2018, 09:42:44 pm »
I've been asked to go to Tunis for a couple of days. I told them to sod off cos it was too late notice but if they sort out the dates and come back is it fairly safe for a female traveller?

So, now the possibility of a workshop in Iran has turned up. Thoughts?
It would be with colleagues so I wouldn't be alone. I'm sure it would be culturally quite interesting. Ethically however...?
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αdαmsκι

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #1 on: 09 March, 2018, 09:59:23 pm »
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/tunisia

Dunno about female travellers, however I really liked Tunis when I visited. It's nowhere near as touristy as, say, Marrakech which IMO is a good thing. The old city isn't very wel lit at night and very few people were walking around but I had no issues wandering around.

The new city was a more typical western city. Plenty of restaurants etc.

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #2 on: 10 March, 2018, 06:48:21 pm »
Yes, pretty safe. Not much different to the UK, really, so be as wary as you would in London or Glasgow. Obviously, as in any Islamic country, dressing reasonably modestly is polite and less likely to draw unwanted attention but western standards are fine.

I liked this on the FO website:
Quote
Take care when driving in towns as pedestrians tend to walk on the roads and have the right of way.

 :thumbsup:
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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #3 on: 10 March, 2018, 07:17:45 pm »
It's on the places not to be caught QUILTBAGing list, but most places are for one reason or another, and it doesn't always map to general safety.  It's often easier for women to fly below the gaydar, anyway.

ian

Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #4 on: 12 March, 2018, 09:30:49 am »
Never been, but I'm told it's fine for lone females. It's fairly touristy and many local women don't wear headscarves etc. Obviously the terror threat is still brown pants, but then it probably is in London (though flights have resumed). Usual caveats about muslim countries apply, though it's one of the more liberal. My wife goes to Egypt, on the other hand, and classifies that as 'fucking horrible' for a lone woman.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #5 on: 13 March, 2018, 06:54:23 pm »
Never been, but I'm told it's fine for lone females. It's fairly touristy and many local women don't wear headscarves etc. Obviously the terror threat is still brown pants, but then it probably is in London (though flights have resumed). Usual caveats about muslim countries apply, though it's one of the more liberal. My wife goes to Egypt, on the other hand, and classifies that as 'fucking horrible' for a lone woman.

That's good to know. It's all gone quiet now but I shall bear in mind to avoid Egypt now...
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ian

Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #6 on: 13 March, 2018, 07:13:39 pm »
It's not dangerous horrible, just the attitude of many of the local males often doesn't incline towards chivalry, unfortunately.

tiermat

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #7 on: 13 March, 2018, 09:07:23 pm »
In my experience, Tunisia is a shit hole, doubly so for females, especially if blonde. The one redeeming feature of the country is the amphitheatre at El Jem.

Aside from that, check the situation with regards to future travel to the USA, if that is a concern. If it is a work thing, ensure it is all fully documented.

In short, try to get out of it if you can.
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ian

Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #8 on: 13 March, 2018, 09:17:45 pm »
Tunis itself is fine (as are the touristy places), I know lots of people who have been there. Sadly, being young, blonde and female makes life difficult in far too much of the world.

I've been everywhere (other than Tunisia), the US is only worried about places on its hitlist (Sudan, Norkia, Yemen, Nambia, etc.) Leastways they let me in. Best way to get out of trips to the ME is to let the Israelis stamp your passport. Oops.

ElyDave

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe?
« Reply #9 on: 13 March, 2018, 11:27:29 pm »
Just had two female auditors go to Tunis and Sfax for me on a job, I've also done that one myself - can't speak from a female perspective of course.

Border - easy visa on entry, one of the easiest for a UK passport.

Arrivals  - get your client to arrange a pre-meet car, get the drivers name, number and make/reg of car beforehand.  Call them first, check their name if you are at all nervous, make sure the car reg matches.

Hotel - plenty - get them to arrange it and make sure you have the details ahead of time.

People, in my experience generally friendly, professional, knowledgeable, they will likely be wanting to pick your brains assuming they are using you as an "expert".

Food pretty good, as other have said, worth dressing modestly, but no need to cover your hair in a professional situation.
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Mrs Pingu

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #10 on: 18 March, 2018, 10:50:22 pm »
No comments on Iran then?
Sounds fab culturally. Ethically.....?
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ian

Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #11 on: 18 March, 2018, 11:54:01 pm »
I'd like to go to Iran (but can't, as they're still on the US sanctions list). I know several people who have been and enjoyed it, no animosity towards westerners, if anything the opposite. That alas, isn't enough to persuade my dear other half that it's a suitable holiday destination.

Mr Larrington

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #12 on: 19 March, 2018, 02:30:05 pm »
I remember from John Harwood's riding-round-the-world blog that the Iranians just edged the Aussies to the title of "World's Friendliest Natives".  The government has some dubious habits, though.
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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #13 on: 19 March, 2018, 09:35:18 pm »
Didn't Deano go there recently?
and Emily less recently?
As quoth Mr L, natives friendly but officials not so much.  I think it's meant to be a good idea to stick to hijab in public.
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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #14 on: 19 March, 2018, 10:16:51 pm »
Emily and I were in Iran about the same time - I'd imagine we had quite different experiences, cos it felt quite segregated between men and women to me, and I met mostly blokes. This does become less pronounced as you go up the rungs of class, education and wealth, mind.

Yeah, you'll need to cover your hair to avoid hassle from The Iranian Man. It really is a thing, and I saw a couple of lasses in Isfahan being taken away by the secret police for showing too much hair. There have been a few recent protests, but nowt's changed AFAIK: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/02/iran-arrests-29-women-wearing-hijab-protests-180202084416823.html

If you do get chance to meet people outside work, I'd bet you'll have a great time. Similar sense of humour to the British - very dry. Don't let them pay for everything. Making tarof means at the third time of offering it's OK to accept (but they'll just laugh if you get it wrong).They can be very very formal with this (and at other times, such as when I gave a lad some Kendal mint cake as a small thank you, and explained the history and its part in the first summit of Everest - he told me that he would save it until the hour of his death) - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jd7d9StlueQ

Utterly lovely people, bastard government. Expect to be treated with a certain degree of official suspicion as a Brit, so don't carry anything dodgy, don't take photos of anything dodgy (important infrastructure and most things TBH apart from standard tourist stuff), and make sure there's nowt suspicious on any electronics you have with you. Your employer will hopefully give you some advice on this.

Cities have a great nightlife - not drinking, obvs, but shopping, coffee and socialising. Everything's open until really late, so you can sit in a cafe and watch the world go by.

This might put you off, but the secret police (different from the marked police, who tend to be really helpful) could keep tabs on anyone you speak to - a tour guide in Tabriz told me only tour guides were allowed to interact with foreigners, outside the usual work and buying-stuff from stalls kind of interactions. Socialising is strictly off limits, and you could get someone into trouble simply by being friendly. But it's a long shot - there aren't that many secret police, and you'd have to do something to catch their attention.

The internet is also heavily choked - Facebook is banned, Twitter is banned (but not yacf when I was there!), but it's the most widely-circumvented law in the country, even more so than the drinking prohibition. Everyone's worked out how to use VPNs to circumvent it, but it will restrict your web access while you're there.

Where are you off to? I rode through a fair bit of Iran, from Tabriz down to the Persian Gulf. Missed Tehran.

Oh, finally, if you have any lung problems, avoid, cos the air qualities in the cities was fucking shit. Cheap oil means everyone runs the cheapest banger they can find - Isfahan has a permanently yellow haze, and I was there three days before the air cleared enough to show the surrounding mountains.

Mrs Pingu

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #15 on: 20 March, 2018, 05:34:04 pm »
Thanks for the info. Don't even know that I *am* going yet. Tunis went quiet when I told them 2 weeks notice was no good with my current workload and I've not been directly asked about Iran, that one has come round the houses....
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Zipperhead

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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #16 on: 20 March, 2018, 09:35:42 pm »
They can be very very formal with this (and at other times, such as when I gave a lad some Kendal mint cake as a small thank you, and explained the history and its part in the first summit of Everest - he told me that he would save it until the hour of his death)

Maybe he'd tried it before  :P
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Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #17 on: 20 March, 2018, 10:57:26 pm »
They can be very very formal with this (and at other times, such as when I gave a lad some Kendal mint cake as a small thank you, and explained the history and its part in the first summit of Everest - he told me that he would save it until the hour of his death)

Maybe he'd tried it before  :P

At least it'll keep till his deathbed.

ian

Re: Travel to Tunis - safe? One of a series, now Iran
« Reply #18 on: 20 March, 2018, 11:02:16 pm »
Thanks for the info. Don't even know that I *am* going yet. Tunis went quiet when I told them 2 weeks notice was no good with my current workload and I've not been directly asked about Iran, that one has come round the houses....

I'm not allowed to go to Iran (for work) on account of the ongoing US sanctions (we can't do any direct business as a US company).

On the plus side, it looks like my Ethiopia trip is still on.