Travel amongst terror

This year has been an amazing year of travel for me. I've walked the streets of Cairo, Paris, Brussels and London. But so have terrorists.

A plane went down over Egypt just days after I left through similarly lax airport security. We walked through security with large 1.5L bottles of water. No one checked liquids or make-up bags. No one took off layers of clothing to go through the scanners. At the second security stage an officer wanted to search my backpack because he thought an object on the scanner looked unusual. He showed me the screen but the coloured shape in question looked like my camera, which I knew was in my purse. I told him I didn't know what it was and that was the end of that, although he did take my batteries off me which were perfectly fine to go through Heathrow. All my friends had similar stories of things that would have been taken off them at any other international airport, but they had forgotten about them this time and nothing had been done. We all flew safely, holding onto the seemingly undeserved trust that the airport security knew what they were doing.

People have asked me: having experienced this, and knowing terror attacks are a real threat, would it stop me from going again?


No. I'd really like to go to Egypt again. I'd love to go in 10 or 20 years when I'm a different person and see it again from the same eyes with older views and see how it has changed. It's a beautiful place with a fascinating culture and so much potential for change.

I love to travel and I understand these threats are real. What I get out of visiting new places is a richness I'd rather have in my heart. Remember that terrorists want to be feared. I'm not going to let fear of what might happen- terror attack or getting hit by a bus as I cross my own street- keep me inside the house. I remain alert, take sensible precautions and make informed decisions, whether taking a trip or crossing a road.

Stay safe wherever you are, friends xx