A ‘danger tourist’ known for visiting some of the world’s most hazardous regions experienced a terrifying ordeal when he was tied up with a gun pointed at his face after arriving in a certain country.
While most individuals prefer to lead relatively safe lives, some adventurers choose to travel to the world’s most perilous nations on purpose.
I certainly wouldn’t do it, but to each their own.
Daniel Pinto is one such adventurer. The British ‘danger tourist,’ driven by a desire to visit places most tourists avoid, recounted the details of a harrowing incident shortly after he entered a specific country.
The nation in question is so dangerous that the UK Foreign Office advises against all travel there.
During his visit, Pinto found himself essentially in a state of limbo for seven hours.
On May 29 of this year, Pinto traveled to Libya with plans to spend 21 days exploring the country, which he found to be a ‘mysterious’ destination he was eager to discover.
While hitchhiking, he interacted with locals and enjoyed the local cuisine. However, he admitted to being unsettled by one particularly close call, which is entirely understandable.
He said: “I have been pretty lucky, I don’t know if that is because I am tall and have tattoos. “The worst situation I have been is in Libya, I was hitchhiking.
“Libya is very new to tourists, we got to a checkpoint and we were detained for seven hours. We were handcuffed and had a gun to our face. That was worrying, being handcuffed to the wall by a militia group is scary.”
That description is quite an understatement. In reality, it sounds terrifying, and such an experience might warrant some therapy.
Pinto had entered Libya from Tunisia, shortly after the country had introduced a new E-visa system in March of that year.
This E-visa allowed travelers to enter the country for a specific duration for tourism or business purposes.
Pinto explained that obtaining an E-visa isn’t as simple as just filling out a form.
Applying without a sponsor initially resulted in his application being denied after a few weeks. However, when he tried again with a sponsor, it was approved in two working days.
While being detained in what can only be described as a terrifying ordeal, authorities had to verify his visa by making several calls.
After eventually getting the necessary approval, Pinto was able to explore the country and appreciated its architecture. He was particularly impressed by the mix of Islamic and random Roman artefacts.
That is, at least, a positive takeaway from the entire experience.