goon wrote:
I have the same reluctance Claud. Nothing needs to happen either, it doesn't have to be dangerous, I just wouldn't feel comfortable, same goes for the States or at least parts of it. Hell you only have to travel a little way out of London and the whole vibe changes. Hopefully that changes in future.
FWIW a friend of mine (South Asian) went there and had no issues, on the other hand a colleague (Ginger) went there and got knocked out for no reason that he could gather.
I don't know. I've been to Eastern Europe as a South Asian tourist, specifically Hungary and Slovakia, and it's been fine. For the most part, people leave visitors alone in the big cities. Similarly I've had friends go to Poland and they've definitely had the odd stare or two but they've also had people genuinely curious come up and talk to them in good faith.
Ultimately you'll get that reaction in any part of the world that has been relatively cut off until recently including parts of Japan, China, India etc. Places like North America or Western Europe are the exceptions and I don't particularly think that should limit the size of your world. FWIW I've worked with clients in remote parts of the UK and people can be ignorant/not PC but willing to engage and I've never feared for my personal safety. London's much more unsafe in that respect.
