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CARACAS, Venezuela (Contributed by Campbell Maffett )
"I spent two nights in Caracas airport, on the way to and from Ecuador. Each time I arrived well after midnight, and left by 8am, meaning only very short stops. Upon first arrival, I was to be met by at least 10 Spanish speaking people wanting me to get in their taxi, or equivalent (!?). One guy even tried to convince me that he was the Caracas airport ambassador (I think), but the giveaway was that he was wearing a polyester shirt!! The return trip was much the same, sleeping on hard, lino floor, this time propped up against the United check-in counter. I gave the cleaners a laugh when I asked them to take a photo of me, but otherwise, is fairly quiet and safe. A big tip is NOT to go walking beyond the car park, since I did, and as I waited to cross a road back into the car park, 2 guys walked up to me, on either side. One guy started tugging at my watch, while the other pulled out a gun and demanded my bag. Yes, a REAL gun!! Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttt!!!!!!! Apart from my passport (in money belt), my bag had everything in it - boarding passes, money, credit cards, camera, diary, and more. It had the lot, and losing it was not an option. So while one guy was almost pulling my wrist off to get my watch, the guy gun was running away with my bag. Just then a motorist stopped and honked his horn, and I thought beauty, he is sure to pull out his bazooka and blast this guy! He didn't, but he did scare him, and since my watch was off by now, I started running after him calling out for my bag. I ran like hell, and giving more regard to the bag than my personal fate (I've seen those films where the good guy (me) never gets hit...), kept chasing him up an embankment, where a wire fence kept him from getting further away. As I got close, I saw that the gun had shaken out of place a bit, and was now no longer a danger. Finally he dropped the bag, and I got it back. "