TRAVEL WITH PRIDE

LGBTQ+ TRAVELLERS FACE OBSTACLES OTHERS TAKE FOR GRANTED - BUT THE WELCOMING COMMUNITY IS EVERYWHERE SAYS CALUM MCSWIGGAN, BOOKING.COM'S TRAVEL PROUD AMBASSADOR

- CALUM MCSWIGGAN & JOSH MCKENNA

I reach for a pair of Pride-themed socks at the bottom of my bag and hesitate. I'd worn them for the Pride parade in Thailand - one of the more progressive countries in the world - but having now travelled south across the border to Malaysia, I'm very aware that my identity is now considered criminal. My laundry is being picked up in an hour, and I wonder if it's safe to include them. Ultimately, I decide it's fine. The police are unlikely to come banging on my door because of rainbow socks in my laundry. It is, after all, the act of homosexuality that's considered criminal here - not the iconography that surrounds it. Even so, it's an example of the kind of calculation LGBTQ+ travellers regularly have to make. Am I safe? Could this land me in a difficult situation? Is what I'm doing somehow illegal?

SAFETY FIRST

Approximately one third of countries in the world still criminalise LGBTQ+ identities, and while I always recommend researching both local laws and attitudes before travelling to these destinations, sometimes we don't have a choice. We may have family members living there, or we may need to travel for medical, legal or work reasons. Last year, my flight was cancelled, and the only option was to be rebooked on a route that went via Saudi Arabia.

It was only when my bag was being searched that I remembered I'd picked up some queer manga in Tokyo. It contained graphic illustrations of same sex intimacy, and in Saudi Arabia, it was a crime just to have it in my possession. Luckily, there wasn't an issue, but there very easily could have been.