Irrational fear taxi driver could harm us - aibu?

[gaptor]

On Tues I will be landing in an Asian country at 3 in the morning. My best friend and I will then have a 4-hour taxi drive to our final destination - which is in a remote area. The fact that we will be driving through isolated/unfamiliar areas and travelling in the dark as 2 lone (young) females has me feeling extremely vulnerable. AIBU? My friend thinks I'm being paranoid. There really is no alternative and travel is essential (not really a holiday).

Apologies if my comments have been seen as racist, absolutely not my intention (nor my actual belief)

I don't speak the language and don't really know the culture

Do you have to got to your destination straight away? Can you stay at airport until the morning then take a pre-booked car or public transport if this is worrying you? I agree with pp though, you really need to narrow this down to a country, not a continent as then people will be able to advise you based on their own experience.

Ahh sorry cross-posted. If it's been booked by someone familiar with the area though, is there a reason you don't trust their judgement in the company they have booked with?

If you trust the judgement of the person who booked the taxi then it should be fine. I'd double check the cost they've been quoted as sometimes drivers will try to charge you more if they think you don't know any better.

I travelled to India on my own earlier this year. I used pre-booked taxis or booked cars with the hotel. It was more expensive but still cheaper than taxis over here. Is that an option?

A four hour trip is likely to have been booked through a reliable company, especially if booked by someone over there (and I assume connected to the event/your company?). Your average airport taxi driver isn't going to be doing an eight hour return journey.
Relax.

I felt the same in NYC.

Didn’t help when the driver asked me where did I think he had a gun hidden in his car. Seriously scary.

Be wary of pick pockets jostling you in arrivals, as well as "porters" / taxi drivers trying to take your bags in order to get you to use them.

Last time I went to India I work dark glasses. I looked like an idiot indoors, but it meant I could look round and not make eye contact with anyone trying to distract me.

Use the pre booked service and ensure they have your name board and know your location roger you go with them.

And anyway, do taxi drivers want to drive 4 hours away?!
I've taken a much longer taxi ride than that in India. It'll be fine, OP. It's a company pre-booked by someone involved with your event. The scare stories about guns/being taken to shops and forced to buy etc are not helpful.

If you are going to see someone can’t you ask them to meet you at the airport? You mean move the whole event four hours away from where it's taking place?

Sorry I really wouldn't do it without a male friend/relative and my parents are from India but then I've never used a prebooked service. I've visited 'back home' several times. The last time I visited was with my 3 younger sisters and we got quite a bit of unwelcomed attention. Just keep saying no to offers of help (unfortunately) and don't take your wallet out.

I don’t think trip is a good idea for you. Are you not going to go out after dark?

I know this sounds crazy but what we did last time is have a really moody resting face, acted very professional and just focused on getting from airport to destination without looking at other people/ catching people's glances.

4 hours in India is pretty normal as there aren't many practical public transport options if you're not going city to city. Pre-booked by someone you know is a good start. I was there about 10 years ago which was the era of internet cafés and people weren't really using mobiles and swapping sims for travelling yet.

South India was much more chilled out than the north. The west was more chilled out than the Varanassi/ Agra areas. Solo women can find India awkward, but a female partner helps. The culture can feel quite personal which took me about a week to acclimatise to, lots of "my friend" when haggling/ making transactions which initially felt uncomfortable, and it was a gear change from the superficially similar Nepal.

Walking out of the train station and hailing an auto rickshaw after 15 hours of hard travelling by jeep, bus, and cattle class trains with people sitting in the luggage racks was an interesting introduction to India... We then had to walk to a hostel which was so ropey that the first thing we did next day was find a decent one.
Brilliant adventure

In India with a pre-booked cab I'm sure you will be fine. I travelled around India alone with no problem, although it was ages ago!

Wow, some people actually calling women racist for being concerned about their safety now! Women are never allowed to prioritise themselves it seems.

India? I thought it was going to be Afghanistan.

You will be fine. Have you asked your destination Hotel/place to arrange the driver?

Why don’t you hire a guide to get you there and a pre booked taxi?

Can you say which city in India?

Wow, some people actually calling women racist for being concerned about their safety now!

No. Nobody's suggesting she's racist for being concerned about her safety. But the implication in the OP (which she later clarified wasn't her intention or belief) was that simply by virtue of being Asian/in Asia, the taxi driver posed more of a risk to her than a British/Western taxi driver. That assumes a) that everywhere in Asia - a huge and diverse continent - is the same, and b) Asian men as a group are inherently more dangerous than Western men as a group.
Thanks for clarifying that that's not what you meant, OP.

When you say the taxi has been booked already by a person familiar to the area, do they live there? Ask them to confirm in advance which driver (full name) and vehicle will be picking you up, they will be able to confirm that for you in advance, this is common practice (I am Indian and have travelled to there lots). Also ask them to confirm what fare has been agreed and the estimated duration of the journey

Have the number of the person who booked the taxi to hand - and when you confirm the taxi driver is who you're expecting and that the fare is what you're expecting, ring said person while in the car before you leave to confirm that you have safely located the taxi and are about to leave and your expected arrival time. Give regular updates on whatsapp or text as to your journey

@JonnyPocketRocket
But the implication in the OP (which she later clarified wasn't her intention or belief) was that simply by virtue of being Asian/in Asia, the taxi driver posed more of a risk to her than a British/Western taxi driver. That assumes a) that everywhere in Asia - a huge and diverse continent - is the same, and b) Asian men as a group are inherently more dangerous than Western men as a group.

The situation IS more risky though. It's not because male taxi drivers in the Asian country are more likely to be predators, i think it's down to the things like the infrastructure, security, police etc . The UK is tiny. The chances of a taxi driver driving me from Gatwick to a remote location miles away from civilisation without being captured on CCTV or seen by somebody, and without me being able to alert someone from my phone, is very low. And even if they did get away with it, the chances of the (non-corrupt) police not being alerted and being proactive to find me would be quite low too.
In India, I'm sorry but that's a whole different ball games : Miles and miles of remoteness in possibly impoverished areas, with no CCTV , often weak mobile signal, no police presence, and the police that is available can have high levels of corruption i.e. can be bought off if someone wants to pay them enough. Taking this into account , if I was a male taxi driver of any nationality and I wanted to take advantage of 2 lone females, I'd try my chances in India rather than the UK. And I say that as an Indian!