One thing you can count on when traveling overland in a developing country is trouble.
There’s always some uprising and/or Marxist insurrection going on, and if there isn’t there’s probably someone entrepreneurial enough to have tossed together a “toll booth” to make a few bucks.
There are two kinds of military roadblocks:
The kind where you slow down so they can look you over, and the kind where you come to a full stop so they can steal your luggage.
The most important thing is that you must never stop at the slow-down kind of roadblock, because if you do they’ll think you’re a terrorist about to attack them and they’ll shoot you. But, my friends, you must always stop at the full-stop kind of roadblock. If you just slow down, they’ll think you’re a terrorist about to attack them and they’ll shoot you.
“The wise traveler will pack shirts with amble pockets at the chest. Reaching inside your jacket or glove compartment for your passport looks too much like going for the draw and puts armed men out of continence.”
How do you tell the difference between the two kinds?
Here’s the most exciting part: you can’t!
The exception? Israel, where you will be glad to confront the only armed maniacs in the Middle East who aren’t allowed to shoot U.S. citizens. If in doubt, whip you passport out, hold it at about shoulder high and calmly say, “American” until this is remembered.
(The terrorists of course have roadblocks of their own. They always make you stop. Sometimes with land mines.)