I STARTED assembling material for this column the day after the terrorist bombing in Madrid. Since then, the assassination of Hamas' religious leader has followed, along with continuing repercussions from the Iraq War.

As I write this, another explosive device was discovered under a train track east of Paris on a route leading to Basel, Switzerland and a bomb killed tourists in a Bangkok, Thailand nightclub stirring memories of similar bombings in Morocco and Bali. By the time you read this, who knows what other devastating events will have occurred?

Bermudians are too intelligent and sophisticated to want a phoney, sugar-coated version of the world. There's too much at stake to limit travel coverage to viewing the world through rose-coloured glasses.

This is a time to be well informed with eyes wide open. We're not suggesting travellers huddle in a bunker anticipating a Blitz as in World War Two England. We certainly don't intend to. But with depressingly increased threats of terrorism, the savvy traveller will choose their destination cautiously.

There's no predicting what's ahead or where terrorists could strike. One can only look at the past and political realities to attempt speculating on the future.

In the past, two of America's African embassies have been targeted, as well as Britain's in Turkey. I had a bad experience of very incorrect, misleading information at one in Amman, Jordan. And a low-key, non-complaining-type newspaper editor friend was critical of very brusque treatment unnecessarily received at the American embassy in Iran before the hostage crisis. So I long ago resolved to stay as far away from any embassy as possible.

One way to do that is to guard your passport like the treasure it is. Some years ago on a government press tour to Morocco, a fellow journalist approached me with a worried look.

"I was in such a rush this morning, I left my passport and travellers' cheques on my dresser. Do you think they're safe?" In a word, NO! Even back then, an American or British passport on the black market was worth many thousands of dollars. Never leave yours in a carelessly handled purse or unprotected pocket. Invest in one of those security pouches discreetly worn under your clothes where it's safe. That's also a good place for credit cards and money.

Speaking of money . . . yes, we've been told for years to limit the amount we carry for safety reasons and to rely on credit cards and travellers' cheques. For us, that message came up against a brick wall after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait and stranded travellers and businessmen needed to get out fast.

at the worst-case scenario ? and when you come from a family of attorneys, you're trained to do that. Who knows what could happen? If you need to cross a border, rent a car, hire a boat, whatever, in some unforeseen catastrophe . . . cold, hard cash could be invaluable. But only if you carry those extra hundreds very safely in a money belt or other secure place on your person. Don't flash your cash!

I remember a very aged friend of our family who liked to talk about the panic of 1907. Cheques, paper currency and credit went out the window. But when he arrived with silver dollars, he received three dollars' worth of merchandise for every silver dollar. That's when American was still on the gold standard, of course, but greenbacks and pounds still would come in handy in a crisis situation overseas.

We're definitely not saying you should bunker in for the season. During the height of the Bader Meinhof and Red Brigade terrorism and kidnapping rampages in Germany and Italy, we travelled extensively there, but took certain precautions. They apply equally today.

As my brother Jim is apt to say to me whenever we head off to a flea market, "Dress down". His reasoning is if you look too affluent, the price often goes up. But you also attract interest of questionable types. Keep a low profile, blend in.

Several times when we found ourselves in the midst of rowdy skinhead types, we immediately stopped speaking English. Jim sometimes went into his signing routine, or we switched to another language. Those were difficult times and parts of Europe suffered serious tourism decline. Travellers who ventured there found accommodations easily available, uncrowded and bargain priced.

fact, back then, we felt the safest time to go somewhere often just after a problem had occurred, since the region was on really high security alert. But this situation is far more dangerous and unpredictable, because you now have people willing to blow themselves up. After September 11, the American Society of Travel Agents cancelled its annual autumn convention scheduled for Seville, Spain and met in New York instead. It was known terrorist Mohammed Etta had been in Barcelona travelling many miles to points south just before that date and the Society was understandably nervous.

We'd bought our plane tickets, prepaid a car and pre- and post-convention stays at carefully selected paradors in historic castles. So we went ahead in October and told readers about our experience.

Months ago the Basque terrorist group ETA announced tourists were now considered year-around targets and the BBC carried that news. During that 2001 trip we'd avoided Madrid, picking up our car and completely bypassing it. Within days, an ETA bomb attack caused chaos there, soon followed by a judge's assassination in Bilbao. In the past it had targeted only politicians and public officials, unfortunate if you happened to be near them when explosives were detonated.

Stopping in Barcelona on a later cruise, I photographed ETA graffiti reading: "The Tourist Is The Terrorist." Not encouraging. You've come to enjoy beauty and culture of both Spain and Basque country and innocently become part of their problems. Now things have escalated far beyond that with attention focusing on outside terrorists.

Over the years, we've earnestly followed several rules. Number one: Keep your eyes open and be observant to what's happening around you. Know the problems of places you're visiting.

Another of our personal rules: On assignment in places like Israel, we never went near a bus station, much less rode one. And each recent trip to that region, there were casualties announced on local news but given little publicity overseas. The same was true in Malta where a hijacked Egypt Air flight had landed. When passengers were asked for passports, first one holding an American passport was asked to kneel on the tarmac where he was shot in the head and killed.

Our preference has always been travelling by car to off-trail destinations and avoiding crowds. That's a plus these days. In fact, almost every consular warning read on the State Department Consular Information Sheets carries the same quote as this from France.

"In recent months arrests have been made in France in connection with various possible terrorist plots . . . remain alert and vigilant, and report any suspect packages or suspicious activities."

It then continues with two-and-a-half pages of crime warnings about increasing robberies, knife attacks, assaults and a growing number of thefts everywhere from hotel lobbies and breakfast rooms to airports.

The State Department report continues: "The National Front for the Liberation of Corsica (FLNC) continue to operate in the south of France and occasionally bomb local government institutions, banks, travel agencies, . . . numerous politically motivated bombings on island of Corsica . . . remain vigilant when travelling to Corsica."

When the local representative of the French Government Tourist Office heard I was going to Corsica after a cruise a few years ago, he expressed his concern. "Watch out for bandits, they stop buses and cars in the interior and rob victims. Why are you going, it's a very dangerous place?"

Possibly because, as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, the English have this passion for God-forsaken places.

But we did go, definitely sensed tension there, but found it a fascinating destination. In fact, we have since returned. First trip was a stay of several days at a very nice resort giving us enough time to explore some isolated, remote areas . . . the second just a one-day cruise stop. Obviously we were on full alert and did not wander about after dark and so forth.

What to do? Watch the news like your life depended on it . . . it well may. You'll soon learn areas to be avoided. A few weeks ago a decaying, ghetto-like public housing development in southern France, of the type common in post-war Russia, was shown by Deutsche Welle TV.

Populated by Algerians who loyally assisted France in battles there and were promised the reward of French residency, they instead now suffer disastrously high unemployment in poverty conditions. One look and the programme made it clear you would not want to venture within miles because resentment there is festering close to boiling.

ended up being ostracised in much the same way as Apache Scouts who helped round up Geronimo and his men during the Indian Wars. As thanks for their loyalty, those scouts were sent to the same Florida prison camp as Geronimo. Those Algerians have received similar treatment.

Bermuda has a lot of very high-profile executives. As premier off-shore reinsurance giants, they could face a growing threat. A few days ago we again watched the chilling film . Starring Russell Crowe, Meg Ryan and David Morse, it focuses on what's become a cottage industry in some Third World countries.

Did you know 25,000 people a year are kidnapped? In the beginning it was often for political reasons or custody battles? More recently, it's become a way to make millions in ransom. You've seen the high-profile ones on news . . . vacationers taken from an Asian beach resort to Philippines . . . adventure travellers kidnapped in Colombia . . . oil executives abducted from their exploration fields . . . president of a major Mexican bank.

Tourists have also fallen victim to this threat. A few years ago when we'd planned a cruise that included Yemen, a US government agency warned us of its prevalence there. Jim used to tease some high-profile friends who went off on wild adventure trips about it. "Well, if you get kidnapped, at least you'll soon learn how much your company thinks you're worth."

And that's what this film is all about. An oil company executive is taken for ransom and ends up in a camp where a bank executive and missionary are also being held. Yes, you'll be impressed with the beauty of scenery shown on screen, and on two in-depth visits to Ecuador where it was filmed, I found the country intriguing.

the awesome "Adventure of Volcanoes" (it has some forty of them) to colonial charm of towns, tempting Indian markets and marvellous shopping, it rates attention. But the film's plot is very realistic and warns travellers what can happen. Read what the State Department Consular information sheet has to say about it.

Quito's US Embassy "advises against travel to the northern border ? to include provinces of Sucombios, Orellana and Carchi. US Government personnel are restricted from travel to these areas due to spread of organised crime, drug trafficking, small arms trafficking, and incursions by various Columbian terrorist and criminal organisations".

It continues: "Since 1998, at least nine US citizens have been kidnapped near Ecuador's border with Colombia. One US citizen was murdered in January 2001 by kidnappers holding him for ransom.

"Political demonstrations occur sporadically throughout Ecuador. Protestors occasionally detonate improvised explosive devices and fire handguns into air during demonstrations. Since 1993 there have been hundreds of small pamphlet bombings. In 2002 and 2003 bombs have exploded at a McDonald's restaurant in Guayaquil (incidentally also at Davos, Switzerland and France) and at an American Airlines office in Quito."

And on and on for another depressing page. Certainly none of this is being written to frighten readers but to see they're properly informed. We don't want to lose any readers to terrorists and your travel agent does not want to lose any clients. They're well informed on what's happening everywhere and can come up with tempting places they consider safe. We'll be covering some in future weeks. Bermudians have already suffered through Hurricane Fabian, they don't want to fly into the eye of another one.

Another point, Bermuda is understandably very insurance-conscious. This might be a good time to check your policies and see what they cover. Acts of war and terrorism could leave you unprotected.Also, regularly log on to State Department sites to check warning lists. Unfortunately, they're ever growing. One went up immediately March 12 covering Madrid bombings. These fact sheets are very helpful, covering everything from medical facilities and aviation safety oversight to traffic safety, road conditions, crime, customs to regulations; http://travel.state.gov/travel-warning.html

Network American news often tends to be provincial, lacking international perspective. So if you want timely news about the world's many corners and their conditions, dial around.

Also very good is http://www.airsecurity.com/hotspots/HotSports.asp which mentioned two bombings not reported elsewhere, in Genoa, Italy and one outside McDonald's in Brescia, Italy by a Moroccan on March 28.