A Brit travel addict who has spent thousands ticking off 35 countries in the past two years has warned others of a disastrous mistake in one which nearly cost her her freedom.
Blogger Laura Kemp spends £30k a year feeding her wanderlust, having recently visited the likes of Bora Bora and Fji. But in one less-than-blissful experience, the 33-year-old found herself detained after a bottle of rum was confiscated from her at Qatar.
Laura, originally from Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, made the careless mistake in forgetting the country's strict alcohol laws on a recent trip. People in the Middle Eastern country face up to six months in prison and a £600 fine for violating its laws around alcohol, whilst foreigners also face deportation.
She spoke out to warn other travellers after the bottle of coconut Takamaka rum she'd bought in the Seychelles as a souvenir was spotted as she went through customs. “Immediately, multiple staff took me away for questioning, a process that felt both surreal and intimidating," she said.
“Although the staff were respectful, I was completely in the dark as to what was happening, and my boyfriend had to wait for me for hours while I was going through the ordeal. I remember feeling so nervous about what was going to happen - would I be deported? Would I get a criminal record?
“The officers explained the seriousness of alcohol-related offences in Qatar, emphasising that I could have faced much harsher consequences, including a longer period of imprisonment or even deportation, had they not considered the circumstances of my case and my lack of intent to break the law. In the end, they kept the rum, and I was permitted to leave, but this experience was a stark reminder of the importance of understanding and respecting local customs and regulations, especially concerning alcohol. I'll never make the same mistake again".
In 2011, Irish citizen Conor Hayes was sentenced to one month in prison in the country after being convicted of drinking without a licence and public obscenity. He spoke out ahead of the 2022 Qatar World Cup warning Brits of its strict drinking and marital sex culture.
As well as far-flung exotic locations, Laura has also visited numerous places against Foreign Office advice, such as Palestine, Kosovo and North Korea. “I've been obsessed with seeing as much of the world as I can and am forever organising my next trip if I'm not already overseas,“ said Laura, whose travel bug began in 2012 while living in Vancouver.
“I never had the opportunity to travel when I was younger, so I was always intrigued by stories of childhood friends who went away." She has now visited 58 countries, including South Korea, Japan, Fiji, North Macedonia, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Canada and USA.
Posting about her travels on TikTok, she also admitted she's received backlash from some calling her "spoilt" for spending so much money on travelling, which she estimates has cost her about £30,000 a year. “I've always self-funded my travel and worked incredibly hard along the journey, so these comments make me laugh," she said.