Over the past 30 years, my work’s taken me to some of the most dangerous places in the world. Here are a few of the close calls I’ve had with Muslim terrorists, the Taliban, earthquakes and collapsing bridges.

Mumbai

Days after we stayed at The Taj Palace and Tower Hotel in Mumbai, it was one of four locations in Mumbai that were attacked by Pakistani terrorists. More than 174 people were killed and 300 were injured in attacks that lasted 4 days.

Haiti

10 days before we were scheduled to arrive in Haiti, a massive earthquake decimated Haiti. 250,000 residences and 30,000 commercial buildings collapsed or were severely damaged. Between 100,000 – 160,000 people died. The Hotel Montana, where we had reservations, was completely destroyed and 52 guests were killed.

Afghanistan

The Serena Hotel

Shortly after we visited Kabul, Afghanistan, our hotel, the Hotel Serena was attacked by the Taliban gunmen wearing explosive vests who ran to the gym – because that’s where American are often found – and started shooting everyone they saw. They killed six guests. A few years later, four teenage Taliban militants snuck guns into the hotel in their shoes and socks and they killed nine guests.

The CURE hospital

Our partner hospital, The CURE hospital, where we spent a lot of time during our visit, was attacked by a rogue cop who had been assigned to the hospital by the government. He shot and killed three Americans including a CURE volunteer pediatrician who was visiting. After the rogue cop was shot, the doctors and nurses at the hospital rushed him into surgery and saved his life.

Calcutta

The night before we arrived in Calcutta, a bridge on the main road from the airport to the city collapsed. If you look closely at the right side of the collapsed span, you can see a truck that was crossing the bridge when it collapsed. The driver survived and no one was killed. India leads the world in road deaths and every road trip we took was terrifying.