Avoid Theft When You Travel
Avoid Theft When You Travel
People always ask us... how do you avoid theft when you travel?
I always say I'll go almost anywhere... and that's true. We do avoid the hot spots of the world, however. Still, people worry when they are planning a trip to a foreign place. They ask... Is it safe there? ...or... Aren't there a lot of pickpockets?
And "there" could be any place from New York to Paris to Rome... or to..... Antananarivo! What you have to do when you travel is to just always try to practice ways to avoid theft. Stay alert and be smart about your actions.
We had friends who were experienced travelers tell us about loosing their passport and driver's license as well as their money in South America. She was carrying all of this in her purse. At dinner, she hung her purse over the back of her chair in a restaurant. At the end of dinner, she went to put her purse safely back around her neck.... but it was gone.
She shouldn't have hung her purse over the chair.... but even more importantly, she shouldn't have had all of her valuables in her purse! The first thing we tell people when they ask advice about traveling is to wear a money belt. One of those zippered nylon pouches that fits under your clothes. Keep your passport, most of your money, and credit cards in there. That way you won't end up like my friend.
What else can you do to avoid theft? Try not to stand out. Don't wear flashy clothes and jewelry. Rio de Janeiro is supposed to have lots of pickpockets. When we were there, we wore well-worn clothes and no jewelry. We did stand out from the bikini-clad beach crowd, but we weren't targets. We read about a tourist who had been mugged and had his gold chains stolen...
After the first theft, he went and bought more gold chains and wore them to the beach. Know what happened? Of course you do... he had them stolen again. Why tempt thieves?
Be alert to pickpockets. They thrive in crowded places, but that's not the only place they can strike. We were in an empty Paris metro station waiting for a train. We had just arrived, and we had our luggage with us. As the train came in, my partner said he'd get both suitcases. As soon as his hands were full, two men appeared out of no where and brushed up against him.
Well, my partner had his wallet in his front pocket, and he clamped his arms against his side.... I yelled and asked them what they were doing... in English since this was the "heat of the battle". When they figured there was too much attention being called to them, and they weren't going to get anything, they said, "Sorry, wrong platform." In English. Yea... right!
We foiled a pickpocket trying to unzip our daypack in a crowded market in Antananarivo, Madagascar. We had nothing of value in that daypack.... it was all in our moneybelts. Yelling at him sent him melting into the crowd, but it just goes to show, that even when you are alert, they can sneak up on you.
Don't try to hide valuables at the pool or the beach. They're better off in your hotel room. Don't leave cameras and valuables lying around in your hotel room though, keep them locked away out of sight.... locked in your bags, locked in the room safe, or locked in the hotel lobby safe. Hotel rooms are safe enough, but why provide temptation?
If you have a rental car, don't leave maps and suitcases visible in the car. Don't leave them in the car at all at night.
With a few common sense precautions and just staying alert, you should be able to avoid theft on your travels. It's much better to enjoy one more afternoon sightseeing than is is to spend it reporting a theft.
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