I have recently realised that after a 20 hour bus ride, I have arrived at my destination without either of my (expensive!) cameras or my iPod. I kept my bag close at all times and used it as a pillow when I fell asleep so some thief has been very clever at some point during my journey.
Does anyone have any tips to avoid being robbed while traveling?
Reply to this Good topic Monica - a 6'4 bodyguard with lots of muscles and lightning bolts tattoo'd each side of his neck????
I am assuming you are still in Indo - todays news in Perth had an article about theives in Indonesia targetting westerners and particularly women with the police saying they would shoot on sight anyone caught robbing or threatening tourists (this after the murder of a Brit expat woman in North Kuta and an Aussie lady losing 20K worth of cash and belongings from her hotel room) - I guess the problem is as much as we try to look like poor backpackers....we are always going to attract the eye of the devious. Sounds like you did everything right, keeping your bag close so the theif must have been very determined...and possibly assisted by train guards??
I always pack things like cameras inside a pair of socks, wrapped up in a couple of sarongs or tshirts tied in knots surrounded by everything else I have so if anyone does slice open a bag they will have to pull a lot of stuff out before they find anything of value.
Before I met the bodyguard I used to keep cash and anything small and valuable like phone/camera tucked down the front of my jeans when I was on boats or buses or trains....still not foolproof though very hard to sleep through someone trying to steal anything from down there.
Reply to this :-) thanks Cindy! Keeping valuables inside socks and wrapped up is a good idea. I have a feeling that a policeman may have been involved in the theft which is worrying so I guess I should keep my eyes peeled for my own 6'4 bodyguard!
Reply to this LOL Monica - I found one wandering along the beach in thailand so I kept him....very very possible that police or other officials were involved. Hope it doesnt spoil your experience too much and if you have insurance your gear is covered. Sorry to hear this happened to you.
Reply to this Thanks for the tip about rolling your valuables in socks and many other layers. My husband and I are planning on a 3 month holiday around Europe next year and I was worried about taking our valuables on so many conncecting transport.
Reply to this yeah I guess no matter how much you watch your stuff there are people who can steal anything.... we were once robbed in McDonalds on Oxford Street in London...had the backpack at my feet under the table and have no idea how someone could steel anything from us when we were just sitting there facing each other and talking???? masterpiece i would say although we lost a lot that day ;-( Good idea is to have a money belt or similar thing on your neck under the T-shirt as that is very difficul to get hands on when you sleep;-)
B
Reply to this Only times I've been robbed was a couple of times from my hotel rooms in Sth America. Both times I had around $100 worth of local currency but when I went to use it there was only around $60 worth. I've been told this is a common trick. By the time you notice it is gone it is often too late. I had paid 2 weeks rent at a nice hotel in La Paz and ,after losing around B./210 (around $30) and 20 of my emergency 30quid, I asked for my $ back. They refused ,saying it was against their policy. I told them they were very lucky I hadn't gone to the tourism police .1 min later I had the whole 2weeks rent in my hand ,including the 3nights I had already been there.
Reply to this wow seems like they were affraid of the police ;-) Is the police helpful at all in Sth America or they want some bribe before helping??
Reply to this I may suggest to use a luggage alarm system , available in amazon. The device consists of a Transmitter and signal Receiver. The Transmitter is attached to the luggage and the Receiver is on a key chain. An audible alarm is activated when a distance, greater than the presetting, separates the two units. Therefore is someone tries to steal your baggage, you'll know before they are out of sight. This may be effective in avoiding stealing during sleep.
Reply to this Hello,
Generally there are various things we can do to avoid bad incidents during traveling. we should dress simply since wearing expensive jewelry can sometimes draw attention to us and make us a target to criminals. It's better to leave all our expensive jewelry at home and should carry simple pieces during traveling.
Thanks
Steve Martin
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