Travelling around the world you get to see a lot of things from good to bad, however in every country there are good people and there are some bad, its just how it goes, but travelling can be scary specially not knowing the language,but some majority of people will try dodgy stuff to try and get you to give them money or take your possessions .
Many people will make you believe that travelling is unsafe and to be fair, that’s a massive lie, hundreds of thousands of people go travelling every year with out any problems or incidents however a few people do experience some problems such as theft, safety and security issues.
However that is due to them being not careful or too trust worth or even just an event that is out of their hands.
If you follow the basic information provided, this should help you with your journey.
Destination
Before travelling you should always read up on the new and gather information, best place to do that is by contacting the foreign office for information, on how safe the destination is, if theirs any problems going on such as terror, coups or wars, and amount other things.
Some travel warning from foreign office wouldn’t mean you cant travel there, it can just mean some part of the country is having issue and it may not be safe, but the foreign office may say that the whole nation isn’t safe to travel to, its also best to search other foreign offices for more information.
You can also google news about the country and if theirs any serious issues happening, doing your own research is imported.
Here are the information for some foreign offices:
- United kingdom official foreign office site: www.fco.gov.uk
- United states of america Official Foreign Office site: www.travel.state.gov
If Your Destination Becomes unsafe
Its very rare that you will experience political changes however is can happen and it can ruin your holiday due to violence and changes in power, so you need to make sure you have a safety guide tips set for yourself such as contacting your embassy or an embassy that has close relationship with your country, this is due to that an attack may happen on your embassy and this will make it dangers to go there, so going to an embassy that can provide you refuge, so making sure you have the location and number for you embassy and at least 2 or 3 other embassies that can provided you refuge.
Usually when things like political changes, military coups happen, tourists are not the target and your trip might not be affected by it however its always good to be safe. However protests or demonstrations can and most likely lead to violence which can make the place dangerous contacting your embassy will be a good choice.
Safety tips:
Write down information about your embassy such as location and contact number
Also write down information about other embassy s that can take you refuge.
Emergency contacts such as hospitals and police.
Protect Your Belongings In Hostels
You might feel like everyone in the hostel is like you a fellow traveler however hostels are with people you don’t know and they might not be rich, some are quite poor in fact so leaving your belongings in a unreliable place will make it a easy target for someone.
Sharing hostel rooms with strangers might be fun and cheap but small minority of people will rob, it can be something small from toothpaste to phone chargers however things like money and cameras etc, that are easily on show with out any protection can lead to people taken them and you might not have any proof, who might of taken it. So keep your belongings close and safe.
You can always store your belongings in a hostels safes or lockers or even have your bags locked when you not using them, so its at least has some kind of safety.
Make sure you don’t trust people, yes they may be friendly and nice however you shouldn’t trust anyone with your belongings.
Don’t leave your phones charging without you looking after it, leaving them unattended gives people opportunity to steal. Don’t give them that change.
Avoid Getting robbed
Getting robbed abroad is pretty easy if you are too trust worthy, some peoples ‘jobs’ are robbing so they can provided a living for them self, it might be hard to think about it but its true, people do rob for a living, if they can’t get a job and need food, they will rob and tourists are an easy target, locals know everyone, the language and the laws but travelers don’t so it makes them an easy target. Make sure you use common sense to deal with this:
Don’t go about flashing your valuables such as smartphones, cameras, wallet, anything that has high value, make sure they are locked safe in your backpack or in a pocket inside your jacket, no where someone is able to access it, such as back trousers pockets or showing in your hand.
Don’t wear watches or rings, people will take them off you the hard way or without you knowing.
Don’t carry to much cash, make sure you have spare somewhere hidden and secure.
Try not to act like a tourist might be hard but try not to, look like you know what you doing, it makes you a harder target.
When taking money out from a ATM machine, make sure you are alert, people find ATM Machines a easy target and are prime locations, markets and transport areas are high targets as well.
On nights out, don’t take your valuables with you, take out the amount of money you think you need, and hide some in your socks or something just encase.
This might sound silly but don’t fall asleep on public transport, some one will take your phone, bag off you and you wouldn’t even notice it.
Feel under threat, find a exit you feel is safe and think about leaving it or running away, don’t stay in a dangerous area.
Scams are happening all over the place, you might not feel like someone is scamming you but they probably are, if they are being overly friendly or something is too good to be true that’s because it is, locals who are trying to scam you are usually over friendly and ask about you like ‘where you from’, some even tell you sober stories to make you hand out cash.
People going around scamming happens in every country but you will come across them more often in developing countries.
Never give money over, possessions or details, until you are 100% sure its legitimate.
Don’t use card in stores because your details will be taken and so will all your money.