We've all heard of tourists being robbed (not at gunpoint or anything like that) when they were unaware of their belongings under various circumstances. It could be on a commuter train where the getaway was easy (read this) or in an extremely crowded tourist spot, like the Eiffel Tower on New Year's eve. And until my friend here in Paris, NN lost all her belongings at a beach in Spain, the magnitude of the deed didn't strike me. I mean, while we all know we have to be careful with our things to the best possible extent, not too many of us are prepared for the worst-case-scenario where the thief succeeds. She for one, lost all her papers - her passport, her French residence permit, student IDs, etc., all her keys - home, office, hotel room, all her money - cash, ATM cards, credit/debit cards, her return tickets to France and her mobile phone (which means she had none of her contacts)- all with her handbag which she had set down next to her for a second while taking a picture of the sunset on the beach. Yes, she shouldn't have set it down. But on a vast, open space of a beach, you think it's fairly unlikely for someone to swindle you of all your belongings in one millisecond. Yet it did happen. What then? Luckily for her, she was traveling with a friend who was able to buy their tickets back and with a police report, she didn't need emergency travel documents for within the Europe. And because of the friend and all their reservations and the common nature of touristic fraud, they weren't required to disprove any illegal entry. She was able to travel back here and in a quick act of non-bureaucracy, she was able to get most of her papers replaced under a week's time. Of course it cost her heavily, but nonetheless.
Which set me thinking. What if you were traveling alone and this happened? And the thought was truly scary. What if indeed all was lost and you were alone, penniless in a foreign country? Sure you could get to the hotel somehow and scarper the rest of your belongings and owe a fine on your credit card for the keys. But what about your way back? You'd probably have to call a friend (on hotel charge) and have them wire you some immediate money to some place known and what not. Everything, a far bigger hassle than you'd want to find yourself in. And not worth any trouble at all. So what do you do?
1. Do not carry your most important papers when you are out sightseeing. Most hotels have safe deposit boxes with locks, the keys of which you can carry. It's probably prudent to stow it away there on hotel property and risk it on their safety procedure than carry it with you in a bag and risk the million thieves out there out loose. Better yet, if possible stash it on the inner coat pocket or something similar which remains close to you at all times (unless you remove your jacket at a restaurant and hey presto, it's gone again). This includes your return tickets, and other things that you wouldn't immediately be using in your short outing of the place.
2. Money matters. Weird as it may sound, it's best to leave some cash (a couple of 100 bucks) taped to your passport (in which case we assume you keep your passport safe) or inside your toiletry /makeupkit or in an equally unlikely place as a backup. And again, maybe it's best to avoid bulky wallets and the likes, which are primary targets anyways.
3.Contacts. Emergency contacts are there for a reason. Like for health emergencies and for situations like this. Either carry their information on some part of your luggage or have them memorized. Or have them stowed away in your email which you can hopefully access freely enough, thanks to all the hotels now having atleast lobby-enabled free wifi.
None of these apply to youth hostels. If you are staying in youth hostels, it's best to travel light, carry all your terribly important things, which should be minimal, on your person.
Is there anything I missed out? Is there anything you'd handle differently? Other than hitch hike your way back into town? Voice up.
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