Quote:
Originally Posted by 4X4
Trojan gave some good advice on over packing. Depending on the length of your trip, I'd probably pack even less than he suggested. Clothes are dirt cheap pretty much everywhere in the world. Why carry around what can be purchased for peanuts upon arrival? At least, that's how I do it.
And shower shoes (also known as 99 cent flip flops) are a must if you stay in any kind of communal accommodations (hostel).
Don't be a dum dum tourist that walks around with the camera hanging around the neck and map in hand. You're asking to get mugged. Act confident. Like you know the area. If you're smart, you'll study your map a bit in your hotel before going out. Just know the main areas and their proximity to where you're staying. If you have a feel for the town, you're less likely to get completely disoriented.
Everyone has to look at a map sometime, but nobody has to do it in the middle of a crowded street. This is when you get pickpocketed. When you're holding the map in one hand and pointing with the other. Then a kid barely brushes you as he walks by.
Look at your map when you're at a sidewalk cafe or somewhere that you are not "in traffic".
Never put valuables on the table when you're at a cafe. You're going to want to go through your pictures, but put your camera back in your pocket after you're finished.
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I think this is a good summary. I did a 1 month trip with a 36L backpack. Polyester is easy to wash and dry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by simmer2
For the most part you are completely right, but that's not to say it never happens. When I was living in Europe my buddy and I were in Krakow, Poland and wanted to get to Budapest. We'd read in the Lonely Planet that they didn't recommend taking the night train from Krakow to Budapest but we figured we would be fine and take all the precautions necessary.
The train compartment we were sleeping in had a pretty elementary lock so we wrapped a belt around the door to make sure nobody could get in. Well, after having to take off that belt 6 different times throughout the night thanks to border crossings in Slovakia, it kind of got old so we just took the belt off at 5am or so. Next thing we know, there is a banging on the wall beside us, we look up and a guy with a knife is trying to pry open the door to our train.
After a couple of minutes I went to the room next to us and it was two girls....they'd woken up in the middle of the night and their bags were gone, they went to the bathroom and all their belongings had been taken including passports, cameras, etc. Once we got off the train, we talked to another guy who had his camera stolen as well....I guess we got pretty lucky.
I guess for a first time traveller this likely isn't the best story to be telling, but at the same time this was the worst thing that happened to me in over 1 year of straight travelling. I used a money belt mainly because I liked having my passport against me at all times...I had a buddy who left his on a bus in France and it was a pretty big hassle trying to get a new one. For money and stuff, a wallet is fine but I would recommend keeping your passport close by.
As long as you keep your wits about you and not do anything you wouldn't normally do in any big city around the world, you'll be fine. Respect their culture even if some things seem really odd or different.
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Yeah, I don't deny that these things don't happen. But for the most part, walking around with a money belt isn't gonna save you anyways. Putting your passport in a bag is absolutely stupid, you always want that on hand. As for stories, I have a few. I remember in Paris, I put my backpack down to put on a sweatshirt and I put the backpack between my legs and had my family standing all around me and I was tucked in the corner. Didn't help, they stole the backpack; thank god the only thing worth anything in that bag was the backpack and $10, everything else was a roll of TP and a few postcards. I smartened up after that. In Rome, 3 prostitutes tried mugging me at 6am on a quiet empty street, but I was able to overpower the 3 and managed to push them away and was able to walk away. In Sarajavo, I got stalked back to my hostel which was on the 4th floor of a dark building and was about to get into a fight before someone passed by and broke the tension. Budapest, I'd say would rival Rome, St Petersburg and China as the biggest scam artists I've ever been. And in Edmonton, I have a friend that has been mugged 3 times at knifepoint.
Point being, these things happen... all around the world. If you are a ignorant travel and have your head constantly stuck in a map, you are gonna get mugged anyways, Rome, Sarajavo, Warsaw or Edmonton. I can understand why some people would use it and it does make them more secure, but at the same time, its not such a big deal. I'd be more focused on trying not to look like such a easy target.
(I did have some interesting scam experiences in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary as well; for Poland (Krakow-Warsaw, Warsaw-Malbroke and back, Auchwitsz) and Vienna-Bratislava-Trencin-Budapest, I usually sat in the 2nd class mass train seating rather then compartments in case those gassing stories were true.
