Tips for solo travellers
BANGKOK: 15 January 2013: Travel risks for solo travellers are mounting prompting New Year tips from internet bloggers and newspapers on how to stay safe while travelling alone.
Here are some of the important recommendations.
Keep your passport, visa, IDs, credit cards and tickets in your carry-on bag. This bag should not leave your arm/side at any time during your trip. Make copies of important documents and keep them in a safe place in case you lose documents or your carry bag is stolen. Better still photograph IDs and save images to your mobile phone or Ipad, so you always have a near perfect replica of documentation at hand. But keep a close eye on your phone.
Keep your hotel room locked at all times. If you do not want room service to tinker with your things, leave the “Do Not Disturb” sign outside your door when you not in the room.
If someone knocks on the door and says they work for the hotel, check their ID and if you are in any doubt call reception first before opening the door.
If you have valuable items, place them in the hotel safe in your room. Do not use box safes that are located behind the hotel reception in properties that do not have individual room safes. They are not secure.
Never, ever get drunk, or accept drinks of any kind from a stranger especially when travelling solo by bus or train.
Always keep your phone fully charged and make sure you have important telephone numbers logged on your sim card such as your embassy help line, credit card companies and the tourist police if applicable.
An article in Huffington Post suggests that single women travellers wear fake wedding rings. The idea that a protective husband is hovering nearby may deter other men from approaching a woman alone.
Never tell anyone you are travelling solo, always suggest you have a travelling companion who is about to turn up at any time soon.
Pepper sprays are great weapons if an attack is imminent, but they are illegal many Asian countries including Thailand. But plenty of female travellers in Thailand buy them when travelling overseas and carry them in their handbags as a last resort. They are particularly useful to fend off a taxi driver as they work better in a confined space. But make sure you point the nozzle in the right direction.
If you are in a city, move with the crowds, but do not let yourself be cornered or sandwiched for more than a few seconds. Always be vigilant of your surroundings and stay away from people who instinctively give you an uneasy feeling about their intentions. Elevators are a risky spot in a hotel so ask for rooms on lower floors mid-way down the hall from the elevators.
Bangkok’s skytrain and metro are considered safe, but when passengers are packed in carriages like sardines keep a watchful eye on your handbag and belongings.
In the evenings stay away from small lanes poorly lit with little traffic. Keep to popular spots and don’t flash cash. Keep most of your cash safe in your hotel room safe.
Comments on what you think, helps to reduce risks for solo travellers or first-time travellers to Thailand can be posted here.
This article is all very well and good and posts some important information. However there are a few things I would like to add as an experienced World traveler.
NEVER carry your documents (passport or credit cards) in those pouches that go around your neck. They can be pulled off you and cords (or cables) can be cut with ease with you laying on the ground helpless.
Your embassy might only offer you help in the way of advise (like leave the country), unless you are from the US then our embassy will do all they can to make sure you are safe and sound (the UK embassy will just give you a cup of sweet tea and that is exactly what happened to someone close to me in Cambodia!
You should check to see if your embassy has notification capabilities, such as the Smart Travelers Program as with the US State Department that will notify you directly of any ‘problems’ in the country you are traveling in and has your contact details in case something happens to you. Always a good idea to let them know where you are and who to call if you need them to.
Passports are ease to get replaced (usually 2 days depending upon your country of origin… US 1-day)! So never travel around town with them. Leave them in a safe place at the hotel or wherever you are staying. This CAN be with the reception.
Your drivers license is good enough in most countries as a form of ID to take with you as wander around during the day.
Scan all of your personal documents before you leave. Keep them on your laptop or tablet or phone (only if you have nothing else)… just make sure that they are protected by a password! That way you will have them in case something happens to the real ones.
Travelers insurance… GET IT! Make sure it is a complete policy with repatriation coverage, medical, legal, etc. Traveling without it stupid! It is cheap enough to get a 90-day policy and you will be covered (try Travelex but there are many others)on line. But pick a company that you know or have heard of and that has World wide abilities.
Credit cards… never take all of them with you when walking around town. Break them up. Leave some with passport and take the others with you. They are your worst safety concern financially as many banks will NOT send a replacement to you other than to your home address (check prior to leaving what their policies are).
Debit cards will get you a better rate of exchange than a credit card when pulling cash from an ATM. Never carry large amounts of cash. There is always an ATM usually … so pull when you need to.
Personal defense weapons (pepper spray, batons,stun guns, etc) are easy to obtain just about anywhere. But be careful that you know how to use them. They might be illegal in certain countries, but the locals will be more than happy to sell you anything anyway…but think about it carefully first!
Most everywhere you will be fine and safe as long as you keep your whits about you. In New York City, Rome, Madrid, and London you would turn your ‘Street Smarts’ on… so do it when you are traveling as well!
If you are a woman traveling alone be careful! It is not that you are a better ‘target’ just one that appears to easier… so DON’T be!Watch your back and just be aware of those things around you. The same is true for us guys as well!
But the important thing is do not let safety get in the way of enjoying the trip you have worked so hard to go on!