15
Security
Most of the world is peaceful, though this can be hard to tell from the media. Television coverage of riots, wars, terrorist incidents, volcano eruptions, hurricanes and famines may keep you up to date with unfolding world affairs, but won’t do much to awaken your wanderlust. Nor will it convey an accurate picture of the level of danger abroad. In this chapter you’ll find out where to get good information, how to determine if a place is actually dangerous, how to take precautions as you go, how to avoid some basic scams and what to do if things actually do go wrong. The best protection you can pack along, however, is a small survival guide, which has lists explaining exactly what to do when things go awry: you get separated from your tour group, are in the path of a hurricane, stumble into riots or need to survive for a few days or longer in the desert, jungle, mountains or at sea. It also lists all emergency numbers around the world and has global embassy hotlines for Brits, Americans, Canadians, New Zealanders and Australians.
How to figure out if the destination is safe
Start by getting the official position of state departments. But keep in mind,
a country can be very safe but for a single, remote border dispute. The UK
Foreign Office (
fco.gov.uk) is more
likely than the others to specify the volatile area when they place an entire
country on warning; crosscheck with Canada’s Consular Affairs Department ( voyage.gc.ca), Australia’s Department
of Foreign Affairs ( dfat.gov.au) or
the US State Department ( travel.state.gov). Pakistan, for instance, has a consular warning as
a “terrorist-supporting nation”, but travellers have been visiting safely for
years. So a travel warning does not necessarily mean you should not go – it just
means you should investigate a step further. That step is checking your
guidebook. Nearly all the major guides have security information. They may very
well explain that the country has had a strong travel advisory for years, yet
remains extremely popular with travellers and is quite safe but for a single
easily avoidable region. However, even recent editions get out of date quickly,
especially when reporting political unrest, so check guidebook websites as
well.
If you’re still uncertain, check online for tourist bureaus. You can almost
always find an email address of a specific office. The people who staff the
counters meet travellers all day and generally have a good feel for travel
conditions. Tell them your nationality, when you’re planning to travel and
roughly where you hope to go. Ask if there are any security issues you should be
concerned about. Lastly, check with other travellers. Visit internet chat sites
to hear directly from travellers who’ve been there in recent weeks, or are still
in the country: try TripAdvisor ( tripadvisor.com) or Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree ( lonelyplanet.com/thorntree).
What to do if the political climate changes
If the political conditions take a turn for the worse, you probably won’t want to stick around to check out the mass riots, no matter how exciting it may seem. And if you’re American, you probably don’t want to go to the US embassy either (often a prime target, so they shut their doors when the going gets rough). The Australian embassy, Canadian embassy, New Zealand embassy, UK embassy and others should be fine – even for American citizens. The other option is to get out of town immediately (it’s rarely a country-wide riot). If you hadn’t picked up some discreet local clothes yet, this would be the right time. Keep an eye on the local news, and head to an internet café if necessary to find English-language updates.
How to avoid being robbed
The basic trick here is to blend in, keep out of areas where you’re likely to become a target, stay alert, carry your gear discreetly and provide yourself with a quick exit when you need one.
Start by removing all jewellery (if necessary covering a wedding ring with a plaster or tape). Wear a cheap digital watch or no watch at all. Keep your camera concealed (not in a case that says “Nikon”). Then you’ll want to wear clothing that blends in, the more discreet (think earth tones) the better. A little tip: safari pants with zip-off legs and a photojournalist vest are generally not what the locals are wearing.
It’s a bit like outrunning a bear… you don’t have to be faster than the bear, just faster than the other people around you. Show that you don’t have much to steal – or that you have less than other potential targets. With just a backpack and no carry-on bag, you have both your hands free and can remain mobile for a quick getaway, so robbing you looks like more of a challenge. The small padlocks and wire mesh pack-covers will do little to protect your pack, but they will draw attention to the value of its contents. Plastic rice bags are easy to find, dirt cheap, decrease the perceived value of the pack’s contents and make great rain covers. It takes five or ten seconds more to access your pack’s interior, but it can make you less of a target. Cut two slits for your shoulder straps, then sew or use duct tape to fasten the rice bag around your pack.
If you’re travelling with a partner, make sure one person isn’t carrying all the cash and valuables. And at ATMs, have one stand back a bit to guard against someone who might grab and dash.
And remember: put nothing (you can’t afford to lose) in the overhead compartment on overnight trains. Your pack is your pillow.
Pack to prevent theft
Don’t keep your money and passport in a handbag or daypack, or even in a wallet. Use a secure travel pouch. A waist pouch kept under the waistline of your trousers is quite effective, and similar pouches that hang around your neck (under the shirt) or fasten to your ankle are also available. Just make sure you don’t access it in busy areas like train stations and markets. Walk over to a more discreet spot and, if you have a travel companion, stand between them and a wall so that your actions are hidden.
To protect your slightly-less-valuables, wear your backpack on your front in crowded places and don’t use a backpack for a day bag. Because it’s inconvenient to wear a backpack on your front all day for city exploration, use a shoulder bag and keep it tucked tighter under your arm in crowded places. Try to find a model with Velcro flaps, which are difficult to open without your noticing, or a double-entry system (eg a zip plus a clasp). “Bum bags” (waist packs) are thief magnets and are best avoided. If you must use a backpack as a daypack, make sure it’s packed carefully (valuables at the bottom, away from the zippers).
And finally, don’t keep all your money in one place. Stash some emergency funds in the secret compartment of a belt, or tape some (in a small plastic bag) to the inside of your backpack. Another trick is to keep a decoy wallet in your pocket. Empty your wallet except for £5–20/$8–30, a non-essential ID and a few random photos or business cards.
Avoid dangerous urban areas
Often a hundred metres can be the difference between a completely safe street and a dangerous one. And these boundaries may change after dark. Ask your hotel clerk or tourist-office staff to mark the dangerous areas on your map (both day and night). No matter where you are, get in the habit of checking over your shoulder and across the street every now and then. Even in crowded markets, you can see if you’re getting followed after a few turns. But be particularly aware after dark. Muggers can easily hide in doorways, so the closer you are to the street, the less chance they have to surprise you. If you spot one or more suspicious characters in a doorway up ahead, cross the street. Or hop in a taxi if you’ve got a bad feeling about the area. Trust your gut feeling and always keep enough change ready to pay for a short cab ride. For less than $1, you can quickly get yourself back to a safer area. When you’re in an area you’re not sure of, resist the temptation to pull out your map on a street corner. Walk purposefully, even if lost, and duck inside a coffee shop or store to study the map or ask directions.
Take a few extra precautions in bus and train terminals, where many pickpockets lurk. If you need to pretend you’re a secret agent to stay alert and pull this off, so be it. One simple method is to walk around the perimeter of the station instead of crossing it so you can keep a wall on one side and your eyes on anyone approaching.
Also, get in the habit of avoiding the tables near doors or bordering the pavement in cafés. A quick thief can grab your gear and run. Keep your bag under your table while you eat, with the strap around your leg. If you need to use the toilet, take your bag along. You can’t expect someone else to guard your bag as closely as you do.
Accommodation safety
It’s not just local thieves – travellers steal as well. Sad, but true. There’s not much threat to your dirty laundry, but your valuables still need to be guarded. At night, cameras and suchlike are better left at the reception desk in a safe, in a hostel locker if provided, or behind the counter if there’s someone keeping an eye on it. Some places also offer the reception safe to travellers who need a place to keep their passport pouch while at the beach – which is better than taking it along. Otherwise, treat your passport pouch like your spleen: sleep with it (or put it in your pillow case) and take it along when you shower – you can hang the pouch on the hook, just under your towel inside the shower stall.
Some hotels require your passport for a few hours to gather information. They should not require it any longer than that. Ask for it back as soon as they’re done.
What to do if you have everything stolen
Fortunately, this is not as much of a hassle as it used to be. You could very
well have everything you need – credit cards, passport and cash – in one to ten
days. But act immediately to get the process started. Your first job is to
file a police report. Go to the police station
nearest to where the robbery occurred, report the robbery and ask for a numbered
copy of the police report. Presenting this at your embassy will speed up the
issuing of a new passport. You will be waiting a while at the police station for
the forms to be processed, so use this time to make phone calls. Have someone
look online to find reverse-charge numbers. Start with a call to your travel insurance company (assuming you have one). Most
good insurers accept charges and keep you on the line while they cancel your
credit cards and have new ones issued. Otherwise, you’ll have to cancel them
yourself by phone or email. If your insurance or credit-card provider doesn’t
supply emergency cash, Western Union (UK 
0800 833 833; USA
1800 325-6000) can assist, if you have someone at the other
end put money in. It can even provide this service online ( westernunion.com). Expect to pay
a fee of four to eight percent, depending on location. If you don’t have ID, you
can make arrangements to pick up the money with a code word.
Put a stop on your mobile phone if you’ve had it stolen. Then call your embassy, tell them what happened and that you’ll be on your way over as soon as you get the report. Ask for an appointment or a specific name you can request at the gate. Make sure you have a few passport photos before you show up. If you don’t have copies of your documents or haven’t emailed them to yourself – if you do this, make sure not to label it “Visa card” or “Passport number” or include any of that info within the email – or haven’t left a back-up disc with a trusted friend or relative and you don’t have any ID, find a fellow citizen who has their passport and ask them to come with you to the embassy and vouch for you. The embassy can help make arrangements for your friends and family to fax or email photos to help confirm your identity.
How to avoid sexual harassment
Harassment is (of course) never your fault, but there are a few things you can do to minimize it, and doing so means you’ll likely have a much more enjoyable trip.
Most harassers get information direct to their libidos via their eyeballs, so let’s start with appearance. Look at how the local women dress, and try to approximate that (or a slightly more conservative version). Unfortunately, even if your clothes aren’t racy by your own standards, shorts, short skirts and tight-fitting clothes can be more likely to denote you as promiscuous than they do at home.
Sometimes more important than how you’re dressed is how you act – if you appear comfortable, confident and at ease you don’t seem like so easy a target. You may also want to come up with a story about your husband coming to meet you soon, and perhaps even buy a cheap, simple ring to back up your story.
That should take care of much of the harassment, but count on some rude remarks, catcalls and pinches anyway. Do your best to ignore them and keep walking. Or, alternatively, react with clarity and confidence and tell them you don’t like it. If you get followed, head into a nearby busy shop and tell the owner.
If you’re alone and see a crowded or well-lit area in sight, consider running. If the harasser chases or grabs you, scream for help. This is, in fact, how most women escape attempted rapes; pleading and stalling are not very effective. Kick in the knees or privates and don’t think twice about jabbing him in the eyes. Feel free to use any objects nearby to aid your fight: pen, car antenna, rock or camera.
GETTING OUT OF A STICKY SITUATION
I went to Lebanon in 1984, as a tourist, in the middle of the civil war. I especially wanted to see the ancient cities of Sidon and Tyre. But the Israeli army was occupying the southern third of Lebanon. The only way into that part of the country was through a checkpoint in the Chouf mountains at a little village called Betar. When I got there I found about a thousand Lebanese, mostly women, children and old people, trying to get through the checkpoint to join their families in the south. It was 90°. There was no food, no shelter, no toilet. Little boys with plastic jugs were selling water by the paper cupful. The checkpoint was not actually manned by the Israelis but by Christian Lebanese from the South Lebanon Army. The Lebanese civilians were all yelling at them, and they were yelling back. I asked someone “How do I get through?” and the person just pointed at the milling, furious crowd and said, “That is the line.”
I was wearing a coat and tie. Everyone was looking at me as if I were a CIA agent or something so I decided to go with it. I pulled out my blue passport and waved it over my head and shouted, “American. American, American, coming through!” To my complete surprise the crowd parted and the South Lebanon Army stepped aside. I walked into Israeli-occupied territory.
I had no idea what to do next. Then I realized that, on a hilltop about fifty yards away, there was an Israeli gun emplacement. A .50 calibre machine gun was pointed at my chest. The Israeli soldier behind the machine gun made a “come here” motion. I had to walk up the hill. The machine gun was trained on me the whole time. I was thinking, “Wait a minute. My tax dollars paid for that machine gun. That is my machine gun.” But of course I didn’t say so.
I asked the Israelis if anyone spoke English. The company commander certainly did. He was from Santa Barbara and had gone to UCLA. He said, “What the f– are you doing here?”
I said, “I’m on vacation.”
And he began to laugh. He said, “Actually, I’m a reservist, and as a matter of fact this is my vacation. Have a good time.” And he let me through. I walked away from the Israeli military positions and found a taxi cab. I told the cab driver, “I want to go to the ruins.”
The cab driver stared at me. “Lebanon”, he said, “is all ruins.”
How to avoid scams
The best trick, really, is to learn some of the most common scams. Con artistsare hatching new plans all the time, but they tend to be slightly mutatedversions of the ones you’ll read about here. Keep your guard up, but not too high. Not all locals are out to scam you. Many of their gestures, although odd, are genuine acts of hospitality that you wouldn’t be likely to experience at home. You’ll have to trust your instincts.
Border-crossing scam
You become an unknowing drug mule when a seemingly innocent person asks you for the small favour of helping deliver a package, carry a suitcase, or push a buggy across a border.
How to beat it: never, never, never carry anything over a border for anyone, even if it’s just a postage stamp for a nun in a wheelchair.
Credit-card scam
A store owner takes your credit card to a back room to swipe it, then swipes it again for another price. You sign one, then he forges your signature on the other.
How to beat it: keep a close eye on your credit card and ask the person to run it through the machine in front of you. Take a business card from the shop when you make any purchase so you can better alert the credit-card company in case you later learn you were robbed.
Hotel pay scam
Okay, this isn’t really a scam, but it can result in a rip-off. You pay up front for your hostel accommodation, then when you check out you don’t have proof of payment and the new person at the desk doesn’t believe that you already paid, so you get charged again.
How to beat it: if you pay in advance, get a written receipt and keep it.
Spill/bird shit scam
Someone “accidentally” spills something on you (or bird shit lands on you); nearby helpful locals start cleaning it off and rob you in the process. Variation: small children thrust cardboard or newspapers in front of you while their mates pick your pockets, or someone thrusts a baby at you which you practically have to catch, or someone tries to teach you a football move.
How to beat it: keep a firm grasp on your belongings and walk off immediately.
Scooter scam
You rent a scooter/motorbike, park it, and someone from the rental agency with an extra set of keys shows up and “steals” it leaving you to foot the bill for an entire scooter.
How to beat it: bring your own lock (or buy a cheap one at your first stop) and make sure you’re not followed when at out-of-the-way locations.
Repair scam
You rent a car/scooter/motorbike. It’s almost guaranteed to break down. The rental agency helps you get it to a garage where they can hit you with hyper-inflated repair fees. Or they suddenly notice some damage that was there before and want you to cover it.
How to beat it: Take several photos of the vehicle before you leave, making sure to get close-ups of any scratches… and do this together with the person who is renting out the vehicle to you.
FIGHTING BACK
It was dusk. I was walking back to my rented room in a house on the outskirts of Dharamsala, India – the Dalai Lama’s home in exile – with an armful of mangoes and basmati rice and dahl [lentils]. I had just been to the market. I noticed there was a man following me. When I turned around again, he was gone. The next time I heard him he was behind me. He didn’t attack me from behind. It seemed he just wanted to make conversation. He started by asking if I wanted a beedie (hand-rolled cigarette), then he wanted to know if he could carry my bags. I said no to both. I was nervous. But he was also nervous. And short. He just came up to my shoulder. We chitchatted a few moments, then I said “namaste” and turned down the path to my house. Just then he threw both his arms around me in a bear hug. I dropped my groceries and shoved him. He fell down. I yelled “Jaow, jaow!” (Go away!) and ran down the path. He didn’t try to follow.
Check out this vital info on hitchhiking safely.
Scratch card scam
A local offers you a free scratch card. You accept and start scratching and – big surprise – you win. Just need to follow him to collect your prize. Often this is well out of the way and what you get is splitting the tiny “prize” of the local bringing you to some store or a long timeshare sales pitch. It’s not so much about robbing you… just wasting a lot of your time.
How to beat it: say no to free scratch cards or anything that involves a journey of more than a minute.
“Drug-buy” scam
A dealer approaches to sell you a small amount of drugs in a very discreet location (like the bathroom of your hostel). He then tips off his buddy the police officer, who demands a fee for not taking you to prison.
How to beat it: obviously, the best way is not buying drugs. If you absolutely must, make sure other travellers have bought from the person previously.
Exchange scam
You get a good price on moneychanging from an unofficial street dealer. He counts out the money with painstaking slowness and finds – in a show of false honesty – that it comes up a few notes short. So he adds a few new notes on top. However, while he’s adding the new notes, he’s discreetly pulling off even more from the bottom. Before you have a chance to double-check (not that you would, as you’ve just watched the world’s slowest count), he’s off.
How to beat it: avoid unofficial moneychangers, have the person put the money in your hand as they count it and always recount (even at official booths, where employees have been known to try to skim a little off the top from time to time).
Fake police scam
A kid comes up and asks for change for a small banknote. Not long after (most likely in a city park or on a quiet road), a man approaches, flashes a badge quickly and tells you he’s a police officer. He explains that the note you just received from the boy was counterfeit and that he needs to take it back to headquarters and you will be fined for your involvement. At this point, just as you are starting to wonder if it’s real, a large muscular “colleague” arrives and pressures you to pay up.
How to beat it: take a good long look at the badge and tell him that, although he is certainly a genuine officer, there are many impersonators and that, according to their own tourist ministry, you’re supposed to make all such spot payments at police headquarters, and you’ll be happy to follow him there on foot. Under no circumstances should you get into their “unmarked police car”.
Fake travel agent scam
You buy a ticket from a travel agency you found on the web or on a direct mailing. The ticket never arrives and when you try to call you find the place has gone out of business.
How to beat it: make sure you’re signing up with
an accredited agency. In Australia, check with the Australian Federation of
Travel Agents ( afta.com.au); in
Canada, the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies ( acta.ca); in the UK, the Association
of British Travel ( abta.com); and in
the USA, the American Society of Travel Agents ( asta.org). And pay with a credit card
so you can stop payment if necessary.
Free transport scam
You’re met at the train or bus station by a tout who is offering free transport back to his hostel. You follow him onto a city tram and notice that it’s not free – he just didn’t pay the fare.
How to beat it: ask how you’ll be getting to the hotel. If it’s by public transport, make sure the tout is willing to cover your fare.
Claims scam
A merchant gives you a “great deal” on some uncut gems that he says you can resell back home for several times the price. He even offers to throw in the postage and help you mail them. You watch him mail the parcel at the post office but the gems never make it to you back home, or they arrive but turn out to be worthless glass.
How to beat it: there are great gem deals, but knowing how to find them takes a professional eye and knowledge of world markets. Don’t get involved unless you know exactly what you’re doing. If you decide to mail gems, do it yourself, and don’t be surprised if customs officials extract a fee on the way into your country before allowing you to claim them.
Pay-it-later scam
Your taxi driver tells you not to worry about the price, or the meter, that you’ll work it out later. Then, on reaching your destination, they sting you for many times the actual fare.
How to beat it: always agree on a price before getting in the taxi, or make sure the meter is on. If it’s too late, do your best to bargain, try to attract the attention of a nearby policeman and take down the driver’s ID number and name so you can report him. Tour guides have been known to practise this technique as well.
Taxi-dash scam
You’ve paid your taxi and the driver leaves before you can get your bag out of the boot (or trunk).
How to beat it: leave the door open or don’t pay until you’ve got your bag. Better still, travel with your belongings inside the vehicle.
Help from your embassy or consulate
If you think of your government’s embassies, consulates and high commissions as a safety net, you’re liable to slip through one of the holes. They can’t do much if you’ve been arrested for violating local laws, and they won’t help send you home or give you a place to sleep if you run out of money. But they can help you in the event of a lost or stolen passport. They can also provide contact information during emergencies; give you the latest travel advice; allow you to register your travel plans if you’re heading into treacherous areas (remember to check back in); and assist with overseas marriage and birth documents. And most of them make excellent cocktails, should you manage to attend one of their functions, so consider swinging by if you’re in the neighbourhood during a national holiday.