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International Travel and Health Insurance
Embarking on Your Dream Vacation Are your Plans Complete? Your bags are packed, passport and papers in order and you couldn’t be in a higher state of excitement preparing for travel to that wonderful, exotic location. This is the vacation you have...
Safe and Sound Winter Travel
We've all felt Jack Frost taking a nip at our nose, and facing
Jack also means facing the harsh reality that a harsh winter
promises, including the toll it's like to take on our main mode
of transportation.
It's common knowledge that the...
Tips for General Travel Safety
Traveling can provide some of the greatest experiences of your life; however it can also be pretty scary if general travel safety is not followed. Before traveling everyone involved in the trip should review safety suggestions and mentally prepare...
Travel Web Sites – 5 Dirty Little Secrets
Travel web sites are big business, and a lot of power has been placed in the hands of the consumer… or has it? Does your urge to always look for a better deal play into somebody else’s greed? A travel web site is a great tool but before booking...
Travelling in the Arabian Peninsula
It may seem in the days of mass tourism and cheap worldwide flights that no stone has been left unturned in our pursuit of the unexplored. However, Arabia still offers much in the way of mystery and exoticism.
If you are brave enough to venture...
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Travel Saftey - Using Intuition
"We've been robbed," I told Ana. "All of it." I grabbed the
thief, who was no longer acting drunk at all. It was a lesson in
travel safety.
It started when both my wife and I had a strong feeling we
shouldn't get on that bus in Cuenca. Neither of us said
anything, because a taxi was two dollars, and the bus cost only
twenty-five cents. It seems a bit TOO frugal now.
Ana found a seat, but there was no seat for me. I was packed in
with the other commuters standing up. I noticed the drunk
pushing his way through the crowd, randomly going this way and
that, and I knew somethimg was up. I instinctively reached into
my pockets to check on my money. I had just visited the ATM. The
$170 in my pocket was the most cash we had carried during the
entire trip. Still there. The old guy pushed against me like he
was trying to find a place to stand comfortably. I checked my
again.
Five minutes later some space opened up near Ana, and I moved
over to her. When I reached into my pocket again, it was empty,
and the other pocket was empty too. I never felt a thing. I told
Ana, and saw that the old drunk was still on the bus.
We got off at the next stop, dragging the thief with us. An
officer appeared, and a crowd formed. The thief was sober now,
pulling his pockets out and insisting again that he was inocent.
Search him, he said, and I did, but I understood now that his
associate was long gone with the money, probably off the bus at
a previous stop. His role had just been to distract me and push
me into the right place on the bus.
He begged to be let go, and we knew we couldn't get
the money
back. Nonetheless, we had the officer take him to the police
station on his motorcycle while we followed in a taxi, paying
with a twenty from under the sole of my shoe. Filing a complaint
at least meant he would spend the night in jail, and though he
would be released in the morning for a lack of evidence, his
finger prints are on file now.
Travel Safety Lessons
Most likely, a money belt probably would have prevented the
robbery. Closing pockets help too, although I had a wallet
stolen from a zipered pocket once, and I didn't notice until
forty minutes later. Fortunately it was a decoy-wallet, put
there for just such an occasion - another little travel safety
trick.
Other travel safety tricks? Put your money in at least three
different places, like under the sole of your shoe, in a pocket
you pin inside your clothes, and in your shaving kit. Carry two
credit or debit cards in separate and secure places. Carry a
list of "lost or stolen" phone numbers in another place. In
areas with much crime, leave expensive watches and jewelry
behind.
Learn a few tricks and you can travel more safely. Our
experience also shows the importance of learning to trust your
intuition. That was our lesson in travel safety.
About the author:
Steve Gillman hit the road at sixteen, and traveled the U.S. and
Mexico alone at 17. Now 40, he travels with his wife Ana, whom
he met in Ecuador. For more on travel safety,
plus travel stories, tips and a free e-book, visit:
http://www.EverythingAboutTravel.com
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