Travel Safety and Security


Randy's Travel Tips
On Keeping Safe and Secure In the Third World

Copyright © 1992-2009 Randy R. Johnson, all rights reserved.

Travel Safety Table of Contents

 Bodily Harm  Theft  Safety Rules to Travel By  Protecting your Belongings  Safety While Traveling  Safety in Your Hotel  Storing Luggage  Shopping Rip-Offs  Safety on the Street  People Who Approach You on the Street  A Rip-Off Primer  Fast Change  Mickey Finn  Security for Women Travelers  What To Do If You Are Victimized  Photography  Anti-Imperialism  Drugs
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   Travel Security -- Isn't it dangerous out there?

Some people are put off from independent travel by the apparent risks. Not only can you get sick, or killed in a bus wreck, but there may be people trying to rob you, cheat you, rape you, drug your drink, or maybe even put a knife in your ribs.

I wish I could tell you that all of this is rubbish. Unfortunately, these things do happen to travelers. What I can tell you, however, is that in most countries I have traveled, I feel as safe or safer than I do at home. You will hear many horror stories on the Road, and some of them really make you want to catch the next flight home. There are tales of travelers contracting incurable diseases you have never even heard of, being thrown in jail after the police planted drugs in their room, being robbed of all they own and left in the wilderness, or being knifed on the street by robbers. One reason I tell you these stories is so you will not panic when you inevitably hear them recited by other travelers.  "My God! No one ever told us about that!"

This is a long discussion, during which you will hear about dozens of ways you can lose your belongings to thieves, and a few ways that you may be physically harmed. It can be discouraging just reading about it. Don't worry, in the process I will tell you exactly what you can do to make the chances of your becoming a victim very small. In many countries the dangers are few and can be avoided with basic precautions.

People often use the word dangerous to describe the danger of theft, not bodily harm; do not confuse theft-prone with physically dangerous. In some of the most dangerous countries and cities in the Third World, there is very little risk of being physically attacked. You can read of innocent people being shot down by mass-murderers in the USA, and terrorist bombings in Europe. Personally, I am far more frightened by these random acts of violence at home than by the methodical workings of criminals in the Third World, who are only after your money. Learn how they work, and you will be safe.

Out on the Road, you enter a new way of life. There are different rules out there, and more precautions to be learned. The local people already know the rules. The sooner you learn them, the more problems you will avoid. When you take precautions, you will be safe. When you feel safe, you can enjoy your trip.


Bodily Harm

This is rare; 99.8 percent of the crimes against tourists are theft or cheating. Remember this: Most thieves in the Third World are sneak thieves. They are not interested in harming you, or even in confronting you. Should you be unlucky enough to have a bandit or thief threaten you with a knife or gun and demand your money, give it to him! He will usually leave immediately. I once had a belligerent man wave a pistol in my face in the middle of the jungle, and when I pretended not to understand him, he walked away. A few unlucky souls have been less fortunate, but that was the only immediate physical threat that I have faced in my years of travel.

The only countries where I ever felt physically afraid (although I never had any confrontations myself) were Colombia and Panama, where urban thieves occasionally attack with knifes first and ask for your valuables later. A very few other cities (Jakarta, Belize City, Rio de Janeiro, and Marrakech) occasionally report incidents of knife-happy thieves. In all of these places, you often have a chance to avoid harm by immediately giving up your money. These are the exceptions to the rule; in general you are not in danger of bodily harm, only of thievery. In many countries, armed robbery, especially of foreign tourists, is a hanging offense!

Kenyan Justice

While I was last in Kenya, there was a news story about a young man standing trial for the armed robbery of some German tourists in a game park. They had (unwisely) resisted briefly, and unsuccessfully. The man had been advised by counsel to plead guilty and ask for leniency. Later he discovered that because one of the tourists had received a knife wound on his arm, the charge carried a mandatory death sentence! If they had publicized this fact more, they would have even less crime against tourists.

Another story from Kenya involves a purse-snatcher who grabbed the handbag of the wrong foreign woman in Nairobi. She was sixty years old, but she refused to let go although he pushed her down and dragged her along the ground. Several passers-by chased him away, then someone else caught him. When the local residents discovered what he had been up to, they came out and beat him mercilessly.

Even when there is a bar fight, riot, or guerrilla attack, your best protection is the fact that you are a foreign "tourist". Militants from both sides will avoid hurting you, and local proprietors and passers-by will protect you from harm. You are much safer than the local people in this regard! It is appalling that ordinary people in India occasionally kill each other by the dozens in religious, political, or caste riots. But a foreign tourist caught in this situation would be hustled away and protected by the local people and the police.

The very few travelers (not journalists) I have even heard stories of being killed were far off in the bush where they stumbled into a guerrilla conflict of some kind. I recently read a report that foreign tourists were being attacked by bands of armed desperadoes on a scenic volcano in Guatemala. This may conjure vivid scenes of poor You being pumped full of lead before or after you are raped and your throat is slit. Perhaps that is what is really going on down there now, but that volcano has long been a very popular place to be robbed, and travelers have avoided it for some time.

The people I met who were attacked there, lived to tell about it. Some local men approached them with rifles on the mountainside and demanded money, at gun point. The small group of men and women handed over their cash and also gave up two wrist watches. "Is that all you have?" they were asked. Perhaps the foreigners were stupid, but they turned out their pockets and said they had nothing else. All of them wore their valuables under their clothing and the "desperadoes" never touched or searched them. Perhaps the bandits were stupid, or maybe just not desperate enough. When the criminals left them, someone complained about how they would get back. One of the robbers came back and gave them enough money for bus fare. The point is that these particular robbers were unscrupulous local people taking advantage of tourist wealth, they were not ruthless terrorist assassins.

This was certainly an unpleasant and frightening experience; it could have been life-threatening, but it was not. No one was harmed, nor did they loose more than a few dollars and a watch. Perhaps tourists are really being butchered up there on the mountain nowdays, or maybe it is just the same old routine. When you get to Guatemala, you will be able to learn the real situation, and you will have asked around enough to be able to avoid such famous places, in any case.  Local knowledge -- from other travelers -- is the best resource, but check My List of Easiest Places to Get Robbed  on my Best of the Road  lists page to see the most egregious places.

Yes, you can expose yourself to new dangers by venturing out into the world on your own. These are the risks you must take, but they are generally no worse than the physical risks you would encounter traveling on your own with a backpack in the First World, and in many cases, much less. In either case, observing the common-sense precautions I offer will greatly reduce any possibilities of physical harm.

Arming Yourself

I only mention this subject because some travelers may consider the possibility before heading out into unknown countries. Considering the small probability of being attacked, arming yourself cannot be recommended, especially since most of us are unlikely to be able to use any weapon to much advantage against local criminals. Firearms are definitely out; you will certainly not be able to carry them through any borders, and you can only get into deep trouble even for brandishing one. A rolled up newspaper or magazine is still a reasonable defense in moderately threatening situations. A good thrust into a molester's gut can give you the time to get out of their reach.

I have sometimes carried a knife for protection and occasionally let people see that I am carrying one, but I have never had the slightest opportunity to use it. In fact, I'm sure that if I ever did, I would either get into very big trouble with the police, or more likely provoke an attack by people much more adept at these things than I am. It is probably a very stupid idea. I have considered the merits of a black-jack -- a small leather pouch filled with lead shot -- with which one might actually slow down an attacker with a blow to the head. Again, the possibility of ever using it, let alone successfully, is just much too remote, and it would serve no other purpose. Although I have never felt any need to carry one, a small can of mace (tear gas) is probably the only defensive weapon you might consider. They are quite small, but you might run into some problems at customs if you don't conceal it. A slightly milder alternative would be a squeeze bottle of ammonia. You best weapon is to scream and run, or just give a robber your money.

Pedestrian Hazards

There are still a few isolated communities in the world where the local people are as ignorant as opossums about the dangers of stepping onto a highway. But any Third World child who has survived in a city until the age of seven is better prepared to take care of her/himself than most western travelers. In the Third World, you must watch out for yourself, because no one else will protect you from hazards. It is a world without pedestrian areas, and you must learn to share your space with numerous vehicles -- and that means 'get out of the way or be run down'!

Just being aware of everything around you will save you from several painful encounters with bicycles, pushcarts, motorcycles, and even cars and trucks. It seems that some people are just instinctively aware of everything, while others are naturally oblivious to 80% of their surroundings. In the Third World -- where survival of the fittest still applies and pedestrians are at the bottom of the food chain -- the oblivious types are eliminated through natural selection before they can reach puberty; while in the First World we have laws to protect the heedless.

I am constantly amazed at how many Westerners (yes, Americans), at home and abroad, wonder around oblivious to the proximity of moving bicycles, autos, and other people. They seem to believe that it was God who passed all those laws to protect them. Regardless of my theories, you can greatly reduce your chances of mishap by training yourself to be aware of everything around you, so that you can anticipate approaching people and vehicles, and get out of their way.

In Third World cities where life is fast, furious, and cheap, even crossing the road is no place for a novice. At a traffic signal with green in your favor, you will still have to pick your spot among speeding cars, and step lively. Just going out to the post office can be a perilous adventure. But you will soon become a crafty veteran, able to take the worst hazards in stride. I sometimes wait for several venerable old ladies, so that I can cross safely, keeping them between me and the traffic. Singapore presents a modern paradox; as soon a you approach a crosswalk, all the cars slam on their breaks and wait for you to cross. If you just arrived from a few months in Southeast Asia, your first instinct is to suspect a diabolical trap to run you down, and you find it almost impossible to step out in front of all those idling cars, with the drivers grinning at you.

Always look both ways before stepping into the street. Don't rely on your instincts to tell you where the cars will be coming from. You will pass through many countries where traffic runs on the "other" side of the road and the only way to avoid making a costly mistake is to always look for traffic coming from both directions. There may be a bicycle or motorbike coming the wrong way, in any case.

When someone is about to intersect your course, under whatever mode of transport, your first instinct is to make eye contact and verify that they see you coming. They, on the other hand, will try to ignore you; to acknowledge your presence is to accept some responsibility for what is about to happen. If they don't see you, it is your fault if you collide! If you look straight at a taxi driver, and then step in front of him, you are fair game; if you pretend to ignore him, he may have to think twice before running you down. I have been told in several countries to walk on the road with my back to the traffic! "If they see you coming, they will try to run you down, but if your back is to them, it is their responsibility to avoid you!" That's some kind of logic! Yes, I have exaggerated for effect; people are not really out to run you down, but they will expect you to walk very defensively like everyone else, so be on your toes!


Theft

Some travelers have things stolen all the time. I do not. Listen to me. I am a bit superstitious and I do not like to tempt my fate by mentioning it, but in my years of traveling in some notoriously dangerous places, I have only had my pocket picked once, and twice had an item of small value taken from my room. That's all. (Of course, I've been cheated dozens of times, but that's just part of the game.)

I am going to teach you how you can be safe and feel safe on the Road. It requires some preparations, some habits, and some hard attitudes that you may or may not be ready to adopt. Some people hate money belts, some refuse to be rude to anyone, and some just can't be bothered to be vigilant at all times. Know what the precautions are and make a conscious decision whether or not you want to observe them.

I will give you dozens of rules and precautions to keep yourself and your belongings safe, and to avoid hassles. Yes, if you go around thinking about these things all day, you will drive yourself crazy! That's why you need to learn them, and make them a part of your daily routines, like brushing your teeth before bed, or looking both ways before you cross the street. Your mother taught you those lessons, and you thank her for it. But you long ago stopped worrying about them, because they are now an integral part of your life. Good security habits are followed instinctively, every time, without the need to ask yourself if they are really necessary in each situation.

The good news is that in many countries, and especially outside of cities and tourist areas, you will be at very little risk from many of the dangers I will warn you about. But you should still observe good habits of security and precaution. Even in generally safe areas, normally honest but poor people can be tempted into taking things, especially from your hotel room, if you give them easy opportunities by not observing basic precautions.


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