Safety Tips Every Traveller Must Know
and the truth in the matter is that safety can never be a hundred percent fully guaranteed but there are some precautions that we can take to highly minimize the risk of things going wrong and I want to help you in this article to feel as secure as possible by avoiding potential dangerous situations .
so first of all let's talk about:
1- Getting in a Taxi :
because this is something that you're going to be doing almost everywhere in a world and often straight out of the airport the first thing that you do.
first thing I look into is to see if the destination has uber or something equivalent because that will always be my preference but if you're going to be using the local taxi service first of all make sure that it's always a metered taxi if you can and also that the meter it's actually working.
- if there are no taxis available which have a working meter please make sure that you arrange the price of the taxi before the journey begins the last thing you want is at the end of the journey taxi driver giving you a ridiculous price they're really trying to rip you on and they're not going to let you get away with leaving the taxi without their money essentially.
really try to avoid that situation by negotiating a reasonable price before you get in the taxi.
- so with that being said it's really worth doing some research online before you arrive to see roughly how much that taxi that you're going to get should be costing .
- all so always make sure that I have downloaded the destination offline on Google matter that when I get in the taxi I can see how long the journeys going to take us I can see the route that we should be going and I can make sure that the taxi is definitely going along that route.
Extra Precautions :
now these next couple of tips are extra precautionary but essential especially if you were traveling alone in the evening:
- first what you can do before you get in the taxi is take a picture of the outside with the license plate and if you can the taxi drivers license number on the front as well and then you're gonna send that to a friend a friend but preferably someone who knows where you are at that time.
- if it's possible call a male friend and have him explain the directions of where you're going to the taxi driver so the taxi driver knows or at least thinks that you've got someone at your destination waiting for you.
- and finally when you're in the taxi enroute pretend to call a friend or actually call a friend and you can pretend to have a normal chat but drop in your current location every so often as if you're kind of explaining your route to your friend if you explain any landmarks that you go past and make sure the driver can hear you having this conversation .
2- Your Mobile Phone :
leaving on from that point you may have spotted that in order to take these precautions in a taxi you're going to need a phone and it's going to need to be charged if your phone likes to run out of battery quite quickly like mine does it's really worth bringing a portable charger with you and in order to stay connected even when you don't have Wi-Fi it's really worth purchasing a local pay-as-you-go SIM for this you're going to need to make sure that your phone is unlocked before you head on your trip so that you're able to switch up your SIM cards as and when you please.
so when we are using our mobile devices we are also running the risk of online scams so it's so important that we secure our devices I wanna be as relaxed and carefree as possible when I work but unfortunately criminals are getting a lot smarter when it comes to accessing our online data and especially when traveling we often just log into public Wi-Fi networks or we're in crowded areas and both of these leave us vulnerable to online hackers.
I've recently become made aware of cyber security and how we can protect ourselves,
- always use trusted networks if possible and avoid public Wi-Fi network, you can actually consider disabling your device from automatically connecting.
- secondly be careful of where you are charging at USB connection can allow hacker software onto your device so make sure you're just really careful about where you're plugging your phone into.
- this one may sound obvious but don't leave your phone unattended not just to prevent it from getting stolen also to prevent it from being hacked so just make sure that your phone is locked with your fingerprint or your face ID or at the very least a number password.
- disable remote connectivity so Bluetooth edge or leave it or not this is another way that you can be vulnerable to hackers between 50 to 100 meters away so if you're not currently using your Bluetooth remember to turn it and what happens if you suspect anything suspicious first of all call your network provider and also your bank if you feel like it's necessary and then of course you can do things like change your passwords to help you feel more secure.
- and finally what do you actually do in the moment if unfortunately your device is lost or stolen us will notify the police and your network provider if you are able to wipe your device remotely then do that never try to retrieve the device personal.
3- Gard Your Valuables :
obviously we want to do what we can to avoid our valuables being lost or stolen so let's talk about better ways that we can keep our valuables physically safe.
- first of all don't walk around with your valuables in an open bag preferably the bag should have a zip and even better if you're able to use a padlock to secure that zip as well .
- make sure you always have an extra pad Lotter that you can secure your valuables in the hostel lockers they should never be just loose in your room especially if you're in a dorm but even if you're in a private room still lock away your valuables and neither the safe or a locker.
- bags that go across your body are much more preferable because it is much harder for someone just to grab them off your shoulder always hear stories these days of criminals going past on a bike or scooter or car and if your bags just hanging off your shoulder like that they can very easily grab it and go and your stuff is gone but if you're wearing a bag that crosses your body like this that's gonna be a lot harder for them to grab and immediately you are a less likely target for them.
- also carrying items on your front as opposed to your side or your back it's also gonna make them more secure because you obviously have eyes on them at the whole time a crossbody bag bum bag is the best thing that you can have .
4- Let Someone Know where you at :
the next point is something that I always really like to do to help me feel more secure and I used to always tell somebody where you'll go especially if you're heading off by yourself so if I'm in a dorm tell someone who's in your dorm room even if you don't know them yet just saying just popping out to the shop where I'm just popping out to the ATM who's not only do they now know where you're headed off to just in case something goes wrong but also you might potentially have a buddy to come with .
you can also consider telling the hotel or hostel receptionist or concierge astir so you leave the door because again not only did they now know where you're going and they can kind of know when to expect you back also they might be able to give you some tips and advice of where you'll go and also if you can text it to a friend can be anyone even if their ages away ,
because at least then you have it in write if I'm just texting anyone at the time I just be like ah yeah just pop into the ATM it's five minutes from my hostel be friends not really gonna care and that doesn't matter but it's inviting it's online and if something were to go wrong this is just more information .
5- Act Confident :
and finally one of the most effective things that you can do to increase your chances of staying safe is to act confident when you're walking around town try and think of having good posture smiling at people and walk with purpose try not to look worried or lost even if you are because that's gonna make you if you pretend to act confident with everything you do it's going to make you much more approachable to the people that you want to attract and less vulnerable to the people that you don't want to attract