There's nothing worse than having problems occur while you're on holiday, especially in a foreign land where a lot of things are unfamiliar. The annoying thing is that a couple of bad situations can spoil a whole week or two weeks vacation. Or worse still, a situation that sees you locking yourself in your hotel room, afraid to go out, or even spending time at the local police station.
Maybe it's just that traveling safely requires some common sense and most of the time these days, we do not require it as someone else is always accountable for our mistakes! If you ever get that distinct feeling that something is wrong, which often happens on vacation, that's your instinct giving you a warning that you should take notice of.
Always be careful about traveling with all your documents and money if you are just going to town to see the sights or have a meal. Take just what you need for the day and leave the rest in the hotel safe as it is better to lose a little, rather then everything.
If you place your cash, traveler's checks and credit cards in various locations about your person, then there is less likelihood of pickpockets stealing all your financial assets and leaving you with nothing. It is also never a good idea for a couple to travel and use the same credit card when it is a simple matter to take a second from a completely different account as a replacement should one be mislaid or taken.
Some people just make it easy for snatch thieves who specialize in grabbing bags and cameras for unsuspecting tourists who have them hanging from their shoulder so to prevent this make sure the strap is over the head as well. If you are the person carrying the camera or bag, then walk away from the edge of the road where it is easy for motorcycle thieves to grab something and make a quick getaway.
Criminals love tourists as they are usually considered easy prey and we all underestimate how very proficient they are at relieving people of their personal belongings. It is often our arrogance that lets us become victims of theft and other deceptions because we do not believe that anyone will pull the wool over our eyes but this is how the criminals earn their living.
If you use a small backpack or day bag when wondering the streets or local markets why not buy a small padlock because would be pickpockets will be put off straight away. Another good idea is to use a hikers (or climbers) small shackle that can be used to safely secure your keys to a belt or bag for those people that frequently lose their keys.
One of the biggest problems is with wallets as the vast majority of men carry them in a back pocket and this is an easy target for any criminal so try varying your normal routine and place it in a front pocket or similar.
There is absolutely no reason why when you are on vacation you shouldn't be able to travel safely and have a great deal of worry free fun; just stick to the points mentioned here and use your common sense at all times.
1. Unplug. Yeah, I know. That's what you hope to do on your getaway. But give your gadgets a break, too. Unplug your computers and printers. This protects them against power surges or nearby lightning strikes while you're away. Same with your cable modem, router and wireless hub.
2. Auto-respond your work e-mail and phone. If you use Microsoft Outlook through an exchange server at work, go into options and compose an auto response that tells people you will be out of the office for a while and won't be answering them. Give them someone at work they can contact in your absence. Do the same with your voice mail at work.
3. Don't advertise that nobody's home. Work is one thing. But don't put a "we're not here" message on your home phone. Just like piles of mail in the mailbox tell thieves nobody's home, so can a home answering machine that tells anyone who calls that you're on vacation. Instead, keep the same recorded message but make sure you have the playback code so you can check for messages from another phone.
4. Pack your chargers. For your cell phone, your camcorder, your digital camera and your iPod. Some people even bring along an extra power strip so you don't hog all the outlets at your vacation getaway.
5. Stay away from the water. Not you, but your gadgets. I have a friend who bought a camcorder for a Florida vacation. At Sea World, Shamu jumped and he thought he got a great shot of his kid getting splashed. The problem was, so did the camera. It was ruined.
Salt water is the worst for electronic devices. And while a mild fresh water or rain exposure may not be destructive, if your camera gets even a tiny amount of salt water inside, it's a goner.
6. Hold onto your cameras. Use the straps. I just lost a brand new digital camera. I was taking pictures of the grandkids and one of them ran by and bumped my arm. The camera fell to the cement, shattering the lens and the case. Use the strap that comes with the cameras. Wrap them around your hand or neck.
7. Think storage. Make sure you have a big enough memory card to store all the pictures you take. I'd suggest a minimum of 512 MB to hold around 125 good-quality pictures. A 1GB card holds around 250 images.
The only thing worse than forgetting the charger and running out of juice is not being able to take more pictures because the memory is full. With camcorders, bring along extra miniDV tapes.
8. Bring a laptop For one thing, you can transfer some of those photos to your laptop and free up more memory. But for another, the laptop is great for reviewing the pictures at the end of each day. Create a slide show of the day's highlights. Looking over the pictures is a great way to pass time on a rainy day. Besides, most resorts and hotels now offer free Internet hookups. If not, a library or Starbucks offers wireless access so you can send family and friends a picture or check e-mail.
9. Bring Ziploc bags for the beach. Sand can cause almost as many problems as water. When you take your iPod and mobile phone and other gizmos to the beach, keep them in those clear bags that can be sealed to protect the outside from getting in. And don't keep them in the sun for long periods of time.
10. Create a vacation blog. Remember when we used to go over to friend's homes to see vacation pictures projected on a screen? Now we blog it.
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