stashing valuables, getting robbed, undie pouches;)
 

Hey all, im a first time traveller. im off to europe for a year soon and have some questions about safe places to put important things, and how likely it is to be robbed.

Firstly - iv heard alot of horror stories about peoples stuff getting stolen and its getting to me, is it safe to just leave your pack at a hostel. i would be cautious, chain it to my bed have locks on all the zips etc and take all my important stuff with me in my day pack but does stuff still get nicked.

Secondly - i am going to be carrying some valuable stuff (like everyone) camera, video cam, credit cards, travelers cheques, cash, passes etc. so where is the best place to stash them all, im not a fan of money belts they are uncomfortable, i tried one on last week. and ive heard bum bags are easy to steel off someones body coz they just unclip. i was thinking that i would buy a compact video cam case, that has a secret zip compartment at the back (saw one the other day) and id stick it all in there. the case would never leave the front of my body and would be around my neck at all times. plus there would be just enough room for everything important. but i dont know something tells me you guys will have far better ideas lol.im a bit stuck on this one

Thirdly - i will be carrying doubles of everything important so ill need to stash them somewhere safe aswell. (i know this may sound a little grose but my mum told me when she use to travel she sewed little puoches in the front of her undies and bras so even if she got pick pocketed or mugged completely she would always have the essentials).....is that a good idea - or is it weird. lol

and lastly i picked a backpack the other day and i wanted to know if anyone has had one before or if it is a good brand. its a MACPAC gemini http://www.paddypallin.com.au/defaul...t=364&Group=63

thanks guys

Good luck with your trip planning, I'm sure it will be great. If you go to the "budget gear" folder a lot of people have reviewed stuff and given advice on that kind of stuff. Not that they won't again, it just might save you some time.

Um... tell me about undie pouches. I'm not sure I'm familiar with them.

Hey Welcome to the boards! I wish I could be more of help but since I've not had my chance yet to travel overseas, I'm not as experienced.

I would check out the threads HERE. It are the budget gear forum like lost in texas mentioned.

I will say I completely understand what you mean about money belt. I hate them and most likely will not use one. At least not on myself. When I finally get my butt overseas I plan to put all copies of paperwork in a moneybelt or a plastic bag and put it in the bottom of my bag. I'm not sure if that is the safest or best idea.

I think the pockets in the undies/bra is actually a good idea. Some people even sew pockets into their pants. It would be a great place to stash your emergency money. I wish I could be more of help! Good luck with everything!

Hello and welcome. OK, so heres how I travel for long terms. Most people consider me overly cautious. I just figure if nothing happens, then I won't have to deal with it. ya know what I mean. I start by scanning all of my important info (plane/train ticks, passport, reservations, etc) and emailing it to my self. That way anywhere in the world i can get on a computer i have it all. While in travel. I do indeed wear a money belt. But mainly only while in route with my pack on. If the room feels sketchy etc... I will chain my pack to the bed frame. I have a small retractable lock I use for this. Mainly only in hostels do I do this. I do however always lock my zips before leaving the room. When I'm not using my moneybelt, I try to have on pants that have atleast on velcro pocket. Sorry, but a pickpocket has to be fucking good for you not to feel or hear the velcro. I'm a huge fan of ziplocks, and keep pretty much anything paper in them. You only have to get caught in the rain with out a poncho once. I learned quick. The main thing to rember (in my opinion), your passport is like gold. Its the one thing you should never let out of your sight. If you loose it, a good part of your trip will involve trying to get another one. In hostels if I feel uncertain, that puppy and my money go into the pillow case I'm sleeping on... I am lucky that my pack has a nice stash pocket. extremely unnoticeable etc... I should also mention that I carry a fake wallet. It includes expired credit cards and around 20 in misc. bills. I haven't had to use it yet, but when I'm in a city I feel could be sketchy (Athens, Paris, Amsterdam - all safe, but also have bad areas if you make a wrong turn or whatnot), I carry it with me.
Ramble Ramble... Any more questions, we got answers:cheers:

I'm a lot more lax on this stuff than I should be, but so far I've gotten lucky, lol. I do keep copies of important stuff online (tix and passport, at least!). Enough hostels have lockers for you to stash the really important stuff. I'm not a big fan of carrying things around with me so I normally leave most of my stuff in the hostel, either in the locker or with locks on my zippers - which isn't really going to stop anyone determined, but at least deters a quick snatch & run! When prowling the outside world, I don't even carry a wallet anymore if I can help it - just loose money either in my pockets (if I have em) or just stuffed in my bra, or both. Bras are amazing, although hopefully you're not somewhere too hot or things might get sweaty. ;)

I'm definitely another fan of ziplocs just for safe storage...I get my things wet way too often!

Wow, I had never thought of that! What a great idea. I'm sure tons of people have been doing this for ages, but I'm slow... so you'll have to forgive me.

The Budget Gear portion of the website has great tips for equipment that works and doesn't cost you an arm/ leg/ organ. Of course, the best prevention isn't worth much unless you have good common sense. If something just does feel safe or secure, then don't do it. Go with your gut.

Haha, Marc you and I must have traveled together in a previous life. I also got the velcro pants, a fake wallet and stash valuables in my pillow case, and ziploc my passport to take it into the shower.

While velcro is tough to subtlety undo, it is still vulnerable to a quick slash. So I put my "wallet" in my neck pouch (throw it over an arm so the back doesn't lump up too obviously and if the weather conditions allow it, I wear a jacket. I keep my "fake" wallet with 50 USD worth of local currency in my front pocket and depending on the crowds, I keep my hand on it.

All that said, don't worry about it too much you'll have a fine time if you are alert.

--Joey

Im travelling atm and since I pretty much am wearing long pants everywhere, I have a sort of money belt type thing that attches to my belt and then sort of hangs down against my leg. Its just large enough to take my passport, so I just have that with my cash in it and then a small amount for normal use in wallet

A good place to hide your valuables (like money belt) that you don't want to wear while sleeping is in your pillow case.

No one really suspects it, and in my case, I hold on to my pillow all night.

Thanks so much guys that helped alot. im sitting here with a pad and a pen writting all this stuff down lol. i never thought about zip lock bags or the prospect of rain lol. and carrying a second wallet is genius. i dont know how im going to velcro my pockets im going to be in europe all summer so im anticipating shorts alot of the time, but ill see what i can do.

P.S i seriously recon this site has given me more good ideas and advice in 2 days then i have tried to get in 2 months.

Thanks again:D

If you leave stuff in your pillowcase, don't forget it! ;) I sometimes just sleep holding my little daypack, or just have it up on the bed with me...lets me feel safe enough esp. if I'm on top bunk.

I've never really been big on security, I know its important and I should. I wear a money belt and also bring my own lock for lockers.

Thats about what I do too. I rarely wear my money belt, though I carry one in my pack because it keeps my stuff organized. I try to lock my money belt and camera in a locker or safe, with an extremely shitty lock that you could break with an angry look....

Then again I don't carry around a ton of cash, I prefer to find ATMs once or twice a week. I spent a week or so in Peru traveling with this girl who had about $5000 in her money belt. Needless to say she wore it about 24x7.

Oh, another thing I do is photocopy my passport and the backs of credit card and stuff like that, and keep a copy in my main pack and my day pack. It comes to 1-2 sheets of 8x11 paper.

That is soooo dangerous maracle!!! If either of your packs got stolen, there goes your important info. It is so much safer to store it online where only you can access it. Not trying to tell you how to travel, just trying to keep you and others from an unfortunate mishap etc....:)

Well its only the back of the CCs, so I have the customer service numbers. You can't read the card numbers. But I guess emailing it would be easier.

The other suggestion is to watch how much and where you use your credit/ debit card to pay for things. Your FULL card number and expiration date can be printed on some receipts, and can be an invitation to a less than reputable clerk to make a few fast (and expensive) purchases before you might even notice them... before you know it, your card is frozen and you're trying to contact your credit card company from a foriegn country with dodgey phones.

I tried the sewing stuff to the front of your underwear idea...I thought it was a good idea, but it's difficult to pull off...I tried putting credit cards in there and it was kind of limiting to my movement (granted, I'm relatively petit & when I lost weight traveling I was even more-so, so there wasn't really too much space to work with), with smaller stuff it was ok but I dont really think you could put much in there without making it awkward, but try it & see how it feels for you!

Yeah i get what ya mean there isnt a hole lot of room down there. but i think i have a better idea (for women in particular). ok so this is going to sound weird but depending on what size bra you wear and how big your boosems are there can be quite alot of space down the front of your bra (just bellow your cleavage. if you wear underwired bras and are bigger then say a C cup there is usually a little pocket of space between your cleavage and chest at the bottom of your bra. in my case i have found quite a bit of room enough to stash my phone (found that out clubbing one night ahhaha) or some cash and credit cards even fit nicely. its a little strange i know. and most people would just think to stash stuff in the top of the bra in the cup. but investigate further you do find some handy spots. lol.

i do apologise in advance for how strange all of that mey sound lol. ;)

don't apologize, its great when people think outside the box.