Every time I travel alone, I get hyper aware of what’s going on around me. With the newest travel restrictions, it makes it difficult to carry onto one bag, any safety tools like mace, a taser or anything that may resemble a weapon. What does a girl do when it comes to self preservation in a foreign land?
1. Avoid seedy areas
There are many places that are dark and mysterious that should raise a big red flag in your head once you see them. Try walking around this area, find a more populated route, or find a police officer to escort you around to a safer area.
2. Never carry a purse!
I can’t stress this enough. First of all, a big purse is going to be a big target for theft. When I traveled to Prague I carried my new Cole Haan bag with me, more out of pride than anything else. I should have never brought that bag out on my trip. I was walking with a tour of 20 people at night. Two men appeared behind me and attempted to slash my purse and run with my belongings… Luckily someone tapped me on the shoulder and pointed these people out to me. At that point, I rearranged my coat so that it was on the outside and I wore my purse hidden. This worked well, but at that point I was very shaken up and was too upset to be able to enjoy the rest of the tour.
3. Learn some self defense – but don’t ever expect to be able to kick someone’s ass!
The biggest misconception about self defense is that you will become a Jean Claude Van Damme, and learn how to put someone on the ground and conquer. Let’s be realistic… Someone is attacking you because they feel that you are a weaker target and that they can overpower you quickly. Learning some quick self defense moves can help you escape and maybe hurt your attacker enough so that you can run for it. Forget trying to kick their ass, you don’t stand a chance. If you want to learn some quick moves, take a self defense class. They will teach you how to break loose from a grip, and hit someone in the groin or face to distract the attacker enough so that you can hit the ground running to seek help. I have taken years of martial arts, with a brown belt in Aikido and I have studied Kung Fu. Trust me, even I am not able to smack down with confidence. BUT, I do know how to break loose and run for it. And that’s all that matters.
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Also, avoid Christian areas of Cairo on their election days!
I normally bring along a small bag that can be a handbag (for those special occassions or work) and with a change of the strap or shortening of the strap become a crossbody bag that I have in front of me.
Thanks for your tip! What bag do you buy if you don’t mind me asking?
I am traveling alone to Norway soon and want to travel light – just not sure what is the best and easiest carry on both for storing in the airplane and handling at the airport during my layover. Do you have any suggestions? I like to carry my wallet, some lightweight knitting, a small notebook, pen, snack bars, my small phone, passport, hair brush and toiletries. Thank you, Sheri
Hi Sheri! I’m sure that you can use a small backpack that would be perfect for carrying all of those items. Or, if you don’t mind the one-shoulder weight you can use the PacSafe type bag that I highlighted in this post. Since you aren’t carrying much I would recommend the PacSafe bag. I’ve used a purse with a very long strap that I can pull over and wear across my body before for just what you had mentioned. Then later I shortened the strap at my destination to turn it back into a normal purse shoulder length bag for wearing out and around town. Just make sure that you are able to bring your knitting stuff on the plane! I have heard stories of airlines not allowing that. Safest bet is to use bamboo knitting needles!