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Travel safe by letting others know

10/26/2012

8 Comments

 
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     Imagine you’re traveling in a country where your passport is worth more than gold then you lose it, or perhaps it was stolen. What if the country you are visiting isn’t too fond of Americans (or your home country) and you have absolutely no way of proving who you are, because you are without identification? This is never a good situation, no matter where you are traveling, and I’ve had it happen twice!
     To avoid any headaches or possible dangerous situations, you can prevent the worst from happening by letting others know your travel plans. Leave copies of your itinerary, along with photocopies of your travel documents and identifications with trusted friends or family. Let them know where you are by leaving a record of each place you visit (ex. a simple update to a social media site or keep a basic public blog), especially if you wander off your originally-planned routing - who knows, what if you lose all connection to the outside world and basically disappear? If you are pre-booking any hotel reservations, any train or bus tickets, it’s a smart idea to leave this information and your contact information back home.

     Alert your country’s embassy (if US citizen, you can sign up here: https://step.state.gov/step/) prior to your departure and inform them of where you will be and when, along with any contact information. If serious civil unrest or war flares up then the embassy will be able to plan an exit strategy for you.
     It’s necessary to alert financial institutions as well - let your bank and credit card companies know what countries you will be traveling in and the duration of your stay. This will allow full use of your cards without restriction. Credit card companies will automatically deny or place holds on any uniformed international purchases. Some international teller machines only accept the microchip-enhanced credit cards - be sure to ask your financial companies in advance about having full-usage of your cards. Also, it’s not unusual for credit companies to have special international phone numbers in case of emergencies.
(Photo by Leslie Banks / iStock)
8 Comments
Alan Hardy
10/26/2012 08:18:58 pm

Some very useful basic information here for all travellers from someone really in the know and with the experience to be able to give out everything essential that is needed. If you're a frequent traveller, and to often out-of-way places far from home, this is the guy to follow.

Reply
Brandon Elijah Scott link
2/9/2014 11:43:12 pm

Thank you very much. :) Your kind words really mean a lot to me.

Reply
Linda Bibb link
10/28/2012 01:13:20 pm

Thanks for sharing this ... we forget how useful friends and family can be. I've found that keeping scanned copies of important documents on my computer and smartphone can be very handy as well, especially when the internet drops. And I can't tell you how many times I've had to access the travel information I've stored on TripIt.

Reply
Brandon Elijah Scott link
2/9/2014 11:45:15 pm

You are most welcome. There is so much in this article that I feel like can really be a justice for others. Power is knowledge. :)

Reply
Tim link
10/29/2012 03:45:57 am

Good tips to be had. ALWAYS make and carry copies of your passport and other important documents. If you are staying somewhere, I would suggest keeping a copy where you are lodging if you can. Traveling alone you have to watch your back all the time. "Indie" travel is attractive even to me, but I disagree with in in areas of strife, i.e. Syria, Iraq, some parts of Africa. When you take the chance to explore areas you think may be cool, you put yourself in jeopardy and in the event you are swooped up by a countries security forces, you are screwed. Not only are you now under duress, but so is your family. Then IF someone is sent to try an retrieve you, you are putting them in danger as well. I have worked overseas for over seven years in two major areas of regrowth. Learn that the only person you can really trust is yourself. When you have that nice camera or other high end belongings keep in mind when you use them, you are possibly setting yourself up as a target. Even better for 'predators' if you are traveling alone. Trust your inner instinct; your gut. If something doesn't feel or sound right, it probably isn't.

Thanks for sharing your experience and hopefully others will learn something from it. :-)

Happy travels Man.

Tim

Reply
Brandon Elijah Scott link
2/9/2014 11:46:22 pm

Thank you very much. You also have some very good tips there. I am sure that they will be of use to others who are reading this blog as well.

Reply
Ruby Thomas link
10/30/2012 03:51:36 am

Worth Reading. A must to remember useful information. Great !

Reply
Brandon Elijah Scott link
2/9/2014 11:44:17 pm

Thank you very much, Ruby! That means so much to me that you took the time to comment.

Reply



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