Staying Safe on the Road

If you are embarking upon your maiden voyage (or at least your maiden extended-and-unsupervised-trip), you may feel a sense of trepidation about travelling through countries where you don’t speak the language and may be far from friends. Never fear – there are plenty of things you can do to make sure that you stay safe, even out in the wilderness.

First and foremost, take a mobile phone with you. I have met plenty of travellers who seem to think that carrying any form of telecommunications device is ‘cheating’ – this is not only untrue: it is also dangerous. Without the comfort and security of a mobile phone, it can be difficult to feel at ease and this can quickly make a large difference to your enjoyment of your trip. Travelling is a once or twice in a lifetime experience for many people, so don’t spend your journey worrying about whether or not you are about to disappear from the face of the earth. If you have a smartphone, all the better – journalists have been saved from foreign prisons on the merits of the one-word Tweet “arrested”.

The second point carries on from the first. Make sure that somebody knows where you are and what you are planning to do at all times. This could be a staff member at the youth hostel or hotel where you are staying the night, a fellow traveller, or a friend or family member from back home. The important thing is that if the unthinkable occurs and you go missing, people will know where to start looking. A quick read of the book ’127 Hours: Between a Rock and a Hard Place’ will drive home the point.

Another thing you can do to stay safe is to carry a rape alarm, particularly if you are a young woman. These can come in incredibly handy in a pinch, not just in cases of potential rape but any other situation when you can imagine wanting to quickly draw attention to yourself.

In case you get lost or stranded, it is also very useful to carry a phrase book or (better still) a picture book to help you communicate with local people and get yourself back on track. Even more importantly, always carry a business card from the place where you are staying the night – not just as a memento (although these are also great for reminding you of places you plan to review when you get home) but for the invaluable address that is generally included in such things.

Although it is impossible to make the most of the travelling experience without making local friends and taking people up on their offers of hospitality, this can be a time to be particularly careful. Discriminate in your choice of friends, just as you would do at home – exercise your judgment to tell the difference between genuine warmth and opportunism. If all else fails and you end up in an uncomfortable situation, stay calm and make it clear that you want to leave. Pay no heed to protestations that your behaviour is somehow insulting – you simply have somewhere else you need to be.