What Every Woman Traveler Needs to Hear about Their Safety

[Music] hey there fellow Travelers Joselyn with Walter's world and I am inundo Brazil truly I'm sort of at the end of the world but today I wanted to kind of talk to you about travel safety for women particularly women who are traveling alone but this sort of applies whether you're traveling with girlfriends or a spouse or just any old friends right so here are some safety tips for you my first tip is to blend in where you can whether that means like cultural Norms how we dress maybe like you know just looking the part obviously There Are Places I go in the world where I don't look the same like the summer that I spent living in Beijing I don't look Asian it's not going to happen right but I can look like an xat and I can do that by walking with a purpose dressing um according to Norms like maybe that means having your shoulders covered or your knees covered or your hair covered research those things know what's expected of you and how you should look in public another funny little tip that I like to give is to carry a shopping bag from a local grocery store what yeah seriously then I at least look like an xat I look like some kind of local and I can put things like my water bottle or my oh my sunscreen because I really need that right now you know those things that don't really matter too much can go into that bag and you can look like you fit the part why do we want to blend in well if we're flying under the radar and we look like we're local we're less likely to be a target for pickpockets and unsavory sort of characters right you don't look like you're unfamiliar and if you look like you're familiar they're not probably going to Target you as much as they would someone else with that goes my second thing don't overpack let's take this example if you see a woman walking and she's got one carry-on bag with um maybe a purse attached to it right or you see a woman with two giant suitcases a duffel bag hanging off of one a backpack on her back and a purse over her arm which one are you going to try and pickpocket which one is going to be less likely to be able to react you know the answer don't overpack overpacking also just makes everything more clumsy and difficult getting on and off of trains and planes and in and out of cabs all of that becomes more difficult and I like to have free hands should the worst happen I want to be able to react my other thing is don't bring your blame nobody needs to be walking around with a three karat diamond on their hand it only makes other people look at you a certain way it also means somebody may try to Target you because you look wealthy and so therefore you have something to take I have friends who are like oh well that's why I take this fake ring that I got at Macy's and I'm like but Joe Schmo who's going to you know pickpocket you they can't tell at a glance if that's a real diamond or if it's a crystal it just leave the sparkly shiny things away that said I've got one on this ring is something I take everywhere with me it doesn't it doesn't attract a lot of attention except maybe in this sunlight right now but it's a great Ring because it's flat and square and um made of brass so it's kind of like my own brass knuckles if somebody were ever to grab on to me or I had to slap somebody or punch them in the face I feel better with this on do I need it I hope not but I've got it if I do and it's also like I said it's pretty in unobtrusive couple of things on emergency information you really should know the word for help wherever you're going and also the emergency numbers um it's not always 911 y'all so here in Brazil the emergency number for the police is 1 190 for um like the bombad the the fire department it's 192 know those things know how to say say AUD or a or you whatever maybe you need to learn the word for fire because people like know that everywhere you go right so be aware of whatever that local information is that you need to have plan ahead and I'm not just talking about research plan ahead on how you're going to get to something are you going by foot um taxi bus Subway whatever know where you're going in a city look at Maps plan out where going to go Google Street View is an amazing thing for this use that resource go and see where you're where you know the streets are around your hotel and how you're going to get to you know the nearest sites or whatever knowing those things ahead of time is really great especially that first time you leave the the hotel also that first time you go out pay attention to markers as you're walking around maybe there's like this really interesting graffiti somewhere know that in the back of your mind you know that's that's your mark for where you got to turn right or something like that just know your surroundings understand where you're going how you're going to get there how you're going to get back so that you don't get lost because getting lost somewhere really sucks take it for me I kind of hit on this when I was talking about blending in that researching cultural norms it's not just about how you dress there are some places in the world where direct eye contact between males and females isn't okay you may not be able to shake hands with a man PDA is not okay like for instance in Rwanda and I was there with my husband we hold hands all the time and there was one point just naturally I grabbed his hand and he kind of like shook it off and I was like oh right it's not that anyone's going to be angry with us there but it might make someone else feel uncomfortable so it's a good thing just to be aware of how those social interactions happen there will be places in the world that you as a foreigner may be given a little bit of leeway and they're not going to care so much if you aren't doing those social norms but don't count on it don't expect to be given a pass just because you're not from that place y'all let's go back to kindergarten look both ways before you cross the street don't take rides from strangers don't let people buy you drinks sometimes just those small things we kind of forget about and we sort of need to pay attention to getting into a car with a stranger is never a good idea don't do it it's okay to be suspicious of people and it's okay to be rude sometimes if A Tout is like going on and on and you are uncomfortable walk away be a jerk don't worry about your manners we women tend to be too nice sometimes it's okay to like take a step back and just not participate walk off sometimes you have to be really Stern with people you have to be assertive occasionally pay attention to your gut if you are uncomfortable screw your manners self-defense there are different camps on this one but I personally feel that everyone should take a self-defense class simply because it makes you more confident is it going to help me fight someone off maybe maybe not am I going to learn one or two little things to keep me safer probably so gaining that confidence is probably the biggest thing that you're going to have that's going to help you as you travel around on your own um I think it's really important to just walk around with purpose and confidence and and then you don't look like a mealy mouth little person that can be taken advantage of right so holding yourself up like that changes everything in self defense does that for a lot of women also so many women just don't know how to throw a punch I know how to throw a punch and I'm glad I do also little things that they've taught me like um if somebody grabs your arm take your hand and knock on the top of their hand it hurts like the Dickens I am not kidding it's like an automatic thing they'll let go nine times out of 10 just something that small that you can run and get away those little things that you learn in self-defense I'm not saying you have to be like a master of KRA Maga or anything like that but knowing how to take care of yourself is a good thing especially for who you are inside I like to drink not going to lie however I try to stay sober especially when I'm traveling alone I might have a drink or two but I'm going to Pace myself I eat when I drink I drink water between cocktails I do not try to keep up drinking with Eastern Europeans because vodka is like water to so many of them don't feel peer pressure to stay up to to the drinking task with a group of people or anything like that if someone buys you a drink maybe ask for something bottled so that you can see it those those normal things that we teach you know women when they go off to college so they're not roofied Roofing can happen anywhere so pay attention to your drink don't leave your valuables you know with people that you think you trust wherever you are like oh you met this this person man or woman uh you know and you've been hanging out with them in the bar for a few hours don't leave your purse with them while you go to the bathroom bom just don't do it don't get drunk with them because you know what it slows down our reaction time it lowers our inhibitions and we'll do things sometimes that we wouldn't ordinarily do if we're thinking very clearly so watch your sobriety get travel insurance most credit cards will give you some type of travel insurance just um you know on flights and reimbursement and things like that some even have Clauses for like healthcare and whatnot depending on where you're going how long you're going to be gone uh what your age is you need to research different plans of travel insurance you can talk to your insurance agent at home they may be able to give you a really good place to look at things just be aware of it find things that um you need because you know what like if you're going snorkeling or skydiving or you're doing like certain crazy sports or you're traveling to certain countries it may not be covered under your health insurance or the travel insurance so check those things out before you go and buy the appropriate plan for what you're doing doing on a particular trip always have two things a secret stash and copies secret stash of money and credit cards somewhere in your bag you know there might be like a lining or something like that you can wrap a credit card in a piece of tin foil so that it's RFID protected um and shove it in there somewhere separate in another place put some cash in there like maybe 50 bucks or just whatever it can get you to the airport um and then you can use that credit card to buy yourself a plane ticket or a train ticket or whatever you might need and then keep copies of everything your passport front and back of all your credit cards and debit cards all your information whether it's like your health insurance card or copy of your travel insurance that you're absolutely going to have keep all of those in your email or the cloud have another copy with friends or family at home that you trust so that if anything happens you've got backup and you know where to go and what to do to like turn this credit card cards off um how to employ the reimbursement and you know call on that insurance company that you need you know to help you out of this bind so secret stash copies never leave home without them on that note when you're traveling um all the stuff that you have that's very valuable keep in the safe um often there's a lock box or something at a hotel or hostile if there isn't um I know people who take like indestructible bags and in destructible bags and they like uh lock them on to like a pipe or um the bottom of the bed or something like that is it going to help I mean if somebody's going to rob you they're going to rob you but trying to like at least make it difficult for them may send them on to somewhere else where they you know someone else is like more an easy target right there are things you should leave back at the hotel you don't need to take everything with you all of the time take only what you need so that if something happens while you're out out you've got whatever is back at the hotel you know there and safe also if the stuff at the hotel or the hostel or whatever gets robbed and you know that's gone and missing you have what's on your person chances are both aren't going to happen to you at once at least oh I hope they really don't because that would suck but again those two things will help splitting things up always always good idea a lot of us are going out traveling and we have a very set budget um or we're trying to travel really cheap I get that but always budget in a cushion for spending on safety so there are going to be times when you aren't comfortable and you need to take a cab or maybe you will get to a hotel and you didn't realize that it's in this like really creepy sketchy isolated location maybe you need to not stay there and you need to be able to spend that night somewhere else in a more central location also spending on safety isn't just about where you stay and what rides you take it's also about the tours you take go with the good guide that has a lot of great reviews don't go with the person that has sketchy reviews or that you know is hitting on women like that's in reviews read the reviews find out what's good and what's bad decide to spend a little extra on the safety also if you're taking classes like a scuba class or um you're going to go ziplining or whatever I wouldn't take the shotty class I mean you're literally under thousands of pounds of pressure of water with the oxygen tank stra to your back take the one that's good and that has good reviews it might cost you 20 bucks more but is that worth your safety I certainly think it is so budget for that pay attention to reviews before you go and that'll help you figure out just how much you need check in with people at home you may want to set up something like uh a routine thing like I'm going to check in every day you may be in a place where there is no internet or cell phone service and you can't check in every day so if that's the case you know maybe you say I'm every third day whatever that that is make sure that you're regularly letting people know where you are give your parents your friends your husband your girlfriend your boyfriend whatever give people your itinerary at home so they kind of know where you are they got your flight numbers and things like that I know as we travel if you're like me sometimes it's by the seat of your pants and you're not really sure where you're going to go and where you're going to stay and all those things just keep people updated try to let them know where you're going with whom and if you're going to be in a place without sell service or you know without internet or something let them know and I'm going to say this like I've been in the serengetti and had decent Wi-Fi it was only decent at night but that's okay I had Wi-Fi and I could check in with my family right they're just they're like deep in the Amazon or hiking the incet trail or something like that you may not have connectivity for like days but that's where paying for a good guide um might come in handy and like budgeting for that ahead of time is a good idea so that even if you're not checking in with someone someone back home you're with people that are reputable and that's very important for our own safety and I think that goes for everyone's Safety Not Just women's avoid demonstrations and protests when you see huge Gatherings of people and they look kind of Rowdy or even if they don't look very Rowdy sometimes it's really good just to avoid that because you don't necessarily know what's going on and you don't want to get caught into a situation where oh Lord there's tear gas because I don't know about you but I've seen that on the news quite a lot and I don't want to get tear gas that's like not the souvenir I need so pay attention to large groups and kind of just back away let's talk about help if it's unsolicited be wary sometimes people are just trying to help you out but you know the guy who's like trying to put your bags on the train for you he's probably asking for a tip maybe or you know at worst he could be trying to take your bag from you so pay attention to those people who are trying to help you without you having asked for it also there's another reason to pack light cuz you can carry your own little bag on you don't need the guy by the train station to try and help you with that right also let's ask for help occasionally talk to the concierge the staff at your hostel your hotel at a restaurant they'll tell you if you should or should not go to a place like late at night or if you should only go during the day and sometimes those sketchy areas may look okay during the day and they really are fine and sometimes even at night they're not so bad but like 2: a.m. alone not a good place to be and our ception of those is all different the more we travel or the more places we've been to the way we see those things changes and maybe we're better better able to judge and maybe we're kind of being callous because oh I've been in this kind of place before and it was fine just always be on your guard with that and pay attention to the space around you but ask people if you should be there or not because those people at your hotel or wherever they're going to be honest with you and tell you oh we don't want you to go go there at that time or you know what don't go there at all take their advice ask for their help take their advice let's talk about protection use it whether that's a seat Bel a condom or a helmet concussions and STDs are not things that you want to bring home they're like the worst souvenirs so use your use your good common sense and uh take precautions where you need to last but probably not least no definitely not least social media posts I almost never post from where I am if I'm posting something you can bet it's at least a couple of days behind I don't want people to know where I am all the time I can DM my family about where I am but I'm not going to let the entire world see that this is particularly important if you have a public account on like Instagram or Twitter or whatever like just don't let the whole world know where you are at every every given moment or maybe any given moment I never go live it's just something I've decided not to do for my own safety and also because I'm not really comfortable with people knowing where I am it's kind of weird and creepy you know so pay attention to what you're posting where you're posting and when you're posting so those are some of my safety tips and I know I probably have a whole lot more no I definitely have a whole lot more and I'm sure many of you do too so please put those in the comments below because the more we share the more we can protect ourselves and each other and wouldn't the world just be a better place if we all took care of each other a little more yeah I think so all right so travel well travel safe see y'all later

Channel: Wolters World

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Id: EiUEUcKk_pc

Length: 18min 31sec (1111 seconds)

Published: Sat Feb 03 2024