1.) Do Your Research
Learn everything you can about the place before you visit it. Try reading the personal accounts and blog stories, and ask questions on popular forums and Facebook groups. As a female traveller, it is best to ask other women travellers about their experiences in the place of your interest. Try to learn as much as you can about the weather, neighbourhoods, and the current political climate/clashes, cultural norms, dress code, potential scams, and other crucial things before you head to an unknown place. Remove from your mind all of the strict assumptions that can be made about other people who haven’t been there yet, and believe in the facts.
Read Also- How to stay healthy while travelling
2.) Be careful at night
Dangerous and illicit activities usually occur at night when the streets are less crowded. Make sure that you time your entry at your destination during the day so that you are able to sort things out. A walk in the night should be avoided. Always go for public transportation or hire a taxi. Leave all your valuables at the hotel and carry only the amount that you shall need until you’re out. You should always cling to a group of people when you head out in this unknown city or place so that they have your back and you don’t have to look over your shoulders all the time. You can always meet new people during your excursions and befriend them to prevent being alone and at the same time socialise for fun too. Don’t forget to inform your family where you are heading from time to time and always keep an SOS active on your phone so that you can be rescued in unforeseen circumstances.
Also read- How to travel on a Budget
3.) Just say “No”
Sometimes, politely saying a ‘NO’ or a “no thank you”can help you to a great degree. Being a woman, you have to always stay cautious of others because you never know what anybody’s motives are until they reveal them. Staying vigilant can help you assess various situations with ease and shall prepare you before any mishap occurs. You should always avoid promises, never follow anyone to a less crowded place, watch peoples’ actions and don’t get to stay back late to a party. Following these tenets can potentially prevent any threats that may be lingering. In case you have travel insurance, you shall be covered under many aspects of travel and instill a sense of safety and security in the foreign land. You can fend off potential threats and avail emergency assistance using the perks available in your insurance plan.
4.) Personal safety tools
Carrying portable defensive items such as a Pepper spray can, a Swiss army knife, and a safety torch with shock effect will take up less space in your bag and help you defend yourself in case of emergency. Don’t forget that it is better to prevent than to treat. Thus, with a protective kit with you, you can not only feel safe but also aid someone else who might need a helping hand. Though you don’t necessarily need to use these items in a quarrel or squabble, use them wisely to only protect and not intimidate. The next important thing is not to trust everyone who is over courteous or one who offers you food or stuff for no reason, read why in the next point.
Also Read- Travel Tech Essentials to upgrade your trip
Our recommended travel tech essentials to upgrade your trip:
1.) Kindle- Kindle Paperwhite (10th gen)
2.) Sound Cancellation Headphones- JBL Tune 750BTNC
3.) Flexible tripod- DIGITEK (DTR 455 LT) Tripod
5. Don’t Accommodate offered Food or Courtesy
We are all driven by the feeling of eating good food and some of us even indulge in gluttony as we don’t seem to have any control over our impulses. But you need to have a safe approach when taking stuff in the form of uninvited offers. People looking to take advantage of an unsuspecting traveller number in thousands at such places. Pickpockets, robbers, thieves and even infamous criminals have a knack for intimidating lone travellers and this could end up being messy, especially if you are in a place where a different language is spoken. So next time if you are offered something out of nowhere, or someone is being too courteous for no reason, you should deny them politely and change the place immediately. Besides that, eating too much can also upset your stomach and could result in an abrupt change of plans, the last thing you would want while on a trip.
Conclusion
With these precautions, you can be considered an equipped traveller who can prevent any odds with their foresight. Many solo travellers in the past have ended up in bad situations that they could have avoided with relative ease. But the driving thoughts of pleasure and fun could make us do things we’d despise later on. So heed my advice, try sticking to your itinerary and don’t dissuade from what you intended to do. With all these precautions, one cannot simply be any safer in a different place altogether.
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