When you’re excited about setting off on a journey, the last thing you’ll want to think about is what could go wrong, but a bit of preparation can make things much safer and easier. It’s especially important when you’re traveling alone, because if something does go wrong there will often be no-one there to help you out. Or there may be no one who speaks your language.
Anytime you’re traveling make sure you have your valuable secured. Keep a spare $20 (or whatever local currency) in your shoe or somewhere else private people won’t steal from. Keep your passport secured somewhere safe as passports are in high demand for thefts. Don’t look like a mark. Keep your fancy gold jewelry and designer hand bags at home. Comfortable, practical, and unobtrusive is the name of the game when you’re in an unfamiliar city. You’ll never know when you might have to walk 5 miles after getting lost after dark.
Keep your cell phone charged 100% whenever you go out. Bring a spare battery too if you can. Since most modern phones foolishly don’t let you remove the battery you can consider getting one of those portable charging cubes. If you can, use an unlocked global phone that will work anywhere. Buy a local sim card when you reach your destination to have local service without paying ridiculous roaming charges. You may also want to turn on whatever tracking feature you can on your phone. If your phone is stolen or you are lost somewhere with your phone people can still find exactly where you are by tracking your phone.
Bring a water bottle with a built in filter. Your digestion might not be ready to drink the local water if you’re in a very exotic location. A water bottle with a built in filter will help you get by, fill your bottle with water from a local source and then drink it through the filter. It should keep you from getting nasty stomach parasites.
Bad things can happen while you’re traveling but don’t let it bring you down. The more you travel and experience the more you will realize everything is easy to deal with!