More and more people travel everyday abroad, but we can see an increase of women traveling alone. If you are a woman and whether you are traveling on vacation or for a business trip, you should follow some safety tips to protect you from encountering problems.
Most important thing is to leave an outline of your trip, addresses, telephones, photocopies of your passport and ticket to a friend or relative, someone should know where you are at any given time.
Don't carry or wear jewelry. Thieves target unprotected women as the weaker sex and women that visually hold lot of money.
Hold a flashlight and a pepper spray with you. You might find yourself in places like dark streets or bus stations and the light would help you stay alert. Also the pepper spray is a way for protecting yourself. It can frighten thieves or protect you from an attack.
Remember that thieves don't target your underwear. It is best to make pockets inside your bar so you can keep some money in case of emergency. You can also try to put some money in your sock.
In case someone attacks you and tries to take your bag don't resist. Let your bag and call for help rather than risking yourself from physical damage.
If you are in a foreign country try to dress like local people. Thieves will attack more often at foreign women than local.
One trick you can use is a fake wedding ring. Men will not risk coming in contact with married women so when seeing at your fake wedding ring they will think that you travel with your husband.
Avoid eye contact. In some cultures intense eye contact shows flirt. So try to avoid it, to avoid men coming close to you. And avoid of having any kind of conversation with anyone even if he looks friendly. You should not trust any stranger.
Go to a local police station or talk with local women to learn more about the suitable night times you could travel or other facts. In some countries when travelling with the metro at certain hours like 12 at night it is very dangerous. It is the time where the most crimes take place so it is best to have a look at facts and listen to a few tips that locals give you to maintenance your safety and continue your trip.
Generally, when travelling abroad you should always need to think of yourself and your safety. You are alone and only you can protect yourself. Use this tips and some common sense. Act confident and don't provoke men in any way either by flirting or eye contacting. You should not be worry that anything would happen to you because probably it will not. Just as a traveler like men too be alert and look around you. Follow these rules and enjoy your time.
Mikhail Doubinski is a travel writer from Sydney who writes for several popular travel websites.
