The Most Important Thing You Can Pack
What are the most important items to pack for any trip? Let’s take a look.
Image of a camera, map, sunglasses, and a leather bag.
The Danger
You are traveling. You are enjoying the scenery of the location, the aroma of the food, and capturing memories with your camera. Life is good. You are traveling and loving life. Then you notice something. Your wallet is gone. Well…. Now what?
Why Did This Happen?
Here is the cold, hard truth. It comes down to values. This may sound a bit rash, but let’s be real. People raised in different places have different values. That is part of the travel experience. We get to enjoy other cultures, but we also have to acknowledge the cold hard truth. You will come in contact with people whose system of values are in sharp contrast to yours. I’m not saying to keep your distance from people while you travel. I absolutely love to have interactions with the residents who grew up in the area that I am visiting.
I remember wondering the streets of Naples, Italy. It was a hot summer day. I was in the Quartieri Spagnoli wondering the medieval streets. To the uninitiated, Naples Italy will appear as a rough neighborhood. As someone who has spent months in Naples, I view the city as a culinary wonderland. On this particular hot summer day, I met Salvatori and Marco at a small outdoor bar and had a wonderful time sampling the wine. You can enjoy that experience in the video below.
The Quartier Spagnoli is a hidden gen for Italian food and wine lovers. With an endless variety of family owned restaurants throughout the Quartier Spagnoli, your will find it hard to leave this place without gaining a few pounds.
I am also aware that the way people have been raised, or who now live in that area may not have good intentions. A dead giveaway that you need to be very alert is when you are approached while near a tourist area. Most residents who are native to that area will not be standing on the street trying to get you buy something, give you something, or try to start a conversation with you. Go to high alert if this situation pops up and be ready, they are not working alone. Sometimes as many as 10 people are working together to distract and disorientate you. They see your valuables and you are about to lose them.
Be the Hard Target
I am proudly an American. I do not try to draw attention to myself but let’s face it, I look the part. Especially when I travel alone. When I enter the area in front of the Roman Forum, I get about a half dozen eyes locked in on me instantly. It does not take long before they approach and try to start a conversation with me. It is there way of being friendly and getting you to drop your guard. Americans tend to be polite. That is our culture and it is weaponized against us. I have stopped being polite. I excuse myself and leave. If they follow, then I have another problem to deal with. Just remember, if you get into a physical confrontation, their friends will come to their aid. Just leave. I’ve resorted to getting very loud which draws the attention of others. They tend not to like that.
Again, a harsh reality but the truth. My value system of respecting others is not shared by those individuals. I understand that. They respect nothing but personal gain. In other words, my wallet and personal possessions are for the taking. I see it on the trains. A man walking up and down through each carriage with a satchel over his shoulder. Looking at each table as he goes by. If he sees something and you are not looking, he will take it. Again, a difference in values.
The Most important thing you can Pack
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. The best thing you can pack is a petty theft survival kit. I Always carry 2 forms of ID and 2 forms of payment on a trip.
While traveling, I will keep my passport and primary credit card on my person. I will keep a secondary ID and credit card in my backpack or in my carry on. That way if I do get my wallet stolen, I still have identification and a way to pay for things… Like the rest of the trip. While at my destination, one set of ID and credit card stays in the hotel safe while the other set stays with me. But that is not all.
In the hotel safe are a few more items.
The numbers to call if my credit cards are stollen.
Photocopies of the identification pages of my passport.
The locations and contact information for the US consulates in the countries that I am visiting.
My travel medical insurance documents.
All of these help you to financially protect yourself and to quickly get in touch with the US government and get your passport replaced. I never go on a trip, even inside the United States, without this petty theft survival kit.
Reach out to me when you want to book your next trip.
