Is there anywhere on the web giving good cites about pickpocketing statistics? I couldn’t find any with a quick search.
You want cultcha? We gotcha cultcha right here!
[Simon & Garfunkel]
I knew a man, his brain was so small,
He couldn’t think of nothing at all.
He’s not the same as you and me.
He doesn’t dig poetry. He’s so unhip that
When you say Dylan, he thinks you’re talking about Dylan Thomas,
Whoever he was.
The man ain’t got no culture,
But it’s alright, ma,
Everybody must get stoned.
[/Simon & Garfunkel
I have good system for use on airplanes and other places where I fear loss or theft of my valuables.
One of those specialized holders–looks like a thin fanny pack. I wear a tee shirt, put the money holder over that with wallet/passport/tickets/etc., and wear a regular buttoned shirt over that. I get the goods out by unbuttoning the shirt near the belly.
Foolproof, comfortable, and safe.
I was walking down the road through the Forum toward Coloseum, and walked through a bunch of gypsy women doing the whole babies/cardboard signs/‘signor, signor, blah blah’ routine. They followed me for a few steps and were bugging me. I turned round to tell them to f*** off, and one of them was waving my wallet at me.
Out of my front jeans pocket, while I was at least moderately alert to the possibility of trouble, and had my fleece pulled down over the pocket. **And **they had presumably opened it to see a bunch of plastic with virtually no cash, and decided to ‘return’ it. before I turned round. I get my wallet back, they get a few bucks (I figured I owed them something for my lesson :dubious: ) and they haven’t comitted any crime and get to keep dipping for a wad of cash with no hassles from the police. So there are still skilled professionals out there, but mainly in southern/eastern europe. In London it’s normally a bit cruder. My friend got off the train, went to use an ATM, someone pushed him hard enough to bounce his head off the wall and ran off with his wallet and cash. :mad:
To drag things back on topic - all the regarding separating things is spot on. Just take a card and some cash with you, leave the rest in the hotel safe (helps with budgeting) and I strongly recommend some hining/travelling trousers. Very comfy, and normally come with lots of zip-up/button-down/velcro-fastened pockets of which at least one is inside another pocket or the waistband. The trick of razoring through the cloth to get at pocket contents hasn’t made it here from the third world yet. And remember to be very careful with cameras and so on.
Oh, and keep your voice down. For some reason visiting americans can seem very LOUD when you are used to brits. Last lingering traces of the famous reserve, no doubt.