6 Things You Should Pack When Travelling to a Dangerous Location

Despite the United States, Canada, and parts of Europe being extremely safe for travellers, many parts of the world are not. If you’re somebody who enjoys adventuring, safety should be one of your main priorities. Under no circumstances should you travel to dangerous locations without properly preparing first. Your life is not something to play with. This post’s intention is to shed light on six important things that you should pack when travelling to a dangerous location so that you can make sure no harm comes to you or those you’re travelling with.

Bulletproof Backpack

Some parts of the world are more dangerous than others. In some, it’s so dangerous that even tourists are shot at. While even in the craziest places it’s unlikely anybody’s going to take a shot at you if a location that you are travelling to has a high gun crime rate, a lightweight bulletproof backpack will keep you safe. These backpacks will ensure that you don’t get hit with a stray shot from behind, also. When you are walking through an area with high gun crime, being hit by a bullet that’s intended for somebody else is always a risk. Bulletproof backpacks can be very heavy, which is why it’s important to pick up a lightweight one.  These backpacks tend to be very spacious and can still be used to carry around your personal effects.

Bringing Cash

You might think that bringing cash to a dangerous place is a bad idea, but this isn’t true. More often than not, dangerous places have poor infrastructure. In such places, cash is king. You will not be able to use your card in a shanty town, will you? Taking cash with you means that you’ll still be able to make purchases. However, you do need to make sure that you do not bring lots of cash, and when you do, don’t flash it around. A lot of people find that carrying decoy cash is the best way to prevent themselves from being robbed. What this means is to carry three sets of cash around with you. The first, you keep it in an obvious place, the second, you keep it in a more hidden place, and the third, you keep it somewhere where nobody is going to find it. If anybody tries to rob you, you can give them the first amount, then if they push you the second amount. Make the second look like it is your hidden stash.

Digital Camera

If you take an expensive phone or camera to somewhere that is dangerous, you make yourself an attractive target to criminals. A cheap digital camera will allow you to still take pictures and document your travels, however, you won’t have to worry about anybody taking it, and if somebody does take it, you won’t lose a lot of money. Every single time you finish using it, consider taking out your SD card and storing it in your pocket. By taking your SD card out and storing it in your pocket, if your camera is robbed you won’t lose your memories. If your digital camera is stolen, it’s likely the memories you’ll miss most of all. Consider taking a cheap phone along with you on your travels, too. You can buy cheap smartphones at most supermarkets and tech stores. If possible, buy a phone that has a camera so that you can also take pictures on it and upload them straight to social media, meaning you’ll be able to hold onto them even if your device is stolen.

Credit Card

Earlier on, it was recommended that you should take cash with you when you’re travelling to dangerous parts of the world. In addition to taking cash, take a credit card with you as well. The good thing about credit cards is that you’re able to block stock transactions even after they have been made. This means that if somebody steals your card, you can immediately cancel the transaction as soon as you get to somewhere safe. With that being said, you should do everything you can to make sure that your credit cards aren’t stolen. Consider hiding them somewhere on your person that will be hard for a robber to find. In addition to taking a credit card with you, you may also want to invest in traveller’s insurance. Travellers’ insurance will ensure that if you are robbed, you’re compensated for your losses. You could even get ransom insurance, which will pay a ransom in the event of your kidnapping. It is unlikely that you will need ransom insurance unless you’re going somewhere extremely dangerous. In such places, very few of the measures and items suggested here are actually going to be helpful.

Security Folder

Carrying a security folder around with you is another good way to protect your belongings when you’re travelling in a dangerous part of the world. A security folder is a little wallet it’s very hard for people to break into. More often than not, these wallets are attached to people by chains. Usually, they are worn under people’s clothing. If you’re planning on carrying a security folder, you can carry your passport found inside of it. A lot of people do not recommend bringing your physical passport to dangerous parts of the world. However, if you do not bring your physical passport you will have to bring a digital one. If you lose your mobile device, that means you will lose access to your passport and could have to go to your embassy to ask for a new one.

Digital Passport

As mentioned in the previous section, when you are travelling to a dangerous part of the world, you may want to consider taking a digital passport with you. Of course, you should also take a physical one too. The good thing about a digital passport is that nobody is going to know what it is if you take it out in front of them. They would have to physically see the screen of your phone in order to know that it is your passport. And in many dangerous parts of the world, they’re going to have absolutely no idea what a digital passport is so even if they did see one they’d have no clue what they were looking at. Digital passports can be a good way to deter theft and prevent people from stealing your identity.

The world is a dangerous place. If you enjoy travelling, now is the time to consider buying the items mentioned here. The items mentioned here will stop you from being robbed and ensure that if you do end up getting robbed do not lose that much.