Hello friends! I have left the Philippines and I am now spending a bit of time in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to map out my travel plans and visas for the next few months.
visiting the Petronas Towers yesterday
Sadly, I did not have the best of days today. Around 1:30pm I was walking down the street and something got stuck in my shoe. As I bent over to fix my shoe a motobike sped up on the sidewalk beside me and ripped my bag off of me. I screamed and ran, but obviously he was too fast and was gone with my bag.
Unfortunately, I had very recently been to an ATM and had money on me I had exchanged to US dollars which I needed to pay for some upcoming travel visas. All in all I lost a total of $500 USD. For a long-term budget traveller this is a lot of money and I have spent the majority of the day frustrated and crying and yelling various profanities. But in the moments I have somewhat calmed down I have been reflecting on my daily habits while traveling and how they have made this situation either better or worse.
It is those thoughts that have inspired me to write this post. While it is all basic things and everyone has their own habits and ways of travelling, I think it is always good to think and reflect on what we do in our travels. So here is four habits I have in regards to my possessions and how it affected my situation today.
1.Passport I never carry my passport with me unless it is absolutely necessary. This means on day trips, nights out, etc my passport is kept somewhere secure and away from me. I am lucky that even though my bag was stolen today my passport was locked away at my guesthouse and I still have it. Getting a new passport is an expensive and timely process when you are abroad and I am thankful I don't have to go through that.
2.Cash Most countries I travel in you need cash in the local currency rather than paying bank or credit card. Even though I withdraw more than a day's worth of money at a time, I try to carry on me only what I will need for the day and keep the rest somewhere safe. Sadly, today was one of the few days I did not follow this habit and therefore lost a significant amount of cash.
3.Bank/Credit Cards I travel with both a debit card and a credit card but I always keep them in separate places. Today I had my debit card on me but my credit card was stored safely with my passport. So even though my debit card is gone I have access to money and my account back home. If I had not done this I would be cash and cardless and need to depend on someone else just for access to money. It is easy to report a card stolen but, like a passport, it can be costly and time consuming to get new bank cards while abroad.
4.What I Carry By this I mean the bag I carry and what I carry in it. I leave everything I do not need for the day behind including little things I have collected along the way that may not be worth much money but have sentimental value. So today, other than the money and the bank card that are gone, I did not lose any other valuables. My bag was small and sat close to my body usually making it quite difficult to grab. Because I was bent over looking at my shoe my bag was hanging at a bit of a strange angle and easier for someone to grab.**
Again, while these are simple things I just wanted to share my reflection on today. While I did lose money I am thankful that my daily habits preventing me from losing more.
Just one more thing, I do not want you to read this and feel fearful or discouraged with travelling. I think travelling is a beautiful and amazing thing, and even though I am a bit shook up today this is something that will not send me home. I also do not mean this as a bad reflection of Kuala Lumpur as a city. I have only been here a few days but I think it is a vibrant, growing city with great things to see and amazing food to eat! What happened today is unlucky and frustrating but can happen anywhere in the world.
Thanks for reading today. Stay smart and safe and most of all do what makes you happy. Until next time,
Chantelle
