Traveling as a solo female within Pakistan or outside the country seems a bit daunting and it doesn’t have to be. Women at some point in their lives have to travel solo either for fun or for work. It is best to prepare and embark on you journey then to delay and procrastinate and worse, fear it. Solo woman travellers from all and every background are now travelling around the globe. Their journey has not been without challenges but what is worth noting is how they overcame them.
Here are the top 10 tips to help you reduce your anxiety and help you minimize any risk to your personal safety and security whilst on your travels.
Stay Aware and Alert:
This is an important tip as one of the most effective ways to ensure your own safety is situational awareness.
All that means is being actively aware of your surroundings. It can be so easy to put your earphones in on a long bus journey, lose yourself in your surroundings and not concentrate, and that means you are making yourself an easy target for any potential thief, mugger or anyone who may want to do you harm, and you will not spot any potential trouble until you are right in the middle of it.
So stay aware of your surroundings and be cognizant of the things around you, your belongings and the people around you at all times, and you will be far more likely to spot and avoid any potential trouble before it even happens.
Be Confident
The best tip for anyone travelling is to be confident. It is the key. Even if inside you are feeling a little lost or nervous, don’t worry, just acting confident will make a huge difference. Fake it ’till you make it!
Predators, thieves, and con artists all prey on those who look like an easy target and look weak – it’s a natural animal instinct – so be the exact opposite of that. Be the person that makes them think you are more trouble than you are worth. Make them think that they will regret approaching you or trying anything on and they will soon move on to the next potential victim who looks like easy prey.
Stand tall and talk loud and clear. Act and look like you are confident, know where you are and what you are doing and it will greatly reduce your chances of being picked out as a victim.
Blend in
Look like just another one of the crowd as much as possible and don’t stand out. Basically, this tip is all about not drawing any undue attention to yourself. Thief and muggers are looking for tourist and new people to make them a victim. If you are carrying a big backpack and looking out of place you will draw attention.
By being mindful of what you look like and how you act. If you look like you belong, you’re more likely to be looked over by potential predators or thieves or scam artists. Also, how you act is very important. Don’t stand around looking lost and clueless. Be confident and act as you belong there. if you face any issue just solve them or seek help from reliable people.
Learn a little bit of the local language:
This is always a polite thing to do anyway, and learning the basics such as hello, goodbye, please, thank you, yes, No, and so on just shows a little respect for your host country as much as it helps you blend in.
Knowing how to say thank you in the local language is an instant signal to touts that they may be better off moving on, knowing a few basic phrases may signal to anyone watching you for nefarious means that you are comfortable in your surroundings and may not be as easy a target as they thought. It is also a really good idea just to memorize and learn a few phrases that will help you raise the alarm in an emergency or ask for help if you need it.
Don’t lose your Phone and get a local SIM connection
Phone in this age and time is everything. Don’t lose it and keep is connected. You can never be sure of the International roaming will work or not so make sure you buy a local SIM that will work. This will give you reassurance as you can call people for help and also you can update family and friends. Threatening a scammer even by just dialing a call to someone will scare them off.
Be sensitive to local custom and tradition
Understanding the place you are in and the culture you are visiting is essential when backpacking so you can be sensitive to local customs and manners, everything from wearing appropriate clothing at religious sites to watching the topics you discuss with a local. Doing so will help you avoid bringing any extra attention to yourself and reduce your chances of accidentally finding yourself in a bit of trouble without meaning to be.
Keep your valuables hidden
This should be a bit of a common sense one really and again, is all about not drawing any unwanted attention to yourself. If you must accessorize then at least do so with cheap, replaceable baubles from a local market.
Be careful about your fancy tech and money that you keep on you. Make a checklist every time you leave a restaurant or bus to ensure you got everything.
Avoid walking alone at night
This especially applies if you happen to be walking in a deserted or sparsely populated area. If you do go out at night try to be with or around other travellers from your hostel, or spend that little bit of cash and take a taxi, uber or grab. A big part of staying safe when travelling is avoiding risky situations or taking steps to minimise that risk, and this is really no different than the common sense approach you would take at home.
Be prepared when you arrive in a new place
Arriving in a new town, city or country, especially late at night, is often when travelers are at their most vulnerable. You will probably be tired and a little groggy from a long bus or plane journey, you will be disorientated and perhaps even a little bit culture-shocked in the first day or two. It happens to everyone, don’t worry. The big problem is that it also makes you a prime target for touts, thieves and other unwanted attention. This is where it really pays off to prepare things beforehand and is one of the few occasions where it is a good idea to book your accommodation in advance (splurging on a private room for the first night at least is a good idea to just to allow you to rest), and get a metered and licensed taxi there or pre book an uber or grab.
Trust your gut instinct
This seems like a bit of a cop out a piece of advice but believe me it isn’t. Your gut instinct is one of the best and sharpest weapons you have for keeping yourself safe when traveling the world. If something doesn’t feel right, if that person you are talking to is making you feel a bit uncomfortable or you just have a bad feeling, then trust your gut and leave. Get out of there. It is always better to be safe than sorry.
Don’t worry about being polite. That seems like a strange tip, I know, but hear me out. If your spider-sense is tingling and your gut is telling you that you need to get out of a situation, the last thing you need to worry about is being rude or offending anyone.
Remember, be aware, be prepared, don’t be paranoid
The tips and advice given above are designed to help you reduce any potential risk out there as much as possible, so that you can get on and enjoy your tripin peace and safety, but they aren’t there to scare you or worry you into thinking that the world is a much more dangerous place than it really is.
Remember that being prepared and being careful are good and wise things to do, being paranoid is not.
Not every person that says hello is out to scam you, not all the attention you get as a woman is negative (sometimes you will feel like a celebrity as whole families just want a photo with the tall, pretty blonde westerner), often you are provided extra protection as a woman by other women and even by men, and despite what you may hear not every man is out to rape you. So before you get out that pepper spray and start screaming at everyone who comes within a 2-mile radius of you just remember, the world is generally safe, welcoming and wonderful place.
Be open, welcoming and generally positive about your travels. Travel is in general terms overwhelmingly safe and not everyone is out to get you.
Simply having the knowledge and the tools to reduce the risk that is there means that you are prepared for the worst, not expecting it, and you are more ready and able to protect yourself and keep yourself safe if the worst does happen.
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