THE DARK SIDE OF TRAVELLING: 1 - THE TIME I LOST MY DOCUMENTS

Travelling is fun and exciting but sometimes when we least expect some things can go wrong. And if something goes wrong, it's very important to know what to do to keep yourself from getting in trouble.

Weather you are travelling in your own country or abroad it's always important to keep some things in mind.

The story

About a year ago in Gujarat India, I lost a wallet while going to a park with friends. I only realized that I had no wallet after I reached home. The wallet had my ID card, ATM cards, family pictures and some cash. At first like anyone would, I panicked and I couldn't think of a single place where I could have left the wallet. Could it be at the park? Or at the auto rickshaw(three wheeled cab) I took to reach the park? If it was at the auto rickshaw, it was very unlikely that I would find him again. However I could at least check at the park, so I went back to the park with a friend, we scanned the surroundings for almost 30 minutes and asked people around with no success. 

Eventually I realised that the best thing to do was to report to the authorities, not because they would help me find it, but  in case it fell into the wrong hands I would not get in trouble for someone else's wrongdoings.

So I went to the closest police 'building' I saw, luckily there was an officer who spoke English "I am sorry we do not deal with such cases here, you will have to go to the local police station near tower." the officer said.

The officer at the local police station frowned once we entered, and we quickly realized that we were not welcome there. Perhaps because he saw that we were foreigners or perhaps because we came when he was sleeping, I don't know. 

I ignored his frown, and I respectfully greeted him which he didn't reply. Then I started explaining what had happened and why we were there. After I spoke, he replied "Hmmm?" making a 'What do you want gesture with his hands'. I got it, he didn't speak English but I had been stopped at the street before by officers who didn't speak English but knew the words 'ID' and 'Driver's Licence'. So I dumbed down my explanation to "ID... ID Lost", "Document, ATM card lost" "File report please". Well he wasn't happy with that explanation either and he quickly starting cussing us out. I didn't understand everything he spoke but a few Hindi curse words I understood like "Benchod"(which translates to sister f*cker) and "Bossorina"(which translates to p**ssy). 

It was hard to believe that a police officer was behaving in such way while on duty. I kept my composure and I apologized. Then I decided to contact a friend from Bangladesh who speaks Hindi. As I handed him the phone he picked it up with the facial expression of an embarrassed child, perhaps he thought I had called a "high profile personality" or his boss. Once he realized that it was just another "John Doe" on the phone he pretended to not understand Hindi and cussed my friend out too. `What are the odds an Indian police officer who doesn't speak Hindi` I thought. I remained calm. `Since we are in Gujarat, maybe he only speaks Gujarati` I called someone who spoke Gujarati and as I was about to hand him the phone, he flipped me off. That was it, I had enough of his disrespect. One thought came into my mind 'punch that punk in the mouth and leave!', 'what if that's all he wants I second guessed', sleeping in jail or risking deportation for hitting an officer would not be worth it. So I just turned my back and left. He tried calling us back as we were leaving, we ignored.

Later I came to know that they do that so that people end up bribing them.

Although things didn't end up well in my situation, there are a few lessons that everyone travelling abroad can learn:

When you realize you lost something 

Keep a fresh mind and do not panic. No matter how hard, remember that there's always a solution. When you panic or when get stressed it's pretty easy to miss out some simple details that may be crucial to help you find your lost item(s). 

After that search around you. If you're at home, search at home, in your bags or pockets etc.

Accept

Once you realize that you really lost it somewhere, accept it! I know that it sounds odd, but accepting that you lost something helps you keep your mind in place, and keeps you relaxed before you get into action.

What to do next

Now that you're relaxed you can follow the list bellow

1 - Make a check-list of all the places you've been to, starting from the last place where you remember having the item, to the last place you visited including roads used.

2 - Take someone to help you search

3 - If communication is a problem, take someone who speaks the local language.

4 - Go to each place on your list starting from the ones where there's more concentration of people since its more likely for someone to find and take it (ie. Museums, Restaurants etc)

5 - If the place is far away, contact them to inform

6 - in case you do not find it anywhere, ask a local person to come with you to the nearest police station and file a report (Do this as soon as possible preferably within 24hours). The last thing you want is to be arrested because your documents were found in a crime scene.

8 - Corrupt cops? Depending on where you are, learn to deal with them before you have to deal with them. Do some research, ask people how things work. Remember "When in Rome, do as the Romans do".

9 - In the worst case scenario(ie. lost passport), contact your embassy so that they may help you

How to avoid

1 - When travelling abroad scan all your documents and e-mail them to yourself. This will not keep you from losing the documents, but it will certainly help you if you ever lose.

2 - Make Xerox copies of all your documents and carry them with you. 

3 - Do not take original documents like passports or IDs to clubs or parties as you might lose them or get drunk and have them taken away(stolen) from you. Instead, you can take a xerox copy in your pocket just so you have some type of identification.

4 - If you are the type who likes to walk around with original documents, then I would recommend only taking one when you go out ie. ID or Driver's Licence. Avoid as much as possible taking your passport everywhere. 

5 - Check at your hotel or guest house reception, if they or their rooms have any kind of safe facility where you can put your documents or if they can keep it for you while you're out.

6 - Some hotel and guest house rooms are not secure and there are cases of people who get things stolen from their rooms. So when you check in, search for a secure spot where you can hide your documents. Note: Remember that spot before you leave, because you could end up forgetting to take the documents with you.

7 - Always lock your luggage.

8 - Always check if you didn't leave anything behind before leaving a cab or any kind of transportation you use

9 - If taking a cab, ask for the driver's contact so that you may contact in case you forget something in the vehicle

10- Note down the names and contacts of places you visit so that you may contact in case you forget something

11- Don't leave your belongings with strangers

Be safe and enjoy your journey ;) !

Let me know in the comments how you keep your documents/belongings safe when travelling.

Please feel free to give feedback, and let me know if you find any errors in the post.

Picture credits: www.pixabay.com: jackmac34 Creative Commons