Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Then there is the ethnic thing which we are well trained to not notice because it is rude. I confess, but at a whisper, I can tell who the Japanese tourists are, whether it is at Yellowstone Park or Stonehenge. They clump together in groups, they all have big cameras hung around their necks, they are speaking a foreign language, and I swear, I never notice it, but they all look Asian. Ahem, no racism intended.
The body language is just frequently so different for Japanese/Chinese/Korean from Asia compared to Japanese/Chinese/Korean from California.
It happened at Disneyland, of all places. I was a young officer with my new bride, standing in line to get into the Haunted Mansion. I felt my wallet being slipped out of my back pocket. I spun around and decked the perpetrator, breaking his jaw in three places. He dropped like a rock and ended up fracturing his skull in the process. Then I placed him under arrest. That was probably the last time he even thought about boosting a wallet.
This is a great thread. My daughter was pick-pocketed in France. Two teenage girls distracted her on a train while the third (seated beside her) pulled a card out of her coat pocket. It was very smooth. And very very upsetting.
The only time I may or may not have been pickpocketed is in Boston when my wallet went missing and I was sure if I had simply lost it or had been pickpocketed. I remember having to replace my NY State driver's license and canceling my credit cards. Luckily my cash was in a different place and I wasn't traveling alone so I could manage temporarily.
On the other hand, my mother was pickpocketed in Times Square in NYC in 1994 when her fanny bag was removed from her large open handbag. A few days later I got a call from someone who found it in the rear of a NYC local bus under a seat and only her $50 cash was missing but all her credit cards, passports and a large cashier's check were still there. The person who called me found my name in her address book which was also in the fanny pack and called me as I was the only local person with the same last name as on the documents.
Also I know someone else who was pickpocketed when visiting Amman, Jordan. Luckily their passport was in a separate place and since they were traveling alone, they were able to cross back into Israel (where they had come from) and replace the lost stuff.
Not quite pickpocketed, but I have had things stolen from me.
One time I lost my wallet and didn't realize it was gone until I got home and got a call from the store I was at. Someone turned in my wallet, but the cash inside was gone.
Another time, many years ago, I'd stopped to buy my mom a necklace for Christmas. I made a quick stop into another store, sliding the necklace under my driver's seat. I obviously forgot to lock the car, because when I came back the necklace was gone and there was no sign of forced entry. Learned my lesson on that one, but I'm amazed at how quickly and stealthy the thief must have been, because I parked right in front of the store in full view of my car, and I was in there for maybe five minutes, tops.
I am always really surprised by how many people jump to warn first-time travellers of pickpockets, especially in Europe. Have you ever been a victim of this?
It's never affected me personally. When I started travelling I used to use a money belt all the time, but I've loosened up a lot since realizing it seems to be an issue that is really overhyped for Europe. I'll never usually take credit cards and stuff like that outside with me, but money I have no issue leaving in my pockets. The exception to this would be in Asia or Latin America.
Someone TRIED to pickpocket me (my purse was open next to me) in a Russian fast food joint on E. 23rd in Manhattan like ten years ago. Being a native I caught the sh$@!n but didn't wait around for the cops since I was on lunch break.
I went into a convenience store to prepay for gas just before taking a rental car back to the airport. It was a bad area and I was wired going in. I headed toward the cooler to get an iced tea while filling up. two young men came up to me. The short guy said, "Where are you going?" The tall guy went behind me and reached for my wallet in my left rear pocket.
I turned and grabbed his right hand with my right hand and brought it around in front of me. There was a column in front of me and I drove the tall guy's head as hard as I could into the column. With my left hand I grabbed his left trouser cuff and brought it up to shoulder height. He went face first onto the floor and did not move.
I said to the little guy, "You picked on the wrong old man azzhole" and took a step toward him. He turned and ran out the back door. The tall guy wan't moving so I went out the front, got into the rental car and drove off to find a better place to buy gas.
The surveillance video is probably used at a police academy somewhere.
yeah, same thing happened to me but I then ducked into a phone booth to change my clothes before flying up into outer space and smashed a meteor into little bits
yeah, same thing happened to me but I then ducked into a phone booth to change my clothes before flying up into outer space and smashed a meteor into little bits
LOL....I noticed the BS is starting to fly in this thread.
... pickpockets, especially in Europe. Have you ever been a victim of this?
Yes. In Atlanta, at the mall, at Christmastime. My fault. I was a young girl & had a habit of taking my crossbody bag & swinging it behind me. It was what I used to do when exiting a subway... I'd swing it from my front to back 'cuz it was normally filled with heavy things, like 2 small thermoses for work, a fold-up umbrella & a book, etc.
Unfortunately, with such a crowded situation, I didn't even feel my bag being unzippered & my large wallet being stolen. Credit cards are easy to replace but I had $300+ (I was Christmas shopping & that was more than a week's pay back then) & of course, all my ID, passport, SS card (I was coming from an interview & they requested multiple forms of ID) & several professional licenses, etc, which were on me at the time. It took 6-mos to replace everything. What a hassle.
Since then, I carry virtually no money with me, no pro licenses unless I actually need one that day, no personal info/pics inside the wallet & no extra house/car key, which is where I normally tucked one or the other. Driving license, the 1 cc I'll be using & cash are normally carried in an inside jacket pocket. If someone were to accost me for my wallet... they'd get very little... rewards cards from stores & a few postage stamps, pretty much.
I'm glad it was only once. It was a good learning experience. In all my travels (because I'm a woman often traveling alone, many times internationally) there have been times when I've noticed others watching me & moving closer... I've learned to turn towards them, have direct eye contact & a confident look (a martial artist friend taught me that) & have seen them look sheepish & slither away or like a deer caught in headlights. Those are the ones I figured were moving in to see if I were careless enough to have unprotected belongings. Not anymore. And, it's amazing what a confident look can do to protect oneself... I'm a small girl. If I can intimidate a less than honorable man away from me in such a situation, I'm grateful for my friend's tip.
Happened once a long time ago in a dark movie theater in downtown philly got bumped into by three thugs and I was the one saying "pardon me". Got to my seat sat down and immediately realized what had just happened. Alerted the staff, guys were caught emptying my wallet in the bathroom and the cops were called. I showed up three times on three rescheduled court dates. They never did. No surprise there
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
