Safe Travels...

Following my post about my terrifying journey to Adam’s Peak, I’ve been thinking more about safety, especially as a lone female traveller. I am spending the first three weeks in Nicaragua with Helen, who is meeting me at a pre-booked hotel near the airport in Managua. Helen is currently travelling from Mexico to Guatemala. I will have two weeks on my own in Nicaragua when Helen flies to Washington. I met Helen whist working at Cripps Health Centre – the GP surgery at the University of Nottingham. She is a nurse, and I’ve found her to be incredibly funny, genuine and everything I would want in a travel companion. She left nursing briefly in her mid twenties to travel the world and we have both given each other a boost to begin another adventure, after both being dormant from travelling for a couple of years.

So I have the worry of travelling through Central America alone. A place where guns and drug crime are far more common than in Sri Lanka. I am aware Nicaraguans may not be as welcoming and friendly as Sri Lankans, yet I do not know what to expect. Most people in Sri Lanka spoke English as a second language, largely due to Sri Lanka once being part of the British Empire. This is not the case in Nicaragua, my Spanish is rudimentary, and my days of getting top marks in Mr O’Donoghue’s Spanish class are long gone.

Reflecting on that perilous journey in Sri Lanka, what could I have done to avoid it? Hindsight is a great thing. I was caught out. I had plenty of time to complete the journey, but I had not expected the train to be so unpredictable. I learnt after this experience only to use buses, which were much quicker and more direct. I only took one other train when travelling with Martina and Eliska through the hill country. I was not going to journey by train alone again. However I did not know this prior to the journey to Hatton.

It was bad luck that the first bus to Columbo dropped me by the train station. Everything was so confusing, busy and unknown so I kept moving with the crowd. I was scared of venturing away to find a bus station. The train was an obvious choice at the time. I could have got off the train in Kandy and spent the night there, as I had already completed a huge distance. But again I was scared of how busy and bustling everything was. It was Easter week, and I was worried all guesthouses would be full.  I could have paid for a taxi to Dalhousie but I thought it would be silly to have such an extravagant cost at the start of my travelling. I was also scared of being ripped off. Besides, up to that point, my journey had been plain sailing.

The journey was terrifying because it was dark, it was late and I was alone – I looked like a target. My greatest fear was that bandits would storm the train and kidnap me into the darkness, which increased as the train slowed towards each stop. Yet, how often does this really happen compared to, for example, the odds of a road traffic accident? I have done considerably risky things before, I have walked home alone in Leeds after a night out, and the recent brutal attacks there have proved this is not safe to do. Why was this situation any scarier?

It was not the first time I have been on a train at 9pm. The train was following its route, the train was well lit and had several passengers, I had enough food and water and I would have found somewhere to stay once I left the train. Once again it is fear of the unknown that is the greatest fear. In a new place that fear is justified because it keeps us alert and cautious.

In Nicaragua I am lucky to be with Helen at the start of my travels. During those three weeks we will be able to suss out transport routes together. We are attempting lesser known places together and when she leaves me I will stick to more popular traveller spots and I will not hesitate to spend money on taxis when necessary. As my mum says, better to come back poor than dead. I take care to be extremely vigilant. Here is a list of methods that can help your safety when travelling solo.

1.     Common sense. You would not actively seek out danger in a foreign place. Cross the street, sit on the other side of the train if you are near someone dodgy.

2.     Stay alert. Drink alcohol with caution and only when you know you can easily get back to a safe place.

3.     Drink from sealed bottles only.

4.     Strength in numbers. Seek out other backpackers and make long journeys in groups. Other backpackers are usually happy to take an extra person under their wing, or to split the cost of a taxi.

5.     Follow your instinct. If a situation feels unsafe, then leave. Do not stay with anyone who begins to make you feel uncomfortable.

6.     When using taxi’s, check the licence and registration, take a picture of both and the number plate. Fake a phone call on your phone to ‘friends who are meeting you at your next destination.’

7.     Book a taxi through your hotel where possible as you can pre-arrange a price and be more assured that it’s a legit taxi.

8.     Do not travel alone at night. Allow plenty of time for long journeys and consider options to stay in guesthouses en route.

9.     Avoid drawing attention to yourself. Dress modestly and be respectful of other people’s cultures.

10.  Learn a few phrases in the local language.

11.  Text family and friends your whereabouts on long, unpredictable journeys.

12.  Book a hotel in advanced for the first night in a new country.

13.  Strap all valuables to yourself. Hide money in different areas. I would have half my money, bankcard and ID in a small pouch strapped to my waist hidden under a loose T-shirt. I would keep most other money in my bra. My passport would be in a secret compartment in my bum bag where I also some money for purchasing food and bus tickets.

14.  Do not keep anything valuable in your main backpack. These always risk being slashed when on long journeys.

15.  Keep several photocopies of your passport and flight details.

16.  Always carry a map.

17.  Only use ATMs in daylight on a busy street. Shield your pin number.

18.  Lie about yourself if you feel it would gather fewer questions and make you seem less vulnerable. A 26 year old engaged doctor meeting friends after working at a hospital in Columbo invited less intimidating questions and shocked faces than a twenty year old female student travelling alone in Sri Lanka.

All guidebooks advise against females travelling independently, it is no doubt a momentous risk and only one you should take if you have the ability to deal with the discomfort it brings. The world is not safe, but it is not as unsafe as people make out. Those are usually people who do not have first hand experience of solo travel. The world is a dangerous place even close to home. It is only when we underestimate the reality of a situation, than when we overestimate its dangers, do we find ourselves in real trouble. Moreover, there are often factors that are beyond our control and all we can do is keep calm and carry on with our journey. I will take the risks, and I will choose the adventure every time. You only regret the things you didn't do.

Imogen

Galle, Sri Lanka