Safe travel

Nairobbery” is what they call the otherwise traveller-friendly little capital of Kenya and for very good reason.
Downtown Lima: emerge with pockets unpicked and you’ve earned your first survival stripe.
The backblocks of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: intrude with camera round your neck and you’ll re-emerge without it.
An unfortunate incident in places such as these can seriously dissuade even the hardiest of travellers from venturing there, or anywhere, again. I have spent time in all three of the above, and am pleased to report that I have only lost one ten dollar watch, a traveller’s cheque (redeemable) and a shirt.
Experience has taught me to take certain precautions, and not just on the street.

Luggage & hotels
I have been accused of being old-fashioned, but I always travel with a suitcase. Backpacks are great for treks and getting around town but they are easy prey for a knife-bearing thief. They can be slashed open in luggage racks, and easily ripped into in hotel rooms. They can also be slashed from behind while being worn.
I rarely use hotel safety deposit boxes, preferring to lock my valuables in my suitcase. In 10 years of travel, I have never once had my suitcase broken into or removed. It also means your stuff is more accessible. The suitcase must be the hard shell type, and have both a key and combination lock.

On the street
Many travellers choose to carry their valuables in a highly visible money belt. This is begging for trouble.
Firstly, it advertises the fact that you’re a tourist. Concealed money belts are a much better bet. But you still have to access them in public – not such a good idea – and they can be wretchedly uncomfortable in the tropics.
It’s best to go out with just enough cash for the day. Leave passports, traveller’s cheques and credit cards back at the hotel unless you need them.

Getting around
As much as possible go by taxi, especially at night. Taxis, of course, are not always safe themselves. Locals can usually let you know which taxi company is the best to use.
When out walking, try not to linger, especially near corners. I was guilty of this in Nairobi, unsure which road to take. I ended up getting the top pocket of my shirt ripped off, happily losing nothing in the process. I have also learnt not to walk on the built-up side of pavements. Muggers often lurk in doorways.
Don’t be afraid to run. If some fishy-looking dude approaches, it’s best to simply bolt. Uncool, yes, but who can stay cool at the wrong end of a blade?
Also, get into the habit of occasionally glancing back to see if you’re being followed. If you think you are, then cross the street. If your shadow follows, cross back again. One time in Rio de Janeiro I had to do this three times. Then I doubled back and simply ran!

Confronted
It’s worth bearing in mind that most robbers have your goodies, not your bodily demise, as their target. Many are happy just to get something – anything. Don’t argue with a weapon. Hand something over, and hope no more is asked for.

Scams
There’s no end to the ingenuity of thieves. In Buenos Aires, in particular, you may be approached and told you have some muck – usually mustard – on the back of your shirt. Such a fuss is made of it, you’re apt to forget about your valuables, which are deftly removed by someone creeping up behind, or in my case, crawling between my legs. I saw him just in time.
Kids will sometimes mill around you, do the distract-and-hassle thing, and take what they can in the process. When this happens, you really need to lash out physically, as I did one time in London and screamed blue murder. This can be enough to frighten them off. It worked for me.
Don’t respond to overtures of friendship on the street: “Hey, haven’t we met before?’’
And don’t accept an invitation to visit a private home. Solo travellers are the main targets for this one. An innocent-looking party will befriend you, and suggest you meet their family. You can find yourself in deep strife. You’ll usually be offered a spiked drink.
This happened to me in Manila. Once I realised my predicament, I acted super naive, telling some dumb story while I edged innocently over to the door, then bolted. Wow, that was a close one!
Yes, I have managed to survive. Many of these safeguards have now become second nature, and I hope they stay that way.

By TOM COCKREM

What to buy as souvenir in South East Asia?

Thailand: Thai silk and cotton are well known. Thailand is famous for good buys in precious and semi-precious stones, sapphires, rubies, zircons, pearls, & leather products.

Malaysia: Beautiful batiks, one-of-a-kind kites and precious pewter goods are among the treasures you'll find in Malaysia.

Indonesia: Favorite buys are batik cloth, woodcarvings and sculpture, silverwork, woven baskets and hats, bamboo articles, krises (small daggers), paintings and woven cloth. At small shops, bartering might be necessary. Shopping hours generally run Mon-Sun 1000-2100. Most local markets open either very early in the morning or at dusk.

Singapore: In culturally diverse Singapore, you can explore a variety of street bazaars or find bargains on crystal and perfume in the shopping malls.

Vietnam: Locally created lacquer-ware and religious carvings are fun to shop for in Vietnam. Bargaining is encouraged.

Cambodia: The Wat Thanh Gift Shop in Phnom Penh offers crafts, silks and handmade artifacts. The Central Market and Russian Market are also worth a visit.

Laos: Laos is famous for silk and cotton woven products which can be found in abundance at the Morning Market in Vientiane.

Myanmar: The best buys in Myanmar are lacquer-ware, silver, wood and stone carvings, hand-woven silks, embroidered tapestries and traditional folk puppets. Haggling is encouraged.

A travel blog to Asia

A travel blog by Yoke Ming
Location: Kuala Lumpur, MY

I like travel very much। However, the farthest that I have been is Nepal, the sixth foreign countries that I've visited beside Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia। Due to tight budget, I usually travel by backpacking. I have the habit to write down my experience for each trips. Read More

HCMC-Cambodia-Bangkok [15 ~ 27 November 2005]
I was waiting for Airasia to fly to Cambodia, after reading the article from newspaper regarding the announcement of landing permit obtained by the airlines recently, so that it could cut down my budget। However, after few weeks of waiting and it was getting closer to our travel schedule, a colleague of mine advised me to look for other airlines, such as Tiger Airways. Luckily I managed to book the seats and the air fare was within our budget in such a short notice, however, we must travel to Singapore to board the flight and reach Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. One of our team members has friends staying in Singapore, and we could put up a night there before the departure. After a week of our booking, Airasia then only announced their flight to Phnom Penh and Seam Reap. What a miss!

Read more about this blog here

Tips for shopping in duty free shop

Let's face it there is not much else to do at most airports than wander around looking at the shops and occasionally getting the wallet out. Most of us tend to know exactly what we need to get, whether it be some aftershave, perfume, bottle of whatever or perhaps some cigarettes, but for these more regular items where is the best place to buy them ?

After all any traveller on an International flight will generally have three choices when purchasing his/her's duty free. There is the airport of departure, the plane and then the airport of arrival. Logically some may think that the prices would be similar, not worth bothering about comparing, but how wrong they could be. Sometimes the price difference for exactly the same size, brand and product can be quite large and it is definitely worth doing some homework before you spend your hard earned cash.

Don't believe us? Well let us give you an idea of what you could save on a trip from Hong Kong to Bangkok. We have listed a few regular items with the prices at Hong Kong International Airport, China Airlines inflight Duty Free and the arrival Duty Free at Bangkok International Airport.

Product	Hong Kong Airport	China Airlines	Bangkok Airport
Mild Seven (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 100	US$ 11	THB 480
Dunhill Top Leaf (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 200	US$ 20	THB 980
Marlboro (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 110	US$ 11	THB 480
Davidoff Magnum (200 x cigarettes)	HK$ 225	US$ 27	n/a
Black Label Whisky (1 litre)	HK$ 198	US$ 22	THB 850
Macallan Whisky 12yo (1 litre)	HK$ 288	n/a	THB 1,620
Chivas Regal Royal Salute (75cl)	HK$ 800	US$ 62	THB 5,320

See the differences? Of course with the cheaper items such as the cigarettes the differences are quite small but still worth thinking about. Take the Mild Seven cigarettes as an example inflight they are only US$ 10 at HKIA they cost HK$ 100 which is roughly US$ 12.8 and at BIA they are THB 480 which is roughly US$ 12.2. By purchasing them online you save yourself over US$ 2 per carton of 200.

If we then compare the more expensive item such as the Chivas Regal Royal Salute bottle inflight it costs US$ 62, at HKIA HK$ 800 (roughly US$ 103), and at BIA THB 5,320 (roughly US$ 136 !!!). This really is staggering as you could buy two bottles inflight for less than one bottle at the Bangkok International Airport.

Now we hope you understand why you need to check out your options before you buy your duty free next time. This section of our site will be devoted to bringing you as many airport and airlines comparisons as possible to ensure that you know of the best place to buy. We will offer charts, and show you what allowances you are legally allowed for each country to ensure that you get the most out of your trip.

It must be understood that buying duty free inflight does pose one small risk and that is that the airline may not have the item you want in stock, which would leave you with no other option than buying on arrival.

All our extensive reviews and analysis will be added here shortly so do check back and save yourself some cash!!

Please note that due to much tighter restrictions and laws in Thailand very few cigarettes are available on arrival. We would advise you to buy them on the plane or in the Duty Free shops on departure. Cigarettes are widely available however on departure from Thailand's International airport.

Free Long Distance Call when you abroad

Whether you travel for business or leisure staying in touch with the office, friends and family can often mean having to make long distance telephone calls. In some countries this may not be overly expensive but in others it can be prohibitively expensive, and even if reasonably priced the total bill of making long distance calls quickly adds up.

Thankfully, more and more hotels around the world are offering free or very reasonably priced broadband internet access. Many of the best hotels even offer free wireless broadband access in most public areas of the hotel. If you choose a hotel which offers such a service then you can say goodbye to long distance telephone charges for good, thanks to a free service which is becoming more and more popular - Skype.

Skype offers two types of service. One is completely free and as long as the people you want to talk to have Skype downloaded and installed on their computer then you can chat for as long as you want completely free of charge. This service could not be simpler to use, you can see when your 'contacts' are online and simply call them. The person you are calling then has the option of picking up the call or refusing it. Once connected the sound clarity is, 90% of the time, excellent, perhaps even better than a good quality IDD line.

The other service Skype offers, SkypeOut, allows anyone with Skype installed on their computer to call any regular telephone anywhere in the world at very reasonable rates. The sound quality when using this service is not as consistently good as when using the free service outlined above but is normally acceptable. Skype have said that they are working on this technology in an aim to making it as good and reliable as the free version.

If the idea of free long distance calls is not enough to persuade you to sign up, Skype has a whole load of new innovations waiting to be launched. One of which allows you to buy a telephone number in a country you do not live. This will allow non Skype users to call a local number in that country and you can receive the call anywhere in the world.

If you are a frequent traveller, then Skype should be a must have when it comes to connecting to friends, family and the office without the expense of a staggeringly high long distance telephone bill. Skype can be downloaded from www.skype.com.