What is everyone's thoughts on bringing expensive things when travelling? Is it safer to just bring things you don't care about losing?
My dilemma is I want to bring my new S7 Edge and MacBook so I can take nicer photos and have a decent browsing experience, but I'm also aware that it would attract lots of pickpockets and muggers. Also must be a pain to leave charging at hostels while you sleep. Should I just bring a cheap phone instead?
Buying a macbook for decent web browsing experience.
mfw
>>1130573
>expensive items
>a shitty phone and a MacBook
>attract muggers
What?
>>1130573
I do it but be prepared to lose it. Why not just bring an older Samsung? You don't need a minion megapixels. In most cases, 8 will do just fine.
I take my s5 edge and air with me. I've had 3 phones stolen and 2 laptops over the course of my traveling. Sometimes it's just shit luck though
>>1130573
Basically don't take anything you can't afford to lose. I bought a £150 Chromebook (also has the advantage of being way lighter, smaller and far better battery life than my bulky old macbook pro) to take, which is more than enough for me. Gives me a keyboard and a 11 inch screen to watch movies on, anything else is overkill considering you'll be doing shit all day imo. Though if you have the money to waste feel free.
Usually take my usual phone though, if that gets stolen I can just replace it with a Moto G or something till my contract ends and not feel like I've lost much.
>Also must be a pain to leave charging at hostels while you sleep. Should I just bring a cheap phone instead?
Not really, beds having sockets beside them is more common than not, and for the rare cases it isn't either take the risk or do it during the day sometime. Or buy one of those seperate battery pack things, at least for your phone, your laptop will never be so crucial you're in need of it being fully charged all the time away from sockets.
>>1130617
>Or buy one of those seperate battery pack things, at least for your phone, your laptop will never be so crucial you're in need of it being fully charged all the time away from sockets.
You can get a battery pack but there are problems with those on planes now. Sometimes you need to check it, sometimes you need to carry it. It varies. It's going to get so that you can't take one on a plane period, considering that they can catch on fire in your luggage and can be manually pierced to make an incendiary.
I prefer a universal charger and a spare battery, one of the biggest benefits on android IMO.
I'm way more trusting of people I meet on my travels if I know there's nothing of value on me. I'll leave my shit on my hostel bed while I go out on the town, I can get sleep on the 8 hour bus ride instead of worrying about my bags in the undercarriage; I'll follow anyone down any dark alley. I like it this way.
>>1130589
I know, I know. Mainly chose the Macbook because it's one of the thinnest lightest of it's kind, and better than a crappy netbook. Also has a nice screen for movie-watching.
>>1130596
Lots of people say to be weary of muggers, to carry moneybelts, fake wallets, etc. I'm mainly travelling in East Europe if that gives you any context.
>>1130608
>I do it but be prepared to lose it. Why not just bring an older Samsung? You don't need a minion megapixels. In most cases, 8 will do just fine.
I don't care about megapixels, but newer phones have better apertures, better in low-light situations, quicker focus, etc. I don't travel much, so it would be nice to get some top quality photos. Maybe it's a trade-off I will have to make though.
Can I ask how the stealings happened? Pickpockets? Left it lying around the hostel?
>>1130617
>Or buy one of those seperate battery pack things
>>1130676
>I prefer a universal charger and a spare battery, one of the biggest benefits on android IMO.
These are really good ideas. Now I'm thinking I might get a cheaper phone with a removable battery, but one with a good camera might be hard to find.
>>1130692
Yeah, that sounds nice. I could do without the macbook, but I think I need a decent phone to make up for it. Cheap ones just make internet browsing a pain. But really my main point of contention is the camera. Hmmm.
>>1130902
> How did it happen
- was couchsurfing and a junkie broke into my hosts house
- was drunk as fuck on koh phangan and someone pickpocketed me even though I was wearing tight ass shorts
- my house got robbed in Melbourne
1 & 3 were shit luck was it wasn't even bad areas. 2 was on me and I'm pretty sure I knew who it was but wasn't gonna start a fight with a local in Thailand of all places.
I have a iPhone 6s+ and an iPad. I keep the iPad locked up in a Pacsafe portable safe at the hotel/hostel when I'm out and have never had a problem. That's including much of Africa and SE Asia.
A laptop is heavy, bulky, and fragile. I wouldn't recommend it, an iPad is fine for browsing and doing basically anything you need to. Just don't trust anyone and get travel or renter's insurance and either will cover it in the unlikely event that they're stolen.
>>1130902
>Lots of people say to be weary of muggers, to carry moneybelts, fake wallets, etc
Would you carry a moneybelt going into a slightly shady neighborhood in your hometown?
> I'm mainly travelling in East Europe
Everyone there has his own iPhone/S7/MacBook. yeah mugging happen but they're mostly "mugging by opportunity", eg. go to the toilet and leave your phone on the table in a restauran, not by intention.
Biggest mugging danger are gypsies and they know their customers
>pic related
In the hostel I would be more worried about my six pack beer getting mugged than a phone or laptop.
I live in London and it always cracks me up when I see tourists wearing their backpacks on their chests. Goddammit people I've lived in worse parts of London than you'll ever visit with no trouble and I most certainly never did that.
Also - the idea of money belts in Europe is frigging hilarious.
Depends on how you are travelling. For instance taking an iPad backpacking to sub-saharan Africa was a terrible move. I spent my whole holiday more or less minding it. It attracted amazing levels of attention from all the apple nig-tech hungry locals.
On the other hand it was handy to lock down my accounts when I lost my phone.
I would suggest take two cheap sim-unlocked phones travelling, using one as a backup. No more. Password protect them.
>>1130573
I have this issue with my cameras. Usually if I'm with a group of people that I've familiarized myself with or even a friend/ family member I will carry my DSLR. If I'm alone, a rangefinder will do me well enough.
>>1130990
I'd be wary in Londonistan and Eurabia, too be honest.
I'm in Mexico now and then going to Guatemala, and the objects of value I brought are my 4 year old laptop, my 4 year old phone, and my mirrorless camera plus three lenses. Mexico City is safe but Guatemala's the wild west. I fear mostly for my camera because I got it only recently.
Generally, is it better to store valuables on your person or stored away with the luggage while on a bus?
How about clothes? Do you guys bring some good stuff for going out, partying, etc?
>>1130573
Safer? I would say so, if that's your only concern. It would be safest not to have expensive stuff at all. Take what you need to enjoy your trip.
>Tfw burglars steal the expensive stuff you left at home while traveling...
>>1130990
Same, for some reason London doesn't seem too bad for me. I can stay out all night/day with any expensive crap on me, but never felt unsafe. I understand that there times where you can get mugged in fact my brother did get mugged in London, however he was out in a shady area. I guess, it could be said when you are travelling, you have one mayor drawback which is that you don't know which areas to avoid and how to interact/act with bad situations.
>>1130990
Cut them a little slack -- there is a difference between being robbed at home, where you can easily get new cards, get money out of the bank to tide you over, etc. and being robbed in some distant furn land. It is also more likely that YOU know where to avoid going better than somebody who has never been there before.
Yeah, some folks mayo be overcautious when traveling, but hey, at least they are stepping out of their comfort zone and trying to travel around a bit.
I have been in Germany, Poland and Lithuania with an Iphone s6 and nothing happened. No one cares about cell phones, they'd only get taken if you left it in the open or something. No one is going to mug a stranger just for a shitty phone
>>1130573
So what's the safest thing to bring when you're going traveling? That's a hard question to answer. Say that you have an iPhone, iPad, and Macbook? Which one are you willing to destroy or fuck up just for internet browsing? The only time I used technology is to watch something late on the webs when everyone in the hostel is asleep; otherwise, I just use it for directions and put it back in my locker.
>>1130990
My sister just had her passport stolen in Rome
She was on a bus and some gypsies got on, one walked up to her and asked if she could have her seat because she claimed to be pregnant. She stood up and gave her the seat and I suppose that's when she managed to pick pocket the passport.
later on the gypsies got off the bus and dropped the passport on the floor as they were getting off. My sister managed to get it back. She figures they may have dropped it since it's an Australian passport and may not be very valuable in Europe.
>>1130960
I think the hidden money belt is alright for cramped and crowded conditions. Such as the tube or major tourist attractions.
Pickpockets' fingers are amazingly swift and unnoticeable.
I take my Macbook Air, iPhone and iPad with me most of the time, never had any issues in first world and some second world countries. Just beware if you travel to the third world or sweden/germany - it's better to get a cheap smartphone from china and leave your expensive stuff at the hotel/home in case you get robbed.
>>1130573
>What is everyone's thoughts on bringing expensive things when travelling?
I don't worry about it too much. I don't actually travel with a lot of very expensive stuff, but I have been on the road for business with a laptop, a Samsung smartphone, an iPad, and a DSLR with a couple of expensive lenses in my bags on at least a few occasions (generally, I don't have all of these things). But I take common-sense precautions and have never had anything stolen, and I don't use hostels much anymore.
>Is it safer to just bring things you don't care about losing?
Obviously. But ultimately, anything you lose can at least theoretically be replaced, so perhaps it's just better not to worry about losing things? I would be most nervous about losing a computer or phone with personal or financial info in it, but the actual missing object should be nothing more than a brief regret.
>I am a bit drunk; I realize now that I sound like an insane hippy.
