Tips to travel safely

is very important for travelers especially for those who travel internationally. When it comes to traveling overseas, it takes some research to figure out how to achieve it. Here are some quick tips from an expat who has lived and traveled in Asia.

I heard sad news from my mom today about a Japanese newly wed couple who went to Guayaquil, Ecuador for their honeymoon being attacked on their taxi and husband was killed in the gun shooting. He died right next to his wife who was also severely injured. I hope that the wife will find the strength to overcome the horrible experience and her loss soon.

We don’t always hear about tourists being killed overseas because it doesn’t make an international headline. I also notice that many people don’t research about their vacation destinations unless their destination either had a recent global media coverage on its natural disaster, violent attacks or political upheaval. You do not need to be too worried, but it is very important for any tourists to be aware of their destinations’ security conditions especially if they are going to a developing country. I found a site called Tourist Killed, which I was not aware of until I started researching a bit about it. No need to be too scared. It is just a guideline.

When I went to Bangkok, Thailand in 2011, I did not do any research. I simply assumed that Bangkok was very safe and I did not need to know about their security situation. This security could be anything small such as issues with a public transportation, which is quite common. I learned then that I should always do some research prior to traveling. We had a great time and we did not experience anything scary in Bangkok. However, considering our visit to Bangkok was not even a year after a grenade attack on a major railway station in Bangkok in April 2010, which was the first one in the densely populated area of Bangkok, I should’ve been a bit more careful because I traveled with little ones. You can read about my tips to travel in Bangkok on my blog post Travel Advice for Bangkok.

Here, I would like to provide my quick two cents on traveling in Asia based on my own experiences.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR A SAFE TRAVEL IN ASIA

1. LEARN – Embassy Websites
Always go to your country’s (or any country’s for the matter) Embassy website in your travel destination country and learn about the country. (For instance, if you are going to Sri Lanka, you can go to a homepage of the Canadian Embassy in Colombo, Sri Lanka.) There are always security advisory on Embassy websites, too. They would also tell you whether you need visa or not to enter the country (for this, you definitely need to go to your own country’s Embassy. I have heard of people who are turned away at the airport.)

2. TUNE IN
If you are going to a country which experienced any political unrest in the past few years, try to read news articles about the incidents or find twitter sources that will provide live feeds.

3. READ
Read even a bit about the security and safety of public transportations. If you have Lonely Planet (love it!) at hand or an internet access to see Tripadvisor, go check the section about security and public transportation.

4. PHONE
Invest in a prepaid phone. If you are going through a travel agent, ask them about it. If not, ask your hotel if they can help you prepare one upon arrival. If prepaid phone is a hassle, your iPod Touch, iPad, or computer will come in handy at times.

5. VALUABLES
Always use a safe in the room or safe at the reception for your valuables. It is better not to carry your passport around and a ton of cash. It’s good to have a copy of your passport with you as well.

The best advice I always got was from those friends who had traveled in the country shortly before we did, but of course, you don’t always have that friend.

Here are some information and advice on security and transportation from me in the cities where I have some experiences.

JAKARTA ☆ INDONESIA
Security

We never had any scary experience during our stay. I felt quite safe in Jakarta as an expat living in Jakarta. Being an expat allowed me to have an access to news on my cell phone and I was in an expat network, so that made it different from being a tourist. I believe it’s easy to buy a pre-paid phone in Jakarta and it’s inexpensive. It might be a good investment.

Transportation

I was told to use Blue Bird Taxi or Silver Bird Taxi. They are safe. Silver Bird is more expensive than Blue Bird. I was warned that the blue color taxis (a bit darker than Blue Bird taxis) that look like Blue Bird, are to be avoided when I still lived there until 2013.

KUALA LUMPUR ☆ MALAYSIA
Security

It felt very safe.
*Please see my readers’ comments below which indicate that visitors need to be aware of some safety concerns in Malaysia.

Transportation

We used a metro system, which was very clean as well as taxi that we hired from a hotel or on a street. We used whatever taxi we could find and it was fine. You can read about our trip in a post Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Family Trip.

SINGAPORE
Security

It is very safe. It might be one of the safest cities in the world.

Transportation

I used public buses, metro, and taxis. You can get a metro card at a metro station with 5 dollar deposit (please check) which you can use for metro as well as bus rides. Taxi fares in Singapore are not as cheap as in other neighboring countries, so if you would like to save some money, using a metro rail way and buses is useful. If you use google map with a public transportation button, it’ll tell you which number of bus to use.

BANGKOK ☆ THAILAND
Security

We felt safe walking around for the most part, but there are areas where I found out later that local Thais don’t get near at the beginning of 2012 where I actually went close with my children as I did not know. The number of tourists were clearly much smaller. I also had an experience with a con which I didn’t know that was very common. If you are curious, please visit my post Travel Advice for Bangkok, Thailand.

Transportation

Bangkok has variety of public transportation which was amazing! Just to name that I know, there are taxis, tuktuks, sky train (BTS), metro, and water taxi. Please read my Travel Advice for Bangkok post for more detailed information about the transportation.

HO CHI MINH CITY ☆ VIETNAM
Security

We felt quite safe. No one hassled us.
*Please see my reader’s comment below.

Transportation

There are two companies that my friend told me that were safe to use: Vinasun and Mailinh. You can see their photos on my post Tips For Traveling in Vietnam. We did not use rickshaws because my friend had a bad experience and I just did not want to go through the hassle of negotiating. My friend gave us a piece of advice in case we did want to ride one that you should always negotiate the price before you get on.

SIEM REAP ☆ CAMBODIA
Security

I was with my girl friends and we felt very safe. As we went to Siem Reap for the running race, we did not go out too late at night to get ready for the race. The latest we went out might be around 9:00 or 9:30 pm and we were fine.

Transportation

My girl friends and I used tuk tuk/rickshaws to go everywhere. There are usually tuk tuk drivers who wait outside of hotels. If you ask your hotel concierge what the legitimate price would be to go to a certain place or rent out a rickshaw for a couple of hours, you should be able to get the information. You can find my posts on Siem Reap Cambodia here.

MUMBAI ☆ INDIA
Security

I can only speak for Mumbai as you know, India is a vast country. The Delhi rape case ran through the world in 2013 and people outside of India seem to assume that India as a country is not safe for women. Generally speaking, though, I find Mumbai safe for women and I hope it’ll stay that way.

Transportation

I use rickshaws all the time. It has a meter, so even tourists can feel comfortable riding a rickshaw as you can know that you are getting a proper fare. In terms of safety, it’s not all that safe in case of a collision as there is no seat belt and there is nothing to protect you as it’s open. There are two kinds of taxis that I am aware of. One kind has the same colors as rickshaws in Mumbai, which are black and yellow, and the other kind has blue and white. The difference is that taxis in black and yellow are without an AC and those in blue and white are with an AC. I have ridden on both kinds and I find them safe. Both rickshaw and taxi drivers don’t always speak English, so you kind of have to know where you are going.

I hope this will be helpful to someone!!