How to make sure that, when you’re travelling Australia, your passport keeps travelling with you.
At the start of the holiday season we featured an FCO Know Before You Go campaign highlighting the things you really shouldn’t be doing with your passport (hint: it isn’t a beer mat). You can find it here.
But there’s one thing you really should be doing with your passport: looking after it. It’s valuable, and as this video by ‘honest pickpocket’ James Freedman shows, it can be all too easy to steal it from you.
What’s scary about this is the speed and simplicity. Of course, we all think we’d be immune to the fake smile of the hugger mugger, but it only takes a moment to leave you inconvenienced at best, and in a serious mess at worst.
So if you’re planning your trip to Australia, take these tips with you.
The passport
1. Keep it out of sight – leaving it on the café table with your room keys and phone is just asking for trouble.
2. Take a copy and keep it separate from your real passport – so if the worst does happen at least you’ll have some documentary evidence to help you repair the damage.
The pocket
3. The back pocket is not the place to keep your passport. First, you end up with a passport with a bend that matches your bum. Second, every hustler knows that’s where you keep it. If you have to have your passport on you, inside front pockets or jacket pockets – especially ones with a button – are a better bet.
The bag
4. Keep the zip where you can see it. Whenever you’re walking with your bag over your shoulder, make sure the zip is in front of you or beneath your armpit, never behind you.
5. In cafes, bars and restaurants, if you’re leaving your bag by your chair, make sure you place the leg of your chair through the bag handles. It can’t be snatched if you’re sat on it!
Plan Your Travel to Australia
What’s On In Australia
#TravelAware Campaign – know before you go
