World scams

We all talk to one another about many different topics throughout the day, it would truly help out the next person with our kind words by helping the next person advance further. Words are very powerful, and humans can also be powerful not just through strength but also the words that have been displayed to us. Some people might find them self smart but when you travel you really begin to see how smart you truly are. Foreign lands, strange languages but lucky most know how to use a so called smart phone but how many truly apply themselves to learn more. You see when we go through this world we might run into problems on a daily basis and it’s up to us to learn how to defeat the day and still be able to wake up the next day. Most people surely don’t lead to death just roaming the streets but what we are for sure to run into is scammers. According to some people when they get robbed or scammed they might feel like their life is over and yes I have been in situations like these.

I traveled to Europe when I was 26 years old and had more experience in one month of f being in Europe then my whole life. I learned history, techniques to travel, ways to save money such as hostel world, and how not to get robbed or scammed. Pick pocketing, liars, scams, fake is about your average style food f being left felt dry after this people get done with you.

A sales person thinks like this; they probably will never see you again in life so they basically have one chance to sell you an item and try and make money off you because more than likely they will never ever see you again. They’ll tell you anything to get that sell, make some profit and to most, ‘a little extra is always a bonus’. We have to be smart on these streets, which schools including universities do not teach us any of these skills. Truly sad, but the streets are the learning curve, this is where all the action happens, and all fun in games but many can get in a jam real quick. Lost phones, wallets, passports, debit cards, it happens every day and not only are we battling ourselves but many other as well.

In the winter of 2009 going from Krakow Poland to Prague Czech a train stops somewhere in the middle ready for a full attack on every single person onboard. Guns, weapons, knives were not present but gas was. Sleeping gas at that! Who would have guessed? I was on this train, along with about 40 other people at the police station, everyone mind boggled wondering how this operation was done. Stories of people sleeping on their bags, locked, including the train cart doors and still managed to steal everything worth lots of money but not one credit card, nor passport was stolen. This was truly an inside job with the train people and everyone working together on it. Not only did the thieves have means of undoing locks, they also had means of getting gas, large amount’s to fill up whole carriages. How do I know this? Because many stories just didn’t add up, locks were never broken or bags ripped. In fact every single person that got robbed, not one bag was stolen. Na,, these POS took everything out of the locked bags and put exactly back in original place. How does someone sitting on top of their locked bag get their money, iPad, phone, jewelry and more, put the half empty bag right back under them, gas,, enough gas too sleep and do this operation.

You want to talk about a mad man, I wanted to burn down the police station after I asked if this has ever happened before and the chief told me it happens all the time. O I was mad 😡 but after losing out on 6 grand of money and electronics I didn’t want this to Ruin my trip so I did get over it In a couple days. Even though this story is pretty extreme this is nothing for if a woman gets rapped, or people get beat up for shoes or just imagine the American style of pulling a gun and demanding something. Just imagine the fear in your blood! I have also had this done to me. I can say I’m lucky right lol, well we all have a different life and journey but maybe I can help you living this life through the streets.

I’ve ran the streets my whole life and no I’m not gonna tell you all my experiences but I will tell you the gist of how you can improve yourself and be more aware. It’s a training session and being on the streets you learn real quick but we should be more aware to not even get into these situations.

Step one ☝️

Always know your surroundings:

If you don’t know then you should definitely do some research of the place you going, that could mean every airport, bus stand, hotel, and any where else your feet is walking then you should probably look up information, read reviews, ask people.

Hint: google maps and the reviews tell people actually a lot of information.

Step two

Prepare yourself with valid knowledge:

Knowing your surroundings is totally different than having valid knowledge about the place you going. You should know things like how much is the taxes, what is free or costs, how much is the buses, taxis, and hotels. Is there any hidden fees, how about knowing about the money or even the time. Many things you can do to learn the streets but let’s not all try to get into these situations to learn from it. Let’s learn now. So thirdly is the most important

Hint; READ, a lot! If something interests you it should be your life, FIRST!!!

Step three…

Protect yourself:

Most don’t have a clue about fighting, martial arts, how to hold a gun or even a knife. Protecting yourself starts with your mind first, not your hands. Knowing your surroundings you surly will be protecting yourself and be paying attention, having knowledge such as knowing exactly the money situation. So protecting yourself doesn’t mean you have to get a weapon but it surely is a plus for me. So we must know the laws of each place but it doesn’t mean we have to obey every law. Some countries won’t let you bring in a knife but that doesn’t mean you can’t go and buy one at the store nor does it even mean they will search your bag. I’ve been traveling south east Asia for 3.5 years and I’ve had my bag checked twice and really it was more like just open your bag Move some stuff around and zip it up and go. So it’s pretty Easy to hide a small pocket knife, a taser, even a stick. Always be prepared because if not it just might not be a day you might wake up again.

Hint; turn off your settings of Bluetooth, WiFi, airdrop, even cellular when not using. Why, people have machines for reading your phone’s data and stealing your information.

After knowing these three main topics, rest assure their is so much more to learn. I will explain some details, stories and a lot more information for us to make you a better, smarter, street person and a better performer at traveling. I have traveled half my life so I know the streets pretty good and I still end up in situations. Let me mention this first before i go any further. Not every country is bad or even that bad. Have you ever read the statistics of USA and their crime rates, murder rates, rap rates and so much more. If you can walk down USA streets and be fine in one of the most criminal places on this planet then I’m sure you’ll be just fine walking the streets of South America, Asia, even the Middle East. And after you reading this I assume you will be pretty well off to travel places like Mexico, Iran, turkey and much more. Also remember this, the world is massive and each city, town is big. Most cities in the world have people by the millions so remember that with more people, more problems and statistically a higher rate. This is just human nature because bad and good will always exist in this world. We have to do the best to protect ourselves. Travelers are more vulnerable of getting attacked than locals but that doesn’t necessarily mean attacked by force. I have felt more violated by words than by a punch. And when you go to countries that most call third world, which should just be classified as high population because that’s basically all they truly are. These high population countries usually are much lower in their crime rates per capita than USA. With more people also has more problems such as the biggest being just to many people and not enough jobs, so the people struggle and when someone has nothing to lose, you could possible be the one with the loss whether it’s a wallet or your life. So I’d say your first thing you need in the streets is a partner, a good one at that, more eyes, more minds, more hands and feet could just get you out of the trouble. While most attacks in other countries is not forced like America with a gun “give me your wallet”, it’s more about being smart. Pickpocketing, bag grabbing, and mind buster. Where your bag is in front if you, tie a string around your bags, even can buy a chip to put in your bag and if it goes past your cell phone limit so many feet an alarm will sound off. Pickpockets you can address this situation wearing zippers on all pockets, wearing a bag around chest or waist, and being smart. You can do all these things be standing by the road waiting for a taxi and a motorbike comes along and takes the phone right out of your hands. This is where I said know your surrounds. If I’m on the phone, stand behind something or stand in corner, wide open you are a target. And even though you might have zippers on your pocket doesn’t stop someone from having a razor and slicing open your pants so your wallet or phone falls out of your pocket. So knowing your surroundings is why I say it must be a number one. If you in a taxi, tuk tuk, Uber, grab or anything watch your phone, make sure you going right place, if don’t have a phone buy a map or print one, you never know where these people could be taking you. Prepare yourself because when things go down they go down quickly.

Here is a story I once heard from a man that had traveled Africa for one year. He actually told me a lot of stories but that can be for my book. I asked him why he travels by himself. His answer, “when you travel with someone you eventually get feelings for that person. Africa is not safe so if any situation I am in, I only have to worry about myself”. WOW Pretty strong words if you ask me. Just bare in your mind all aspects because anything is possible in this world. Know a plan, practice the plan, time after time.

Robberies doesn’t have to be physical, most are mind played out. This is where scammers fall in line and it’s big business. If you are in a store you most likely might buy something. So if you are weak I’d highly suggest you not go into any store. But tricks are played, lies, deception are felt, rolled out and most don’t have a clue. People will tell you anything to try and get that sell. Say things like, cheap ride, cheap food, you like to buy a car and send you into a clothes shop. Examples can range from many things where a tuk tuk will tell you half a dollar an hour to drive around. Or a guide will tell you a price and sound good but it’s only for a half hour. Read between the lines. Ask questions. Write it on paper! My biggest suggestion for you is to carry a notebook and pen around and any time you hear a fabulous deal like this you have them and you write it down. Now although most countries highly protect tourist doesn’t mean nothing won’t happen. That is why I suggest protect yourself. And even if you truly wanted to rob the countries you are in it could be very easy because the police would believe a tourist over a local taxi man. Not saying to do this but it would be easy. You could easily rip off the public if you wanted to be a tough guy but also remember you could come up missing really quickly also.

These people will approach you and make you feel good at first, call you brother or sister, tell you anything to make you smile and get along. I’d say the best routine is to know just about the things that will occur and go from there. Example. Once you get off a bus, plane, train you are approached by many people, sometimes so many you can’t even get off the vehicle because everyone trying to get you. Which is miserable such ignorance but be prepared because this is life in poor countries. So many people and not enough jobs. A real traveler will walk past all this keep their head high and not even say a word. If you told everyone no in a day in Asia you’d say it roughly a thousand times it seems and waste so much energy. Better to get off and know where you are going. That is first step, know location, landmarks, snap pictures and screen shots. Download any apps such as Grab or Uber but make sure you have an app for the local ride/ local area. Can find these things in other blogs or can read my blog here 👇🏼

https://forestdestine.wordpress.com/2019/05/17/hammer-down-travel-costs/

The whole reason to just walk away is for one to get some damn space. Another is to sway most of them away so you can talk more one on one. As most would know taxis usually have the best information for a city but you can also find a scammer. So best to live by these rules I am presenting here in this blog. Once you know how the locals survive know how any person would survive then. So first thing I do in a country when I go I see what the people make on average for their monthly wages. In Asia and most of the world the people only make around 200-700 dollars. This is just rough estimates. As in USA people make around $2,000 a month. So of course it’s much cheaper in Asia but most don’t realize exactly how cheap. If you wanted to you could eat, sleep, and get transported in Asia for less than $15 a day if you really wanted to. That would never happen in USA nor any western country. This is why so many travel to Asia and love it because it’s so cheap. But if the people actually knew how cheap it was which is generally about half cost to what the people want as commissions. If they tell you a price automatically half it. Negotiations is what makes traveling even more unique with all the dealings you do throughout the day. But to me this is fun at first but becomes to be a waste of time. So straight to the point and know what you want where you go and that’s it. If the people don’t want what you want, move to the next or even better walk down the street a little bit and find a better deal. Because many of these drivers have to pay for parking and things like this. Also don’t be afraid to yell at some of these groups because it surely can get stressful in a matter of seconds. Know the country’s police code also and make sure the area you going to is lite up with life and not some dead end bus stop. Always have a charge on your phone and be looking at a map. Finally remember these people will do anything to make money and most of all they will try and make you feel bad. These are just emotions and a good show, you are already paying a better price of locals or same never ever below. Asian and some other parts of the world have a poker face like you won’t believe. It’s like a spell sometimes dealing with this Greedy hungry money lovers. Truly sad what money has done to the world but this is what we live in so prepare yourself. I might be able to write more down in future but for now this is as good as your going to get in a blog. Besides I have over a hundred blog you can read, study, or simply follow my foot steps and be perfectly alright. Simply type a keyword in the search table in my blog such as a country, city, festival, or basically any word and I’m sure a blog will pop up. So please let me know any other thoughts or anything else I can add to help the next future traveler.

Hint; look up and READ, local taxi costs, daily labor costs, read peoples blogs, watch YouTube, know country fees such as visas, try and learn about 10 words and ten numbers, 1-10, words like: thank-you, how much, beautiful, help, stop, no, yes, hospital, police, good, morning/ night. I’m sure you can figure out more.

Update 2020;

I’m celebrating Holi which is one of India’s biggest festival. The first day was awesome and super crowded. The second day I bring my phone back in a brand new iPhone 11 max and I got pickpocketed. Story goes as walking in Barsana, I’m happy and taking pics, I put my phone in my zipped up pocket on my shorts and go to give someone a hug. He starts spinning me around and as I go to leave he does it again. I stop check phone and it’s gone. I check these guys and they had no phone. I should have pinched all these guys in the mouth, but police around and I just didn’t know. They just pawned the phone off to someone else. For one split second gone and one split second now for me to hate humanity even more. I’ll never give someone I don’t know my happy time and never will I give another hug. Your best bet is to always wear a chest pack and even have another string tied to your belt loop so no one couldn’t bag snatch driving by. Pickpocketed is everywhere and I thought I was careful and I wasn’t. Even though I know exactly who took it, since I was left alone I was shit out of luck. Life sucks, people suck. Don’t trust anybody in this world is the best to keep in your mind at all times. I let my guard down for 10 seconds that cost me $1500.

Making purchases any where in this world.

I just learned from being in Turkey that the herb Saffron can be made fake. I had bought some in Kashmir thinking it might be fake so I started looking it up. Sure enough it’s Fake. That immediately has brought my status from Kashmir as a good place to a very bad place. Their lying skills are phenomenal and I got conned. Luckily it’s not poison! It’s truly sad how the tourist industry has become over the years of nothing but lying and scamming people and so many countries wonder why not that many people are coming to certain areas. Good thing I have my blog for people to actually learn some. Everywhere in the world it’s beautiful, but it’s the people that make up the region. And if you go traveling this is the things we have to run into on a daily basis. For all those that say people are so lucky to travel, don’t be a damn fool because it is not all peaches and cream. Lucky for this time I only got scammed out of $14 and lucky I didn’t buy any poison. I would have looked it up on the internet but the internet didn’t exist when I was there. It’s just a crying shame what people do in this world for money. I knew Kashmir was a poor place and I thought I had ran into some pretty awesome people. But honestly looking back at it I was just so overwhelmed by the beauty there, I let my guard down. The worst place I’d say is Pahalgam, not just because I got ripped off but because it was a battle just to get rid of people pounding down your throat asking for money. I got on a horse and got half price for 800 rupees. Great deal but one miserable ride, with nothing but yelling at the horse the whole time, with nothing but people, beggars, approaching you non stop asking you for a guide, a camera man, even children asking for hand outs and on top of it paying a ticket price for a view that Mother Earth made. It truly wasn’t a great adventure and if you go walk, which is highly recommend, put some headphones on until you get far enough away from these scums. Or just don’t go to this corrupt town of Pahalgam, Kashmir. I really liked Kashmir until I came here. Just some words of advice is all. Hope this can help the next traveler out. And also, even though it’s called Kashmir most of your Cashmere clothing is also fake. I know this because I did my investigating before hand. So again do some reading on google before you buy anything any where in the world. Please share so the next traveler don’t get scammed.