Getting Robbed or How I Became Too Comfortable Traveling Alone
Writing is therapeutic for me, so here goes.
The first thing I thought was "yeah, I was probably overdue for that." Lost my smartphone. Lost my emergency cash (400 USD). Lost a few other odds and ends - backup point-and-shoot camera, cheap sunglasses. All replaceable. Mostly lost my dignity.
I'm in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Not the world's safest city by any stretch, but also not Johannesburg or Nairobi. I've been to "unsafe" places before. I spent time in Cali, Colombia for several weeks. Mexico City. Guatemala. The south of India. I've been traveling and living nomadically - my vagabond life, as I call it - for the last two years, so being on the road and calling my own travel shots is second-nature at this point. I told myself I needed to be more vigilant. "This isn't Argentina. You've gotta' be a little more cognizant," I murmured to myself on the plane.
But it still caught up to me. It's weird how it eased in. It seems so dumb in retrospect. But at the moment - acceptable. I know one reason most of us travel solo is to be open to new ideas, new experiences. To roll the dice a little bit with the chance to learn about new people or different countries or cultural ideas. But sometimes when we roll those dice, we really only learn about ourselves.
So as I walked back to my hostel in a nice neighborhood after getting some shots at a clinic, I crossed the chaotic street with a local man. As one does. "Do as the locals do," we often say.
And we made small talk. Which country is home, where I have visited. First name. I was starving. I asked if there is a place nearby with chapatti, a south Indian bread common in Tanzania as well. He said just up the street on the left.
"I'm just coming back from the clinic. My friend might pick me up along the way. Maybe he can give you a ride, if you like."
I should have perked up. But we were going the same direction, and it seemed harmless. I've accepted rides in a foreign country before on occasion. I'd evaluate his friend when the moment came.
Which it did. And the car seemed normal and his friend was a chubby-looking dude that seemed harmless and I was still in a nice neighborhood, so I slid in the backseat.
Then we picked up another friend. This is when I should have gotten out of the car. But the friend looked respectable. He had a nice watch, was well-dressed. Spoke reasonably good English. So I stayed.
And shortly after they got serious and drove me to a dirt lot where they rummaged through my bag and took my emergency cash and my phone.
I wonder if there was a red flag in my mind that would have been there but 10 years later doesn't come up anymore. Probably. I'll admit it: it was dumb. I shouldn't just freely jump in to cars with people. But it also didn't feel that sketchy until it actually was, which is the intent.
So as I look forward to the next several months where I'm supposed to be backpacking across southern Africa, let this be a reminder. I had gotten cocky. And now I've been humbled. Go forth and explore. Learn something along the way. And be just a little more vigilant.
Submitted January 08, 2019 at 05:56AM by todouble http://bit.ly/2Ff734O
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