One of the more difficult topics to talk about in travel blogs is the need for safety. The act of traveling itself is unsafe, as it opens the traveler to the prospect of the unknown. I refer to this need for staying safe as more risk mitigation and behaviors to help anyone who plans to find themselves in uncharted territory.

Urban Camo

Blending in while traveling can be difficult, especially when traveling anywhere overseas. However, there are a few tips to make it easier and more likely to go unnoticed. First is why one would want to go unnoticed in the first place. That comes with many factors, but the two most important are protecting yourself from becoming a target of thieves, and the second reason is to avoid being seen as a tourist. 

The first thing you should consider is the color of the clothes. Depending on the climate and the conditions, choose more neutral colors, like greens and grays, to help blend into the crowd. 

Next, when needing to blend in, it is important to leave the sweatpants at home. While comfort is a factor while traveling, choosing to wear a pair of khaki chinos or jeans provides more protection from the elements as well as aiding in blending into the crowd. This also helps curtail the tourist look by attempting to look more like a local. Something to consider while blending in is the seasons in which you are traveling, which brings me to another point: layering.

When traveling, keeping the balance of warm and cool is essential as well as difficult. Learning to layer is key in keeping that balance as well as giving you many ways to also blend in. In my previous article I mentioned bringing a sweater regardless of the weather that you would face. My recommendation here is to go with a hoodie, for versatility and for concealment. Alternatively, a flannel shirt jacket with a hood would also work, as well as provide an alternative in case hoodies are an issue where you are traveling, as it might in places where there may be an uptick in crime, or in the case of some countries and localities in Asia and Europe. 

Head On a Swivel

This was a saying when I was in the Army, “Keep your head on a swivel,” which meant to keep your situational awareness high. In the context of traveling, this means to keep your eyes and ears open for anything that happens around you. An example of this is to keep yourself from distractions by keeping your senses clear. Don’t walk around with headphones on, or at the very least keep an ear free for any sounds. I also would say it is especially important when traveling overseas, because of traffic and the potential for emergencies to arise. As it happened, when walking in Itaewon, South Korea, to go shopping, I had my headphones in, and if it wasn’t for a very kind and considerate older Korean woman, I would have been flattened by a scooter that had taken to the sidewalk. Something to consider is wearing a good pair of sunglasses to aid in visual acuity. Just these two things alone will help immensely in keeping your awareness of your surroundings high. 

Another crucial safety tip is monitoring the State Department website for any travel advisories for where you are traveling, as they routinely post updates of weather and travel advisories. The State Department site also offers resources and information regarding scams, crimes, and high-risk area information to assist in planning trips overseas. If you are traveling domestically, keeping a tab on the local weather and traffic reports can also do the same thing. Also, talking about keeping tabs, a good idea while traveling is to check in with someone while you are abroad. Setting predetermined check-ins helps keep you safe as well as offers a way to share the experience. In the past, this was as simple as a text or a phone call to a family member, letting them know where I was heading and where I had been. It is also important that the same person you are checking in with also knows where you are staying and how to contact you in case of an emergency.

The Method Behind the Madness

Given the current events that surround us every day, between political anguish and general unrest, the need for travel safety and risk mitigation is crucial in not getting caught up in the violence. Travel safety is, above all else, your responsibility as an individual to prepare. The best risk management techniques are the ones that you don’t need to worry about. By that I mean, when traveling, especially, you are the only person who can keep you from coming to harm. These tips and suggestions are only the beginning and not the only things to consider. Most of my suggestions are from the Army’s SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) training for overseas personnel, trial and error in my own travels, and observations from places I have lived. The key to having good Urban Camouflage is having good sense and better observation. The Persian Poet Saadi is attributed with saying, “A Traveler without observation is like a bird without wings,” while the meaning is based more in mindfulness, being mindful of your surroundings and cognizant will help you keep safe while traveling both here and abroad. So keep your head on a swivel and eyes open, and you won’t miss a thing.

Edited and Reviewed by Kien Powell