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Travellers' Advisories, Safety and Security on the Road Recent News, political or military events, which may affect trip plans or routes. Personal and vehicle security, tips and questions.
Photo by George Guille, It's going to be a long 300km... Bolivian Amazon

I haven't been everywhere...
but it's on my list!


Photo by George Guille
It's going to be a long 300km...
Bolivian Amazon



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  #1  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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Where do you keep your money?

Where do you keep your cash and credit cards on the road? What the things that work best on a long trip? Please send me your ideas and experiences.
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  #2  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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One idea I've seen suggested is to keep cards and valuables hidden in a travel pouch under your belt or shirt, and have a "throw away" wallet with just a day's worth of cash and a few outdated cards (library, etc).

If you get robbed or pickpocketed you just lose the throw away wallet and hopefully keep the more valuable items.
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  #3  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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try air box, and under the stitching of your seat, A note or two under the soles of shoes.
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  #4  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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Fern, Airbox? Excuse my ignorance, do you mean tupperware?
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  #5  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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The air filter, I have a panel that comes off quickly, the air filter is in here, and you can reach your hand round the back of the airfilter/sponge. Here I can stash a few little things.
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  #6  
Old 16 Apr 2012
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We travel by car rather than bike. However, the trick is to leave money / spare cards salted away all over the vehicle and in a couple of different places around your clothing (under the seat lining / behind fuse box on a bike, behind ashtray / behind headliner / under carpet on a car).
The best advice I've heard though is always to have a 'distraction' stash that, if you're forced to hand something over quickly, has a few notes and maybe even an old credit card in it. Some people have even used the 'A N Other' blanks your get in your junk meail. The objective is to hand it over and get out of any compromising situation as soon as possbible.
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Old 16 Apr 2012
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wearthefoxhat View Post
We travel by car rather than bike. However, the trick is to leave money / spare cards salted away all over the vehicle and in a couple of different places around your clothing (under the seat lining / behind fuse box on a bike, behind ashtray / behind headliner / under carpet on a car).
The best advice I've heard though is always to have a 'distraction' stash that, if you're forced to hand something over quickly, has a few notes and maybe even an old credit card in it. Some people have even used the 'A N Other' blanks your get in your junk meail. The objective is to hand it over and get out of any compromising situation as soon as possbible.
Tried that distraction stash trick in Vietnam when I got mugged. Had to resort to good old fashioned violence to get out of that one. Looking back on it, the best advice I could give is don't be drunk as a skunk in the wrong part of town late at night, which is where I went wrong....
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Old 17 Apr 2012
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Hi

Shoes are not good money gets wet there and credit cards dont want to be bent i have them on my leg when its angerous and some throw away cards and little bit of money in my jacket....

Travel save, Tobi
Motorcycle trip through Venezuela and Brazil - part 5
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Old 5 Aug 2012
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Originally Posted by ta-rider View Post
Hi

Shoes are not good money gets wet there and credit cards dont want to be bent i have them on my leg when its angerous and some throw away cards and little bit of money in my jacket....

Travel save, Tobi
Motorcycle trip through Venezuela and Brazil - part 5
i agree, shoes are not suitable, unless you can make some modifications
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Old 5 Aug 2012
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My shoes got stolen in Argentina while I napped in the shade just a few feet away. Only theft on a year-long trip. Twenty years before, my shoes got stolen in a train station in Tanzania. That was the only theft on that year-long trip.

Everyone works out their own methods. I've never lost anything from a moneybelt, so I carry cash in one. When I'm feeling extra vulnerable, I carry two strapped on in different places. I've always got some cash in a pocket for casual use, but I never carry a wallet--too easy to pickpocket. I'm always meaning to tuck some money somewhere else, but I never get around to it. Life is supposed to be simple, not complicated.

Hope that's helpful. Hang onto your shoes!

Mark
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  #11  
Old 5 Aug 2012
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How about inside the helmet under the padding / interior?

How about where the fra is open through and then in with the money and a plastic plug in each side?

How about, on a F800GSpot, and other bikes with a dummy tank, to put money in freezing bags under the battery or other hidden places under the dummy tank cover?

How about inside some of the less valuable luggage?

How about in a lockable tool box down low at the front of the engine bash plate?

Or how about a Freezing bag with money inside glued to the top of a hugger?

Do NOT hide money inside the exhaust pipe.
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Old 5 Aug 2012
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Exclamation

While HU is a great resource for getting answers on overland motorcycling, Does anyone else think some questions are best not asked in a public forum?

The screenshot below is from a Google search I did a couple of hours ago that shows this forum page as the top web page answering this question. (I hope the web link works)




All we are doing is advertising our security measures to the rest of the world and I can't any good coming out of that.

Call me paranoid but if anyone has a brilliant hiding place they would be better sending it to the the OP as a PM or send nothing at all.

I'm not trying to offend anyone, I just think there is a time for discretion and this is one of those times
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  #13  
Old 6 Aug 2012
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I was robbed at knifepoint by three street punks in Bogota back in the 90's.
They checked for a money belt in my pants but did not find my calf belt which had my passport, credit cards and cash.
Personally I would only leave a couple of hundred U.S in cash on the bike in a stash somewhere.
I recently saw some underpants with a nice little pocket that you can stash cards and cash in. My No1 rule of travelling is that my passport, cards and cash are always somewhere on my body, distributed in a couple of spots.
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Old 6 Aug 2012
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Originally Posted by realmc26 View Post
Personally I would only leave a couple of hundred U.S in cash on the bike in a stash somewhere.
What´s the point of carrying a stash of money anyways? Can someone name the countries which do not either have a MasterCard or VISA cash machine in every village? I carry a VISA card which allows free (i.e. no fee) withdrawal of up to € 200 / day from my checking account, and I tend not to spend that much money per day :-). If lost or stolen, the card is easily replaced everywhere in the world within days and a small fee; risk of loss is limited to minor amount like US$ 50 or so and only until reported stolen and being blocked. Thus carrying two cards in different places seems to be easy and safe enough to me. If worried about passports, carry two of them.

Cheers
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  #15  
Old 6 Aug 2012
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Originally Posted by realmc26 View Post
My No1 rule of travelling is that my passport, cards and cash are always somewhere on my body, distributed in a couple of spots.
^^^This!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Keks View Post
What´s the point of carrying a stash of money anyways? Can someone name the countries which do not either have a MasterCard or VISA cash machine in every village?
Well....there are a great many places with few or no cash machines--much of South America, Central America, Asia and Africa for starters.

Mark
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