“Travel Advisory” eBooks available
byGet yer eBook now! If you like my posts, you’ll love my book of thieves, Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street…
Get yer eBook now! If you like my posts, you’ll love my book of thieves, Travel Advisory: How to Avoid Thefts, Cons, and Street…
“I, too, was a victim of Barcelona street scams…” said more than a hundred people. And they described their own thieves, con artists, fake…
Buy-a-Brick (continued from Part 3) (The making of ABC 20/20: Bait-and-Switch) The lawlessness of Naples stunned us all. Even Bob and I, who have…
Souvenir Sucker Our friend Russell, a magician, works a considerable amount of time each year in Asia. A streetwise New Yorker, he knows pretty…
Buy-a-Brick (continued from Part 1) Our first clear capture of the actual swap occurred on a sidewalk. The partners were running after their customer,…
Your greed + a deal too good to pass up = bait and switch: Buy-a-Brick “Pssssst. Come ’ere. A brand new video camera with…
I have no idea what this thing is. It’s on the floor in the carpet, in front of a window. About an inch and…
There goes our iPad. Swallowed by the security conveyor belt, immediately under the prominent sign that says “The tray stays until it is emptied.”…
Our hotel room in Paris had these gorgeous bathroom doors. Each door is made of one large plate of thick translucent glass in a…
The foot of Charles Bridge, in Prague, is alive with movement. People come and go, lounging and looking, snapping pictures, sipping sodas, eager not…
Yeah, we know already, like “leave a message after the beep.” But this is odd… “A towel on the rack means ‘I’ll use it…
About how to spot a thief or a pickpocket, I said in my last post that “Bob and I locked onto them the moment…
Prowling and preying with impunity, the pickpocket pair cared little about hiding their business. Yet none of the mighty swirling masses intent on going…
China World Hotel, Beijing— Very nice room. In an effort to think of every detail, there’s a little glass shelf installed on the bathroom…
My old friend Avis perused my blog just before her recent trip to Spain. Then she wrote me, doubly concerned. She and her 25ish…
Traveler Tim Hopkins reports on an “ingenious cab scam theft.” Lessons learned, disaster averted I recently purchased two copies of your book, one for…
We received another long email last Friday from a thief we know in Naples, Italy. Between his flowery prose on the trials and tribulation…
Visiting the Honolulu Apple Store, Bob and I were instantly struck by the clientele. They weren’t shopping at all! They were a bunch of…
You are lucky indeed if you ever get the opportunity to experience a kaiseki meal, especially one in a ryokan, a traditional Japanese inn….
I have to say, there’s something rather cozy about a warm toilet seat. Definitely got used to that in Japan. I came to expect…
Starbucks has a bad rap when it comes to theft. Customers focus on their drinks, their conversations, their open computers, and thieves know it….
Beijing street food Arachnid kebob, anyone? If you haven’t lost your appetite from all the lusty hawking and spitting and splatting, your stomach will…
Pattaya, Thailand’s got to be the seediest, one-track party-town in the world. It doesn’t pretend to be anything else. Huge signs advertising the Fcuk…
I stay in a lot of hotels, some of which are the best or most unique in the world. This one in Hong Kong—not…
Despite the focus on negative experiences compiled on this site, it is possible to travel without being ripped off. It bothers Bob and me…
Some years ago, before Bulgaria was part of the EU, Dodie B. and two male friends visited one of that country’s small port towns….
4-1/2 hours before Japan’s earthquake: it might have been my sister’s fault. Had she kept the slip of paper her bad fortune was printed…
The Wellington in Madrid is a lovely, old hotel full of charm, the official temporary residence of visiting bullfighters. Our room was large and…
One day in Spain and we are bombarded with sad stories, particularly of crime in Madrid. Crime in Madrid 1. Madrid Metro: A couple…
Hotel front desk safe Natalie is a tour sales manager for one of the major cruise lines. She’s an experienced world traveler and accustomed…