Taxi window obstruction
byThis is my view out the taxi window. Or rather, this is my view OF the taxi window. I’m outraged. This is the entire…
This is my view out the taxi window. Or rather, this is my view OF the taxi window. I’m outraged. This is the entire…
The Pigeon Poop Pickpocket Ploy as perpetrated in Barcelona is devious. We discover the original Pigeon Poop Perp, who pretends to offer goodness. In…
A good reminder, thanks to the Stockholm Police Department.
Pickpocket-proof clothes. The pros discuss the pros. There aren’t too many cons, except for those we foil wearing pickpocket-proof clothes.
Living statue street performers Living statue street performers in Europe have learned a new trick. Now they levitate. I’ve seen these floating swamis in…
How pickpockets steal from inside jacket pockets usually involves the application of something disgusting, much like the pigeon poop pickpocket does. Occasionally, they use…
I’m ready for lousy treatment from airlines. I expect it. Even from U.S. Airways, a member of the Star Alliance, of which I’m a…
Here’s another hotel oddity. The Marine Plaza Hotel in Mumbai got it a little wrong. The nice fabric shower curtain is on the inside,…
Bangkok theft has gotten bad enough that police have posted warnings about theft from tuk-tuk passengers. The convenient little auto-rickshaws, ubiquitous on the streets…
Durian. You love it. You hate it. Or you’ve never had it. This powerfully-fragrant fruit from Southeast Asia is considered so foul-smelling by some…
A lightning bolt of fear shoots down your spine when, returning late to your hotel room, you see the door is not fully closed….
The Pea Game Shills and Shells “It’s the talk that’s important,” Serge insisted, about the pea game. Each forceful word sent a curl of…
How the 3 shell game works. Video tape is a wonderful diagnostic tool when it comes to sleight of hand. In slow motion, we…
Pavement wagers. Copenhagen’s pedestrian shopping street is an ideal venue for the three-shell game, also called the pea game. Several competing crews set up…
The floating sign. As if the preponderance of signs in hotel rooms were not in-your-face enough. For this hotel in Berlin, messages stuck on…
Four cows appeared like a mirage, sizzling in the squiggly heat waves off the never-ending road. Our hot, monotonous drive across Egypt had dulled…
On the set before filming this live segment for ABC News, Bob Arno stole a wallet from one of the camera operators. The producers…
“We can’t export your found lost-luggage because it contains an artificial hand which requires the permission of the ministry of health.” I’m starting with…
Pickpockets prefer women! It’s not that we’re any less savvy. It’s the darn handbag. It’s simply easier for a pickpocket to slip his fingers…
Theft-proof vacation Just about now, millions of people are thinking about summer travel. For many, it will be foreign travel. Novice or expert, it…
Our hotel in Naples was on the second floor (they call it the first floor). We didn’t notice it had an elevator until the…
“Horn OK Please,” in one form or another, is written prominently on the back of almost every truck—large or small—in Mumbai. The signs intrigued…
Sounds good, but it’s not what you think if you’re imagining a fragrant, wood-smoked Margherita pie. Back in Naples, lunching at the tiniest pizza…
Just a little reminder to women… A thief needs only a few seconds to assume ownership of unattended riches. Those few seconds are easily…
ANOTHER hotel getting personal, just trying to help. This one’s in Berlin. The sign’s in the shower, where we’re exhorted to pay attention to…
In a dim, smoky opium den, we faced the backlit profile of the Moroccan pickpocket. He barely looked at us, concentrating instead on our…
On the heels of the Louvre pickpocket debacle, here’s a profile of two exuberant Roma women pickpocket beggars who tell us how they do…
Pickpockets running rife in the Louvre—nothing new there. Pickpockets acting aggressively: in our 20 years of active street crime research, we’ve been flipped off,…
As a very frequent traveler, I can’t let myself focus on the nightmare of hotel bed bug infestations. I’m queasily aware of the increasing…
Built into the wall, this spotlit treasure on display in a glass box with an oval opening. Found in our room in Cologne’s lovely…