Hotel Oddity #10
byWhat is this? Anyone have a clue? It was mounted on the inside of our Westin Hotel room door. I know, I could have…
Travel
Theft in South Africa
bySouth Africa—It was somewhat of a shock to find nothing but white lines on asphalt in the place we knew we left a van….
Hotel Oddity #9
byI don’t think a plugged-up hotel bathtub or sink is terribly odd. The number of them we run into though, is. Why doesn’t housekeeping…
Shoulder-surfing credit-card thief—part 2
byBob had just made contact with the shoulder-surfing thief… Pirouetting, I went to find Kun Chang, our film director, who’d been with us all…
Shoulder-surfing credit-card thief
byWe started early at Gare de Lyon in Paris, on the hunt for a particular thief. He’s known for a specific M.O., and for…
“Pickpocket from Paris since 13 year old”
by“Dear Bob, My name is Pierre. I’m 33 years old and I have worked as a pickpocket in Paris since the age of 13.”…
How to steal a Rolex off a driver’s wrist
byWhen we interviewed Luciano in Naples, Italy, our translator, a Napolitano, explained how Rolexes are stolen off the wrists of drivers in the summer….
Don’t let the bed bugs bite!
byViolent sex in hotel rooms may or may not excite you, but it’s happening more and more often these days. “Traumatic insemination” is the…
Hotel oddity #8
byEver stay in a hotel that tried to make you feel guilty about using the amenities? The beautiful Excel Hotel Tokyu at Tokyo’s Haneda…
Hotel lobby luggage theft
byo thanks, I’ll carry that bag myself,” Marianne Crossley said to the porter as she stepped out of the London black cab, “it’s too…
Pickpocket justice
byRAILWAY RAJ With a firm grip on the patient’s big toe, the hospital orderly entered the police inspector’s office. He carried the full weight…
Street crime in Mumbai
byWhile pickpocketing and bag snatching are said to be fairly common in Mumbai, Bob and I feel a visitor is less likely to become…
Eating in Mumbai
byEating Mumbai Bhel puri just might be my favorite Indian food. A snack commonly prepared and served on the street, you can find it…
A visit to Iran
byIran Bob Arno here, on our recent visit to Iran. The country has been in the news lately regarding the arrests of 30 persons…
Colaba Market: Technicolor Mumbai
byColaba Market, Mumbai, India 7:00 a.m. in the Colaba Market area, where life is lived outdoors as much as in. Residents were just beginning…
More airport luggage theft
byImagine the post office delivering your mail to a big open heap, mixed with the envelopes and boxes of 300 strangers. The honor-based system…
Confronting muggers in Panama
byou look like a million dallahs,” the mugger leers at Bob Arno, his gold teeth glinting in the Panamanian sun. The dozen or so…
Theft on planes
byTheft on Planes All this hearsay, lately, about pickpockets and theft on planes. Even a celebrity-son helped himself to sleeping passengers’ valuables. Pickpockets are…
Pickpockets in Durban, South Africa
by“We do what you do,” Bob told the poker-faced pickpocket. “Same job.” Looking at his blank expression, it wasn’t clear that he understood. Perhaps…
Hotel Oddity #7
byWhat’s that spray bottle hanging in the closet of our Tokyo hotel room? It wears a gold necklace from which its explanation dangles. “Resesh”…
Mugged in Mumbai—and an unexpected Karmic twist
by“I WANT,” is the driving force behind mugging: need and greed. But these muggers in India also had intangible desires that compelled them to…
Hotel oddity #6
bySee anything wrong with the chain lock on this door at Miami’s Radisson Mart Plaza Hotel? It’s mounted backwards! Upside-down. It’s useless this way…
Mac + paperclip = fire
byAnyone remember this old relic? We were so thrilled with it. We’d spent a year in Africa and needed a laptop. Apple didn’t make…
Hotel room safe thefts
byHow safe is the safe in your hotel room? Not safe at all, it turns out, unless you factor in the odds. Odds are,…
Beware hotel phone scam
byHeads up, travelers. Beware the clever new scam happening in hotels now. In order to thwart it, proactive properties are placing notes like this…
“How I mug,” as told by two muggers in Panama
by“The mere mention of Colon sends shivers down the spines of travelers and Panamanians…” —Lonely Planet on Colon, Panama After the brutal armed robbery…
What are bed bugs doing in hotel rooms?
byTraumatic insemination is worth mentioning as a follow up to my post on bed bugs in hotels. Male bed bugs, ScienceNews reports, “ignore the…
Street crime in Stockholm
byBeware, pickpockets are working here. That’s the first thing an international visitor sees when entering Sweden at Stockholm Arlanda Airport. Face level signs are…
Street Crime in Nassau, Bahamas
byWondering about street crime in Nassau, Bahamas? First we witness a tourist robbery, then meet another tourist just robbed at gunpoint. We’re standing on…
Bad behavior in Cairo
byI’m mortified to remember the time I refused to shake hands with an Egyptian. It’s a sad commentary on the state of the world…