1 1/2 days into 2 month backpacking trip and wallet already stolen in London
 

I knew there was a reason I posted myself as worried Momma. My daughter arrived in London at 5:30 a.m. on Wed. and by noon today (Thursday) her wallet has already been stolen. Her ATM card and youth hostelling card as well as her Ontario Health card are now gone and need replacing. She is also out 40 pounds. It's most upsetting having her so far away and so upset. She is also doing this trip on a shoe string which means now the string is shorter and thinner. Any body else leaving soon..........BEWARE!!! Watch you wallets.

i am so soory to hear that w.momma...Please tell your daughter to always wear and put her valuables in a money belt.

I can bet it is hard listening to her be upset.

But...but...this might be a cloud with a silver lining. She'll quickly become tougher and a little less trusting as a result of this experience, which at least happened while she was in an English-speaking country. And as kitmetchimera says, this is a signal that she needs to get her behind to a luggage store and buy a moneybelt, post haste.

Oh, so sorry to hear that worriedmomma...

How did her wallet get stolen? I hope she already has her money belt, but if not, Sue is right, she needs to get one asap. There's lots of debates over those things, but I think backpackers need it more than the average traveler. Hostels aren't a safe place to leave stuff lying around, so we never get a break from watching our valuables.

And I'm sure you've already seen the post and replies from dutyfree about her son's wallet being stolen--maybe the two of you can commisserate.

Hope she's doing ok....

Her wallet wasn't stolen at the hostel. She had gone to the internet cafe and by the time she returned to the hostel for her friend ..... low and behold..... it was gone. She carries a small change wallet in her back pocket but Passport and Rail Passes and Insurance are all in a money belt. Yes, we had a lot of arguments over the money belt......but at 19 she was OH SO WISE (but inexperienced) Lifes lessons can be hard at times!!!! (I know it could've been a whole lot worse and thank God that it wasn't)

Your daughter and DutyFree's son should meet up somewhere...they sound like a match made in heaven ;-)

Worriedmomma, I'm so sorry to hear that. What a bummer. However, take heart that it wasn't anything violent. If nothing else, it's definitely a learning experience for your daughter. Seems we all need those once in awhile.

I hope she gets things squared away quickly and the rest of her trip is uneventful.

Don't worry so much, it will be ok! Just think, a few years down the road and she will be able to look back at this and it will just add to the memory of her big European adventure! When I was 18, I was camping with friends and our camp was attacked by a big (as in BIG!) cat, I was terrified at the time, but now that is my best memory! It will just heighten her memory of the whole experience.

Just tell her to get past this and move on. I have friends who went to Italy for the first time and were robbed right in the airport within minutes of arrival. Despite what they thought was taking every precaution and being extremely careful, someone managed to get her small carryon wrestled away from her and ran with it -- cash, cards, reservations, passports, everything. To this day they hate Italy, all Italians, and every thing about that "wretched country where even policemen with machine guns in the airport can't stop a common pursesnatcher". It is so sad that they can't look at this horrible event as a single bad egg.

Well thats where she's at......hates London. Never coming back here again. Horrible city. Crazy! Confusing! And the telephones.......yes she will recover from this but memories good or bad will linger. If she's so lost and confused in a English speaking country what happens when she gets to France or Italy!!! Momma Mia!!!!

Sorry about your daughter's losses. But it's not like that all over Europe. Tell her to heed all the advice you've gotten so far.

Momma, this is her first time in Europe, right? I hope she doesn't keep that attitude for long...that would be unfortunate.

But you're right...it's only going to get more interesting when she heads to non-english speaking countries. It definitely gets crazier than London!

Here's to hoping the rest of her trip goes a lot better!

Oh, my!
I really didn't want to read that....my daughter is planning a hostelling trip to Europe next summer....straight out of high school and turning 18 over there! She has travelled abroad before (even to Rio-the crime "capital" of the world as some statistics say), but I hope she doesn't let her guard down where she "thinks" it's safer. I'll tell her to read these posts!
Speaking of travel bags...do you all think it's better for her to wear a back-pack or use a rolling duffel or rolling suitcase? Are there usually lockers in hostels?
Thanks!

London for the first time is confusing enough, even with no pickpocketing. None of the streets run straight, they are always changing their names, the numbers on each side of the street do not match up, etc. That makes reading maps tough. So I can sympathize with a 19-year-old feeling lost and confused. (I know the rest of Europe can be harder than London to navigate, but for a lot of people, this is their first experience with such irregularity.)

Advise her to go by landmarks and to look for tube stations. Those can help orient a person.

I have a friend whose wallet was stolen in France just after she arrived. When she realized she was high and dry, she remembered the name of the hotel of a gentleman she'd met on the plane and phoned him for help. Romance ensued and, in due time, it was wedding bells! I realize this is small comfort, but it's a true story!

I am the mom of the kid whose wallet was stolen last night in Italy. I want you to remind her to make a police report as you usually need the numbers of the report to get new ATM etc. On the bright side of your loss,at least she is in a country where they speak English and are more concerned with theft? My son lost 180 Euros,ATM,driver's license,two credit cards,etc. It has been very difficult for him not speaking Italian and as he says"they really do not care about the loss".as long as she still has her passport she is okay. Do make sure about the police report as several agencies wanted the number from me for reissuing things. I feel your pain!!!!

That's strange. I had my wallet stolen here in NYC and had my cards (credit and ATM) re-issued without needing to provide a police report. In fact, I never even reported it to the police.

Oh dear - bad luck worriedmomma.
I hope she's okay and now getting over it.
I also hope she doesn't take this as an indiction of Britain as a whole - London is a big city with all the problems that entails.
I'm sure she'll learn from it and be less likely to get caught out next time!

gocats2002..I don't know if your post might not worry Worriedmomma even more! :):):):)