I let travel fear almost ruin my London trip – here’s the wake-up call I needed

A Journey of Caution and Discovery in London

After a 23-hour flight, I arrived in one of my favorite cities in the world, London. Instead of admiring the iconic red buses outside the window, I was focused on steering the conversation away from my excitement about being there. My mother was chatting with the Uber driver, and I found myself mouthing at her to stop talking.

I tried to make vague remarks about the traffic, hoping to show that I knew where we were going, even though I didn’t. When the driver offered to help carry our heavy bags up the stoop to our Airbnb, I politely declined. I was already uncomfortable knowing that a stranger would be aware of our accommodation.

Being aware of your surroundings while traveling is not new, but being so hypervigilant that you’re afraid to accept kindness from a stranger is a bit over the top. I blame my social media feeds. In the lead-up to this once-in-a-lifetime holiday, I had been constantly exposed to videos of petty crime in Europe. Phones being swiped out of hands, pickpockets on public transport, and blatant shoplifting were just some of the content I saw.

Despite having lived in London and traveled there many times, I started feeling nervous about taking my mum on her birthday trip. What’s the point of booking an expensive holiday if you’re always watching your back? I worried that it would be impossible to relax.

On the first day in London, we left the apartment on high alert. I wore my cross body bag with extra thick straps underneath my coat, and my mum took her new heavy-duty phone strap on its first outing. In hindsight, we must have looked like the suspicious ones, slinking around in huge coats, whipping out our phones to take a quick photo, and staring down anyone who dared enter our vicinity.

Flash forward three weeks, and my mum and I are laughing about this while standing at one of the busiest intersections in the world, Piccadilly Circus. Our experience has been the complete opposite of what we thought it would be.

Paige at Piccadilly Circus. Image: Supplied.

We’ve spent a good chunk of the holiday walking the streets, catching the London Underground, and talking to strangers, and not once have we felt unsafe. However, I have noticed a few things about London that have changed since my last visit six months ago.

There is security everywhere in central London right now, inside shops and just walking around posh areas. It also feels like there are fewer e-bikes on the roads this time, which thieves were using to steal phones out of the hands of tourists.

This doesn’t mean you should let your guard down and go waving your valuables around. I had a chat with a security guard at Whole Foods Market just off Piccadilly Circus, and he said that petty theft was still an everyday occurrence, but it’s not a reason to delay your holiday or feel unsafe.

Tips to Prevent Petty Theft

Here are some things you can do to prevent becoming a victim of petty theft:

• Be aware of your surroundings and trust your instincts. If something doesn’t feel right, move away.
• Do not use your phone while standing on the side of the road, i.e. at a bus stop.
• Pay particular attention to your belongings when in confined spaces, i.e. while at a tourist attraction or on public transport.
• Store your valuables where you can see them in front of your body using a cross body bag instead of in a backpack or in coat pockets.
• Avoid times and places where you could be travelling alone, i.e. sitting in an empty cart on the train.

It sounds like a lot when, in reality, these are things we tend to do instinctively in everyday life.

Preparing for the Trip

I also did the following to prepare for my trip, which made me feel a lot more at ease:

• I left all of my designer handbags and expensive or sentimental jewellery at home.
• I packed an older phone as a back-up just in case.
• I activated Face ID for all my apps, not just my home screen, so in the event that my phone is stolen while I’m using it, the thief wouldn’t be able to get into my banking apps, email, or social media accounts.

After those first couple of days in London, we were able to relax, and we actually loved not being on our phones because it meant that we were fully present during our holiday.

We also noticed that if you give off good energy, people can be incredibly friendly, and when you mention crime, most Londoners laugh. “Don’t they have deadly snakes and spiders in Australia?” they’d always ask us. We do, but they’re not as scary as getting your phone stolen!

Feature Image: Supplied.