- If you are in a group of two or more, and you leave someone at the train station with all the large packs while everyone else looks for accommodation, changes money, and so on, tie all of the bags together, or better yet, lock them all to something solid. The person watching them should keep a sharp eye on both the bags and their surroundings. I once saw a giri guarding four large packs. Had someone grabbed one and started running, she could either have left the other three or just watched him go. (Yet another reason to travel light.)

- If you are riding a bus and put your bag in the luggage bins, keep your daypack with you, and if you are traveling with someone else, lock your bags together. It’s better to use the luggage storage area inside the bus, but beware. Sit as close as possible to the storage area, and when the bus makes stops, keep an eye on your stuff. Once, in Portugal, I watched as a man got up to leave my bus, and grabbed my bag along with his. I had noticed the guy when he got on, and probably knew he was going to steal my bag before he did. When he picked up my bag, I was in his face before he could turn around. Like most thieves, he was also a coward. When caught, he started whimpering that he was “helping me take my bag off the bus.” Yeah, right.