All the places are equally safe but you need to take any and every travel precaution seriously. Here are a list of things you should carry with yourself, without fail:
Offline maps
I need to navigate in a city even if I do not have access to the internet.
Loose change / smaller currency
If you are very hungry and want to eat a roadside stall, do not take out your wallet and display all that hard currency. Take a few coins or notes of smaller denominations and pay. This way you will not attract untoward attention. Keep a useful amount of dollars or euros stored somewhere hidden and preferably locked up when not on you in case you are robbed or can’t access money by card – any large town or city will have or know where there is a bank or exchange service and those are the two currencies everywhere includes.
A stole
This is something I recommend ALL THE TIME. Helps you in covering yourself up, protecting you from the wind, sun, sandstorm, basically everything. Comes in handy.
Photocopies
Photocopies of important documents and phone numbers of family, friends and the hotel you are staying at. If you get lost by any chance, you can call up your hotel and ask them to pick you up in a private vehicle. If everything else fails those photocopies can help you at an embassy.
Hygiene products
Whatever that you use at home, please carry them in smaller quantities.
Souvenirs
Carry one or two souvenirs from your home country. If by any chance you befriend someone in your flight or train, give them a small gift. Or even a little kid in exchange for a kickass portrait photograph.
Powerbanks
If you really need to squeak past an airline weight limit on your small bag because it’s one that’s unreasonably low (most are fine, once in a while it’s bizarre) remember that power banks, phones, and other small but heavy items go fine into your pockets while at the check-in while they’re weighing your bag. Strangely the battery in phones get drained so quickly while traveling, so carry a power bank.
Medical essentials
Remember you’re the only person immediately able to rely on for your health. You feel a cold or worse coming, go out to a pharmacy and grab whatever you’ll need to lay in bed and feel miserable for a week with. At home or with another traveler you’d have or they could grab cough drops or antihistamines or whatever you need… when you’re on your own you have to at least give yourself a bit of leeway. Also, carry some bandaids and one occlusive bandage, just in case.
Back to money
do what you do with going out at night anywhere that there’s risk of mugging or pickpocketing. Keep some cash/card in a baggy or plastic wrap under the inside sole of your shoes or in your undies or within a hidden pocket of your pants (such as those with non-obvious ones in pants where they’re inside by the knee or otherwise not just a ““oh, and behind this fold/tiny zipper they may not notice”a lot of jackets and pants companies count as “hidden”).
Important apps
Google translate app, Xe app, Google maps app (I wish I could suggest smart street app but it’s not best yet for solo important-moment use), all your online banking apps, passwords for everything in a password protection app and not stored auto on the phone/device.
Pack light
Seriously. Again, you have to do it all, carry it all, protect it all, and so on. So pack light. If it’s more than you feel comfortable with on your back, downsize it further, double-use things, buy smaller versions, choose clothing that can be combined in many different ways rather than “outfits”.
Carry a backpack rather than a suitcase
Make sure it’s a good backpack that fits you correctly. A backpack will have more ways to access your items on the go with convenient pockets and hidden sections and such. It makes a convenient pillow/backrest for airport layovers or waiting on buses. You can walk for miles or easily run if you have to compared to trying to carry or drag a rolling suitcase – in most situations this won’t come up, but when it does it makes a massive difference.
Bar rules
For anyone but extra for females use the rules at bars and such that you do in your own country but more so: watch your drink as it’s being made, don’t leave it alone after it’s handed to you, don’t accept one from anyone else who offers, pay attention to who leaves when you do and whether they are doing so because of interest in you, same with going into a bathroom or other enclosed space. Even if you’re there with a group you feel comfortable and safe with things can happen where they can’t or won’t know to help you (if you’re drugged you can leave in a blur on your own or by being led when they just thought you were going back to the bar or to the bathroom when the drug hit and in the crowd you’re not noticed gone until they realise you’ve been gone too long to just have gone to the bar for another drink or such, for one example).
Pac-safe backpack
Invest in a good small Pac-safe backpack/bag for your daily walking around and carry-on. They’ve mesh webbing between the fabric layers of the outside so they can’t be cut, zippers built so you can put mini padlocks on them, and other safety factors plus they hold up under a lot of abuse (trust me haha), and have convenient pockets placed for pens, IDs, electronics, and other odds and ends so that stuff is easily grab-able and protected.
Wet-wipes
Carry a mini pack of wet-wipes and/or hoard napkins/paper-towels in a small amount and have it in your day bag. The next toilet may not have toilet paper and you may not have anyone or way to have hand you some from outside. Plus, spills happen.
Generally, just think on “what might I need help on in case of X” and decide/arrange how you’ll handle it alone. Oh, you’ll get a ton of friendly and helpful people along the way – not speaking of just making friends, I mean just random folks being helpful regardless of language in common – but you need to learn to think in terms of “just in case”. This is more or less what I ALWAYS carry while I travel. Be it within India or abroad. Surprisingly, I have used them all in every vacation.
I hope this list helps you in packing your travel bag better. Have a happy journey.
