Yes...It is true. I have a pair of pants that once saved a man from being killed. I am going to divert from China in this entry to discuss a more general subject that applies to travel anywhere. PICKPOCKETS! Yes they do exist. Certain areas in China are sometimes refered to in reference to this danger. Railway stations and things like that. In my case it was a market in Morocco.
A few years ago my wife and I and another couple were visitting my daughter in Maroc. She was serving as a volunteer in the Peace Corps. We were visiting another Peace Corps member who was serving in a very remote area in East central Morocco. We were all walking together through a typical crowded market. I felt my wife's hand in my pocket. I did not think much about it. I casually reached down and took her wrist and discovered that there was a young Morrocan man attached to the wrist. I think that we were both equally surprised. He ran off into the crowd before I had time to grab him. Well it seems that he must have seen me put some money into my pocket a few moments earlier and had decided that I was to be his opportunity for instant wealth. However I was wearing a pair of 'travel' pants manufactured by Royal Robbins. This pair of pants had a hidden pocket in the pocket that he had seen me use for my money. The pocket was hidden by a light weight plastic zipper. This was were I always kept anything more than 3-4 dollars. I felt secure then and I feel secure now when traveling and wearing these pants. They also have a couple of hidden pockets in the upper leg area. Royal Robbins deserves credit for saving this mans life. They probablly have no idea how some little thing like a hidden pocket could have spared this mans life. Oh, I have not really completed the story. It turns out that in the next village over a man had been beaten to death a month prior for a simular offense. In that part of the world people take care of these issues on their own and with little discussion. It was explained to me that the only thing that would have saved his life would have been intervention from the local police. There were no local police.
Pants like these can be had from most places that sell travel gear. There are, of course, other solutions to travel security. This was and is mine. You can decide for yourself what will work best for you. But do it. The worst nightmare while travelling is to lose your money and/or papers. Don't let it happen to you. Be proactive and deal with it before the fact, not after.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment