My family has this big "tradition" thing where once

>>2999129
>any tips on not getting my camera stolen/smashed up while travelling?

SS+gomad.

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>>2999139
go back to bed Mark

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1) Keep your camera hidden as much as possible; only take it out when you're going to take a photo.
2) Buy an anti-theft strap for the camera and the bag (ex. pic related).
3) Always wear the strap when taking photos.
4) Never walk away from your camera (ex. for self-time photos of yourself).
5) Always carry your camera as a carry-on in any transportation.
6) Never let someone else take a photo of you, or if you have to, make sure its someone who works at the location (ex. a security guard, a waiter), or a very trustworthy tourist (ex. slow-looking senior American tourist).
7) If you're on the train with your camera bag, make sure its secure (ex. hold it on your lap, or even better, tie a bicycle lock around it and through your belt -- this may sound autistic but I did it when I was sleeping in second class trains in southeast asia).
8) Never ever ever talk to the gypsies. Never. You'll see them at a lot of the iconic photo location (ex. Eiffel Tower). Watch out. If someone asks you to sign their petition, or asks if you speak english, or anything else like that, then immediately do a 360 degree spin with your foot out to trip any pickpockets and check your pockets and yell "BACK THE FUCK UP".

>>2999145
7 and 8 are pro tips. Had a mate who had his camera stolen out of his bag on the train in Paris. He figured that he was just catching the train for one stop so he would leave it in his bag.
Some cunt also tried to steal my camera out of my messenger bag when I was asking for directions but luckily I realised it quick enough. What they do is they bump you every time they try to open up the zipper on your bag so it feels like someone just bumped you as they walked past. Half an hour later I saw some homeless guy trying to sell a MFT camera that he had obviously stolen at the train station that i was asking for directions to. Easiest way to keep your camera safe is just have it in front of you on a strap.
The thing about gypsies is true too - I had petition fags come up to me and also others that ask if I spoke english or if I would donate money for deaf kids around the Eiffel Tower. That shits a trap - they just want to distract you while someone steals all your shit. Don't let your guard down even if its some normally dressed person or even old folk.

Also, if its summer then make sure you buy 2L of water from the supermarket before you head out. Paying 4 euro for a tiny bottle of water in front of the Louvre isn't fun.

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>>2999129
Like >>2999145 wisely pointed out: Never ever associate with gypsies. This needs to be spelled out to Americans who don't seem to understand the risk. Gypsies are never good news. If one walks up to you, you know something's up. They see nothing wrong in scamming or stealing if it isn't another gypsy from their own clan, and have no regard for the laws of whichever country they're staying in. The few actually honest and law-abiding gypsies can be identified by the fact that they do not associate with other gypsies (or rather, other gypsies will not associate with them).

Also stay the fuck away from suburban metro stations unless you want to end up like the token white guy in pic related.

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I'm going to the U.K. in a couple of days, any protips?

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>>2999418
I'm a londoner
1: Dont talk to strangers in public, its taboo
2: Get a 7-day travelcard, the public transport in London is some of the best in the world.
3: Dont bother with the London Eye and royal stuff unless youre super keen - generally theyre flooded with tourists
4: The City Of London is over 2500 years old. If you make a bit of an effort to find out the history, it will make your visit very enjoyable.
5: The blue plaques on the sides of buildings denote a place where someone important/famous lived or died. Keep an eye out for them.
6: Like 70% of the major museums and galleries are completely free, there is no excuse not to check them out.

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>>2999129
If you're one of those people who will be constantly stressing about their camera gear getting stolen either:

1. Get a cheap camera you won't care to lose worst case ontario

2. Just shoot with your phone assuming it's half decent.

You don't want to constantly be worried about your camera whether its with you or back at the hostel.

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>>2999419
>1: Dont talk to strangers in public, its taboo
??

>>2999418
Do check out Tate Modern, it's breathtakingly weird and wonderful, and you can shoot anywhere except in a couple of areas ( where the exhibitions you have to pay for are, otherwise it's all free).

The John Soane museum is the coolest collection of ancient artefacts I've ever seen, also contains a superb Hogarth room if you're a fan. Excellent guides and there's an evening tour by candlelight. Sadly no photos allowed.

See also Leighton House (don't forget to walk through the Kyoto Garden in Holland Park on the way) & the Wallace Collection (photos allowed), as well as the Photographer's Gallery in Ramilies Street.
All the above are off the beaten track.

British Museum & Victoria & Albert / natural History Museum are great (architecture and content) but can get crowded.

Try and get to Primrose Hill in Noth London for a sunset if you can, and West Brompton cemetery if you like that sort of thing. Photogenic as fuck, and free unlike Highgate.

If you want to do a palace then Hampton Court is a lot more chilled out than Buckingham, and is fully accessible and has great gardens.

If you are planning on going to Scandinavia you really don't need to worry about it.

>>2999424
or just don't be a pussy and carry a quickly accessible knife. if somebody tries anything you fucking stab them in the chest like 6 times

>>2999446
Really?
They deported all the rapists and murderers they spent the last couple years importing from North Africa?

>>2999454

>get arrested and involved in a protracted legal battle in a foreign country who's language you dont speak because 'dont be a pussy'

grow up, kiddo

>>2999454
>come to the UK
>bring a knife
>police stop you and search you
>locked up in the cells ready to be charged
Totally worth it m8

>>2999433
He means unless you convert to islam the locals will cut your head off if you approach them

>>2999129
find a motel across town.
stay there for a month.

>>2999419

>3: Dont bother with the London Eye and royal stuff unless youre super keen - generally theyre flooded with tourists

It's still January. Those places are definitely not going to be 'flooded with tourists'. Going to London and not even checking out the Southbank or Buckingham Palace is pretty dumb if you're a tourist.

Especially since they're all in walking distance of each other and free to look at.

>>2999419
Why is it taboo to talk to strangers?

thats a nice tradition

>>2999573
Nation of autists

>>2999129
Make a loose plan of what countries you want to see. Keep a list of hostels and motels in the cities you'll visit. Do research the public transport systems for the places you'll visit.

Don't cram your itinerary full of touristy stuff, just wander around and have fun.

>Any tips on not getting my camera stolen/smashed up while travelling?
Don't be a dipshit?

>>2999582
Probably not far off the truth

>>2999129
>any tips on not getting my camera stolen

Just watch out for gypsies and you'll be OK.

Enjoy your migrant rape, OP.

>>2999129
>I havent ever travelled on my own before
You apparently have a whole family that travelled on their own, have you tried asking them?

>>2999627
>>2999537
>>2999493
get back to your containment board

>>2999493
Even with the mudwave you can stil go to the worst immigrant infested neighborhood in any of the bigger cities and it's still probably safer than your average american megapolis.

>>2999129
1. Use the same common sense you would use in a major American city

2. Learn a little history of the places you are going to.

3. Do not take selfies

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>trv

also when i travel i just use my phone.

>>2999454
Are you retarded or just 14 years old?

>>2999419

Glad I live in Edinburgh where it's possible to talk to anybody.

Come here anon, there are no pick pockets.

>>3002401
Will you pour me a glass of Glenkichie, mate?

>>2999454
haha good one man good laffs to be had with this guy!

>>2999493
If you speak english they'll treat you alright.
Its Swedes they hate.

>>2999129
Why Europe, there's a whole world out there. Is being thrust into a forest of selfie sticks supposed to be some kind of coming of age adventure?

Use a bit of common sense and no-one will steal your camera

>>2999129
> any tips on not getting my camera stolen
Not a big problem in the wealthy ~half of Europe. Could happen, but chances of it are pretty low.

> smashed up
Padded bag and don't be stupid.

>>3003014
> Why Europe, there's a whole world out there.
Europe is easy to get around in by public transit as backpacker or whatever, with pretty predictable and pretty low cost.

You can rely on ATM, banks and so on doing their jobs as well as you're accustomed to and really unpleasant situations (expensive scams, robbery or extortion or such) are uncommon. If you reserved a bed somewhere, you probably just have it.

Also, there is an obvious language advantage:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_language_in_Europe#/media/File:Knowledge_of_English_EU_map.svg

You won't find that in most of the world. And well, it doesn't have to be a high-risk adventure to be a good experience. Europe has nice sights all over.

>>2999129

I went to your pic OP. It's in the suburbs of Paris. You should go there on your trip to get a real European experience and get robbed and beat up.

>>3003029
> to get a real European experience and get robbed and beat up.
Same chance as in many US cities, but only half the chance to get raped and a quarter the chance to get murdered, eh.

Theft is the only thing you realistically have to worry about.

Sounds like your family can afford another camera if yours gets damaged.

1-Europe is big. Tighten down to a reasonable area and have a planned schedule. Leave time and $ to wander. Personally, my three mini-vacations were 2 week runs in single countries: The Catalonia of Spain, Sicily in Italy and the Finnish coast around Helsinki with a fast tour of St. Petersburg. It should have been a week for St. Pete alone.
2-All valuables should be in tight, not in outer pockets. A padded bag worn reversed, with any outer pockets and flap top against you. I had one with a cloth covered metal strap (bought in Barcelona) that survived 3 nasty cut&grabs. Put any valuable or hard to replace easily items in the bottom of the bag. I kept 2 pack of munchies on top to stymies pickpockets.
3-Watch the Pakistanis and Arabs in the cities. They group up and harass smaller groups of women and any beta males or teens they can.
4-A self defense course that specializes in avoiding bad situations and recognizing them is a good step. The first step is in not being a target. You are not Jackie Chan and eurothugs will happily knife you.
5-Eat something local. The Sicilian pasta is awesome and reindeer is good meat. Research who cooks what and what you want to try.
6-See if there is a student group or community you can use for support. We lost a lot of the Finn start due to not speaking the language (many bad mistakes) before falling in with several young couples (Finn) who let us tag a long. They are why we went to SP.
7-A translation program is helpfull, But I was there before they were worthwhile
8-have a blast.

>>2999454
only real advice here kiddo.

>>3003020
>You can rely on ATM, banks and so on doing their jobs as well as you're accustomed to and really unpleasant situations (expensive scams, robbery or extortion or such) are uncommon. If you reserved a bed somewhere, you probably just have it.

Wow, you really are scared

>>2999573
it's not

Come to London.
Bring money.

>>2999145
> do a 360 degree spin with your foot out to trip any pickpockets
nice tip idiot

>>3003338
For a first time traveller it makes sense to start someplace relatively "easy"/safe. Babby steps, everybody's got to start somewhere.

Certainly more sensible than jumping into the middle of bumfuck-nowhere Asia where everything works different, you stick out like a sore thumb because of your ethnicity, nobody speaks your language and half the people you meet try to scam you in one way or the other because you're filthy rich because you're a whitey.

I hate to inform you, but nobody's handing you extra cool points for choosing the later. Plus, there's plenty to see and do in Europe, and you can always go down the bumfuck-Asia road later in life if you feel it eventually is your thing.

If you're going to North Europe, nothing's gonna happen. Some racist drunk may shout at you or try to provoke you if you're black or middle eastern, but that's about it.

It's true about the gypsies tho. I live in Helsinki and we get a set of those every year. Even the native Finnish romani don't like them, and they're not exactly sweethearts either. Junkies is the other group you want to avoid. Homeless people here don't really cause problems.

Biggest thing is just avoid looking like a dumb tourist so you don't look like a target. I've traveled around Europe and the only time I ever personally had a situation was in an alley in Poland, where two skinheads robbed my friends wallet at knifepoint.

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>>2999454
THIS

>>2999129
Come vistit the US. Our tourists areas do have some problems, but you should be ok since our police departments understand that tourist need to be kept safe (since they spend outside sourced money).

Quick story: was at Arches National Park in Utah 8 years back doing the thing that almost every photographer does as a journey: shoot rocks in sunset.

I was at Balanced Rock then moved on to some desert shots, but unbeknown to me I had dropped my 580ex2 and PW in the sand near the base of Balanced Rock.

This place get tons of tourists and other photo hobbyist all shooting the same shit (like I did).
An hour later, I was looking for the flash but could not find it. So I retrace my steps, and upon return to Balanced Rock, my flash was right in the place where I was shooting.

It was sitting for about 1.5 hours. Had this dropped in Paris? Had this dropped in London?

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>>3004382
>comparing a national park to some of the largest cities in the world

>>3004194
>>3003029
>>2999600
>>2999556
>>2999493
>>2999416


Europe needs to get medieval on these criminal scum. France is a mess.

In the US even our most liberal/ progressivism cities don't put up with that type of shit.

In NYC during a Republican's mayoral term, the police used to run a "found property" sting. A purse or wallet with cash and CC's and some form of ID was placed on the ground or on a bench. Nearby a policeman would be standing. If someone picks up the wallet or purse and not turn it into the police, they would get arrested, so that gold ring scam that occurs in Paris would not work here.

As far as the scammers like the friendship bracelets and the like that occurs in historic Europe... well that would also not work here, because the current NYC mayor would also put a stop to it, like they did with the aggressive half naked girls, known as "desnudas" offering tourists pictures for free then demanding a cash donation.

These "desnudas" became big news, so what the government did was that all the half naked girls were corralled into a halfnaked girl zone. They also have a place for costumed superhero's that demand cash for a picture to be taken for with them.

It became a big issue when Mickey Mouse slugged a tourist in the face, braking her jaw after the tourist refused to fork over $40 for a forced street picture.

Paris needs to step up their game. My goodness, there is even a illness associated with the discovery that Paris France is not the Paris France they people expect. Paris Syndrome however mostly effects Japanese tourists.