Good Reason For A Money Belt...

The funny thing is that when he called me to tell me he got his daybag back, I suggested he wear a money belt to avoid this happening again. I knew that he had bought one when our entire family took a trip to Germany two years ago. His response was that he doesn't like the money belt because the paper gets damp and "gross." One way to avoid this would be to put everything into a ziplock bag. Anyway, he assured me that from now on he will put his daybag into his large pack to avoid having them both out. He is traveling alone, and I know it must be difficult in certain circumstances to not have someone else there to watch your bag while you do something. All's well that ends well, and thank goodness for good samaritans!

Bruges isn't a "small town". It's a city with a 40,000 seat soccer stadium, municipal transit system, office buildings, commuters, lots of tourists, and thieves more than happy to take advantage. Glad it worked out in the end though!

My bad. I meant to say smaller town, not small town!

In addition to the money belt. It is a good reason to always reduce your load to one bag. It's so much easier to keep track of one thing.

It's not surprising he lost his daypack. It's practically a miracle he recovered it.

Brad is right, it's almost a miracle that he got his bag back. Why would anyone set a bag down and walk away from it, especially one with their important documents in it? In addition to the risk of it being stolen, people get nervous for safety reasons about unattended bags sitting around. He's very lucky.

I don't think he intended to walk away from it. I think he was trying to orient himself and it just happened. It is a miracle that he got it back with all his belongings intact. In most circumstances he never would have seen his bag again. He knows he screwed up big time, so hopefully there won't be a repeat of this happening. Before he left for his trip I had him give me copies of his passport, driver's license and all his important bank/card numbers, just in case something happens. I posted this so people could see how easily something unintended could happen. In a strange place it is easy to drop your guard when trying to figure things out.

How do you wonder a hundred yards away? A hundred yards is long ways and would take several minutes. He is lucky the bomb squad didn't show up because of the unattended bag.

And...say thanks again for the unexpected kindness of perfect strangers!

Andrea, your brother was very lucky,, and frankly I have travelled alot, my first trip abroad ALONE was at 13( spent 3 months with various relatives and family friends ) ,, and I remember my mom pounding into my head, " never lose your purse, your passport is in it" ,, I never lost it,, and I have no idea how your obviously colleged aged brother put his bag down and walked away,, I peed with my purse on my lap ,,, it never left my grip,,,, LOL

A money belt is a good thing when actually travelling( I never wear one when sightseeing in one city) , as noted then you can concentrate on maps, train schedules, and where you are, instead of totally worrying about your stuff, but , your brother had better be more aware, some people are absent minded enough to leave passports, money belts, etc in hotel safes and CHECK OUT!! LOL A money belt on the bedside table is no good at all if you forget to put it on before you leave, LOL

Andrea, now your brother's large pack might get stolen : his day pack is in his large pack : thus his Passport and Train Pass and tickets will be gone.
Large packs do get stolen in Europe, sometimes.

a friend had her hiking pack stolen from the baggage section under the bus she was riding in Ireland. I hate riding buses when I have to put my luggage underneath and can't see who does what at every stop.

And still some people never learn, myself included.

I might horrify some on this board, but I never use a money belt. And on my five month trip I managed to loose (and get back) my passport twice.

I was on a small plane from my city to Monteal, and forgot my passport in the seat pocket next to mine becuase an attendant was rushing me to skycheck my carry on, because it was too big. I got flustered and set it down so I coul go to the front of the plane. Thanks to a 8 hour layover and the nicest flight agent staff I've ever met, I was able to get it back.

The second time, it turned out my suitcase was unzipped and my passport slipped out as I rolled it from my residence to my class (a fifteen minute walk, and I was leaving for the train station right after class). Magically enough the person who found it, was a member of my group in class and handed it to me before I realized it was gone.

And yet even after both incidents I havent used a money belt. The system I devised afterwords is to put it in a ziplock bag in my purse. My theory is, I rarely carry a passport, and always have my purse, so for me its easier to keep track of a large purse, than a small money belt, that I might take off and missplace. Silly, but its what works for me.

You're right, that is silly. In just a few seconds you can be distracted by a team of thieves, and your cash and passport will be gone faster than you can say "Ziploc bag".

Better to have papers that are damp and"gross" than to have none at all. As mentioned though, there are ways to keep the papers dry while in the money belt. After such a close call I would have to consider the moneybelt. Thieves just don't go there.