{"id":236469,"date":"2021-03-24T00:30:43","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T08:30:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/?p=236469"},"modified":"2021-03-24T17:56:00","modified_gmt":"2021-03-25T01:56:00","slug":"solo-travel-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writersatlarge.com\/riff\/solo-travel-safety\/","title":{"rendered":"Solo Travel Safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

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(Originally appeared in Penny’s Travel Blog, “Adventures of a Carry-On.”\u00a0 To check out some of her other travel entries, click here.)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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I don\u2019t normally blog about solo travel, even though it is a topic in which I\u2019m well-versed. It\u2019s trendy to travel solo as a woman, something I\u2019ve been doing most of my life and never given a second thought. But, a recent experience in downtown Los Angeles made me realize that there is a good reason this is a hot topic and maybe I could help someone else by sharing my insights.<\/p>\n

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Solo travel safety \u00a9pennysadler 2013 Broadway St. Historic Broadway District, Los Angeles<\/span><\/h6>\n

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Last Sunday I was with friends in L.A., and we decided to take an architecture walk in the Historic Broadway District. In addition to the old vaudeville and movie theaters, you\u2019ll find the Bradbury Building (Blade Runner location), and the Grand Central Market. The theaters date from the 1800\u2019s to the 1960s. On Broadway St. The architectural styles range from Renaissance Revival to Art Deco.<\/p>\n

This was once part of the garment and jewelry district, too. It\u2019s a wonderful area for photography and for culture and history, which I will cover in a future post.<\/p>\n

So, I\u2019m standing on the street in front of the Bradbury Building taking photographs while my friends have disappeared into the Sprint store next-door.<\/p>\n

Out of nowhere, two guys appear, and they are in my space. I wasn\u2019t afraid at first, mostly just annoyed. They had an attitude \u2013- street guys doing an I\u2019m cool<\/em> routine. They didn\u2019t seem threatening, but, there were two of them. One of them said, \u201cHey, you look like a tourist.\u201d I replied back (foolishly perhaps), \u201cHey, because I am a tourist.\u201d<\/p>\n

They then started sort of a rant about the pretty tourist woman on the street. I don\u2019t know if it was meant to be flattering or to distract me but I began to feel uncomfortable. That\u2019s when I knew it was time to make a quick getaway.<\/p>\n

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I still didn\u2019t feel true fear, but I wasn\u2019t going to wait for it either. I dropped an F bomb and walked away while they yelled at me what I could do with parts of their anatomy I\u2019d prefer not to ponder.<\/p>\n

I never felt truly threatened by those guys, and they probably weren\u2019t dangerous. The point is that I never saw them coming. They surprised me. Reflecting on that day I realize that I really was vulnerable, even if they weren\u2019t dangerous.<\/p>\n

What happened?<\/p>\n

It was daylight, friends were nearby, and though I was on the street, there was no one around me. I didn\u2019t know the neighborhood, but the car was parked only two blocks away. I felt safe. But, I was distracted by all of the cool architecture.<\/p>\n

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If I\u2019d been alone, truly alone, my intuitive radar would have been on high alert. I would have been scanning the area for several blocks, not just the block I was on, and I don\u2019t think I would have spoken to those guys at all. In retrospect, I think that was a mistake. I\u2019m not suggesting that women should walk in fear, or even that they should never talk to strangers on the street, but know when to walk and when to run, and when to keep your mouth shut.<\/p>\n

Coincidentally, later that day, I was describing the neighborhood to a friend on the phone who said, \u201cIs that where the Canadian girl\u2019s body was found in a water tank on the rooftop of the hotel of her hotel?\u201d<\/p>\n

Wait, what<\/em>?<\/strong> I knew nothing about this. I soon learned that a young Canadian girl, a tourist, had gone missing. Guests in the hotel had been complaining about the color, taste, and smell of the water, thus, the missing girl was found.<\/p>\n

I was stunned. Yes, in fact, we had been in that very neighborhood and walked right past the Hotel Cecil. Now my brief encounter with the two guys on the street seemed more ominous.<\/p>\n

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I still believe in most cases I\u2019m just as safe on my own as with someone, but there are many factors to consider. My message today is this:\u00a0 do your research, pay attention, and if anything seems the least bit uncomfortable, get the hell out.<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If you\u2019d like to read some of the most current news regarding solo women traveling,
here are some suggestions:<\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n