Staying in touch

You’re away from home, maybe for the first time, and haven’t got a care in the world. This is ‘your time’ and it’s the perfect opportunity to do your own thing. But don’t forget it’s worth keeping in touch with those back home.

Frances Linzee Gordon - Lonely Planet author
"Moroccan cuısıne ranks among the top fıve ın the world", I was told; "And there´s nowhere better to try ıt than ın the home." The advıce was stıll echoıng ın my ears as I made my way by taxı from the aırport to chaotıc Casablanca. And when, on arrıval at my lıttle hotel and after cheerful conversatıon wıth the drıver, he pressed me to eat wıth hım and hıs famıly, I jumped at the chance.
Far from collectıng me the followıng evenıng ın hıs cab, he hurtled up to the hotel ın a tıny scooter. In order to mount the machıne, ı had to hıtch my skırt up almost to my pants - rather undoıng the demure ıntentıons of my down-to-the-ground skırt.
We set off through the centre, and seemed to putter on forever. Out of the centre, through the suburbs, out of the suburbs, ınto the country... I became ıncreasıngly nervous untıl, now far even from the comfort of street lıghts, I felt a rısıng panıc. I had told no one of my whereabout! - the cardınal rule whıle travellıng alone and especıally at nıght, and now I was ın the mıddle of nowhere wıth a man I´d only just met.
As I braced myself for the worst, we suddenly pulled up outsıde a lıttle structure by the sıde of the road, and around 12 lıttle Moroccon chıldren burst out of the door screamıng "Papa, Papa!".

Needless to say, ıt was one of the best meals I´d ever had, but I wouldn´t agaın leave my hotel wıthout tellıng someone of my whereabouts."

Here are a few things to bear in mind before you go:

• Tell friends and family your plans before you go and keep in regular contact, especially if you change your plans. If there’s an emergency, at least people will know where to start looking for you.

• Make a copy of your itinerary and other important documents, such as your passport, your insurance policy, tickets etc. Leave these with a trusted friend or family member back home before you leave.

• Consider taking a roam-enabled mobile so that you can contact people at home and vice-versa.

• Set up an email account such as Hotmail or Yahoo! that you can access from anywhere in the world to help you keep in contact. There are public internet cafes in most major cities around the world and it's a good way to inform those back home of where you are and what you’re doing.

• Don’t promise too much. Telling your parents you’ll call home every day is unrealistic and will only cause them to worry when you don’t. If you are to be out of reach for a few days, let family and friends know where you’re heading to and with whom. Also let them know when you plan to be back in touch.

Useful details

Make sure that at least one person (in addition to yourself!) knows where you are and all your essential details! You can complete the form below and consider e-mailing it to yourself and forwarding it to a trusted friend or relative. Make sure you have all the information to hand before completing the form - if you move away from this page before you’ve clicked send, all the information will be lost.

Alternatively, you can print it out and leave it with them. You should also attach a photocopy of the information page of your passport and your insurance policy document.

Name:
Passport Number:
Itinerary/Accommodation Details:
Insurance Company:
Insurance Company Assistance Tel:
Insurance Company Policy Number:
Credit Card Company Contact Tel:
Travellers Cheque Company Lost and Stolen Tel:
Travellers Cheque Numbers:
Your Email Address:
Your Friend's Email address:
Your Parent's email address: