You lost your ticket
If your ticket goes missing abroad, there is no need to get too upset: this document can easily be replaced.
First, regardless of whether the ticket was lost or stolen, you should visit the office of the tourist police, or if there is no such police in the country, the nearest police station (the address can be obtained from the hotel manager). The police will draw up a report, a copy of which you should take with you.
Contact the local office of the airline you are to fly with as soon as possible. A simple phone call is enough (the number can be found in any phone book or you can again ask the hotel manager for help) to report the loss of the ticket, giving your surname and departure date. Under the existing rules, the airline must receive confirmation from the company that sold you the air ticket. Therefore, before coming to the airline office, call and check whether a response to the request has arrived. The entire process can be significantly speeded up if you have a photocopy of the air ticket, prudently made at home. At the airline office you will need to present a copy of the police report and your passport. If your passport disappeared together with the ticket, a “Certificate of Return” issued by the Ukrainian consular office is accepted as a document.
The procedure of issuing a ticket itself takes about five to ten minutes. Keep in mind that this is a paid service; depending on the airline it costs from $15 to $80. To all requests not to take money from a poor robbed tourist, the invariable answer is: “Turn to your embassy for help.” Do not waste your time: the embassy may sympathize, but it will not give you money.
Your baggage is lost
There is no airline in the world that has never lost baggage. This happens especially often with the suitcases of passengers who have connecting flights.
Sometimes such a nuisance occurs not through the fault of the airline itself, but through the fault of the airport. Therefore, if after landing you do not find your suitcase among the unloaded baggage, do not vent your anger on the first uniformed employee you come across.
First of all, you should contact the representative of the airline you flew with (the location of the airline office will be suggested at the airport information desk). After you present your baggage claim check, the airline representative will draw up a report stating that your baggage did not arrive at the destination airport. If you are left completely without your belongings, you must be given a bag with essential items (all airlines have such bags; the contents vary).
If the baggage is not found within a few days, you have the right to contact the airline representative for a voucher to purchase clothing. Many airlines issue such a voucher, but not very willingly, so be persistent.
In the event that the baggage is not found, the airline in theory should pay compensation of $20 for each kilogram of weight (the weight is indicated in your baggage claim check). Attempts to convince the airline that there were some especially valuable items in the baggage are doomed to failure in the vast majority of cases. Therefore, if you are carrying valuables in your baggage, it is better to insure them in advance. In general, all the most valuable things, as well as essential items, should be taken with you into the aircraft cabin.
And one more thing: before the flight, do not forget to remove from your suitcases all stickers left from previous trips, and be sure to attach a special tag to your suitcase with your name and contact phone numbers – at home and in the destination country.
Passport stolen
If your passport is stolen while abroad (or you simply lose it), immediately contact the nearest Ukrainian consular office and report the loss.
Make it a rule to find out beforehand the coordinates of the embassy and consulates of Ukraine in the country you are going to – this will never hurt. If you were not so prudent, the phone number can always be found in a guidebook, a local telephone directory, or you can ask a hotel employee for help.
Regardless of whether the passport was lost or stolen, you will need to write a statement to the police. In many countries there is a special tourist police; you can learn about this from any police officer or again from the hotel manager.
Filling out a police report is a tedious matter, so if you do not speak English very well, it is better to ask someone to be present as an interpreter. Do not forget to take a copy of the report at the police station, which you will need to present at the consulate.
There you will be issued a temporary document called a “Certificate of Return”. To do this, you will need to submit 2 passport-sized photographs printed on matte paper. In addition, to issue this document you must present an identity document. If you do not have it, written statements from two compatriots certifying your identity will be required. Everything will be much simpler if you prudently make a photocopy of your passport before the trip and take it with you. Or you can scan it and place it in your e-mail box, then in an emergency you just need to go to an internet café (and there are plenty of them around the world now) and print it out.
In many countries, a single “Certificate” is not enough to leave; you also need to obtain a document confirming that you entered the country legally. Such a document is issued by the immigration service. Its coordinates and working hours can be found at the Ukrainian embassy. Note that the service of issuing a temporary document is paid, so be prepared to spend a certain amount.
A woman alone
As strange as it may seem, a woman alone in a foreign country usually does not face greater risk than a woman with companions.
We are not used to it yet, but Western ladies, especially Americans, love to travel alone, enjoying complete independence. Unfortunately, not all men and not in all countries consider the appearance in a public place of a lone woman, especially a foreigner, as something taken for granted. In some, this causes an irresistible desire to brighten up the loneliness of a foreign woman, especially in countries where customs do not allow great liberties in relations between local men and women. Therefore, some precautions are still worth taking.
Dress modestly so as not to stand out too much among the local population. Do not behave provocatively and try not to violate local traditions. Of course, if you decide to take a walk in shorts in the streets of Abu Dhabi late in the evening, you will simply force the male part of the residents of this emirate to show increased interest in you. Of course, no one will drag you into a harem (who needs such a dissolute wife?), and most likely they will not use violence either, but they may pester you.
Leave sheer blouses at home. If you go to a restaurant, club, or reception in a low-cut dress and plan to return late, take along a large shawl or scarf of thin fabric - you can throw it over your shoulders. Such a thing is generally very convenient in travel - the scarf can be tied around your waist, hiding a money belt, when the sun is hot or it rains, you can cover your head with it.
Try not to walk late at night on deserted streets. When returning to your hotel, do not try to take a shortcut by turning into dark alleys.
It seems like a silly thing, but nevertheless, the presence of a wedding ring on a woman's hand cools the ardor of many men. So be sure to take a ring. But leave rings with precious stones, expensive earrings, necklaces, and other jewelry at home. A woman, as a creature weaker than a man, is often the object of attention for thieves. By the way, carry your bag not in your hand, not on your shoulder, but across your body, so that it cannot be snatched away.
Do not discuss your plans and routes with strangers you meet during your trip. And wherever you go, arrange in advance with relatives that you will call them at a certain time. If you do not make contact at the agreed time, they should urgently contact the Ukrainian embassy in the country where you are. • So that problems do not meet you already upon returning from abroad, it is also worth taking care of the safety of your home. Install reliable steel doors in your apartment that guarantee the safety of your property. It is best to contact brand stores offering multi-lock systems, reviews of which can be read on official websites.
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