Alright, this post is solely a safety reminder if you ever planning to go to Spain (or other places as well) because it might just save you from being a victim of pickpockets or losing your personal belongings.
So Spanish people are very nice and helpful. They might don't really seem friendly or nice at first, but trust me, they are. There was a time when we went for a lunch at a restaurant, a fancy one. So I thought that it was okay to just like sling my handbag at the chair. I mean, it's a fancy restaurant, I thought that it was fine, that it was safe. After a while, a woman tap on my shoulder and pointed at my handbag. She didn't speak English though but she was kinda like telling me not to put it there since anyone can just take it. Basically she wanted me to be careful. It might seem a small gesture, but I did appreciate that. I really did.
Our host on the other hand reminded us about Romanians in the metro, and because of that reminder, we were safe from being victims of pickpockets. We were on our way to Parc Guell or Sagrada Familia I think, that two women suddenly standing so close to Jazilah although the train was not packed with people at all. Obviously they were up to something bad that I just had to glance at them. It was so, so annoying that one of them suddenly pretending to be pointing and reading the metro map but oh, with a grin on her face while her eyes at the corner, trying to look at me. Urgh. Bloody annoying. We urged Jaz to take a seat across us since it was empty. Then these obviously-unskilled-pickpockets attempted to asked Nad about maps but were ignored. Second unskilled-attempt; by doing a gesture asking what time it was and again, they were ignored. And guess what they did after that? They just left. Well guys, I think they were newbies in this pickpocket thingy. Heh.
Then when we were in Granada, we stopped at a kebab shop (kebab was always our go-to food during travelling) to takeaway our lunch. The owner seemed a bit unfriendly, he just took our orders and did his thing; cooking the meat and all. However, after we went out of the shop, he suddenly ran after us and hurriedly asked us to follow him back to his shop. I was wondering why? Did we left anything? Or did he want to give us free kebabs? I'm not lying, those were on my mind back then hehe. He then started to speak in Spanish but guys, language was never a barrier. It took us a while to understand but with the help of hand gestures, we finally understood that he wanted us to be careful with our backpacks, always look at our reflections in the mirror to see if anyone was following us from the back. He also said that people can use knife to cut our backpacks and steal stuffs. Then we concluded that he probably noticed strangers following us right after we went out of his shop, so he hurriedly tried to warn us. BECAUSE, we finally did realize that two women were actually been following us! Geez, thank god that nothing bad happened. Phew.
But please don't be afraid to travel to Spain. Visiting the country will be one of the best decisions you ever make. These are just my experience that I think I have to share with you guys, just so that you'll be extra careful with your surroundings. Be alert. Don't put your money where it is easily accessible. Some people are watching your moves; they're observing where you keep your money and personal belongings. Always, always keep an eye on each other's luggage or backpacks. And please, everytime you want to get into your apartment or accomodation, make sure that no one is following. Make sure that no one is around when you wanted to close the door. I mean, anything can happen right? Anyway, hope this post helps us to be more aware when we're travelling in the future. Stay safe, wherever you are :)
