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Old 01-19-2007, 05:22 PM   #25 (permalink)
abaya
 
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Location: Iceland
Quote:
Originally Posted by KnifeMissile
Well, I didn't want to trust leaving sensitive information on a public terinal. As always, the issue is a little more complicated than that. As Sharon has correctly pointed out, I do plan to dump my data (including photos) onto my laptop. It'll come in handy for passing time at the airport (if it had been smaller, it could have been used to pass time on the plane, too). Perhaps most importantly, it'll be my main computer when I stay in Vancouver for the month of my sister's wedding.
Fair 'nuff man, I understand about the wedding thing and being bored... and about the photos. Though personally I would rather not risk losing all my once-in-a-lifetime photos in one mugging incident. If I were you, I'd buy a handful of 2 GB memory cards for your camera and carry those in various safe places, rather than storing them all on a laptop... but making back-ups is also a very good idea, if you can tuck them away somewhere on your person.

I don't mean to offend you, I'm just saying that in a third-world country, people won't "mug you for your laptop," they'll just plain mug you... for whatever you might have (especially if they saw you on the train, or in the hostel with it, and follow you into the station or get into your bag while you're in the communal shower). Yes, it does happen, I've seen it.

I guess I'm just trying to offer some advice from a lot of my own traveling experience in poor, crowded areas... I've been to quite a few of the places you want to go to, and I just don't think it's altogether wise to carry a laptop with you there.

Hostels in a group room (bunks) range from $20/person in cheap cities (Prague was the cheapest I saw in Europe), to over $60 in places like NYC. The prices are higher if you want a private room with a locked door. I have no idea about places like Japan. This is for semi-reputable hostels, not the dirt-cheap ones where they really will rob you blind the minute you turn your back. I'd say the average hostel cost is around $40 a night.

All that said, it's your trip, so have fun planning it and let us know how it shapes up.
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