Theft in hostels

I have been travelling on and off for more than 10 years.

This week was the first time I have had something stolen from a hostel.

I have gotten drunk and left my wallet in the middle of the floor in a large
dorm and never lost a cent.

In Greece I left my passport and loose cash on my bed for the day by
accident in a 4 person dorm and never lost anything.

3 days ago I was in a private room at a hostel which was broken in to and my
girlfriend lost her camera and cash.

I was unhappy...but more disappointed. I had thought this was something
that never happened.

I guess my eyes are open.

Anyone else have this problem?

newsman
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www.youplusme.com

 > I guess my eyes are open.
 >
 > Anyone else have this problem?


I play it safe when I can, although spent 7 months in Australia and New
Zealand last year, no lockers, they just don't tend to have them in the
hostels there, except maybe the big city ones. For 7 months I would keep my
really important stuff (tickets, passport etc.) with me in a day pack, but
left my main pack on or under my bed, it had a laptop computer in it among
other things, not once was my bag tampered with or stolen from.

The thing is... I think you get a feeling about where the more risky places
are to leave your bag. Having checked into a hostel in Prague this year I
wasn't there 10 minutes before hearing complaints from other backpackers
about the amount of stuff that was going missing, of course this was an
obvious sign, I moved out straight away. For me it's not the fear of having
something stolen, I couldn't care less really, i'm insured, but the fact
that when there are people around with the audacity to live among 'fellow
backpackers' and don't give enough of a shit to stay out of other peoples'
things, a great deal of trust is lost, and I would no more want to leave my
sleeping body on the bed in their presence than leave a million pounds in a
bag under my bed, it's risky.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->