I’m sitting here in my new apartment in Beijing and am happy to report that I managed to travel for three and a half months without having anything stolen. Yay! What did I do to prevent theft of my electronic goodies? Absolutely nothing!

I have to admit that I wasn’t the most responsible person when it came to looking after my precious laptop. I started off mainly in single rooms and would tuck it out of the way or stash it under my pillow but that’s it. Then when I started staying in more dorms I just did the same thing. I don’t even own any luggage locks! I guess the attitude I’ve taken all along is that I don’t want to be paranoid about my computer and I don’t want to worry about it or to have it become a burden. I bought it used, it wasn’t that expensive, and I would be annoyed if I had to buy a new one but it wouldn’t be the end of the world.

If you’re not quite as laid back (er, irresponsible) as me with your electronics then there are a few things you can do to keep things secure:

• Dorm lockers - Lots of hostels these days have lockers in their dorm rooms. Most times you have to bring your own lock but sometimes they’ll give you a key for an existing lock. These are great for stashing everything or even just the important things.
• Hostel safes - Many hostels also have safes behind their reception desks that probably started out as being for passports and wallets but have grown in size with the whole flashpacking trend. Instead of a safe, many have big metal cabinets you can leave your valuables in when you go out. Be aware though that staff can get surly if you’re always asking them to take things out and put them in loads of time seach day.
• Luggage locks/pack safe - If your hostel doesn’t have any extra security then you can take matters into your own hands and keep your pack locked. If you want to make sure your entire pack doesn’t go walkabout then pick up a Pacsafe (one of those mesh things that go around your bag). I didn’t see anyone with one of those things and personally I think they’re lame but if you’re really worried then I’m sure they act as a deterant.
• Keep things out of sight - I think many backpacker thieves are opportunists and if you leave a nice, shiny laptop out on a table in your dorm it’s probably less likely to be there when you get back.
• Stay in single rooms - Single rooms aren’t 100% secure by any means but not having 10 people wandering in and out of your room at any given time is probably an advantage.
• Carry it on your back - If you really want to keep your stuff safe then having it with you at all times is an option. Unless you fall into a lake, or leave it on the bus… etc etc. The advantage of this is being able to do some work if you stumble onto a Starbucks.

Maybe another reason I was pretty slack in the laptop security department is that I guarded my hard drive with my life. Anytime I went out I would put it in a little pouch in my purse. The purse is one of those over the shoulder bad boys that I never take off so there’s no way I’d put it down or have someone steal it from me. I’m not sure what would have happened if I managed to spill a pint of beer all down myself (which, miraculously I didn’t) but that setup ended up working well for me. I had the piece of mind of knowing that all of my important files and photos were hanging safely in a bag next to my right ass cheek.

So my advice is do whatever makes you feel comfortable but I will also say that worrying about your stuff all the time will become old fast. Bring an old laptop that doesn’t cost the world, back everything up as much as possible, take some precautions, and think happy thoughts and your laptop and other electronic essentials will hopefully stay with you for your entire trip.

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