A 2013 American survey listed the top 10 items that people lose on holiday – some you would expect to see on such a list, others are more surprising. But a common theme among most of the items is that you can’t do without them on your trip. While it might be galling having to replace stuff, it’s the lesser of two evils when the other is simply letting the mishap ruin your holiday. Having a travel money card topped up for such emergencies is a good idea. So what is it that we tend to lose and when is a replacement necessary?
Top of the list is the humble camera – often the target of theft but also just as easily left in the seatback pocket of the plane or lost on a night out. When you go home, do you want to tell everyone the bad luck story about losing your camera, or do you want to show them the beautiful views, the food etc… Granted, your holiday can proceed without a camera but if you really want to capture those memories there is no harm in picking up a cheap (potentially tax free) replacement.
Other bits of technology which have a tendency to go missing are mobile phones and MP3 players. With the latter you might just be better off proceeding with a soundtrack-free holiday – it’s nice to have your tunes, but is it essential? And not everyone is going to be in the position to upload their collection to a new device straight away if they’re away from home. The phone on the other hand is one that will need a quick solution. In this day and age it’s likely that your provider will do a lot to help sort your situation and arrange a replacement, but you’ll potentially still need to pay for calls to them in the first place – and if you need to be keeping in touch with your nearest and dearest while you await a replacement, picking up a cheap pay as you go phone might be wise.
Accessories is another subcategory of the top 10 holiday items that go missing, with sunglasses, rings and watches featuring on the list in that order. Sunglasses will in most cases be a must for immediate replacement – you’re never going to turn that frown at losing your specs into a smile if you’re constantly squinting into the sun. Rings – for many people they will be special and unique objects, sadly irreplaceable with any substitute available abroad. One case however where an emergency ring purchase may be necessary is if you are overseas to get married and the wedding ring goes AWOL before the ceremony! As for watches – 25 years ago you would be relying on your timepiece to make sure you made your flight and any other important holiday appointments, but in 2014 provided you haven’t lost it too your mobile phone should help you survive this mishap.
The top “accessory” to go missing though is the purse or wallet, and that’s where a Caxton FX currency card can really be your hero – if your wallet full of cash goes missing then you won’t be stranded. That’s provided that the card is not in the wallet too, but it has been a common travel practice for years – even before the dawn of the currency card – to keep different payment forms separate and that remains wise advice today. If you are unfortunate enough to lose your card, you have some piece of mind in that it is PIN protected and that you can call Caxton to cancel the card straight away.
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