But believe it or not, loosing a phone has becoming quite a common problem in Jakarta, especially with the growing number of people switching from private cars to public transportations like Transjakarta and City-trains.
If you’ve never lost a phone, take a quiet moment and said thanks to God, for He still grants you the perfect life. But if you have, fear not, there are convenient steps to stop it from happening ever again.
Mentally, keep in mind that your cellular unit could just disappear, anywhere, anytime. Such understanding will keep you in the state of alert, allow you to maintain conscience, and give you better observation to the surrounding.
Practically, there are several preventions you can take, and here are the most important.
One. Makes sure you’re not using the phone prior to and after entering the means of transportations. Turn the silent mode on, and hid it somewhere safe –as safe as the inside of your bag -which is the most common-, the inside pocket of your jacket, or the inside of your shirt after tightening it to your neck (some hid it inside their pants, but by personal experience, it’s not advisable.) If communication is so important that it’s worth risking the phone, use its accompanying technology called ‘wireless,’ but still, hide your phone. Using a phone before entering a vehicle gives a hint to thieves on what phone you’re using and where you’re keeping it afterwards. Dangling wireless cable is also proven to be unsafe, as it gives hints to where your phone is located.
Two. Avoid high-density area within the buss or train. Such tight spots include the sides of the doors, the center of the vehicles -including Transjakarta-, right at the door –if you’re hanging outside the city train like most commuters-, and any part of the vehicle that’s packed with people. Try to find a place where you can literally ‘breath’ better –though always remember to prioritize the seats for women and senior citizens.
Three. Put your phone-containing bag in front of you, and hold it with both arms. Taking the train for some people is an uncommon valor. The train from Bogor to Jakarta, for example, is definitely not the ideal view of ‘safe’ transportation. So if you think you are entitled to be at least a bit frantic about anything for once, it’s definitely at this particular time. Some people that I know put their phones inside solid small boxes such as ‘rice pack’ -hard plastic container for foods-, or between books and magazines inside their bag. Thieves in trains are unbelievably persistent; piercing one’s bag with a homemade cutter is a protocol. Displaying a hobo look or pretending there’s nothing in your back so to look carefree about it won’t work; the easiest bag to rip will be ripped.
Four. Avoid suspicious individuals and even groups of people. Most thieves operate in groups, but some are highly skilled individuals –while some of them are desperate. Expert individual thieves usually wrapped a jacket or big cloth on their arm to camouflage the pick-pocketing hand, but off course there are many other methods unknown to us commoners. While it’s great to play detective and observe first hand, it’s always best to stay prepared and immediately react by getting out of the way when you see one.
Five. Don’t tempt to answer any call, make any call, or play game with your newest gadget during the trip; it is doomed to be gone, mind you. But in certain conditions where you have to, be watchful and make sure nobody’s paying any attention. Stay alert.
Six. In case you didn’t bring any bag, any jacket, any rope to hang your phone with, or anything besides T-shirt, pants, wallet, and phone, than be very careful. If you have to keep it inside the front-left baggy-open-pocket of your jeans, keep it closed with your left hand and for once; cope with the life of a single-handed man.
Seven, your last desperate defense, is a chain that connects your phone to other part of your apparel. It sounds weird and hopeless, but various people have tried it and it worked.
But still, there’s no guarantee that you will not lose any phone, by applying the above precautions, nevertheless, will help you minimize the possibility.
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Before edited for the Jakarta Post; Wednesday, May 7, 2008
---> hehe this is based on my actual experience, my first phone (motorolla c55 that i got from my sister,buying it for about Rp70.000) got stolen in Transjakarta, my second phone (BenQSiemens E61, plus 1 gigabite memories, a music phone that i love sooo much) got stolen in p20, a local bus, on a trip which only takes 30 minutes (there's a story afterward about making deal with the thief and arrange a meeting at a local restaurant, it was a great time, but the meeting went blop. My third phone, my dream phone was missing on a train in just seconds after i got in (other version includes 'got crashed by a running bike,' 'got crashed while i was hangin on train,' and 'disfigured badly after falling and got crashed by a car' are lies i make to avoid looking stupid in front of people (hehe) and white lies to save my mom's heart. i then purchased the same dream phone, W950i, as shown on top, and decided not to show it to anyone on public transportations.
don't lose your phone..
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