Before
I came to Florence, I heard many stories from my relatives and friends
regarding pickpockets in Europe, especially in Italy. Stories like they could
slice a bag open and get your wallet without you realizing so I have to be
extra careful when taking the metro/train. Until today, I have never paid much
attention to this and my mom had nagged me many times to keep my bag close in a
crowded area. To be honest, I thought she was just being over paranoid and I
was confident that it is not possible that someone could unzip my bag
without me feeling anything. Well, I was wrong then.
So
this was what happened to me today. I was at the Zara store at Piazza
Repubblica. It was just like any other days, I was happily shopping at my
favorite store here in Florence *not
my favorite store anymore*. It was crowded at Zara and I was standing
at one corner looking at a jacket. I carried my bag on my shoulder and I
suddenly felt that my bag was being moved or someone was trying to open my bag.
When I turned around, no one was touching my bag so I thought maybe someone
just slide passed me, as there were many people around me looking at clothes. Everyone looked normal, but not like a thief would write 'I am a thief' on his/her forehead. It didn’t occur to me at all that someone was trying to pickpocket me. Come on,
who would have thought so, definitely not me, especially not in a store.
I
only realized that my wallet was gone when I opened my bag to take my phone. I
immediately went to the security and told him what happened but it was already
too late. There was nothing he could do and the only option I had was to make a
police report. Less than a minute later, I called my dad to cancel all my
credit cards. Thank god that bitch did not steal my phone. Thinking back, when
I felt that someone was trying to unzip my bag and when I turned around, there
was a person standing behind me but I could not see her face because she was
holding a blouse high, which blocked her face and pretended like she was
checking on the quality of the blouse. Now I am 100% sure it was her who took
my wallet.
You
know the feeling when you knew that something was wrong but you did not do
anything about it? It is exactly how I am feeling now. It should have occurred
to me that someone was trying to pickpocket me. I didn’t think that this would
happen to me. Looking back at it in
hindsight I was initially very angry. I considered myself a fairly seasoned
traveller that should have been more aware of what
was happening. I can hear my mom’s voice in my head saying ‘I told you so’.
It
was definitely not my day today. It was so cold and I had to walk through and
fro to look for the police station *Thank
you Kseniya for accompanying me*. I am starting to feel emotional.
Anyway, after coming home from the police station, I went online and googled
‘top five European cities with pickpockets’ and below is the list:
1. Barcelona, Spain
2. Rome, Italy
3. Madrid, Spain
4. Prague, Czech Republic
5. Paris, France
What!!
Rome is second on the list?!! I feel so paranoid now. I am going to Rome next
Thursday with my brother and we are taking the train there. The moment when I saw
Rome on the list, my heart skipped a beat. I was anxious and was even thinking
of cancelling my trip to Rome but I already bought the tickets. I still find it
hard to absorb the incident today. I guess I will just have to be extremely
cautious next time since I have already learnt my lesson.
It
is such a pity that pickpockets have now become the primary concern of tourists
when visiting Europe.
Shu Wei Wong
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