Obviously one of the most important things to keep in mind while travelling is the safety of your possessions. Do your best to minimise the chances of theft and you will run far less risk of being left destitute in a foreign country. Try to separate your funds, dividing them between your luggage and your person, so as to frustrate thieves and reduce losses. And before you leave home, make arrangements with a reliable person whom you can contact for help in an emergency.

American Express probably issue the most reliable and easily negotiable travellers' cheques, have the most refund points in the world and possibly hold the record for the speediest reimbursements. If you don't have plenty of plastic to keep you going for the two to three weeks it can take to get replacement cheques or new funds via the bank, take these.

Play for sympathy

If you come face to face with your robbers, use all the communication skills you have picked up on your travels. Try humour. At least try to elicit their sympathy, and always ask them to leave items which will be of no immediate value to them but are inconvenient for you to replace. They are usually after cash, and valuables that are easily converted into cash. Try to get the rest back, and risk asking for enough money for a taxi fare if you feel the situation is not too tense. Acting mad can help, as can asking for help or advice. On being approached in Kenya, one man claimed to be a priest and put on such a convincing act that the robbers ended by giving him a donation.

Many thefts will be carried out (without your noticing) from your hotel room - or by pickpockets in a crowded street. Never use a handbag without a zip, and keep your hand over the fastener at all times. Robbers can still slit the fabric or leather, but the odds are lengthened against their success. Never carry anything valuable in the back pocket of your trousers or the outside pocket of a jacket. Even the top inner pocket can easily be picked in a crowd. A money-belt is the most secure method of carrying valuables, although even this is not foolproof.

Never leave valuables in a hotel room, even out of sight. A good thief will know far more tricks than you and is probably likely to check under the mattress or behind the drawers of the dressing table before searching elsewhere. As long as the hotel is fairly respectable and is not likely to be in cahoots with local criminals, put valuables in the hotel safe and make sure you get a proper receipt.

While on the move, never let your luggage out of your sight. Wrap the straps of your bag round your leg while sitting down (a good reason for a longer shoulder strap) so you can feel it if not see it. Lock or padlock everything. This will not deter the most hardened types, but should lessen the chance of casual pilfering. A slightly tatty case is far less inviting than brand new leather Gucci luggage.

Violence

Violence is usually committed with a view to robbery. My advice in this unhappy eventuality is to offer no resistance. It is virtually certain that those who inflict their hostile attentions upon you know what they are doing and have taken into account any possible acts of self-defence on the part of their intended victim. It may hurt your pride, but this way you live to tell the tale - and after all, if you are insured, the material losses will be made good by your insurance company following the submission of a police report of the incident.

In many poorer countries, it is advisable not to wear or hold anything that is too obviously expensive, especially at night. You should be particularly wary in Africa and South America. The most robbery-with-violence-prone city I know is Bogotá, Colombia, where in certain streets you can be 99 per cent certain of being attacked. Having had most of my worldly goods lifted off me - but not violently - in neighbouring Ecuador, I made sure I lost nothing else by walking Bogotá's treacherous streets with a naked machete in my hand. This is probably a little drastic, however, and not generally advised. You could become a target for the macho element - and you could get arrested for carrying an offensive weapon.

A British exporter robbed three times - once at gunpoint - in as many days in Rio spent his remaining week there avoiding favelas (shanty towns on the outskirts of the city where many thieves live) and making sure that he was in a taxi after nightfall (when local drivers start to shoot the lights for fear of being mugged if they stop). Sometimes rolled-up newspapers are thrust through quarter-lights and drivers find themselves looking at the end of a revolver or the tip of a sheath-knife.

One of the worst cities in Africa for theft is Dar es Salaam, where locals tell of Harlem-style stripping - a practice that is spreading across the continent anywhere cars or parts are in short supply. Drivers return to where they parked to find that their car's wheels, and often anything else that can be removed down to the windscreen and doors, have been removed. An expert gang can pick a vehicle clean in under ten minutes.

In 1977, I walked right across Peru not knowing that the region was infested with cattle rustlers with a reputation for killing without mercy if they thought they'd been seen. Occasionally, ignorance can be bliss. Since then, of course, the situation in Peru has worsened, the bandits being joined by guerrillas to make the mountains decidedly unsafe.

In urban areas, the best advice is to stay in the city centre at night. If it is imperative to move away from the lights, go by taxi and try not to go alone. And don't forget to press down the door locks when you get in. There are some countries - Egypt is a prime example - where other people just jump in if the car has to stop for any reason. They are normally just an extra fare, but you can never be certain.

If by some mischance you do find yourself walking along a remote, unlit road at night, at least walk in the middle of it. This will lessen the chances of being surprised by someone concealed in the shadows. And when you have to move over for a passing car, use its headlights as your searchlight over the next ten or 20 metres.

Protecting yourself from attack by carrying a firearm is not recommended. Even in those countries that do permit it the necessary papers are difficult to come by, and in countries where the law is ticklish over the subject of mercenaries, a gun of any sort could brand you as one. One traveller was arrested in Zambia just for having a bullet on him. In any case, the idea that a pistol under the car seat or your belt offers protection is usually nonsense. In many countries a gun is a prize in itself to a violent thief, who will make every effort to procure one.

What to do next

Consider what action you can take if you find yourself penniless in a foreign land. Report thefts to the police and obtain the necessary form for insurance purposes. You may have to insist on this and even sit down and write it out for them to sign. Whatever it takes, you mustn't leave without it. It may be essential to you for onward travel.

Local custom may play a part in your success. In Lima, for instance, the police would only accept statements on paper with a special mark sold by one lady on the steps of an obscure church found with the help of a guide. They have a way of sharing in your misfortune - or sharing it out, at any rate.

If there is an embassy or consulate, report to them for help. In a remote spot you are more likely to get help from the latter. You may have to interrupt a few bridge parties, but insist on your right to be helped. In cases of proven hardship, they will pay your fare home by (in their opinion) the most expedient route, in exchange for your passport and the issue of travel papers. If your appearance suits, they may also let you phone your family or bank for funds.

Have the money sent either to the embassy via the Foreign Office or to the bank's local representative, with a letter or cable sent to you under separate cover. This will give you proof that the money has been sent when you turn up at the bank. I have met many starving people on the shiny steps of banks being denied money which is sitting there in the care of a lazy or corrupt clerk - or in the wrong file. Other countries do not always use our order of filing and letters could be filed under 'M' or 'J' for Mr John Smith. Have your communications addressed to your family name followed by initials (and titles if you feel the need).

An effective, proven way of moving on to a more sophisticated place or getting home, is to phone your contact at home and ask him to telex or fax air tickets for a flight out. They pay at home and the airline is much more efficient than the bank. This has the additional advantage of circumventing the Mickey Mouse currency regulations that various countries impose. Algeria is a perfect example. The country insists that air fares be paid in 'hard' currency, but the money transferred into the country is automatically changed into Algerian currency as it arrives. So you then have to apply to the central bank for permission to change it back (at a loss) in order to buy your air ticket. A telexed ticket can have you airborne in a couple of hours (I've done it).

Local generosity

In desperate situations, help can be obtained from people locally. These fall into two main groups. First come expatriates, who generally live unusually well and are often not too keen on the image that young travellers seriously trying to meet the local scene create, but once you have pierced the inevitable armour they have put up from experience, they are able to help.

They often have fax facilities at their disposal, business connections within or outside the country and friends amongst the local officialdom. Their help and experience is usually well worth having.

The come the missionaries. From experience I would suggest you try the Roman Catholics first, as the priests often come from fairly poor backgrounds themselves and have a certain empathy with empty pockets. Other denominations tend to live better but put up more resistance to helping. (I came across an American/Norwegian group in the Cameroons suffering from a crisis because the last plane had left no maple syrup). Swallow your principles or keep quiet and repay the hospitality when you can. They often need their faith in human nature boosted from time to time. You will receive kindness from other temples, mosques and chapels and can go there if you are starving. Again, do not abuse assistance and repay it when you can.

Real desperation may reduce you to selling blood and branded clothes, in which you have thoughtfully chosen to travel, in exchange for cheap local goods. But local religious communities are the best bet and usually turn up an intelligent person who can give advice.

In Third World countries, being poor and going without is no big deal - you may be in the same boat as some 90 per cent of the population. A camaraderie will exist, so you will probably be able to share what little is available. It would be wrong to abuse such hospitality, but do be very careful about hygiene, so as not to compound your problems with illness.