Actually travelling, get to know the world, other cultures, languages, customs, etc was always my objective in life and it surprises me a lot when I meet people who avoid trips at all costs. Coming from a huge country like Brazil in which a flight to Europe or North America can take at least 8-11 hours and it is expensive make it not that easy for all to travel, but I Know people who live in Europe, where in a 1-2hrs flight they can reach another country, they have the means for that, but they don't go!
How comes someone wants to stay locked inside of its own box for a life time?
Anyway, that's not me and travelling is my life and will always tell people to go for it, but you have to prepare yourself in advance. Before you go, take a look on a quick checklist if you are travelling abroad:
* Check on your passport validity
* Check on the weather and best seasons to go
* Check on Visa and vacination requirements for the countries you wish to visit
* Check on security risks. Come on, if there is a war in the country you want to visit or just happened an earthquake, tsunami whatever you dun wanna go there right?!
* Think about money: check the currency used and whether it is easy to get an ATM or to use a credit card where you go. There are countries where you have to get cash money with you otherwise you are dead
* If possible buy tickets and book hotel in advance. If you want to have a more flexible schedule be sure at least to have your tickets bought and then play around with your stay
* Never travel without a travel Insurance coverage. It is cheap and a bless in case of need.
* Dig informations about the places you want to visit on internet. Nowadays anyone has a huge net of people around the world... Use then, ask for tips and if possible even meet them. If you don't have such contacts go to your facebook/twitter account and just add people from the area you want to visit... and start asking asshole...
* Bring comfortable shoes
* Bring your laptop: you never know when you can get wifi available and check your e-mails on the run or even share pictures of your adventures. It is very useful also to keep your relatives/friends informed on your whereabouts and saves money with phone calls. Use Skype to call back your family but dun forget to put some credits on it in advance if you want to call people who don't have a Skype account.
* Mosquitos: think about them... I dun leave my house without an insect repellent if I am heading for a region of jungle, rivers, beaches etc (u can also buy it there, but dun forget). The itching wound could get infected and you would have to expend part of your trip at the hospital (like my brother in law after an elephant ride in Thailand)
* Medicines and creams: if you take regular medicines, of course, bring them along. Don't forget your creams if you are into that... you will miss them, trust me!
* If you want to save money with hotels, travelling at night helps a lot but it depends on where you are. In some countries like India, Cambodia, Laos, etc where infrastructure is not good, to travel at night could become your worse nightmare.
* Get a list of your preferred places of interest: if you are a museum rat it would be regretful be in Paris and miss the Monalisa
* Bring universal power adaptors once plugs vary from country to country
* Naturally the check list will depend upon the place you are visiting, but that's the basic and as a general rule, google and get as much info as possible in advance
Take into consideration that the more open you are for new challenges the easier it's gonna be to take the pill, but you have really to go deep for it. Forget your eating/drinking habits and maybe even your way of dressing up. Am not saying for you to losing up your own self, but get out of your bloody comfort zone and make a huge experience out of it!
I have an auntie for instance who have been to Portugal: she haven't had neither "bacalhau" (cod fish) nor Port Wine and I asked myself why the hell she has been there in a first place?
After all the preparations and expectations you just arrived at your vacation spot
First of all be aware that all you plans will change... why? Because that's life! It may start with a crazy taxi ride from the airport to the hotel, a thing that is usually as simple as having an orange, but I got news for you babe: depending on where you are it can bring you a huge headache, so first of all if you haven't booked a taxi or a pick up prior to you arrival and you are not exactly in a first world place, go to the information desk and get it now before you leave the airport...
Later when you get more familiar with the place you can play around with transportation and have fun with that.
The problem is that we usually tend to take for grant things we have back home but I had very nasty experiences on a simple "getting a taxi task" in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and China only to mention a few. If you get yourself in this situation always ask/negotiate the price before, take a deep breath and get in...
The ideal if you are heading to a third world country and you don't know anybody there is to book a taxi with the hotel.
You survived the taxi ride and got at your hotel. First of all, make sure whether what you get is what you paid for. Don't be afraid to ask for a room change if it doesn't please you. Once in, open your bags, make yourself comfortable, have a drink, take a shower and get prepared for the adventures ahead.
Look around and get familiar with the facilities and prices of your hotel but be sure that most of things you can get cheaper outside.
Go for the fancy or touristic most famous places if you wish but whenever you have a chance talk to the locals and expats alike and change information. You can get amazing tips, but be aware if the local is not driving you to his auntie's rest... If they start to insist for you to go, stop and get out. It happens quite often in poor countries where people has no other source than making money on tourists.
Bangkok is very famous for that...
I got a very nice tip from a local in Beijing when searching for a day trip to the Great Wall. Usually travel agents take you to the most touristic spots which may be very crowded, but I went for a trip in a country side of Beijing and reached the Great Wall through an isolated spot from a farm on the footstep of it and had to hike it, but after that there were 3 hours of walking over it with the most amazing views and tranquility once only us, a group of 10 people were there...
Unexpected traffic jams can bring you nasty headaches. Talk to the locals and plan with plenty of time for instance to go to the airport... In Bangkok a ride to the airport which usually takes 40 minutes could become hours if there is traffic jam...
Feel kind of stupid mentioning it but don't leave your belongings unattended. If you need an ATM go for a huge shopping mall whenever possible and keep watching if someone is watching you. For me, being a Brazilian it is part of my genetics but some people are so unaware of it... Have some friends who live in a very peaceful country side in Germany... I tell you: they will not survive 10 minutes in São Paulo if left alone...
Don't be afraid to try new things mostly when it comes to food. You don't need to eat fried crickets if you don't want but be aware you will never know how it tastes like and that you had the chance to do it but you haven't...
I myself rather regret something I have done than to die imaging how it would have been!
thanx for sharing.. and my favorite sentence is:I myself rather regret something I have done than to die imaging how it would have been!
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