10 Things you should never forget when you travel
Most of us like to travel mainly because of the excitement provided by the discovery of new places, meeting new people and even new cultures. Sometimes we just take a trip to relax and to enjoy our spare time and get away from the routine. However not every trip is for pleasure and not everyone likes to make journeys. Because almost everybody at some point in their life has to make a trip to a foreign country or to a different part of their country, here is a list of things you should not forget when travelling. It is always better to take the time to think about where you are going and the situations you may face there and it is best to be prepared if not for the worst case scenarios, then at least for common unpleasant situations you may find yourself in. You may find it of great help or not but due to my past experiences (not necessarily all good or pleasurable), I strongly advice you to read the following lines.
1. PERSONAL ITEMS
We are going to try to look over the basic things that you must have on yourself when travelling. Let's start with the essentials. Double check before you leave that you have all personal items on yourself. You can lock your bags with a small lock and just carry around a small bag with the most important items. Also, if you don't want to have to pick your back from a million others looking just like yours, just apply a label on it with your name and even a label in the interior in case something happens during luggage processing. Driver's license, passport, some cash money, keys to your luggage, ATM cards and travellers checks can easily fit into a small bag that you will have on yourself at all times. Make sure you have the keys to your home and car or if you don't trust yourself not to lose them, spare yourself the trouble and leave them with a trustier friend.
If you plan to go away for more than a day or two you should properly secure your house. Trust me when I say you will not be able to properly enjoy your vacation knowing that your house might be robbed. It is an awful felling to come back from a lovely holiday just to find that all your things are gone and the house all turned upside down. Consequently you need to make sure your property stays safe while you are gone. There are many ways in which you can achieve this such as: asking a close friend to keep an eye on your house; installing a security system and (very important) try to make it look like you are at home. You can do this by leaving the curtains opened also buy light timers and leave a radio on.
2. HEALTH AND MEDICINE
It is quite important to make sure you are healthy before taking a long trip. After all you wouldn't want to spend your holiday lying in bed next to a box of tissues or even worse, in a hospital away from home. This is way you can visit your doctor before going, also you can take a legible prescription from him, especially if you are under treatment, to avoid any legal problems the consumption of some medicine may cause in some countries. It would be a pity to have to end your trip short, just because you are not able to find the right medicine, or because you have run into some legal problems.
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In addition make sure to pack a medicine kit you never know when you'll wake up in the middle of the night with a headache and no drugstore opened nearby. Your medicine kit would have to contain just the basic stuff, like some light cold medicine, some first aid band-aids, some basic pain killers in case you experience any head or teeth pains and, in case you have an allergy, go prepared and do not rely on local drug stores.
3. CELL PHONE OR INTERNET CONNECTION
Many have the opinion that when you go in a holiday you must leave your cell phone at home. It's like a myth everybody knows that if you bring your cell phone along, maybe you won't get to have any have fun or you won't relax enough. Well I don't quite agree because you never know. Maybe you'll find yourself in a difficult situation one phone away from the way out or clarification and you don't have the possibility to make that call. I bet you're going to be sorry; after all, just because you take it with you, doesn't necessarily mean that you have to keep your cell phone on, all the time. If your destination is a foreign country, another good idea would be to make sure that your phone network is operational in that area. For that, just check with your network support team. If you are on a leisure trip and you decide to keep your cell phone on, do it to be able to get contacted in case of an emergency, let your co-workers know that you are on a vacation and you can't be disturbed. And in case you get bored you can call your friends and "brag" about how much fun you're having. If we are talking about a business trip, the cell phone is an absolute must. You can also connect to the Internet by a laptop, PDA or any other mobile device you may have.
My conclusion about cell phones: always good to have one
4. APPROPRIATE CLOTHING FOR ANY SITUATION YOU MAY ENCOUNTER
Whether you are going on a business or a leisure trip, when you forget to bring all the stuff you need, your trip can turn stressful awfully fast. Think ahead when packing your clothes. Think about what you might wear and what you might need. It is a good idea to check the climate of the country you are visiting before you actually get there so you'll know what to expect, otherwise you might be to hot or to cold and end up borrowing clothes from your friends (that probably don't fit you very well being either to big or to small) or spending additional money on more suited wardrobe items. You can surely use that money for something more fun like going to a club or enjoy the local attractions. Also, don't get too paranoid about this and over pack. This is a common trap. If you over do it, you will cause yourself additional stress with an over sized luggage and leave a bad impression on your companions if you are not going alone on the trip. By the way, extra socks and underwear are always welcome.
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COMFORTABLE SHOES
Try to bring a pair of comfortable shoes if you want to do a lot of sightseeing because brand new shoes can cause blisters and I don't think there is a person who enjoys walking around with a pair of shoes that hurt your feet. Your vacation is not the time to break in the new shoes you just bought. If you do so, try to bag also another pair of shoes, just in case.
Just like the clothes, you have to bring shoes for every occasion. If you consider that there is a chance to maybe attend to a fancy dinner or to an entertaining party, take along the appropriate clothing. It would be weird to be the only dressed improperly. Imagine getting an invitation to an elegant, chic restaurant where tie and jacket is mandatory and you don't have only jeans and a t-shirt and the only thing you can say is that you are just visiting. You could miss a wonderful evening not to mention the embarrassment when the doorman won't let you get in a classier restaurant.
6.CASH AT HAND
It is always a good idea to have some cash on hand for a late night snack, drink or an afternoon tea depending on your mood. Usually the majority of people forget to bring their personal items such as toothbrush, shaving tools spray deodorant etc and it is always in the last moment when you actually need to use this stuff, that you remember you've forgot them at home. Then, things can take a turn for the worse and evolve in an embarrassing situation where you find yourself forced to borrow someone else's toothbrush without them actually knowing of course. As I have said before, local currency is an advantage if you are travelling abroad, although dollars are a very accepted denomination in any part of the world. Check for currency trade level in advance, so you don't get hustled out of your money and never exchange anywhere else than in a bank.
7. THE ITINERARY
Although you don't actually have to write it down and follow it exactly down to the last second, the itinerary is very important and you should carefully plan your stay ahead. If you are on a business trip, your schedule is already made and things are easier for you. Remember that your pre planned itinerary is there to help you do as much as you can during your stay, not to pose any restrictions and not in any case to interfere if anybody else in the group has a different idea. When you are travelling in a different country you have to try to keep an open mind and never settle for a strict itinerary because you have the wonderful opportunity to submerge yourself in a different culture and lifestyle.
8. MAP AND DIRECTIONS
Another important item that you should have in the little personal bag would be a map of your destination place. This could come in handy if you are to do any driving yourself and especially if you are overseas.
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Again, try not to over do it and become a walking tourist cliché by going around holding your map open all the time. Also, a guide book would help you a lot around an unknown place. You might actually take a look inside the guide book before you leave or on the way there. Guide books usually war you about local particularities like for example things to stay away from or local electrical system characteristics that may damage your electronic equipment.
The insurance is another must when going on a trip. It has to be on the top things in your checklist when planning for the travel. This will come in handy when you want to rent a car, or flight insurance when you take a plain flight.
9. EMERGENCY KIT
If you are a long way from home, it is wise to take all the precautions necessary just in case disaster strikes. This means that you've got to have enough money on you to get you though a couple of days in case you can't use the other means of payment. Also, a list with the most important phone numbers would be in order. For this, do not rely on any electronics, just do it the old fashioned way with pen and paper. The list should include the numbers of your friends or family, your local contact in case you have one and the local services like police and ambulance that could land you a hand in case anything unexpected happened.
10. CAMERA
A photo camera or a camcorder is very light and won't take up much space in your luggage but it will make a world of a difference when sharing special events and memories with co workers at the water dispenser or with the family and loved ones.
Taking a vacation means different things to different persons. Some people like to visit every major tourist objective while others simply like to spend all day relaxing on a beach or in a pool at the hotel. Personally I think a little a bit of both is best. To make your holiday more fun, try to make as much as possible from the necessary preparations before you actually leave. This involves booking a flight, choosing a hotel that best suite your accommodation preferences, view a map of the region and do a little research about the destination, rent a car in advance, and if visiting a foreign country you might want to have some local currency on you. Nowadays, most of these things can easily be done over the internet from the comfort of your own office or home, it will just take a few minutes of your time, and it will certainly make a great difference and improve your vacation. After all you do not want to find yourself in a foreign country where almost no one speaks English having no idea where your hotel is, how to get there or where you can exchange your money. Even if you book a room in advance and prepare everything, have a backup plan in case something goes wrong and you have to find an alternative place to stay or means of transportation.
