Part 1: Decide, Getting Your Info Right and What to do next!
First of the thought of travelling is about the money. Money is always an issue when deciding where to go, where to stay, how to reach there, how much do we need there and many more other worries that involves the money issues. What doesn’t involved money, right? But, money is not the main issue or concern if you know how to do it right.
How do we do it right?
That would the question that you are asking now? There’s a lot of ways to travel. And, there are also many definition of what is traveling. To name a few; Luxury Travel, Budget Travel, Religious Travel, Business Travel and so on.
First question to ask yourself is what category you fall into. Anyway, as stated in the title, we’ll talk much more on budget travelling. Budget travelling can also gives great satisfaction if you know how to.
Budget traveling involves a lot of advance planning, at least one month before your actual departure date. And, assuming you already know where your next destination is and how you are getting there (**by budget airline, by bus, by boat, or by car)
Now, you have to read a lot, research a lot and listen a lot. Read and research a lot of your destination country’s tourism pages, travel logs and join travel forums where you can get information free online. Many of the experience budget travelers are willing to share their experiences and opinions. And, you never know that you might meet an online friend that is heading the same destination and they don’t mind swapping whatever information that they have collected. Ask questions in the forums and you will get lots of good tips and replies from people all around the world. Listen to friends that have already been there and done it. But, of course don’t take whatever they say blindly because I’m sure it could be their first trip there too and there is always trial and error. And, get hold of a good travel guide book. Don’t get those that only talk about the particular place that you are heading but get hold of the guide book that talks about the whole country.
Example: You plan to go Bangkok, get a travel guide book that is on Thailand.
This would be for future investment in case; you plan to go to other parts of Thailand in the future. Don’t just grab the first book you see at the book shop but stay in the book shop awhile, get the assistant from the bookshop to open the book you want and browse through it, thoroughly. There are many different brands and publishers that are doing on travel guide books. And, truthfully not all are good. But, again, trial and error make you smarter in choosing your next good guide book. And, if you really can’t afford it, just go hang around the book shop and get enough information that you want on the place. (**Don’t say we teach you here!)
So, what’s next? Gathering all relevant your information prior your trip:
Information Checklist: (Things you should take note of before your trip)
1. What to pack?? (How’s the weather *World Climate going to be like over at the destination you are planning to visit?) – Always pack lightly, remember you can always get what you need there. And, you aren’t going for a fashion show, so, it doesn’t really matters what you wear but in fact, more on whether you are comfortable in the clothing you are in.
You can check out at Travelite for more ideas and tips on how to pack lightly. Another interesting site to check out is Customise Packing List that gives you some basic guidelines of what to bring.
2. Currency – Always find out how’s the rates like. Sometimes, changing at your home country isn’t such a smart choice. Example: Sometimes, you get better rates if you change your money to US Dollar and change back to the currency you want when you reach your destination. Usually, you get better rates in town. But, always change some loose change for taxi or buses. Since you lose money with every transaction, convert large sums (unless the currency is depreciating rapidly), but no more than you’ll need.
3. Identification – It will be a wise move, you have a few identification card that can prove identity and the citizenship of the person (best if it has a photo attached; a passport and a driver’s license, or even, your student card. And, remember don’t put everything together.
4. Accommodation - Choosing your accommodation is also an essential that you should never overlook. It all depends on how you prioritize - price, location, facilities, cleanliness, and safety when deciding where to stay. You’ll basically have to choose whether to stay in a hotel, hostel HiHostel, guesthouse, dorm, campsite, or private home. Best to booked or email the accommodation that you plan to stay in to avoid any disappointment. You wouldn’t want to spoil the first day of your holiday worrying about a place to sleep.
5. Transportation – Knowing what is the best cheapest way to get from the airport to where you are staying would save you a lot of $$$ and precious time too. Sometimes, the accommodation that you are staying at, might offer good rates to fetch you from the airport to their place. It would be wiser too at times, to take the public buses and other mode of public transportation.
6. Travel Insurance - Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover financial and other losses incurred while travelling, either within one's own country, or internationally. Travel insurance can usually be arranged at the time of booking of a trip to cover exactly the duration of that trip or a more extensive, continuous insurance can be purchased from (most often) insurance companies, which covers all travelling during the period for which the insurance was obtained. Taken from Wikipedia
7. Passport and other important Documents’ Tips – The best is to photocopies all your passport, ATM, credit cards, IC, and all other important documents. Carry one set of copies, tuck away in a safe place, away from the originals documents, and leave another set at home. This is to help/assist you, in case you lose any of your important documents especially your passport, immediately notify the local police and the nearest embassy or consulate of your home government. And, to help in getting its replacement as soon as possible, you will need to know all information that have previously recorded and show ID and proof of citizenship.
8. Knowing your Embassy’s location or who to Contact in case of emergency. – Remember to get all this important details down before you leave your home country. And, in case you are going to a destination that might or have the tendency of civil war or natural disaster that might happen. It’s always a good idea to email the embassy at the destination that you are heading informing them on your arrival, how long you are going to stay and where you are going to stay. This would ease up their work in case, anything was to happen. Malaysia Embassies Abroad
9. Letting someone knows - And, it always best to let someone knows where you are heading and where you are staying.
10. Hide Your Money Away – Never put your money in one place. Best if you can hide it in a few places and make sure you remember where you put it. Leave some loose change in your wallet that you will use often. This is to prevent attraction from unwanted people.
Now, that you have decide and Getting Your Info Right, check your checklist, so what to do next?
Look out for Part 2 on “Once There, Tips Before you hit the Road!!”
(**I have been an avid budget traveller for the past 3 years. I have travelled mostly in South East Asia and will be visiting North East Asia in Feb 2007. The article above is written purely from my own experience (trial and error)and my own personal views and in no way represent the views of anyone in particular or MYHA**)
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