5 ways to avoid travel hassles

Report from Asia News Network  dated Thu, Mar 17 2011

 

5 ways to avoid travel hassles

 

By Jofelle P. Tesorio

For any traveller, ample preparation helps to avoid some hassles.

Summer is already beckoning in most parts of tropical Asia. The travel bug in you now starts to rummage through old travel books, the Internet and asking people around where and how to spend the much awaited summer vacation.

You have saved half of your salary for the last six months and you are ready to take the plunge, try new experiences, learn new cultures and meet people. But wait... don't go just yet. There are a few things a traveller must do before, during and after vacation. An ample preparation helps ease travelling to avoid some hassles.

For some people, preparing for a much needed vacation, whether it is just within one's country or outside, is a must. Others would take at least six months to prep themselves up. For a single woman, it's like preparing for her wedding with details down to the last two-piece bikini in check.

1. Pick your destination

First things first. Decide which places you want to visit according to your budget and time-frame. You can list down the countries you haven't been to or want to visit again. After writing them down you can narrow the list according to your preference. You don't want to visit a place that really doesn't catch your fancy or imagination. If you have really set your eyes on going to Bali or the exotic Sri Lanka, then by all means go. Don't go to a place just because there is a cheap flight going there.  

2. Find your flight

After doing the list, check the Internet for flight information. If you are travelling within Asia, look for budget airlines that have direct flights and more connectivity. AirAsia (airasia.com), Cebu Pacific (cebupacificair.com), Tiger Airways (tigerairways.com) and Jet Airways (jetairways.com) are among budget airlines that fly regularly to major Asian destinations.

AirAsia is based in Kuala Lumpur and have subsidiaries in Thailand and Indonesia. Cebu Pacific is Philippine-based while Tiger Airways is based in Singapore and Jet Airways in India. Knowing the hubs of these airlines will give you an idea where you can start or end your journey. Major airlines like Thai Airways (thaiairways.com), Philippine Airlines (philippineairlines.com), Malaysia Airlines (malaysiaairlines.com) and Singapore Airlines (singaporeair.com) sometimes throw away cheap promotional flights.

When you check the budget airlines, also compare their prices with regular airlines. With a few dollars difference, you may want to opt for comfort, food and entertainment onboard. It is another thing if you want to hop from one city to another. That probably means taking different modes of transportation.

Say, for example, you want to do the Mekong trail-Thailand, Viet Nam Cambodia and Laos. Your ideal first stop would be Bangkok then you continue your travel by train or bus to Laos, to Viet Nam and then to Cambodia. You may reenter Thailand using land borders from Laos or Cambodia.

There are hundreds of sites on the Internet on how to do a combined trip, with expert tips from seasoned travellers.

You can also join travel forums to get updated tips.

3. Book your accomodation

The next thing to do is check hotels. Do you want a low-key accommodation or something high-end? A quick check at sites like agoda.com or asiarooms.com would give you an idea of the price range and location of different hotels. Check hostelworld.com for a listing of hostels in different cities. Of late, hostels have reinvented themselves into flashy enclaves for travellers who want affordable and clean rooms but who don't mind sharing the room with others. Hostels are actually manna from heaven to those who cannot stand (but have no choice) cheap, cockroach infested, grimy rooms.

4. Decide on your itinerary

Now you have a destination, plane ticket and hotel. Another thing to worry about is what kind of activities you want to do. Do you want to be laid-back or you want some adrenalin rush? Do you want to party all night or you want some quiet moment practicing yoga or meditation? The choice is all yours. Most of the countries in Asia have diverse activities and interests that suit every Jane and Joe.

5. Pack the essentials, travel light

On your final preparation, there's an issue of things to bring. Summer is perfect to pack light. There is really no need to bring two pairs of jeans as you would be wearing a lot of shorts. You also have to leave some space in your luggage for souvenirs and gifts for loved ones back home.

Here are some of the bare necessities that a wise traveller should carry around:

1. Light clothing that easily dries up.
Bring jeans that can also double as shorts. Remember the ones with zipper just over the knees? For women, light skirts are ideal. Sarong is a must-have too because you can use it as blanket on the beach, wrap-around and towel. If you need to bring a towel, get the one that is light and easy to dry. For women, it's now a must to pack one little black dress in case you want to hit the nightlife without looking too shabby in shorts.

2. IDs other than passport.

Bring your driver's licence or a standard ID that indicates your age, blood type and emergency numbers. Most of the time you won't need to carry your passport around so just have a copy in your bag and keep it safe somewhere. In lieu of the passport, carry your other IDs when you go out.

3. Minimal bathroom amenities.

Don't bring the whole bathroom. Many groceries now have a travel section that sells everything in small sizes. The small bottles of shampoo, lotion and conditioner you get from hotels in your past travels are ideal to bring. Or buy the ones in sachet. You don't have to check-in these because they are below 100ml.

4. Medicines.

A pack of emergency health kit is a traveller's best friend. Having a stock of medicines for different unforeseen ailments such as a bout with diarrhoea during an 8-hour bus ride to Laos will really do wonders. Bring enough for headache, insect bites, motion sickness and dysmenorrhea (for women of course).

 

5. Plastic bags or zip locks.
You will need them for your bathroom amenities, wet clothes and other things you don't want mixed with the rest of your stuff. They also protect your precious gadgets from water, sand and dust.

6. Extra light bag.

When your luggage is already filled, you can use this as hand carry. This also serves as your shopping bag when you buy souvenirs. Refuse plastic bag as much as possible. You can still be environment friendly while having a vacation.

7. Padlocks and nylon safe locks.

Buy the kind with number combination and not the ones with keys. There's always a tendency to lose the keys and you will end up breaking the bag. Just always remember the combination. Safe nylon locks can be found in hardware shops. They are used to keep people from poking in the pockets of your bag.

8. Fully charged batteries, chargers, additional memory cards.
These days, the only place you can't find a shop selling memory cards are in very remote areas. But they're twice as expensive. So better stack some with you. Buy memory cards with a maximum capacity of 2 gigabytes. Having three to four 2-gig memory cards distributes your pictures evenly and lessens the risk of your cards to get corrupted.

9. Travel book with pictures.
Bookstores have a wide variety of travel ideas. One of my favourites is a wordless travel book. All you have to do is point at the pictures to communicate. This is very handy in places where English is not widely spoken.

10. Sense of adventure and fun.
Travelling is all about trying new things, broadening horizons and having tonnes of fun so you go home rejuvenated and recharged.