As I mentioned on my previous entry, I am not a frequent
flyer. But having some experience by going out of towns and out of countries, I
started to collect not just memories, but also tips for a happy trip. And while
collecting memories, you also starting to discover more about yourself.
In a simple way, I wanna share some of my useful travel tips
to help inspire you to put “traveling” in your priority list:
PLAN AHEAD. Some people might disagree with this.
Some of you may say, “don’t plan or else, it will never happen.” But planning
works well with me. Going for a trip is not a “free privilege”. You have to
consider everything from the stuffs that you will put inside your bag upto
expenses for the transportation, food, and accommodation. Especially if you are
going to some place wherein there will be festivals, book for cheap flight and hotels
in advance, or be ready to freak out and sleep in the streets.
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WEATHER WE KNOW. Coats and boots are for winter,
shorts and sun blocks are for summer. Don’t forget to consider the weather when
going out of town. But remember the culture as well. Middle East is a
conservative part of Asia and it is forbidden to wear clothes that shows to
much skin.
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STASH CASH. To cover your arse during emergency, make
sure to stash some cash in different places. You lost your wallet, credit cards
not working or ATM ran out of cash, you’ll be thankful you have some on your
socks, secret pockets on your bag, and nowadays, at the back of your cellphone
cases. Just make sure that if financial emergencies happen (like what I listed above),
call your bank right away.
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| Singapore / 2010 |
MEET LOCAL PEOPLE. Try to avoid conversation with
other travelers. Remember, you travel because you want to see the world. And the only people who can introduce the culture
to you are the homegrown people. You will learn a lot from them than with
anyone else. Don’t mind about language barrier, English is the universal
language and sometimes sign language is a bit more fun.
SCARF ATTACK. Believe me, scarfs always work. When we
went to Bohol to visit Baclayon Church, we were just wearing shorts since it
was such a sunny day. Thanks to our shawl, we didn’t need to take malong
outside the church. More than that, shawl, scarfs or malong can be used in so
many applications – protection from the sun, face mask, and much much more.
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| Vietnam / 2007 - Hong Kong / 2008 - Singapore / 2010 |
OBSERVE. Filipinos always look for a travel agent who
will arrange everything for them, schedules from dawn to dusk. When we went to Hong
Kong for a company outing, company CEO just bought us tickets, and booked for a
hotel. No tours included, no advance reservations. He just set a call time of 7
in the morning, and we walked around HK. We took pics on the streets, we went
to local pier, and you will see that there is more to experience in HK than
entering Disneyland. Sounds, commuters, the smell. It was kinda tiring but fun.
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| Camiguin / 2012 |
PACK a PIC. Of course, we love to take pictures,
selfies, groufies, wacky shots, stolen shots. Great photos are the greatest
souvenirs, whether it’s outside the hotel or in the middle of the street. Don’t
care what other people say. You travel not to look cool. You travel because you’re
not a fool, and you want to learn more.
SPLURGE IN A GOOD WAY. Before, people calls me “Kuripot”.
But now, they clearly understand that I wasn’t
kuripot after all. I am just practical saving for better things. And if you
want to travel, don’t just take photo and dip on a rooftop pool in your hotel
because it’s free. Go outside and try the local cuisine, buy some for your
friends back home. Even a simple cheap trinkets will make them smile. Try and
buy things that you will never get from other places. You travel not just to
take photos and selfies inside every toilet that you visit.
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FIT is FUN. OF course, traveling is quite exhausting.
But you don’t have to kill yourself. You need to take care of your body and
recharge to enjoy more. Make sure you use sunscreen protection, you’re hydrated,
and after a day-long tripping and traveling, treat yourself with a good food, a
nice shower and sleep early. A simple stretching and exercise in the morning won’t
hurt. Uploading a thousand photos on your facebook is not on your top priority
list. Don’t spend your remaining time doing things like this. They can wait.
TRAVEL MORE. "Oh no, it’s expensive! I can’t get off
my desk! Who will take care of the kids? Who will stay in the house?"
I read one quote and it says “Unfortunately most people who wait to travel the world never do”. You don’t
need to sell everything including yourself just to travel. PLAN and SAVE. Start
goint to places within your budget. Out of town? Cool! Out of country? Good
Idea! And you will just realize you are going far along the way. Iphone7 can
wait. Car remodeling can wait. New make-Up kit can wait. But the experience?
No, it cannot wait. And memories will not for you.
But most importantly, enjoy. Don’t let anything ruin your
day. Don’t let anybody destruct you. Smile. Laugh. Have Fun.
So go on. start being an avant garde, plan for your next
move and experience life outside your comfort zone.
Until my next Happy Tip, Happy Trip Blog.
