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Top 20: Travel Tips To Live By

1. ROOM SAFE / SAFETY DEPOSIT: One of the biggest fears about traveling abroad is having your passport stolen from you on the street or from your luggage in the hotel.  All travelers should use the room safe or safety deposit box at their hotels to store all valuable, to include passports. 


2. EMAIL YOURSELF: Your email account is a great place to store all manner of information that you might need on your trip.  Send an email to yourself with pertinent information that you will need or might need during your trip.  Then all this information (for examples, see Tips #2 and #3) will be available to you from any local internet cafe -- and it's very rare nowadays to travel somewhere with absolutely no access to the internet.


3. PASSPORT: Before taking your trip, however, you should scan in your passport and email it to yourself in jpeg format. 

This obviates the need to photocopy your passport a million times and leave it with friends, although it is advisable to keep a copy of your passport on your person while the original is back in your room safe.

Now the reason I specify using the jpeg format (rather than, say a pdf file) is that jpegs, which is the format for ordinary photographs found on a webpage, are readable by any computer that can view an internet page.  Regarding pdf files, I have been in numerous internet cafes in SE Asia that did not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed and therefore could not access pdf files.


4. ATM / CREDIT CARD: These are invaluable tools for the modern traveler and have made travelers checks mostly obsolete.  However, losing a card or having a card stolen is almost as bad as losing your passport.  The one thing you will want to do immediately is call the appropriate hotline to cancel your card.  Unfortunately those numbers are written on the back of the missing cards!

The solution is to send an email to yourself before your trip listing the emergency phone numbers for each ATM / credit card.


5. EXCHANGE RATES: Be sure to lookup exchange rates BEFORE you arrive in a country so you will know how much to withdraw from an ATM to pay for your airport transfer and for the first few expenses until you can find an ATM on the ground.

6. MONEY EXCHANGE: NEVER, EVER use the money exchange facilities you see to change your money into the local currency -- they always rip you off with the exchange rate.  Use ATMs to withdraw money directly from your account at the exact market exchange rate. 

In addition, make sure you visit the ATM before you leave the airport so that you have money to pay for your airport exchange, etc.  There will almost always be an ATM right outside of the baggage claim in an airport.


7. LARGE BILLS OF MONEY: Sort through your money so that you have small bills handy.  When you are trying to bargain in SE Asia, you never want to show that you have a large wad of money on you.  Keep your large bills separate in your wallet / money belt so that observers can only see a small amount of money.

When withdrawing money from an ATM, ask for an odd numbered denomination so that you get smaller bills as well. 

For example, if the ATM dispenses $20, $50, and $100 bills, ask for $60 or $80 so that you ensure you get some $20s instead of asking for $100 in which case you will only get a $100 bill.


8. AIRPORT FEES: Beware of airport arrival & departure taxes and visa fees.  Always carry dollars on you to pay for these unexpected fees.


9. AIRPORT TRANSFER: When available, and when you have booked your hotel in advance, arrange to have your hotel pick you up from the airport.  Many places in SE Asia (Hanoi in particular) have taxi or tuk-tuk or cyclo drivers who are in cahoots with a specific hotel in town.

They will claim to be taking you to your hotel, when in fact they will drop you off on the wrong side of town in front of their friend's hotel, or they will also claim that the hotel you picked is overbooked, and what do you know they know another place "just as good" as your original booking.  That is usually a bold-faced lie.

If you don't pre-arrange for an airport transfer, at least look up how much a typical taxi / bus / train ride from the airport will cost (obviously you must do this before you arrive at your destination).  This is especially important in SE Asia so that you will know how to bargain with the taxi drivers.


10. HOTEL: The first thing I do when I check into a hotel is get a copy of the hotel's business card so that I can find my way back.  Even if the hotel's card does not have a map on it (as many hotel cards do), it will at least have the hotel address on it which you can show to pedestrians and shopkeepers. 

This is important if you do not speak the local language, and is especially important if you are in a country that does not use the latin alphabet (rendering you illiterate), as this makes it very difficult to read street signs to find your way back. 

In worst case scenarios (you're drunk and lost in a strange city where you don't speak that language, can't read signs, and barely remember the hotel name) you can always pull out the card and hand it to a taxi driver to take you right to your front door.

11. TIPPING: Certain countries encourage tipping.  Others do not.  Some nations are insulted by the thought.  Make sure you look up the tipping policy (yes or no, and HOW MUCH to tip) of your destination country so that you know whether or not to tip people for various services.  For the countries covered on this website, check out our Asia-Palooza Tipping Guide. 


12. QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE: Although it's obvious, it certainly helps to write down the above information (tipping, exchange rates, airport transfer costs, ATM / credit card phone numbers) in a handy notebook that you can take along with you.  I like using a small Moleskine Notebook because it fits in your pocket, it's tabbed, and has a nice pouch for carrying things like hotel business cards.

I would recommend also writing down pertinent travel info such as confirmation numbers, flight times, hotel addresses and phone numbers. 

I also like to type up a short list of recommended restaurants, pubs, and sights with costs and opening times, as well as a mini-map of the destination.  I print up this list in small font and paste it into my notebook to create a mini-guidebook of my own, but with only the necessary details for my trip.  This eliminates the need to carry around a hefty Lonely Planet guide in full.

For ideas on what to put in your own quick reference guide take a look at the one I used.  Or you can modify and print up mine to take along.


13. RESEARCH: Before I take my trip, I go through a research phase where I try to use a variety of resources to learn about my destinations.  Everybody knows about the Frommer's, Fodor's, Lonely Planet, and DK Eyewitness (light on the info, but my favorite because of the 3-D maps and photos) guidebooks and use the recommended restaurants.  I look at those to some extent and note the ones that catch my eye on my Quick Reference Guide.

Many people also use the popular websites for TripAdvisor, Lonely Planet ThornTree Forums, and WikiTravel, which also have a lot of free information and personal accounts.

But my favorite resources are travel articles.  If you're lucky, you can catch an article about one of your destinations in a National Geographic Traveler, Conde Naste Traveler, or an airline magazine.  When this happens, I often tear the articles out (if I own the magazine of course) and then write down the particular details in my Quick Reference Guide. 

Another good source for travel articles are the travel sections of online newspapers.  My personal favorites are the NY Times and the Guardian (UK -- more European destinations).  These travel writers describe their experiences much more vividly and in more detail than a guidebook ever could. 


14. EATING OUT: A good meal is one of the best ways to observe and appreciate local culture.  One of the hardest parts to traveling is knowing where to get that good local meal.

Aside from conducting research beforehand, a couple simple rules applies to eating out: Avoid eating in empty restaurants because this is usually an indication of poor food quality -- if the locals aren't eating there, then why would you?  The converse applies as well: Eat where the locals are eating -- if the locals think it's good local food, then that's where you want to get your meal.


A few additional points for eating in Third World countries, especially in street stalls are:

Never drink tap water or drink milkshakes, smoothies, or drinks with ice cubes because that ice comes from the tap as well.

Avoid wooden utensils because they are the hardest to clean and most often are unsanitary.  When I was eating on the street in the SE Asia, I went as far as to bring disposable wooden chopsticks along with me (the kind you can get in packs of 20 for mere pennies in the US) and used them instead of the provided wooden chopsticks. 

Finally, when eating from street stalls, only eat fresh made-to-order food.  Avoid eating something that's been sitting out or hasn't just been made, because many street vendors save unsold produce for the next day, and then the next day, and so forth...(street vendors in SE Asia do not have to worry about Health Inspectors).

15. BRING MEDICINE: Trust me.  You don't want to be in the backwoods of SE Asia trying to look for a pharmacy.  On taht note, the major cities will have well stocked pharmacies, but smaller towns will not. 

Even if you don't THINK you'll need it, it always pays to have some immodium.  A packet doesn't take up a whole lot of space.

I'd recommend taking a small first aid pouch as well, or at least some Band-Aids and a tube of antibiotic ointment.  One of the other passengers on our boat in Halong Bay scraped up his shin and was bleeding quite a bit, and the ship did not have a first aid kit, nevermind the fact we were hours away from shore.  We ended up cutting up a table cloth and using that as a bandage.  Lesson learned: don't depend on others or even an adventure tour company. 


16. PHOTOGRAPHY IN THE RAIN: A great way to protect your camera when you're carrying it around in the rain is to use the free shower cap you get from the hotel as a protective hood.


17. SWIMWEAR: On every single trip I go on, whether it's winter or summer, I bring a swimsuit.  You never know when you'll need one for a hot tub / a swimming pool / a beach party / waterfall bathing / kayaking / tubing / swimming hole...you get the idea.


18. RAIN: In SE Asia, always pack an ultra-light type rain jacket and/or a small umbrella.  Note that many tuk-tuk / taxi drivers and hotels offer umbrellas for their guests. You can research the rainy season and look at the probability of rain on your trip, but that doesn't always work out in your favor.  In my case, I was lucky to bring mine along because it was raining quite profusely -- the rainy season, as the hotel manager explained to me, had started a month early.


19. LUGGAGE: Whatever luggage you use for your trip, but especially if you are using the ubiquitous rolling black suitcase, make sure to put a distinguishing marker on your luggage.  I like to use a luggage belt, which definitely sets my bag apart from others.  A luggage belt not only makes it easy to identify your bag, but may also provide an extra layer of security if the belt has a lock on it (admittedly quite limited, but thieves always go for the easiest target).

This distinguishing marker will make it much easier for airlines to find lost luggage, and also warns away fools who might grab the wrong bag.  This happened to a friend of mine in Laos, where a guy grabbed his bag and left before we got through passport control.  Luckily this man had left HIS bag in baggage claim, so we were able to track the guy down and switch bags. 

As an aside, the man was unapologetic and refused to take responsibility for the mistake.  In addition he left my friend's bag open so that the contents were dragging along the ground when he brought the bag back in to the airport. 

Luckily I write this webpage.  You can write to him at mjlubell@yahoo.com.


20. PURCHASING TICKETS AND PRINTING THEM OUT: Make sure you keep a printed copy of every e-ticket receipt for every single leg of your trip (each and every one of them from beginning to end), especially if you are traveling through Australia, specifically via Jetstar out of Cairns.  I had a painful experience with that terrible airline because I only had my current leg printed out.  Please read my travel story for the full details, as the explanation is far too long and far too absurd to add to this already long list.

Also beware of purchasing two legs of a ticket separately vice buying the whole trip altogether, even if it is cheaper and especially on Jetstar (in other words buying a ticket from Cairns to Darwin, and another continuing ticket from Darwin to Singapore might be cheaper than a single ticket from Cairns to Singapore) because that airline will not let you check your bags through to your final destination.  For more details, read up on my painful experience with Jetstar.