1. Never EVER travel to a foreign country without a map.
Unless part
of your travel's purpose is to get lost and you truly want an adventure.
On my first
trip overseas, my mother and I went to Bangkok (and a little side trip to Cambodia). It was just the two of us and
we didn't bring any map with us.
Stupid as
this may sound, but we learned it the hard way.
I only
downloaded an Android app prior to our trip, Triposo, which I mainly used for
suggestions of a list of tourist attractions that we could visit during our
stay there. The map feature in the app was pretty useless so it was not of
useful value at all.
You might be wondering how the heck were we able to go around in Bangkok and even to Cambodia. How did we
survive going around Bangkok and traveled to some tourist spots?
Good thing Bangkok's BTS provides free maps of Bangkok so we were able to visit some tourist
attractions.
Even though
the Triposo map was not useful, some tourist attractions listed provided
descriptions and directions on how to get there, so some places were a breeze
to visit.
Say for example, going to Ancient City Muang Boran is accessible via BTS Bearing station and a 30-minute taxi ride.
Also, we
relied on my itinerary research prior to our visit to Bangkok and LOTS OF TALKS AND CHATS AND LOST IN TRANSLATION MESSAGES FROM THAI LOCALS on how we could reach some tourist spots.
2. You can travel if you know how to speak in English.
Not really,
but quite. They say you could travel the world if you know how to speak in
English, Spanish, (French, and now.. Chinese?)
I have read
from a travel blog that only knowing English is not enough, but I guess it
would suffice. Most would know basic English like 'yes' and 'no', but I think
the most basic language that everyone must possess before travelling is to know
how to speak in English.
Being a
Filipino, English is not my mother tongue. Being educated in private schools
where the language medium used is English, my second language is English. But since I usually use Filipino in
conversations, I would admit that I am not 100% fluent with my English, so
travelling to Thailand and Cambodia was really good for me because I am truly
able to practice my English.
3. Always have US DOLLAR currency with you other than your local currency when travelling overseas.
Just to be
sure, our DISAPPOINTING experience in Thailand was that only a few currency
exchange and Thai banks accept Philippine Peso to be exchanged to Thai Baht.
They seldom have Peso exchanged. At first we thought that we're safe carrying around our Philippine Peso only to find out that currency exchanges in the Suvarnabhumi do not accept PhP.
I don't
blame the Government of Thailand at all for not accepting Peso. I think it
serves as an eye-opener to our Government, knowing that our money has no value
at all to them. And when asked why they do not accept Peso, they just respond
with a passive facial expression. Just because.
In fact, it
was not only Thailand that doesn't accept Philippine Peso. On our fourth day of
our vacation, we also went to Cambodia. Upon arrival that night, we searched
for currency exchange booths only to realize that they do not also accept
Philippine Peso. They accept baht, US dollar, Chinese Yuan and even Vietnamese
Dong, but not Peso.
Funny, right? And now the Philippine Government tells us
that the Philippine economy is improving. Seriously though, I'm not anti or
anything, and I just want to say this in my own opinion since this is my blog,
heck. Isn't our president aware of these things? Doesn't he feel any resentment
about this at all?
It's just
saddening to realize that as a tourist, your local currency could not be
accepted.
Just like
English being the universal language, it is safe to se of the 'universal'
currency when travelling.
4. Always put your documents in a kit. If possible, put it in a handy medium-sized waterproof envelope. (more about this in my next post)
Always have
a kit where your passport, plane ticket/s, arrival/departure cards, hotel
address are all placed together.
Also, have
your passport photocopied just to be sure.
5. If travelling to non-English speaking countries, always make sure to have the local address that you're staying at written in local characters and language.
Have your
address written into translated characters and language.
This would
be useful for asking directions, for riding the taxi, and other public
transportations.
6. Eat the local food.
It never
hurts to try new things sometimes. Local cuisine is part of a country's culture
and tradition. Eating the local cuisine is where you could truly immerse
yourself in another's culture. Their local cuisine goes way back, and it's like
trying to get a glimpse of that country's history.
You don't get
to fully enjoy your trip if you don't eat what the locals eat.
7. Research on the country you're going to visit before your departure date.
Believe me,
you are going to enjoy your trip better if you've done even just a little
research on the places that you'd like to visit when you're there.
In our trip
to Cambodia Siem Reap, I honestly did not do any research about it since I
honestly thought that we would not have time to visit the place, hence I was
ignorant on what it was and its role in Cambodia and why it was titled as a
UNESCO heritage site.
Okay, so I
only knew that it was the largest religious site, and that was it.
Having a
brief background on what it is, what is its purpose, etc would make your
experience better.
8. Only pack the essential things.
I know this
is an issue for girls/women since as much as possible you don't want to repeat
any clothes because it will be seen in your pictures when you post it to
Facebook ^^ and you want to look your best even when travelling.
For 'serious'
travelers who care more about adventures than their physical appearance,
getting the essential things wouldn't be a problem, but for others, this is an
issue.
I like
travelling and I love clothes and this issue was a problem for me. The weight
limit for every passenger when we went to Bangkok was 15 kg rather than 20, so
keeping my luggage lightweight was a big deal.
Because of
this, I learned how to only bring the essential things with me and ditch out
the others. Even though I believe I was able to pack the most important things,
I believe I could still have reduced my things to 8 or 9 kilograms at that
time.
Toiletries
were a problem, other than the clothes.
I was not
able to use most of the things that I brought during our trip to Bangkok, honestly.
It turns out, what you think you might need, you wouldn't be able to use. I
brought lotion, sunblock, and others but the truth is, I did not even touch
those things!
Other than a
first aid kit, bring only the toiletries that you use every day.
Now, the
clothes issue. I suggest bring lightweight tops. Since Thailand was like the
Philippines, bringing light clothing was not a problem. I have no idea what to
pack for colder countries, so.. I'm probably not the best person to give tips on what to pack for colder countries.
Of course,
the amount of clothes you will bring depends on the number of days or weeks you're
staying, but for a week, here was what I packed.
Bring at
least a dressy top for a classy dinner, maybe. Casual tops when you're out and
about touring (I LOVE v-necks, or pastel-colored dolman tops with light
fabric), clothes to sleep in (1 or 2
tshirts maybe which you could use again and again since you don't sweat that
much when you're sleeping), a cardigan or jacket.
For bottoms,
it wouldn't be a problem since you could use bottoms more than once and it
wouldn't be that obvious.
I brought
with me 2 pairs of pants or jeans (jeans are an all-around miracle from the
fashion gods), 1 or 2 pairs of shorts as sleepwear, 1 or 2 pairs of shorts (I
brought jean shorts and khaki-colored pairs since these go with anything in any
color, or even white).
I am not a
skirt person, but I guess you could bring one if you'd like to dress up.
Do not worry
about bringing too much clothes. Our technique was that we used the clothes
that we bought after going shopping in Bangkok.
9. Be vigilant, use your common sense and do not fall into tourist scams.
You might
think that not being involved in a scam is impossible because things like these
just happen and you don't control everyone's actions, but in my experience in
Bangkok and Cambodia, spotting a potential scam is easy, okay not really, but
you just have to use your common sense.
Use your
basic instincts. If you feel that someone is trying to get you ripped-off,
trust your instinct.
Use your
common sense, guard your money, and don't just AGREE to give your money/
payment right away. LEARN HOW TO SAY NO, and I mean, "NO" (I learned
this the hard way on our trip to Siem Reap)
Before
paying, be sure to use the service first before paying.
Be snob,
don't give too much damn of what others might say about you, it is your money
and you're in a foreign country, it is only right to be more than careful.
I have no
other tips on how to avoid getting scammed, but the most important things to
remember are
don't be too
gullible,
don't get
too much swept away if the locals seem too friendly,
be
persistent,
do things on
your own if you can, and
only ask
from the right and appropriate sources.
10. Travelling builds self-confidence.
Or at least
for me. Why? Being in Bangkok, I realized that only a few could speak English.
This might sound that I'm too proud but yes I guess one must be proud sometimes
that you know how to speak in English, unless it is your mother tongue.
I am a
Filipino and English is not our first language. Also, I am an introvert and I
admit that I am not outgoing. I sometimes feel timid to do things because I'm
afraid of what others might say.
After being
exposed to a place where not all know how to speak in English, I think knowing
how to speak in English in Thailand is a 'privilege' which boosted my self
confidence.
Enough of
this boasting.
Being in a
foreign land plus the fact that we have no maps with us, if you don't ask
questions, you don't get to your destination or worse, you don't get to go
home.
If we don't
ask around for directions, nothing will happen so asking for directions to
random locals was not a choice, but a must.
Also, it
boosted my self confidence since we are in a foreign land where nobody knows me
so I am free to do what I want and ask around without anybody criticizing me.
It feels good to be a tourist! HAHAHA
There were
no reasons to be ashamed since I know how to speak in English, and I'm a
tourist.
It builds
self confidence, really.
So here are
my 10 travelling tips/ lessons learned part 1 during my travel to Thailand and
Cambodia, hopefully I would be able to post a part 2 soon!!
See you guys
soon in my next post! :)
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