Following each trip I take, I always make a few notes about mistakes I made or things that would've made the trip better so that I can use that on my next trip. Here's what I jotted down after Indonesia.
-Pack many business cards. Much easier and more reliable than scribbling email addresses on paper
-Bring my phone charger. I thought USB charger would be best, but was wrong. Checking the country's voltage and socket shape would be much more sensible. Finding computers and having enough time to fully charge my phone was a hassle.
-Have a phone that can be used with a local sim card. The 'getting away from it all' doesn't have to be so inconvenient I think. On a month trip I met a lot of people that I saw, or tried to see, regularly. Without phone contact it's much harder to arrange meet-ups, or very expensive to call from internet cafes/hotels.
-Keep a daily journal. The best and busiest days are those on which you forget to write.
-Prepare MUCH better. I've always been pro free-travel, but an itinerary would have helped maximise Ronan's short time there as well as keeping me busy enough to not get lonely.
-If possible, travel alone first and meet friends for second part of trip to prevent loneliness. Actually I knew this already, but because of climate I asked the lads to come out at the start of September. Next time I'll be more selfish.
-Learn some of the local language BEFORE going. Specifically: greetings, thanks, numbers and price negotiating, as well as one funny phrase like 'oh my god'.
-Pack many business cards. Much easier and more reliable than scribbling email addresses on paper
-Bring my phone charger. I thought USB charger would be best, but was wrong. Checking the country's voltage and socket shape would be much more sensible. Finding computers and having enough time to fully charge my phone was a hassle.
-Have a phone that can be used with a local sim card. The 'getting away from it all' doesn't have to be so inconvenient I think. On a month trip I met a lot of people that I saw, or tried to see, regularly. Without phone contact it's much harder to arrange meet-ups, or very expensive to call from internet cafes/hotels.
-Keep a daily journal. The best and busiest days are those on which you forget to write.
-Prepare MUCH better. I've always been pro free-travel, but an itinerary would have helped maximise Ronan's short time there as well as keeping me busy enough to not get lonely.
-If possible, travel alone first and meet friends for second part of trip to prevent loneliness. Actually I knew this already, but because of climate I asked the lads to come out at the start of September. Next time I'll be more selfish.
-Learn some of the local language BEFORE going. Specifically: greetings, thanks, numbers and price negotiating, as well as one funny phrase like 'oh my god'.
1 comment:
good ideas! especially the phone bit
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