Travel Tips for a Thailand Tour

I am so not done yet with my Thailand Travelogue. If you’re not interested, then click away. But if, like me, you are interested in travel, then read on for some very important tips.

Tip No. 1: Read Up.

Long before you go to a new place, read up about it so you won’t be totally clueless when you get there. Read up on anything and everything about the place, as much as your time and resources will allow.

For me, a big portion of the fun of going on a trip is the planning and dreaming part. In all the trips I’ve taken before, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the places I would be going to, knowing the climate, the must-see-sites, the things-to-do, the food, the geography, the language, the culture, and everything else in between.

Tip No. 2: Shape up.

You’re going to be doing a lot of walking so be ready for that. Or for longer travels, you might have to roll/drag/push/carry your heavy luggage all over huge airports. The more comfortable your footwear is, the more enjoyable will be your trip.

Tip No. 3: Save up.

Needless to say, tickets, accommodation, food, entrance to tourist sites or activities, other incidentals, would cost some amount of money. Have a credit card and an international ATM card where you can deposit pesos in the Philippines and withdraw in the currency of the country that you’re in. The Bank of the Philippine Islands ATM card is honored in most countries.

Tip No. 4: Have a check up.

Yeah, why not? It’d be a pain if you’re in another country and you suddenly discover you’re diabetic or hypertensive or ischemic or something. Consult your local doctor to see if you are shipshape for possible long plane/boat/car rides, horseback riding, skiing, riding roller coasters, or things like that. Also, be sure to stock up on your medications as it might be difficult to get your medicines in other places. In some countries, you can’t buy most medicines without a prescription. Or, they might not have the brand names of the drugs that you are used to.

Tip No. 5. Pack up.

And wisely, too. Don’t bring too many clothes is a good rule, I think. Just enough so your pictures won’t look like you only had two shirts with you. If you run out of clean clothes, you can always get an “I’ve been to _____” shirt, right? Of the almost 700 pictures I took in Bangkok, I was in probably ten pictures only. Maybe I had brought only two shirts, perhaps?

And, oh, if you're going out of the country, be sure NOT to put your passport in your checked-in luggage. Some years ago, we went to Korea and a couple of my friends inadvertently did this and they had to retrieve their luggage that was already enroute to the plane's cargo storage.

And my cousin, Lorelie, whose work entails that she frequently travel all over the world, always has one complete change of clothes in her hand-carried bag. The need for this she learned the hard way when her luggage didn't arrive with her when her connecting flight was delayed for more than 24 hours in London.

Tip No. 5: Live it up.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Or, when you get there, be there. Savor every moment. Take the good deals and the lemons as well, because the perfect trip does not exist. And don’t keep looking for a wifi signal or an internet café to check your mailbox or to update your weblog. Once a day should be enough. ;p

Tip No. 6. Click up.

And away. Be sure that your camera has a memory card with lots of bytes or find some way to unload your pics so you can take some more.

Tip No. 7: Write up.

That’s what I’m doing now! Pictures do speak a thousand words but I still love word words.

Years ago when I started traveling, I didn’t have a weblog yet so I wrote emails almost everyday to my relatives and friends to relate the happenings of the day. It was grueling because we had very hectic travel schedules as we stayed in each place for just a few days so all activities had to be crammed in a short period of time. Yet my day did not seem complete if I had not chronicled all the wonderful things that we did/ate/seen/went to/experienced. Sometimes I wrote at night before going to sleep and sometimes I wrote in the morning before the start of our day’s adventures. I remember one morning, my relatives were all in the cars calling out to me and there I was still finishing some emails.

But alas, I was using an email account with a local service provider that went caput after a few years so my mailbox vanished into thin air and I could not retrieve the travel emails that I’ve sent. I sure hope blogger will not vanish this time!

So, actually this post is not just about travel tips when traveling to Thailand because it also applies to traveling anywhere else, in or out of the country. Actually, there are some very specific things about touring Thailand that I want to write about. Tomorrow then.