ATTENTION!!!
Today I'm gonna talk about ...
"How to travel Free & Easy!"
First, you need some courage, some money, some crazyyyy thoughts, and some supportive people!
And you are all set to go!
Nah, just kidding. It's easy, but not that
easy~
Alright, here's the elaborated part...
Step 1:
Apply for leave.
For my job, it's quite tough to get annual leave because we do get a few pregnant staff and there goes your annual leave slots. Did I even mention we start to "
chop" our annual leave slots in October for next year's slots? Yea, so I think you roughly get the idea about how difficult it is to get annual leave right?
So...after you have gotten your leave, think about where you wanna go. Finland? Iceland? Greenland? Sweden? That's
Step 2.
Ohhh, and don't forget to inform your family!
Then, for
Step 3! For me, I think I actually planned to go to
London like alone, in December 2012. So...I had about 8 months to save my money. And way plenty of time to plan! (:
...Which brings me to
Step 4: Plan your Itinerary.
Actually I was contemplating whether to put "
Book your tickets" as Step 4 instead of Step 5. But, I made a small mistake for my recent trip. So yea, hence "
Book your tickets" will be Step 5.
How do you plan your itinerary?
Go do research on the internet (duhh~). Tourism websites. I believe most countries have their own Tourism websites. Or
TripAdvisor?
Lonely Planet?
Guidebooks.
Blogs.
YouTube. Don't be surprised! You can roughly get the idea of where to go by looking at videos.
Google Maps. It's good if you know how to use
Microsoft Word,
Paint.
Learn some of their language, or gestures.
Step 5:
Book your tickets.
As you guys know, I'm the
kiasu type. Going to different websites almost everyday to check out the air tickets prices is my thing. Unfortunately, my job doesn't allow me to book air tickets way in advance! Only like 2-3 months before I fly.
But thank God! Airlines do offer last minute deals...(:
Some websites I recommend,
Zuji,
Chan Brothers.
Once you know where you wanna go, and the duration of your trip, quickly book your tickets!
For my London trip, I booked 10 days. But
alamak, too short. I've included too many things and now it's kind of squeezy.
Another Tip: Are you willing to sacrifice your comfort? If you are willing, go ahead to book budget flights.
But if you aren't willing, you can consider joining "frequent flyer" programs. The groups which I know of is Star Alliance. If I'm not wrong, I think they are the largest group in the world. Another one will be One World. Next, Sky Team. Choose one you think you will benefit the most from, or based on the airlines which is in the programs, as well as where the airlines fly.
Qatar & Emirates are pretty good airlines, but they have their own frequent flyer programs.
Don't forget to buy insurance!
Step 6:
Edit & Print your Itinerary, your relevant documents (
don't forget to make photocopies of your passport, ID, Credit Cards, Hotel Vouchers, Entrance tickets) keep one with you in separate places, and keep one at home!
I can't stress this enough. That is, safety!!!
- Bring a money belt with you. Those you hide secretly under your shirt. Travel stores sell it at S$10.
- Keep your valuables out of sight.
- Bring a muggers wallet. Wallet that is with some cash to "
satisfy" the mugger.
- Register with eMFA (
for Singaporeans)
- Buy travel insurance. Some banks offer discounts.
- Know where your country's embassy is, in the country you are travelling to.
- Bring those door stopper if you are staying in the room alone.
- Bring TSA approved locks.
- Report your location at a particular time and everyday to your family.
Step 7: the last but not least
COUNTDOWN!!!!!!
