Ready to hit the road? Excellent! You are well on the way to enjoying your travels if you keep a few things in mind. Even the most prepared people should expect the unexpected. Yep, you will face situations you had not even imagined but of course this is a good thing. This is what traveling is all about. Think about it; you are traveling to see something new, exciting and fresh, so being ready to embrace the unexpected is just part of the game. If you can accept this idea you will fall in love with traveling and enjoy your trip.
OK now you know to expect the unexpected so it makes sense to do your homework, to reduce some of the unknowns you could face. Learn about the area you are traveling to, in order to ease the transition. Learn about the culture, the pace of living and of course, research to see if the climate or weather is pleasant this time of year. If you are willing to dig a little deeper than the average person you will uncover some neat facts about your travel location. For example when I traveled to Southeast Asia I learned that Phuket in Thailand is not terribly wet during monsoon season. I formerly built images in my mind of rainy day after day, thinking that Thailand monsoons were similar to say, some sections of India. Not only were there rarely deluges, I actually spent a full month in Thailand, in Phuket, without a drop of rain, and this was during low season. Factor in the fact that apartment and hotel rates halve during the low season in Phuket and boy did I get a deal! All because I did a little extra due diligence. This little bit extra made a big difference to my wallet and overall experience in the tropical paradise.
Do Your Research to Make for a More Enjoyable Trip
It is so easy to reduce your stresses when traveling if you will simply do a bit of research. No you do not have to go nuts, studying locations for months on end before you pull the travel trigger, but spending at least a few days or weeks learning the ins and outs of a certain location can help you make a better informed decision as to where you really want to go. Take Bali for example. I spent four months in the tropical paradise and loved every minute of it. Of course I hit less touristy type spots, outside of Kuta, the main tourist area near the beach. I spoke to someone who was super excited to go to Bali yet left the island with a poor taste in their mouth. Of course this individual spent their week in Kuta, expecting to visit a quiet locale by the beach. If this person dug a little deeper they would have realized that Jimbaran would have been a much better choice for a quiet, relaxed stay by the beach in Bali. We loved it in Jimbaran because we did the leg work beforehand.
OK Now You Must Be Prepared for the Unexpected
All the research in the world will not prepare you for when the lights go out in your house and you must wait days for the power to be turned back on. It turns out when we stayed in Vietnam there was either a mix up with the bill paying or maybe just a general screw up with the electricity in general. Because of this and some serious language barriers we did not have power for a few days. So we went to a hotel for a night or 2 instead of complaining and chalked it up as one of the joys of traveling.
Follow these tips to enjoy your trip today.
Kelli Cooper is a freelance writer who is passionate about travel; if you are heading to Colorado, find some great deals on Denver hotels here.
