Is travelling easy. NO? To ace the game of travelling, just keep your eyes open a Trust me, it’s super easy. In fact, there should be nothing about it which stresses you. Aterall, a normal routine/ everyday life, we are all stuck with stress. So leave all tensions back at home and head for a laid-back Vacay. Just follow up with these 10 travelling hacks and become an astute wanderer.
Grab your passports, book your tickets to spend a lavish family time, and all this without a bigger hole in pockets. After all, who says you need to have a fat bank balance to travel. Come on! We live in the 21st century. Just surf the internet to the core.All you have to do is surf the internet and seac There are a plenty of ways to have a cheap vacation.
- Smart spending, Happy spending
Cheap rooms are available for unreasonably cheap prices. Sites like oyo rooms, Zotelo, etc. offer you happiness of saving. I am sure, you would have spent 3 times of that price, at your erstwhile vacation, if you stayed in just another random hotel. These hotels save your bucks, thereby giving you the happy liberty to spend more on leisure. And if for some reason, you were thinking, that these hotels are cheap, because they offer unstandardised quality of lodging, then let me tell you that you would find no difference in a usual hotel and these. So you become a win-win traveller. (and you can call yourself smarter too!)
- Remember, you are a tourist!
Always carry a copy of your passport, Visa and other documents testifying your identity. God forbid, you not lose any documents. To be on the safer side, you should always stack up copies of these crucial legalities. In case of any loss or threat, this will become a true saviour for you. Also, if you know you are forgetful, then take the opportunity to email yourself scanned copies f these documents. So even if the photostat copies are lost, you will be in safe hands (of E-mail!).:p
- Oh, boy! You can trick too!
Mark your luggage as Fragile, regardless of whether it is actually fragile or not. This will ensure that your luggage is kept atop and also released first on the luggage belt. The fragile mark will also help you identify and distinguish your luggage from all others running steadily on the belt. So it saves your time plus what’s the harm?
- Luggage First, everything else can wait
As soon as you land, dash towards the luggage belt. It saves your time afterwards when all passengers come after hovering around at the airport, hitting the washroom, or meeting their loved ones. Once you have gotten hold of your luggage in the same manner as you had given it.
Well, it goes without going, that you have to lock your luggage. Don’t forget to check that the locks are intact after you have claimed your luggage.
- Get local; immerse yourself into the vibrancy of the place
Install a language centric app, which is categorically developed to teach the local language of the place you are heading to for your Vacay. If it is Punjab, learning some Punjabi would only add to the fun. Plus, you would also unknowingly build your lingo dynamics. Also if you speak in a local language, conversations of lets’s say bargaining will also be in your favour.The shopkeepers would not try to deceive you, as a stranger to the land. After all, you are what you speak, in this time at least.
- Desi Tadka v/s Tourism wala taste
Try and eat at local foodstreets or restaurants. Search for a nearby local restaurant from your hotel or place of stay, book a cab and head straight there. This would let you indulge in the flavours and spices of that country/city you are at. Plus, it will also save your money. Yes, I am not kidding. In countries like Dubai, Singapore, you will pay less when you opt for local food. However, if you were looking for Jain food/ vegetarian food, there are outlets of many foo giants like ‘Sagar Ratna’ , ‘Bikanerwala’, ‘Haldirams’, where you can quench your taste buds, alms forgetting that your are in a tourist land.
The Awadhii thali of Lukhnow is sure to sweep you away. It is more yummy than it looks…
- Roll up!
As much space is an issue in a 2-BHK flat in a cosmopolitan city, the same is with packing luggage. Mitigate the issue by rolling your clothes. This has a dual advantage. Not only will it save your space, but also do away with wrinkles and creases, which most of the time upset us. Afterall, who wants to plug up an iron on a vacation or spend bucks on laundry. So, all in all, do away with folding your clothes. From now on, ROLL!
- A hack you would thank me for:
Imagine you open 5-6 sites for browsing and selecting which trip, curated by which travel agency should be selected. you have noted down the quotes. Now the next time, you open these sites, say after 2-3 days, it is most likely to quote a higher price for exactly the same trip you had noted earlier. This is a trick adopted by many travel agents and airline companies. It renders instant booking, taking advantage of impulsive cum impatient humans, who are fooled to believe that the prices are likely to go up even more, stimulating them to book right away.
But no worries, we can be smarter from next time!
This is what they do: While you search for online ticket on your phone, the airline companies and agents track your activities be applying cookies to the site. Once you have seen, they record your interest in a particular trip or travel plan. This is called Business Intelligence/Artificial Intelligence. To not fall into the trap anymore, always make sure you use a private browsing window.
While travelling, stay calm. Refrain from arguing with locals. They will anyway have their way around. Keep abreast of the basic ‘laws of the land’ you are travelling to, to save yourself from landing into any unwanted problem.
E.g.: In Singapore, chewing gum is banned. There are strict punishments for those caught with the same. Littering in Singapore is a criminal offence too. And in Singapore, criminal offence means what it means. Likewise, in the States, never ever forget to tip your waiters. It is customary to tip the waiters in the US. If you are a woman and flying to Dubai, does up, covering your hands and legs to the lowest low at outings. Ofcourse, beaches and water sports being exempted in the rulebook.
You would also be surprised to know that in India, using binoculars at locations like airports or railways can invite a knock-out from the govt. authorities. Interestingly, even handshaking or hugging a person of opposite sex is considered indecent.
So, next time you are tuning in for a vacation mode, remember the after and before landing to-do’s which will engender you to have a relaxed and a jovial leisure time with your family and friends.
Bon Voyage!
