The winter is coming to the northern hemisphere, and many vacationers are escaping to the tropical beaches and the warm sun of Southeast Asia and Australia. December is the peak tourist season in the Asia-Pacific region, so it’s always better to be cautious while enjoying your long-awaited paradise beach vacation. It’s easy to forget necessary items, or worse, in the haste and anticipation of holiday packing. Some may even have to wrap up Christmas rituals, making prepping for overseas trips even harder. Everyone wants their holidays to go smoothly without a hitch, and here are some tips to achieve that:
Make a Checklist
Packing will be so much easier with a pre-prepared checklist with boxes to tick for everything you need, like sunscreen and underwear. Keep this checklist in an easily accessible and editable location, such as your smartphone, so you can add items as soon as they come to mind. Let others who will be travelling with you add to this list as well. Keep it updated, and don’t leave for the airport until you’ve ticked off everything.
Protect Your Phone
Do not forget that your smartphone is fragile and will not necessarily endure travel as well as you do. Buy protective covering for your phone, so it doesn’t get destroyed while you are white-water rafting. Damaging your phone on holiday means losing valuable data and precious photos. The last thing you need is to go searching for phone data recovery in Sydney instead of spending that time at the Opera House. Know that buying new phones in foreign countries can be difficult, because some governments require extensive personal data for registration. The best way to avoid cumbersome struggles to communicate while on vacation is to watch out for your phone as if it’s a part of your body.
Pack a Travel Adapter
Never, ever go on holiday without a travel adapter. Different countries have power outlets with varying voltage, as you might very well know already. Your laptop, smartphone, camera or any other electronic devices purchased in your home country could suffer irreparable damages if you plug it in at a foreign country without an adapter. You could individually check the voltage requirements for each of your electronic items to check if they are suited for a power grid of a certain country, but this is time-consuming, hassle-some, and prone to error. Just spend some money on a quality adapter, and save your expensive electronics on that beach vacation in Bali.
Keep a List of Emergency Contacts on your Person
No one wants to expect the worst on a vacation, but everyone has to for safety’s sake. You have to be prepared for the unexpected outcomes when you are travelling to faraway places. Don’t leave the hotel room without a list of emergency contacts on you. Preferably, tell your friends or family back home where you are going. Additionally, especially if you are going on an excursion, tell your hotel’s staff where you will be and when you can be expected back. Travel agents are also good at keeping track of you in a foreign country and reaching out to your emergency contacts if the need ever arises.
Check your Passport’s Expiration Date in Advance
Make sure that your passport’s expiration date is more than six months after the dates of travel. Do this before you get the visa. Expired, or about to expire, passports can cause you a lot of trouble while travelling in the Asia Pacific region. You can only renew your passport at your home country, and even with special exemptions, an old passport can get you in trouble at customs or ports of entry, particularly of the domestic kind.
Time Management is Important, Too
Design your itinerary wisely. Crammed tour programs will make vacations feel routine, rushed and business-like, which, needless to say, takes the fun out of everything. Learn to pace everything that you will do on vacation, depending on the duration of the day, just like you do with everyday activities. Don’t cram too many places into one, short itinerary. You can always revisit the countries you like, so take things slow, and relax. Let go of stress instead of creating more.
Learn the Law!
This many come as a surprise, but all tourists must be aware of the laws pertaining to them in foreign countries. Did you know that chewing gum (except dental or nicotine) is a fineable offence in Singapore, and that it’s illegal in Thailand to leave your home or hotel without underwear? Strange lands have strange laws, so be aware of them in advance to avoid legal trouble overseas.
Heed all of the above to make your travels smoother and safer. Plus, don’t forget your underwear.