5 Tips and Tricks for Travelista's on the Go!

The Traveling Brown Girls Carnival is back in town! This go round hosted by April Thompson of Absolute Travel Addict. The last time we all came together we blogged about our Travel Pet Peeves http://blackgirlinthebigworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/travel-etiquette-my-top-5-travel-pet.html and now we are coming together again to share insight on Travel Tips and Tricks for all our Travelista's on the Go!

It's easy for us all to get overwhelmed with our next trip and sometimes get so caught up that we do things that are so out of character, like forgetting to charge the camera, or loosing our passport at the last minute.... yes this happened to me the month before I went to India :-(

Since I know most of you are on the go here are some quick tips on ways to travel with ease!

PACK LIGHT

Most travelista's know to pack light but some may not know how to do so and still feel fabulous. My secret? SCARFS! I usually pack simple tees and add a scarf to spice things up. A scarf and accessories can enhance the limited number of outfits you pick.


CHECK IN ONLINE

This may seem like the obvious but have you seen the lines at airports?! You will be surprised at how many of those people are simply checking in! For women on the go we have no time for unnecessary lines. Checking in online before arriving to the airport can give you an additional 30 mins at the airport. You can even get your boarding pass on your phone nowadays and skip printing anything at the airport all together!

SKIP FOREIGN EXCHANGE

Foreign exchange counters and centers are not only EXPENSIVE as hell but they are also time consuming most times. I like to use my debit card at an ATM and just receive my foreign currency that way. There is still a small fee depending on the bank $3-5 dollars but it beats the currency exchange fee. 

PREPARE FOR THE WORST

No...do not think that you will star in your very own version of  "Taken" lol but think ahead.  A big part of travel is dealing with the unexpected. While there are some things you will never see coming your way there are the typical things like loosing luggage, your passport, or money that we can have a plan for.

- Luggage: If your traveling alone  pack underwear, deodorant, and toothbrush/toothpaste in your carry on. If you are traveling with a friend each of you should pack an outfit in the others luggage!

-Passport: Make multiple copies of your passport and visa's. Most times if you do this you won't ever need to take your passport out once you reach your destination.

-Money: Travel with insurance and use a prepaid card rather than your most used credit or debit card if you feel comfortable.

HELPFUL TRAVEL APPS ( for iPhones)

-TripIt: (FREE) app that helps you track all your travel itineraries including flight/hotel/ and activity confirmations

-Camera+: (0.99) ultimate app for folks like me who can't afford a DSLR yet. It enhances your original camera app by allowing you greater editing features, clarity, and more.

-Postagram:(FREE and can be downloaded on Androids) allows you to use photos in your photo gallery, instagram, or Facebook to send physical postcards to family and friends for 0.99 cents each.

-WhatsAppMessenger: (0.99) the best way to communicate when abroad...it's texting for free! Send sms, images, etc. with other users.

Lastly, remember travelista's "If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness,selfishness,and fears"- Glenn Clark

These tricks and tips should help you on your next trip....do you have any tricks or tips for travelista's on the go? What are your travel secrets? 

Safety Tips for Women Traveling in India

Don't get caught slippin!

Traveling alone might seem like a fun thing to do, but for some women it can also be stressful. Packing your bags and scooting off to strange new lands can seem to be an impossible task, but any girl can do it with a few tips here and there! As a destination, India can pose problems for female travelers, but offenses rarely happen. That said, don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from venturing on an empowering trip to Bombay, New Delhi, or any other destination in India with these tips.

First of all, India is a place of extremes. There are a lot of beautiful places to see, exciting dishes to try, Bollywood movies to watch, but you’ll also find barren lands, heavy traffic, filthy streets, and poor citizens who barely scrape by. You may be surprised, Bollywood films show women dancing with seductive costumes and yet when you actually visit everyone seems covered with social conservatism, something that a lone female traveler should take note of before packing her bags. In the west women are almost always free to wear what they want, but in India even if it’s sizzling hot you have to be careful so as to not attract trouble.

Wardrobe Choice

Upon arrival at the airport, you may see a lot of women like you, often traveling in groups or with companions. Some arrive through prearranged tours, and come prepared by dressing and behaving in a way that’s respectful to Indians. Shorts, skirts above the knees, tank tops, low cut, and tight fitting shirts are discouraged, unless you want to attract denigration from women or piercing stares (or worse) from men. And if you’re fair or showing a lot of skin, you might attract men who might actually be bold enough to pinch your skin or touch you. India is a place where tradition is still very much adhered to, so it’s important to be aware. You’ll attract the attention of thieves and other ill doers with your foreign looks alone, but you can immerse yourself with the local culture by purchasing loose-fitting pants known as Salwars and loose-fitting blouses called Kameez. Locals will even advise you to wear saris and dress properly so that you won’t look like you just got off the plane. At the airport, don’t ever let a stranger carry your baggage. In the blink of an eye everything you need for the rest of your trip may be carried away.

Dealing with the Public

When walking in public friendliness may be misconstrued as personal and flirtatious, so avoid initiating conversations. Even something as simple as eye contact may be interpreted as an invitation. If the inevitable happens, never let them know you are traveling alone—pretend someone else is with you. When traveling by train, which by the way lets you explore the beautiful countryside, do not doze off or else you might just find a hand making its way to your blouse. You’ll have a greater degree of privacy by asking for the upper berth where there is less congestion, or a women’s only car.
Book your hotel ahead. You are already traveling alone so be sure that you don’t arrive without a hotel in mind. Never be alone with a man and that includes the hotel’s staff or bellhop. Your next concern will be protecting your personal belongings. When traveling, keep your bags together by securing them with a cable lock, and use bags such as leg pouches, backpacks, and bags with a belt loop.

Avoid Being Overcharged

The most common problems women travelers experience are with servicers. Hotel desk clerks, tour operators, and taxi drivers tend to overcharge tourists. As in most destinations, if you’re foreign-looking you’ll most likely encounter situations wherein locals will try to overcharge. The same is true in India, where culture suggests the assumption that foreigners are likely to be richer than average citizens. And since foreigners make an easy target for scams, because of their lack of awareness, it’s best to research beforehand about the cost of a service before setting a price. To avoid taxi scams, choose pre-paid taxis where you purchase receipts or tickets at a prepaid booth. Wait until the taxi driver delivers you to your destination, and then hand over your ticket. Don’t give the driver additional payment apart from the prepaid slip no matter what he might say.
When shopping for souvenirs or local goods, pretend you don’t have much interest. The higher your level of interest the higher their price. Always bargain, and if they won’t give you the price you want then there are plenty of other shops that could offer a better bargain. Remember there’s no fixed price for most souvenirs.
Keep in mind that incidents are rare, and anyone traveling alone should be alert at all times. Learn how to say “no”, no one should coerce you in to doing something you’re not sure of.  That said, nothing compares to that liberating feeling after exploring a place on your own, the streets of India included. If you’re careful, you’ll have a fantastic vacation ahead.

Although these tips are specific to India many of them are applicable to women travelling ANYWHERE!

I hope this post gave you some things to think about before your next take off to India! This is a guest post from RoomStays.com http://www.roomstays.com/. Check them out for for travel tips and hotel deals! 

My Top 5 Travel pet peeves.... In A travel buddy...

It's finally here!! The Traveling Brown Girls Blog Carnival! I'm so excited to participate and the first topic of the carnival is "Travel Etiquette: My Top 5 Travel Pet Peeves". So here are my top 5 in a travel buddy.

                                             

                   

 1.    Doesn't want to stray from the guidebook

If you’re the adventurous type like me then you like to stumble upon a quaint cafe or bookstore and you probably don't make your entire itinerary based on your guidebook. It's a pet peeve of mine when I suggest something like walking around a neighborhood and my travel partner responds with" that's not in the book".

2. Passes judgment on the experience within the first day

As we all know first impressions are important but I do not agree that they have to be your last impression. It's a pet peeve of mine when a trip starts off rocky with a lost taxi ride from the airport or, slow check in at a hotel, or a nasty attitude having waiter and my travel partner decides that the country, city, or town sucks! I believe that everyone and everything deserves a fair chance to redeem itself. So the next time you experience one of these... Take a second and decide to have a fresh start and then if it still seems to be nightmare, RUN!

3. Can’t go with the flow and be flexible

 Time and time again I have traveled with one plan and ended up with a whole new one. Once I went to Morocco during Thanksgiving and the whole city of Marrakesh was shut down... I learned this from the male flight attendant who invited me to his family's farm. Now when you first hear this you think... “Hell naw I'm not spending my thanksgiving on a random man’s farm” but once you wake up and realize literally no one is in the city you get in  a bootleg taxi and be happy with slaughtering that goat on that random flight attendants farm. It was a crazy experience but had I not gone with the flow my friends and I would have never experienced this Muslim holiday celebration that we will never forget.

4.  Comes broke!

This is my #1 travel pet peeve. BYE GIRL if you are that girlfriend who thinks everything is too expensive and keeps saying “back at home that would cost..." Travel doesn't have to be expensive but it's not fair to come on a trip broke and make everyone conscious of every dollar they spend. If you are on a budget make that clear in advance and be ok with tapping yourself out when your travel friends ball out or do things that you'd rather not spend your money on.

5.  Doesn't communicate

It's so important to discuss your expectations before traveling with someone. All parties should discuss their must do's as well as their budgets. I've found this to be so helpful when trip planning. My friends all list what we want to do and evaluate our interest and where they differ to know how we should plan our time together and separately.

We all have our moments when we can be annoyed, frustrated, or upset about something during travel however we must remember that when we are with others the journey is a team effort! In my opinion that's the beauty in traveling with someone. You don't have to deal with it all by yourself. So next time your planning a trip with a friend think back to my pet peeves and make sure you don' fall into one of these categories as the pet peeve travel buddy :-)

 

Don't let this....

Turn into this

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