24. TIPS FOR THE FIRST TIME INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER

Based on my countless visits across the globe, I thought of compiling the useful tips for an international traveller and sharing them with my readers. I would request you to please add in the comments column below something which has escaped my attention here.

A.  VISA: A valid visa is the most important document for going abroad for which rules vary from country to country. While some countries require sponsorship, others want a proof of your stay arrangements. Some like to process visa request well in advance, others issue visa on arrival. In addition, most embassies have a five day week and holidays as per their country. Hence, one cannot afford to take last minute chances for this purpose and must ascertain the documents required for issue of visa well in advance and the time required for the purpose. The web-sites of all the countries have detailed information and are always updated regularly.

B.  TICKETS: You may like to book your tickets on-line if you want the cheapest deals. Going through a Travel Agent is passé. Some of the tried and tested sites in India, one can use for booking tickets for international travel, are www.expedia.co.in and www.makemytrip.com. My personal choice is Expedia on account of their prompt and courteous service and no charges for cancellation of ticket, in case you have to.

C.  BAGGAGE POLICY: One must be clear about how many pieces of baggage one can carry without any extra charges. Most international airlines allow 2 pieces of 23 kg each for check in and a hand baggage of specified size weighing not more than 8 kg for Economy class. In US, for domestic travels, most of the airlines do not allow even one check-in bag and charge at the rate of USD 25 per baggage. It is, therefore, advisable to know the Free Baggage Allowance of each airline one is going to travel in during the entire itinerary. Otherwise, one may end up incurring a lot of unplanned expenditure.

D.  SEAT SELECTION: This is very important. One may like to sit on a window seat to enjoy the view outside but each time you want to get up, you may find the next passenger sleeping. Apart from this, there are non-inclining seats which can be quite a pain in long journeys. Further there are seats near the Emergency Exit Door where no baggage is allowed to be kept under the seat forcing you to get up each time you want to take out something from your bag. And then the worst are the seats near the lavatories with their perennial nuisance of passengers standing there especially in the morning hours. Also one may be very happy to see that one has got seats in the first row only to realise that these are with baby bassinets. We love babies but even one crying infant can make your journey miserable. Before selecting a seat, I would recommend visiting www.seatguru.com which shows all the seating plans in different aircrafts/airlines with their positive and negative sides. Believe me, it is worth the effort!

E.  FOOD PRIORITY: Whereas we are quite used to saying, “Veg” or “Non-Veg” at the last minute in the domestic flights, the choices are plenty in International flights. It is advisable to select your meal type in advance lest you should end up eating dinner much different from your taste. While Indian food is good in Indian airlines like Jet Airways and Air India, it may not always be palatable in foreign airlines especially on the return flight. If you love to experiment with food, you need not pay attention to this aspect.

F.  TRAVEL INSURANCE: A good travel insurance is absolutely essential when one is travelling abroad. One never knows when and where misfortunate will strike. The problem is that Insurance companies have a lot mentioned in small print or between the lines. One should study the details personally especially items like pre-existing medical conditions, age factor, sub-limits and the related procedures. Whatever the marketing agent may tell you verbally, what finally matters is what is printed in the policy papers and documents. It is better to pay more and take a policy which covers a wider area.

G.  FOREIGN TRAVEL CARD: In my opinion, a Foreign Travel Card is redundant now in view of the International Credit Cards and International ATM cards which work in every country and in all ATMs. But a small amount of cash is always advisable for exigencies.

H. CLOTHES: Identify the clothes for the journey as per the climate of the destination. You can get a detailed day to day information on day and night temperatures and expected rainfall at http://www.weather.com  or http://www.theweathernetwork.com.

I.    SHOES: If you are going abroad as a tourist, a tried and tested pair of shoes is an absolute essential. Given the way one has to walk, much more than we do in India, a comfortable pair of walking shoes is highly recommended.

J.  LOCKS: In India, we cannot think of handing over our suitcases without locking them but in USA, one does not normally lock up the suitcase. If required, US Security breaks open the locks unless you have put TSA locks, master key to which is available to them. In case you are travelling to North America, I would advise using TSA locks which are freely available  in India too, though a little expensive.

K.  ADDITIONAL SPECS: If you use specs, it is advisable to carry spare specs. If you lose or break your specs, believe me, you can be quite miserable apart from incurring time and energy and unwanted expenditure in getting it made abroad.

L.  MEDICINES: Please do not forget to carry with you full supply of the medicines you may be taking regularly as getting them abroad without a prescription is well-nigh impossible and you would not like your Blood Pressure soaring high or sugar levels going awry in the absence of your regular medicines. I would recommend that one should carry at least 25% extra supply to cope up with unforeseen circumstances. This is a very important area.

I also recommend that the entire quota should be carried in hand baggage with you and NOT in the check-in baggage. Thus in case of loss of baggage, you can at least keep your blood pressure in control. Please make sure that these medicines are accompanied by a proper prescription. Otherwise, these can land up in the dustbin of the Security staff.

It is also advisable to place them in a transparent plastic bag/Ziploc so that they are clearly visible when you are required to place them in an open tray for security checks. Fumbling for them in your bag/suitcase can be quite painful when you are standing in a queue and are short of time.

M. EMERGENCY MEDICINES: Apart from the routine medicines, one must carry some essential medicines for headache, fever, upset tummy, acidity, gas, travel-sickness etc. as finding a Drug Store in a new city in the middle of the night when the problem usually  strikes can be quite a nuisance.

N. SECURITY OF DOCUMENTS: I suggest that scanned copies of important documents like passport should be kept in each suitcase apart from your handbag. It is also wise to e-mail a copy of these to your own e-mail Id as well as to the e-mail of someone close to you who can be contacted to retrieve the particulars of your documents in case of emergency.

O. ESSENTIAL ITEMS IN HAND BAGGAGE: I like to keep in my hand baggage at least one set of clothes, photocopies of documents, my entire stock of prescription medicines, some reading material and a set of ear plugs. Often it becomes quite cold in the flight and the blankets provided by the airlines do not suffice my requirement and, therefore, a pull-over comes quite handy to keep warm. A comfortable pair of slip-on chappals is convenient when it is time to relax in long flights. A pen is also a very important item to accompany you. It is required frequently for filling various forms at the time of departure as well as at the port of disembarkation. Who wants to look around helplessly eyeing the pens of the fellow-passengers?

P.  LOCAL CONTACTS: One must keep details of local contacts easily accessible as these are required to be filled up in the disembarkation forms before de-boarding the plane. Also, a paper containing the local address must be placed in the top pocket of each suitcase. The Airport authorities will be able to contact you easily in case your baggage is misplaced.

Q. INTERNATIONAL ROAMING ON THE CELLPHONE: One may or may not use one’s cell phone abroad, but it is highly advisable to ensure the existence of international roaming facility while away from one’s country.

R.  PIN CONVERTERS FOR YOUR CHARGERS: This is essential if you are travelling to US or any country where electric current is different. Pin converters for your laptop, mobile phone and camera cells become a pressing reality.

S.  KNOWLEDGE OF POTENTIAL DANGERS: Many countries are full of cheats, thugs and rogues and it is useful to know in advance what kind of dangers are lurking in the country you are going to visit. Cases of snatching, pick-pocketing, duping and fleecing are not uncommon even in European countries.

T.  REFUSE TO BE A CARRIER: If you are asked to carry any item for ANYONE, insist that it is in an open packet and NOT in a sealed pack. At the airport, one should not even hold for a minute any item from a stranger even if the request looks very genuine. One cannot tell a smuggler from his/her looks. Better be safe than sorry!

U.  KNOWLEDGE OF LOCAL TRANSPORT SYSTEM: It is useful to Google in advance and find out the details of the transport system in the country one is going to. One can save quite a lot with this knowledge in hand.

V.  IDENTITY TAGS ON SUITCASES: Standing at the conveyor belt, it can be quite confusing to see all similar looking suit-cases moving in a row. I prefer to tie securely on all the suitcase handles, strips of similar cloth taken from some old dupattas. It not only helps me to identify my baggage easily but also works as an alert in case someone else happens to pick up my suitcase by mistake or intentionally.

W. SHOPPING LIQUOR AT DUTY-FREE SHOP AT THE PORT OF DEPARTURE: Be careful about shopping for wine bottles in case you have a stop-over en route to your final destination. Whisky bottles purchased at Toronto will be consigned to the dustbin at Zurich if you have to change your plane there on way to Mumbai. Do buy at the last boarding point or on arrival. That will keep your booze safe!

X.  CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOL IN-FLIGHT: All international air-lines provide free alcohol on board. But if you care for your health, become a teetotaller for the duration of the flight. The long flight dehydrates the body and so does alcohol. With dehydration, blood tends to become thicker and the possibility of blood clotting increases. This can lead to the formation of a clot in the blood, a heart attack or DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis), a serious health condition especially in people over 50. Drinking plenty of plain water during the flight is, therefore, highly recommended.

Y.  IN-FLIGHT EXERCISES: Keep walking as much as you can, of course, when the seat-belt sign is off. You can also lift your leg with the knee bent, bring it up to your chest and put it down a few times. Curling up your toes outwards and inwards and rotating feet clock-wise and anti-clockwise from the ankle is also helpful in keeping the blood flow to feet in good condition. Many long-haul airlines do give demo of these exercises. I find these very useful in fighting the in-flight fatigue.

Z.  NEED FOR PROPER REST: The day of departure is full of so many activities, last minute shopping, last minute packing, visitors etc. and one ends up extremely tired on the day of departure. It is advisable to be as little tired as possible before a long journey especially if the age is not on your side. It helps in coping with the jet lag on arrival at the destination.

Bon Voyage!!!

                                        *****