5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Traveling

 

You must watch this video below. Its hilarious. Jugaadulal is actually one among us because we Indians have a deep connection with finding shortcuts. Many a times these ‘jugaads’ work and thus we continue doing them. But there comes a point when you can’t go on. And when it becomes a habit,  it can lead you in trouble. So you must promise yourself that you wouldn’t support shortcuts. Trust me I have learnt it in my travels too but only after  some serious debacles.

 

The video below aptly gives example that sometimes its absolutely ‘NOT OKAY’ to go with shortcuts. Like always Exide Life never forgets to help us plan for the future and yet again it emphasizes on  #NoMoreShortCuts. And to keep up with the flow, I would like to talk about some of the things that will keep you away from the shortcuts in your travels. In the long run, you will end up saving money for the future which you can always use for more travels.

 

 

 

 

So lets number them….5 Things I Wish I Knew When I Started Traveling

 

 

Arrive at the airport in time but more than that don’t spend too much time at Duty Free rather be at the gate before time.

Yes, I missed my flight in Zurich, Switzerland and I learnt my lesson once and forever. I had reached  the airport in time but I got so engrossed in shopping at the Duty Free that I totally missed the announcements. The gates were far and by the time I realized that I had to rush to the gate, they had closed already.  I had good ten minutes in hand but they dint let me board my flight. Remember, in Europe, they close the gates before time.  In all this mess, later I also realized that I had forgotten to set my watch as per the local time. So now you know two things that you must always remember, be at the gate on time. Keep your watch as per local timings!

 

 

One must walk around on foot and interact with local people. 
Wish I knew that most of the travel fun can be extracted by walking around and mingling with the locals. One can get many stories. I remember being in Oslo three years ago and I seriously regret not doing all that I could have done. Not that I didn’t do the walking around but I dint do it as a travel blogger. It was a wonderful opportunity but I din’t make the most of it. Every time when I think about it, I feel why didn’t I step out of my apartment everyday. Why did I not interact with the local people? Mostly, I went around with my husband or on the weekends and I did only the touristy places. I should have done more of offbeat too. A lesson for ever. 

 

 

You must have a beach/pool dress and clothes of all kinds to suit all occasions because….

A beach dress is important. I realized this only when I found that some of the hotels were very particular about this. They did not allow you to be around the swimming pool until you were dressed rightly. And trust me even if you are going to the beach or the deserts, keep all kind of dresses. I was in Dubai and I thought it was going to be a complete nomadic kind of holiday but suddenly I got a chance to be at the Dubai International Film Festival. Seriously, I didn’t have the right dresses because I had not packed well. Trust me, I had no time to go shopping too. So never forget to keep some party dresses even if its a laid back holiday.

 

 

When you go for currency exchange, you must go for verified ones
It happened in Bali. If you have too many currency exchange options, don’t just settle for the first one you see. AT many places you get the same rates but there are some places where you may get different rates at various places. And never do that at the airport because you always get the lowest rates there. But in Bali, we realized that at one shop we were getting a higher rate but never we realized he was trying to dupe us because he was fooling us with the counting of the notes. So its always safe to walk around, check at more than one place and then go for the currency change.

 

 

Keeping a travel book, a camera, spare mobile, power-bank for always!

Now, when I look back at my trips that I did four or five years ago, I really miss  having a travel book. Yes, while we are at the trip, it feels fresh in the mind but we tend to forget it later. Maintaining a travel account really helps. You can read them years later to know what you exactly did or what was your state of mind. Next thing I seriously recommend everybody is please keep a power bank or a spare phone for photography. I reached on the top of Eiffel tower and my camera and phone died just that moment. Some experiences do matter. I didn’t have a power bank that time. Rather I had acted lazy and not charged it a day before. Now, I wish I had not done that, today I would have had some pictures of Paris from the ‘Top of Eiffel Tower’ but sadly I have none.

 

So these were some of my experiences which reinstate  something very important- #NoMoreShortCuts.