We all want to know how to ‘travel better’. Experience is a great teacher, but it is often in the form of an experience, some of which are better than others.
After many, many years of travelling, covering some 47 countries, these are some of the many lessons I have learned.
Before I Leave:
I always leave a rough itinerary with a trust family member, and a close friend. It’ll probably change, but at least someone knows where I should/could be when they don’t hear from my for a solid week. I try to always update this when my plans change. Be responsible. Even if you are travelling to ‘safe’ countries, things happen.
In addition to making a paper copy of my passport and any needed visas or travel documents that I leave at home with said trusted family member and friend, I also email myself a copy to a web-based email address (hotmail, gmail, etc). Additionally, I carry a small USB stick with photocopies of any other ID I have with me, health insurance cards, credit or debit cards, etc. Goodness forbid I ever lose this USB stick (carried in my money belt, which doesn’t usually leave my body for the duration of my trip – here’s why I stick to the money belt to provide the security for the things I can’t afford to lose), but I know that if I happen to lose any important documents, it will be so much easier when I can prove who I am.
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