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I came across this incredibly insightful and well written blog entry the other day written by two round the world travelers.

Check out the rest of Thetembas travel blog

1. Wear a Money belt – Always, always, always wear a money belt. Wear it under your clothes and wear it every day. If you are sleeping in a hostel with strangers as roommates, put it in your pillowcase or wear it overnight. I looked four months pregnant all through Europe with a full moneybelt (it got slimmer as the trip progressed) but we never got robbed because of it.

2. Carry Money in your Bra – Women: If you want a place to keep some money (even your passport with the right bra) in an easy to access place, stick it in your bra, under your armpit. I use this technique in Tanzania when we are staying with family and friends and knew that our bigger documents could be secure in the house. When we went into town and had to carry money I used this method. Works very well as I have never had money stolen in Tanzania.

3. Take Public Transport – Nothing saves money like avoiding taxis. Even in places where taxis are relatively inexpensive (Dubai, Thailand, Argentina) public transport is much cheaper. Taking public transport takes some pre-planning and reading ahead of time (Rick Steves gives good tips in his books and Turkey Travel Planner gives good advice for Turkey) but it is a fun place to meet the locals. Subways are the most dummy-proof, followed by trams then buses.

4. Assume Taxis are dishonest – The majority of taxi drivers can be dishonest when it comes to tourists. We would give honest ones good tips because they are so rare! Don’t give them big bills to break because many countries they can give you counterfeits or incorrect change. Make sure they use a meter if there is one or if there isn’t one agree on a price ahead of time. Hold a city map while they drive so they think you know where you are going! We give Dubai props for more honest taxi drivers, but boy, do they like to honk!

5. If your hotel offers pick up from the airport and the price seems reasonable: take it – We did this a lot in Asia because public transport from the airports was more difficult and the prices were pretty reasonable for pick up. It may be cheaper in theory to take a cab but airport cabs are the most dishonest. Nothing beats having a ride for a set, agreed upon price.

6. Get a Good Guidebook – We can’t stress this enough. We recommend Lonely Planet as a great guidebook for all the world’s destinations. For people going to Europe we recommend the Rick Steves guides. LP is for the budget backpacker crowd and RS aims at middle of the road spenders when it comes to restaurant and hotel recommendations. However, both have great advice for getting around cities. That said…

7. Use the Rick Steves Walking/Museum tours in Europe – You can get museum guides or tour guides at sites but to save money just use the Rick Steves guide (Thanks, Cousin Matt, for giving us ours!). We both loved his city walking tours and I found his art museum tours helpful. Since Julius skipped the art museums I could listen to his free podcasts of museum tours on my iPod. If you are going all over Europe, buy the compilation book (linked to above) but if you are going to one country, the walks will be in the country guide.

8. Know your camera before you go – Read your camera’s instruction booklet. Read a simple digital photography book. Know how to change your settings. Try lots of different settings and look at the photos on your computer. You can do some great things with cameras, even point and shoot cameras, if you know how to use them. Take it off “fully automatic” setting sometimes.

9. Know how to turn off your camera flash and know what icon is on the screen when the flash is off – There are some places you don’t want to use a flash (like taking a photo of a distant object in a dark room – the flash won’t reach) and other places where you are forbidden (many art museums and churches). Don’t use ignorance as an excuse! We have seen tourists get yelled at by guards when they take a flash photo where are not supposed to. Avoid the embarrassment and know when your flash is off!

10. Use a beanbag as a tripod – This was one of the best pieces of advice I got before the trip. I asked mom to make us a small one to fit our camera on. She made it out of popcorn seeds but it can also be made out of rice or salt if you are going to Australia or New Zealand (they are very picky about seeds coming into their country). The popcorn seed one worked the best. Rest it on church pews, shelves, tree branches or any other semi-stable surface and then snugly rest your camera on top. It works for taking photos with the photographer in the photo, but it also is great for photos in low light settings without flash. Set the camera to 2 or 10 second timer, press the button and take your hands off. The shutter will stay open for as long as it needs to and you will get lovely photos like this, this and this. None of these would have turned out if we hadn’t used a beanbag or if we had used a flash. Setting the camera’s ISO to 100 is an option if you can use a beanbag in low light settings. A low ISO means that you will have a less grainy look for your photos.

11. Turn all the camera sounds off – I will admit that this is a pet peeve of mine. Nothing ruins the lovely silence in a church or quiet area like the “beep beep” of the focus and the “Ka Chink” of the camera going off. This does not apply to the big SLR cameras that actually do make the “Ka Chink” sound internally when you press the button. For some reason digital “point and shoot” camera makers thought it would be cute if they recorded that sound and had the camera make it when a photo was being taken. It is not cute. It is unnecessary, distracting and irritating. Read our blog about midnight mass at the Vatican for an example. To turn it off, go to the menu page, go to sounds and find the mute setting.

12. Use Trip Advisor – www.tripadvisor.com is a huge help for people planning their own trips overseas. We used them once to book a hotel (in Dubai) but mostly we used their hotel ratings. We had great success, with only one dud among all the well rated hotels we stayed at. We will link to our reviews in a later blog once we post them.

13. Book in Advance – All the popular places to stay fill up early. We rarely showed up in a city without a place to stay. Traveling in the off season meant we only had to book a few days to a week in advance, but in the high season book as far as you can! Croatia was one of the few countries we didn’t always book ahead in because there are no tourists in December and there are ladies waiting at the bus stations to rent you a room. However, in the high season it is important to book ahead for the best of these places.

14. When in Croatia, stay at Sobes – These are rooms connected to people’s homes. The good ones should be booked ahead of time in the high season. They had a small hotplate or stove to cook on (some in the room) and we had great experiences with all of them. The ladies who ran the sobes we used were:
Dubrovnik: Neda Petrovic (pronounced Petrovich) telephone from outside the country: 385-20-427870 e-mail niksa.petrovic1@du.htnet.hr
Rovinj: Milena Sosic (pronounced Soshich) Tel from outside the country 385-52-813571
Plitvice National Park: Verica Samardzic Tel from outside the country: 385-48-774087

15. In Italy, try staying in convents – This is good advice for married couples and women especially. We stayed in two convents in Italy, in Florence and in Rome. Both were delightful, well priced, offered a simple breakfast and were clean, clean, clean. In Florence it was outside the center, about a 20 minute walk to city center. In Rome it was in a residential neighborhood past the Vatican but a very easy bus ride to the Vatican and an easy subway ride from a nearby stop to downtown. They all do have an 11pm-11:30 pm curfew that cannot be broken.
In Florence: Santo Nome de Gesu – website: http://www.fmmfirenze.it/
In Rome: Villa Angeli – villa_angeli@libero.it  or phone from outside country 39-6-366530 (inside the country take off the 39 and add a 0 in front of the 6) They don’t all speak English so if you have an Italian or Spanish speaking friend to make reservations, all the better.

16. Eat Local Cuisine – Come on, isn’t that why we all travel? Every country has something that will delight an American palate. No need to get fancy or anything. Great French food can be bought for inexpensive prices at the bakeries when cafes are out of your budget. Asia is a place with very cheap local food and very expensive western food. People who gripe about the expensive food in Hong Kong will always confess to eating western food instead of the delicious fried rice, buns and noodles. Lonely Planet guidebooks are great for this. They have lots of delicious, inexpensive restaurants to try and what neighborhoods to avoid with rip-off prices.

17. When in a budget crunch in Europe, try Donar Kebab – That said about local food, sometimes we just needed one filling meal for 5 euros and we didn’t have a kitchen to cook it ourselves. Especially at dinnertime, the bakeries are closed and the prices can be high in the sit down restaurants. The place where young, broke Europeans turn is the Donar Kebab shops. Look for a rotating spit piled high with beef or chicken. These sandwiches are totally filling and delicious and always made by Turkish or Arabic men who know how to do them right.

18. When in a budget crunch in Italy, try “Pizza by the Gram” shops – There is no need for Donor Kebab in Italy because the prices at the takeaway pizza shops can’t be beat. You will see a big glass case full of different sheets of pizza. You pick out which one and how big of a slice you want. The flavors are different than the American pizzas, like potato and rosemary, zucchini and lots of different varieties light on sauce. They weigh it then put it in the oven to reheat it. You pay by the gram. It is great and super cheap. This allows more money to be spent on another meal at Italy’s pretty affordable sit down restaurants.

19. In Europe, standing at the bar in the coffeeshops will get you a better price than sitting – Most of Europe has great coffee and it shaves some Euros off to drink it standing like the locals do.

20. If you are from the Northwest and feel homesick, skip McDonalds and go to Starbucks – Starbucks have branched out into loads of countries in the last few years. Check out their Store Locator on their website for the full list. Shanghai alone has 94! The beauty of Starbucks is that you will get the exact same cup of coffee or frappuccino in a shop that looks exactly like your local one at home. Of course you pay the same prices that you do in America. If you can get a meal with beer for the same price as a latte in Thailand, it seems a little ridiculous. However, you are paying for the experience, right? Just sitting their sipping your coffee gives you a nice break from the world outside.

21. Try Skype – We didn’t learn about Skype until halfway through our trip. It is an internet phone service where you can get an account (open it before you leave home) fill it up with a bunch of money and then make calls from internet cafes all over the world. All the cafes are set up for skype and you pay about 1 to 2 cents to call the US. This is much, much cheaper than any other way to call. This is from anywhere in the world. Just remember to log in and log off when you are done.

22. Always underpack – No one ever brags about how much they carried around with them on their trip. The achievement is to pack as little as possible. We did this by buying fast drying clothes and wearing them over and over and over again. It was cold in many of our stops which meant that we had to pack some sweaters and coats, but for sunny, hot destinations you just need a few lightweight outfits that dry fast. Everyone should be able to pack everything they need in a carry on suitcase.

23. Wheeled suitcases are the way to go – Most backpackers use backpacks but wheeled luggage is way easier to cart around and way easier on your back! There are few situations where you may need to put your pack on your back (maybe a rainy season in a place without paved roads) but we could have gone without our convertible ones (wheeled, plus a backpack) without much problem. That said, don’t overpack your suitcase!!! You still will need to lift it and climb up lots of stairs with it!

24. When flying overseas, spend a little more to take a foreign carrier – American carriers are terrible. It is one thing when you are taking a local Southwest flight that costs under $100. It is another thing when you are taking a 10 hour flight over the Pacific or Atlantic. Carriers in other countries appear to be well subsidized and can still offer the eye masks, socks, decent food, quality movies and free alcohol that have gone by the wayside with our bankrupt carriers. Also, when choosing between Air New Zealand and Qantas to go to New Zealand, choose Qantas.

25. When choosing transport think “Safety First” – Nothing kills or injures more tourists than road accidents. We admit to riding on the back of a motorcycle or two when we were stuck and needed to get to our hotel (never far). However, when we hear of tourists renting motorcycles in places like Vietnam and driving around the cities and countryside we shutter. Most don’t wear helmets and even with helmets, Vietnam has one of the highest road fatality rates in the world with 12,300 people dying last year. That is dying not just injuries. We did rent a scooter on the Cook Islands because there is only one road, traffic was very low, Julius could drive one and we still wore helmets. The safest way to travel is by plane. After plane is train/boat, then bus, then car, then motorcycle. Basically, if you have options, always take the safest way possible. Avoid night buses if at all possible and never take a long distance car ride at night if you are outside of Europe or the States.

26. If you go to Vietnam, bring $2 bills – go to your bank before you head out and buy a stack of 20 or so $2 bills. They are not printed anymore but it is easy to get them from a bank. For some reason, $2 bills are very sought after in Vietnam. We had no idea this was the case before we came. One of our guides asked us if we could send him one when we got home. We saw people with them framed in their shops and at Tet (Vietnamese New Year) it was a big deal to give someone an American $2 bill. The nice thing is, it will be appreciated if given as a tip but will only cost you two dollars.

27. When crossing the road in Vietnam just walk out at a slow steady pace. There are very few stoplights in the country and no one will stop for you. If you walk at an even pace then the motorcycles will dodge you. Don’t try to dodge them! For an example video check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCvtEjML6QU and yes, the streets in Hanoi and Saigon are really like that. That is why you don’t drive on them.

28. Airport ATMs are the way to go when getting currency in a new country. All the airports we landed in had ATMs and all happily took our debit card. We were able to get local currency out everywhere from China to Cook Islands. No expensive money changers needed.

29. Check your bank rates for Overseas ATM transactions and credit card transactions – We learned that Bank of America charged $5 per overseas ATM transaction and Chase credit cards charge a 3% overseas credit card transaction fee on all purchases. When I asked at my hospital’s credit union (SHARE, for all my co-workers) I found out that they charged no fee for ATM use and 1% overseas fees on their credit card. Using this account instead saved us hundreds of dollars because many of the overseas banks who’s ATMs we used didn’t charge a noticeable fee either. Perhaps other credit unions like BECU have the same no-fee policy. It is definitely worth looking into if you live in Washington.

30. ATMs are everywhere – They are by far the easiest way to get local currency in a country. Some can even give an account balance in the local currency. If you are nervous about using them, just stick to ones on busy streets and use them during banking hours. We each carried one so we had one for back up in case one was eaten or stolen. Carry the emergency phone number to cancel it if that does happen. We also carried about $200 each in $100 bills just in case we were in a jam and couldn’t get an ATM to work. We did not use traveler’s checks.

31. Travel off season if you can – If you are able to travel outside of June, July and August (or Christmas holidays for the warmer destinations) DO IT!!! When we would go places we would always ask “What is it like here in the summer?” just to hear the horror stories. Three hour lines at the Vatican, four hour lines at Mount St Michele and Neushwanstein, 10,000 cruise ship passengers a day disembarking at all the European coastal destinations. People have to line up to join the crushing crowds in the Old Town of Dubrovnik. This was what the old town looked like when we were there. We never waited in long lines wherever we went, nor did we encounter unmanageable crowds. When we were in places with a fair number of tourists (Paris and Prague in October) we would ask ourselves “What must it be like in July?!?” Yikes. Locals outnumber tourists where ever we went, even in Florence. The worst part of high season is hotel prices triple in most tourist destinations. Rooms that were very reasonable for 40 euro a night would not seem like much of a bargain at the high season cost of 100 euro. Don’t worry about the weather. Global warming is going to make October a whole lot better than July. It already has.

32. If you have friends or friends-of-friends around the world, let them know that you will be in the area – If someone is very close to you it is a pretty good bet that they will let you stay with them if you aren’t staying forever. If you haven’t seen them in years or they are friends of friends people are usually very happy to cook you a meal and help you with advice for their city. Take them up on these offers. It may be a rare chance for a home cooked (free) meal and a chance to hang out with a local.

33. Bring lots of Ziploc bags - you can never have too many Ziploc bags of varying sizes. They are helpful for wet or dirty clothes or anything else that might smell or leak.

34. When traveling as a couple, spend some days apart -There were some activities I wanted to do that Julius didn’t, like art museums. When I spent the day at the Louvre, Julius went to the Paris Air and Space Museum. When I went to the Prado, he went to the stadium tour for Real Madrid. It was fun to come back at the end of the day and talk about what we have done.

35. Do Laundry in the sink – some party pooper guesthouses say “No Laundry in the rooms” but most don’t mind it if you are clean about it. All you need is a braided rubber clothes line (Rick Steves has a good one that doesn’t need pins), a sink plug and some Fels Naptha bar laundry soap or an equivalent low suds hand wash laundry soap. Don’t use too much soap or you will be rinsing forever. Squeeze it out really well before hanging. Jeans may need a Laundromat because they never dry. Fast drying stuff is the best to pack anyway.

36. http://www.xe.com/ucc/ will convert any currency into any other currency - We swore by this site. Before arriving in a country, look up and write down the exchange rate for dollars. It is also handy in converting hotel prices, etc. You will always get a better deal if you barter  and pay in the local currency.

37. If you are buying groceries at a supermarket in Europe, it is your job to weigh and label your own fruit. There are no signs for this, but you will find an electronic scale with a bunch of picture buttons on it. Weigh your stuff, press the right button and label the bag. It saves you some awkward moments at the check out.

38. If you go to church at home, go to church overseas. Catholics will have the easiest time of this (they are everywhere) but most cities have non-denominational services in English somewhere. You get a feel for who the expatriates and immigrants are in the community and you can get some good advice about the city. The internet is the best source to find English speaking services overseas. Foreign  language services are also fun because you get to worship with the locals. Again, liturgical denominations have an easier time (Catholics, Anglican/Episcopalians, Lutherans) because services tend to have a similar liturgy from country to country so you can follow along. You learn some fun differences like the Vietnamese all turn and bow instead of shaking hands during the peace

39. Phrase books are pretty much a waste of money unless you are spending extensive amount of time somewhere – We rarely used our phrasebooks that we had brought. Young people around the world spoke English quite well. Also, most guidebooks have important phrase sections and menu guides in the back and those are more than efficient for what you want to do in a few weeks. The key phrases to know and carry in your pocket are “How are you? Thank You, Yes, No, Please, One, Two“. The rest you can look up.
In South East Asia they speak tonal languages which, I am sorry to say, Americans cannot pronounce. When mispronounced they mean completely different things and people do not understand you. I can’t tell you how many times I wished people happy new year in Vietnamese, on Vietnamese new year, and they looked at me like I was speaking gibberish. It really helps to have your tones right.

40. E-nun-ci-ate – this goes along with last tip. When I was in Tanzania, struggling along with Swahili, I was so grateful when people would slow down and pronounce each world clearly and use simple words and grammar. People overseas may speak some English but you will have a lot better luck if you slow down and clearly pronounce the words. Also, understand that some people know enough English for their job but not much beyond that. When buying train tickets in Madrid we went to the counter with some questions about different trains and times but the man quickly said “No English. Class? Passengers? Time? Where to?” We answered each of his questions and he gave us the ticket we needed. The same was true in China. I was so happy the agent knew those few English words to help me. When asking for payment she thought for a second then said “five thousand” (it was in RMB). I paid then she gave me a handful of change. I realized that five thousand is a word she knew but four thousand six hundred and fifty two was not. She was very clever. Also, listen to how the locals pronounce English and try to mimic it a little. I was amazed how much better people understood me in Tanzania when I learned to speak English with a Swahili accent. Think about how hard it is to understand people’s English when their accent is really strong.

41. Act really grateful when people are helping you/serving you etc – It may be their job to help you, but pretend that they are doing you a big, big favor. Nothing bothers people more in the service and tourism industries than people who feel and act entitled. Say thank you in their language. Smile a lot, don’t yell or bitch or look impatient, even if problems come up. In many countries things are sometimes less efficient and slower than in the USA. They do not care how we do it in America.  It is hard sometimes hard to not get mad and demand what you want, let me tell you, but it goes a lot further to relax and live on “local time”. We learned this lesson well in Asia. Asians put a lot of emphasis on avoiding conflict. If you start yelling and screaming they will just ignore you more and you still won’t get what you want. Being grateful and kind gets you further everywhere.

42. Find Humor in Everything – If things go wrong, try to find the humor in it. Try to imagine what a funny story it will make. On one bus trip we took in Tanzania the bus caught on fire while we were speeding down the highway. We spent hours in a small village and they did manage to fix the bus but we just had to laugh about it. Getting mad does no good. Everyone is in the same situation you are and they aren’t complaining.

43. If you are going to small villages or rural areas, bring a Polaroid camera – In countries where kids rarely get photos of themselves, Polaroid’s are a huge hit. We always bring a Polaroid to Tanzania and everyone of every age likes to have a photo of themselves. It can be a great gift if you are on a church trip or something where you will visit people’s homes. Strangely enough, they always shake the polaroid picture like we do. Maybe it is an innate thing.

44. Bring a small photo book of photos from home – People love to see photos of others they meet. Some photos aren’t always appropriate in every country “Here is my 10,000 square foot house!” but photos of family, pets and important family moments are nice. We brought photos from our wedding, family photos and photos from America and Tanzania. Just a flexible book to hold 20 is enough.

45. Make Business Cards – This was a great idea we learned before the trip. We printed out small business cards with our names, a picture of us, our e-mail address and our websites. We passed them out to anyone we got to know along the way and encouraged them to keep in touch. With different websites and e-mail addresses, this is the easiest and fastest way to get your contact information out.

46. Don’t make eye contact with people trying to beg or sell you stuff on the street – Europe had more beggars than anywhere else of the world. Most are gypsies. Gypsies get a bad rap, but no one stays in Europe long without disliking them. The Europeans are completely unapologetic in their dislike. They are persistent. Many are also thieves. Never make eye contact, never get in a conversation or you will never lose them. Just say “No” and that is it. Someone wants to give you a “free” lucky bracelet? Free is expensive. Just say “No” and keep walking. The few times we gave money to people were street musicians or singers who were doing a good job and people in poorer countries who had pretty horrific disabilities (women in China who looked like their face had burned off). That was about it.

47. Carry a copy of your passport and plane tickets in your suitcase – If you get robbed it is makes for quicker replacement.

48. A doorstop is a small, cheap security measure – A doorstop can be jammed under the door once you are in the room and it will prevent people from getting your door open. Good for single women travelers who want that extra bit of security.

49. If men want to fit in with locals, wear long pants – Julius only wore shorts at the beach resorts, in the hotel and the pool. In the rest of the world, men over 30 rarely wear shorts outside of these situations. If you see grown men in shorts walking around the city, it is usually an American. When people go to Tanzania we always encourage men to wear long pants in the cities. It gets you a bit more respect as only schoolboys wear shorts.

50. Buy Dual Voltage chargers or appliances: Most chargers are dual voltage these days. It will say 110-220 on the plug. No switch to flip, they do it automatically. Then, you only need to bring the correct plug prong for the country you are going. Make sure you know which plug prong is correct for your country. There are 5 or 6 different kinds depending on the country.