Traveling Tip
In 2011 - 2012, I worked for a motel and I learned lot about traveling business. In last two years, airline companies have been increasing fare and added many hidden fees. This is not just applying to airlines, this includes rental car companies and lodging businesses. Rental car companies are the original professionals at adding hidden fees from GPS, child's seat, one-way cost, and etc.Lodging had been adding fees such as safe fees, room service, TV programs, and etc. In this blog, I will give you a tips to help you travel, possibly save some money, and some suggestions to maximize your fun. Here we go.
1) Book it directly: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT USE ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY SUCH AS HOTELS.COM, EXPEDIA, ORBITZ, PRICELINE, TRAVELOCITY. I say that because, even though it's easy to use and easy to bundle up your services you need for traveling, they will not help you when things go wrong. These companies are just bridges, they aren't responsible if your reservation at your hotel got screwed up, your rental car isn't what you wanted, nor care if your flight is cancelled or not, these companies are just here to book you so they can get commission off the reservation. I know this because I dealt with problems during my travels and also, I worked in travel industry. Just like I said, they don't care, so book it straight with companies you are dealing with. Such as airlines, hotels, and rental cars. I can't promise that their service is better than online travel agencies (Even though OTA services are worse than Comcast), but I can promise you that, when you call these places directly, they will guarantee their services and you can actually haggle with them about the price and MOST likely, they will bring it down a little. Because, think about it, if you book it with OTA, hotel has to pay them the commission of, roughly, 20 - 35% and if they could just book you straight and save you about 10%, they are still coming up ahead. Not sure you will be able to haggle airline prices, but hotel and rental car should be worth asking.
2) Learn the area: It's good to know about the place you are traveling to; especially if it's out of country(Europe, Asia, Africa, Mid East). Learning few polite words are must; learn Thank you, Please, Excuse me, and other words to be polite. Learn the local culture, it's heritage, and their modern day issues and stands. Also, learn where NOT to go. Every place has bad neighborhoods, so learn those.
3) Travel light: Do you really need 5 pairs of pants and 10 different shirts if you are going away for 2 or 3 days? Less is better when you are traveling. If you are going away from less than a week, one bagful should be enough, just think one bag per week and Im not talking about big traveling bags, something like army bags to a big bag pack should be good. Times when Im gone for 2- 3 days, I wear the clothes Im going be in most of time, bring a dressy set of clothes, and maybe one more pants and shirt. I put my belt already in the back pack with my wallet, phone, and everyday stuff in one pocket jacket and take off the jacket and shoes when I go through the security check points. Less is better.
4) Pack things that your ONLY need: Before we travel, the hardest part would be packing because....well...you are leaving your home where everything is. So you tent to think that you need everything but, just like I said in tip #3, travel light. Take exactly what you need.
Here is the list:
Clothes
Underwear/ Socks
One main entertainment source (Tablet or Laptop)
Phone
Chargers
Headphones
Wallet: ID, Credit Cards, Cash
Keys
Flight tickets
Travel size: Shampoo
Body Wash
Toothpaste
Floss
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Optional: Book
Passport(if you are going out of country)
Traveler's check
That should be enough to get you through. When you stay a night a place, DO NOT FORGET to take your charger with you. Charger is the item that people leave most of times. It's because people plug it in some odd place and in a morning rush, they take the phone but leave the charger. It might be a habit, so I suggest putting it in your bag as soon as you take your phone off charger.
5) Walk around the neighborhood: It's nothing sadder than waiting in the line to see one attraction when you could've been somewhere else doing much more fun things. Everytime I go on vacation, first thing I do is walk around the neighborhood. I do carry a weapon when I do, for safety reasons, but you can really enjoy the area when you walk around rather than standing around to see one thing. This will help you understand the area better, demographic of people, and learn the places. I did that when I went to LA and NY. I walked around. I ended up being the only guy in Harlem, but at least I can say I been to Harlem without a tourist.
6) Screw the attractions, find local jewels: I don't like to go to attractions when I go on vacations. I been to LA many times, and I been to NY twice but I only been to major attraction, maybe once or so. Just like my tip #5, when you walk around, you are able to choose where ever you want to go. If you see a restaurant/ bar that looks interesting, just go in. Asked the locals for any good spots to eat, see, and these people will tell you things that zagat guide doesn't know about.
7) Know your spending: It's 21st century and most of us has smartphone with your bank's app which tracks and shows your spending. Keep an eye on that. Most of times, we spend more than we expected during our vacation because, like me, you are probably drunk most of time. So, know your spending, if you want to get back home.
8) Take lots of photo: Unless it's a place you often visit for business/ family purpose, you should take lot of pictures. Pictures are visible memories that you can hold on to forever. Looking at those pictures can make you feel like you are at that place again, so take lot of pictures.
9) Look into local transportation rather than renting a car: Some areas, such as NYC or Chicago, subway is well laid out that you can use it, easily. Save your money and use the local transportation. If they ride horses, shit, ride horses. You don't need a car everywhere you go. You might borrow a car if you have a plan to visit specific places (Like, going to the shore in California) but other than that, you should ride buses, subway, and etc.. you might think it's scary to, but lot of people ride these transportation daily and if locals are doing, you should also.
10) Do not leave your car at airport: When I went to LA, last September, I left my car in airport for 3 days or so. It costs me $140 when I was exiting the airport. Good idea is to park it at a motel around the airport and shuttle to airport. Or just take taxi. Trust me, even though it might be a bitch to take taxi and what not, it will benefit in long run.
So these are my tips to travel. Thank you for reading.
P.S traveling on train is something that is coming back because the ridiculous prices. Even though, it's not really cheaper than airlines, if you have a time, it will be a good chance to relax and enjoy the great view through out the nation.
1) Book it directly: DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT USE ONLINE TRAVEL AGENCY SUCH AS HOTELS.COM, EXPEDIA, ORBITZ, PRICELINE, TRAVELOCITY. I say that because, even though it's easy to use and easy to bundle up your services you need for traveling, they will not help you when things go wrong. These companies are just bridges, they aren't responsible if your reservation at your hotel got screwed up, your rental car isn't what you wanted, nor care if your flight is cancelled or not, these companies are just here to book you so they can get commission off the reservation. I know this because I dealt with problems during my travels and also, I worked in travel industry. Just like I said, they don't care, so book it straight with companies you are dealing with. Such as airlines, hotels, and rental cars. I can't promise that their service is better than online travel agencies (Even though OTA services are worse than Comcast), but I can promise you that, when you call these places directly, they will guarantee their services and you can actually haggle with them about the price and MOST likely, they will bring it down a little. Because, think about it, if you book it with OTA, hotel has to pay them the commission of, roughly, 20 - 35% and if they could just book you straight and save you about 10%, they are still coming up ahead. Not sure you will be able to haggle airline prices, but hotel and rental car should be worth asking.
2) Learn the area: It's good to know about the place you are traveling to; especially if it's out of country(Europe, Asia, Africa, Mid East). Learning few polite words are must; learn Thank you, Please, Excuse me, and other words to be polite. Learn the local culture, it's heritage, and their modern day issues and stands. Also, learn where NOT to go. Every place has bad neighborhoods, so learn those.
3) Travel light: Do you really need 5 pairs of pants and 10 different shirts if you are going away for 2 or 3 days? Less is better when you are traveling. If you are going away from less than a week, one bagful should be enough, just think one bag per week and Im not talking about big traveling bags, something like army bags to a big bag pack should be good. Times when Im gone for 2- 3 days, I wear the clothes Im going be in most of time, bring a dressy set of clothes, and maybe one more pants and shirt. I put my belt already in the back pack with my wallet, phone, and everyday stuff in one pocket jacket and take off the jacket and shoes when I go through the security check points. Less is better.
4) Pack things that your ONLY need: Before we travel, the hardest part would be packing because....well...you are leaving your home where everything is. So you tent to think that you need everything but, just like I said in tip #3, travel light. Take exactly what you need.
Here is the list:
Clothes
Underwear/ Socks
One main entertainment source (Tablet or Laptop)
Phone
Chargers
Headphones
Wallet: ID, Credit Cards, Cash
Keys
Flight tickets
Travel size: Shampoo
Body Wash
Toothpaste
Floss
Toothbrush
Deodorant
Optional: Book
Passport(if you are going out of country)
Traveler's check
That should be enough to get you through. When you stay a night a place, DO NOT FORGET to take your charger with you. Charger is the item that people leave most of times. It's because people plug it in some odd place and in a morning rush, they take the phone but leave the charger. It might be a habit, so I suggest putting it in your bag as soon as you take your phone off charger.
5) Walk around the neighborhood: It's nothing sadder than waiting in the line to see one attraction when you could've been somewhere else doing much more fun things. Everytime I go on vacation, first thing I do is walk around the neighborhood. I do carry a weapon when I do, for safety reasons, but you can really enjoy the area when you walk around rather than standing around to see one thing. This will help you understand the area better, demographic of people, and learn the places. I did that when I went to LA and NY. I walked around. I ended up being the only guy in Harlem, but at least I can say I been to Harlem without a tourist.
6) Screw the attractions, find local jewels: I don't like to go to attractions when I go on vacations. I been to LA many times, and I been to NY twice but I only been to major attraction, maybe once or so. Just like my tip #5, when you walk around, you are able to choose where ever you want to go. If you see a restaurant/ bar that looks interesting, just go in. Asked the locals for any good spots to eat, see, and these people will tell you things that zagat guide doesn't know about.
7) Know your spending: It's 21st century and most of us has smartphone with your bank's app which tracks and shows your spending. Keep an eye on that. Most of times, we spend more than we expected during our vacation because, like me, you are probably drunk most of time. So, know your spending, if you want to get back home.
8) Take lots of photo: Unless it's a place you often visit for business/ family purpose, you should take lot of pictures. Pictures are visible memories that you can hold on to forever. Looking at those pictures can make you feel like you are at that place again, so take lot of pictures.
9) Look into local transportation rather than renting a car: Some areas, such as NYC or Chicago, subway is well laid out that you can use it, easily. Save your money and use the local transportation. If they ride horses, shit, ride horses. You don't need a car everywhere you go. You might borrow a car if you have a plan to visit specific places (Like, going to the shore in California) but other than that, you should ride buses, subway, and etc.. you might think it's scary to, but lot of people ride these transportation daily and if locals are doing, you should also.
10) Do not leave your car at airport: When I went to LA, last September, I left my car in airport for 3 days or so. It costs me $140 when I was exiting the airport. Good idea is to park it at a motel around the airport and shuttle to airport. Or just take taxi. Trust me, even though it might be a bitch to take taxi and what not, it will benefit in long run.
So these are my tips to travel. Thank you for reading.
P.S traveling on train is something that is coming back because the ridiculous prices. Even though, it's not really cheaper than airlines, if you have a time, it will be a good chance to relax and enjoy the great view through out the nation.
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