Today, traveling has become a major part of life for modern man. This is especially true in Asia, where you could go and see mesmerizing locations, eat exotic foods and immerse in a totally different culture.
While most travelers find their journey memorable and exciting, there are those who come home frustrated and exhausted. A few unfortunate ones even end up facing life imprisonment or the death penalty.
There are several reasons for travel fiascos, but most of them can be avoided. Here are some basic rules to keep in mind when traveling abroad:
- Secure a passport from any offices of Department of Foreign Affairs. A passport is a document issued by the national government, which certifies the identity and nationality of its holder for the purpose of international travel. A passport entitles the passport holder to return to the country that issued the passport. The elements of identity contained in all standardized passports include information about the holder, including name, date of birth, gender and place of birth.
- Get a travel visa for countries that require it. A visa (from the Latin charta visa, literally “paper that has been seen”) generally gives noncitizens clearance to enter a country and to remain there within specified constraints, such as a time frame for entry, a limit on the time spent in the country and a prohibition against employment.
Among the countries that are frequented by Filipinos and required a visa include the US, Canada, most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Egypt and South Africa. However, there are less than 40 countries Filipinos can visit and most of these are the neighboring countries in Southeast Asia, some countries in South America and in Africa.
In Indonesia, Lao PDR, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, a Filipino can stay up to 30 days without visa. In Israel, it’s up to 90 days, but only up to 21 days in Cambodia, Mongolia and Vietnam. In Brunei Darussalam and Hong Kong, a Filipino is allowed to stay only up to 14 days if he has no visa.
- Get ready. Get to know the country you’re visiting. Buy a travel book and a map of the city you’re going to. Get phone numbers of your friends or relatives who may be living in the area (just in case you get lost).
Be sure to have all the necessary documents: a valid passport (check six months’ validity), visa (if the country you’re entering requires it), plane tickets, letters from your sponsors (if you’re invited), identification card and other pertinent papers. If possible, make a check list and check all items you put into your luggage. That way, you won’t miss anything.
In addition, read up and make sure you know what you need to know. Before leaving, get some firsthand information from your government through its travel advisory. Ask friends or relatives for tips. Read news stories about the country you’re visiting, but don’t believe everything you read or hear.
- Have yourself (and your companions) get vaccinated—if needed. There is no point in spending hours choosing your swimwear, beach bag and flip-flops if you barely think about the bugs and other health risks that could ruin your holiday. Infectious diseases can make you very sick, spoil your holiday, and even kill or disable you. Vaccinations protect you against many travel-related infections, such as yellow fever, typhoid and hepatitis A.
- Observe regulations when checking in. Be at the airport at least two hours before departure. Carry-on luggage must fit under the seat or in an overhead compartment. Dangerous articles, such as compressed gases, explosives, flammable liquids and solids, and poisons and infectious substances, are not allowed in carry-on luggage.
- Do not carry drugs. In most Asian countries, travelers found carrying illegal substances undergo the death penalty or life imprisonment.
- Entry into a foreign country is subject to passengers meeting the customs requirements. In the Philippines, for instance, fruits are subject to quarantine laws and such they should be accompanied with import documentation from the country of origin. In Singapore, chewing gums are strictly prohibited.
- Expect the unexpected. Losing a luggage is one of the most-often complaints of air passengers. If you lose your luggage while flying, seek help from airline personnel and present your luggage tags, advises the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA). If the airline locates your luggage, ask to have it sent to your hotel. If you lose your baggage outside the airport, inform local authorities.
What if you lose your travel documents? The PTAA suggests that you present photocopies of your documents—if you have them. Be prepared for delays. If you lose your plane ticket (these days, e-ticket is more preferable), inform your travel agent or airline so they can send you a substitute ticket. If you lose your passport and/or visa, you can no longer continue your trip. Visit the nearest embassy to arrange for temporary travel documents.
As a result of losing your visa or passport, you need to cancel or reschedule your trip. To do this, call your travel agent or airline. There is usually a last-minute penalty for cancellation. In some instances, penalty can be waived for valid reasons like sickness or death in the family—but be sure to present pertinent documents.
- Pick your seat. A 2007 study by “Popular Mechanics” found passengers sitting at the back of a plane are 40 percent more likely to survive a crash than those sitting in the front. Although the article quotes Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and a web site on aircraft safety, all claim there is no “safest” seat. The article studied 20 crashes, not taking into account the developments in safety after those accidents. However, a flight data recorder is usually mounted in the aircraft’s empennage (tail section), where it is more likely to survive a severe crash.
- Secure travel insurance. This is intended to cover medical expenses, financial default of travel suppliers, and other losses incurred while traveling, either within one’s own country, or internationally. The most common risks that are covered by travel insurance are: medical emergency (accident or sickness); emergency evacuation; repatriation of remains; return of a minor; trip cancellation, trip interruption, accidental death; overseas funeral expenses; lost, stolen or damaged baggage; personal effects or travel documents, delayed baggage (and emergency replacement of essential items); missed flight connection due to airline schedule; and travel delays due to weather.
- Get ready for jet lag. Most experts believe that jet lag occurs when a traveler’s internal biological clock is out of synchronization with the time zone of a person’s destination, thereby disrupting the normal daily rhythms of sleeping, eating and other activities. And the more time zones you cross, the worse your jet lag.
To zap out of jet lag, experts recommend that before flying, get enough sleep. During the flight, drink plenty of fluids, avoid alcohol, pretend you’re not on a plane, socialize and relax. When you arrive at your destination, don’t take a nap—especially if it is still afternoon. Wait until it will be dark and you have eaten your dinner.
- Shop ‘till you drop. This is one of the most common things you, a foreigner, usually do in another country. Before going out, however, have a good idea of what it is that you want to buy and don’t deviate from it. Also, research the product beforehand and decide what your price limits are.
- Mind your manners. When visiting temples and mosques in Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam, wear proper attires and remove shoes at the entrance. In Myanmar (Burma), remove your shoes before entering homes.
Touching someone on the head is considered rude in Vietnam. In Japan, if bowing does not make you feel awkward, bow. When sitting in South Korea, do not stretch your leg out in front of elderly people or women. When eating a Chinese meal in Singapore, never stick your chopsticks into your food.
In most Asian countries, the left hand is regarded as unclean, so avoid using it when handshaking, touching, eating or passing food, papers, and money. In Malaysia and other Muslim countries, avoid giving a bottle of alcoholic drink or a pigskin wallet. The culture of the country you’re visiting is different from yours.
- Say cheese. An unknown author once penned: “One photo out of focus is a mistake, ten photos out of focus are experimentation and one hundred photos out of focus are a style.” When it comes to travel photography, Jose Martin Punzalan, editorial coordinator of “Travel Plus” and photographer, says: “Traveling is a great way for aspiring photographers to practice their skills, as they will surely encounter a whole wide range of shooting situations that will test their versatility and creativity in taking unique photos.”
Punzalan shares the following tips: Get a good camera. Shoot much of the same thing, but make each one different from the other. Get away from where other tourists are shooting. Copy other great photos. Always have your camera on hand and ready. Take pictures of people, too.
- Enroll in a frequent-flyer program. It is a loyalty program offered by many airlines. Typically, airline customers enrolled in the program accumulate frequent-flyer miles (kilometers, points, segments) corresponding to the distance flown on that airline or its partners. There are other ways to accumulate miles. In recent years, more miles were awarded for using cobranded credit and debit cards than for air travel. Acquired miles can be redeemed for air travel; for other goods or services; or for increased benefits, such as travel class upgrades, airport lounge access or priority bookings.
To end this piece, the statement of Paul Fussell seems to apt: “All the pathos and irony of leaving one’s youth behind is thus implicit in every joyous moment of travel: one knows that the first joy can never be recovered, and the wise traveler learns not to repeat successes but tries new places all the time.”