Having moved halfway around the world to Japan, I was eager to use this opportunity to travel around Asia.
However, this has been complicated by a few things. (1) Having very little vacation time and strict times when I can use it (2) Flights aren't really that cheap, I was hoping for 50euro Ryanairesque flights but they're closer to 200euro and shoot up on weekends and holidays (3) Lack of travelling buddies. I have travelled within Japan twice and each time it didn't exactly go to plan due to the groups I was with....so looks like solo travel from here on out. This also limits where I am willing to travel - being a solo white woman in some parts of Asia makes you a walking target.
Despite these things, I will be going to Manila, Philippines in February, Beijing in China in May, and hopefully Seoul, South Korea sometime in June/July. Then I want to travel in August - I'm thinking Vietnam and Cambodia.....but I'm not sure yet!
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label planning. Show all posts
Sunday, 10 January 2016
Sunday, 28 September 2014
#93 Trip Planning like a Pro
I'm an organised person. And by organised, I mean it sometimes borderlines control freak, and this becomes much more apparent when I go on trips or try plan something with friends. I like to know the following before I go: the exact location, how long it will take to get there, the exact time, the exact price, the exact duration etc etc. And when I say 'I like to know', I actually mean 'I need to know'.
This sometimes annoys people I travel with when I shout at them because we need to hurry up and catch the 10.11 bus because the 10.14 bus would completely ruin our schedule. But they appreciate it when we save time and stress because we know exactly where to go, or when we stay at a great hostel in a convenient location for a good price.
Plan In Advance
I am a firm believer that if you plan your trip in advance, it will ultimately go much more smoothly and the experience will be more enjoyable because you will be saving time and money while getting the absolute best out of your trip.
However, I will also concede that plans should be flexible, and if you get delayed and can't catch a certain bus or visit a certain museum, all is not lost. Stressing because everything didn't go 100% as planned will mean you won't have a good time either, so relax!
Know Where You're Going
I think one of the most important things is knowing where you are going. I personally have a terrible sense of direction, so if at all possible I will designate someone else to be in charge of the map. Before I go on a trip, I will go on Google street view and examine the area around the hostel, for example, and certain areas along the route so they will be familiar when I get there. Up until recently I didn't have a smartphone, so I used to go on street view a few days before and take pictures of the screen on my phone, so when I arrived I could go back and check we were in the right direction.
Getting lost, for me anyway, is really stressful. It means you waste a lot of time that could have been spent doing something else. That's not to say that you won't have an adventure and come across some hidden gems off the tourist route, but especially if you're travelling alone I think it's vital you know exactly where you're going.
Money, money, money
I'm a total cheapo, which you may or may not have noticed. So when looking for a hostel, I have to reconcile the following: price, location and safety. If there's a big group safety becomes slightly less important, which leaves price and location.
I can spend hours on websites like Hostel World in search of the perfect hostel, constantly comparing ones closer to the city but slightly more expensive etc. A well researched and thoughtfully picked hostel should have all the things you're looking for. For me, that means a cheap hostel in a good location, with no hidden fees for breakfast, bed linen etc.
Regarding food, it's obvious that restaurants and cafés on the main tourist strips are going to be much more expensive. This can't always be avoided, but try not to make yourself a victim either. If you want to check out some places in advance, reading through Trip Advisor recent reviews is always a help. But beware of those restaurants marked 5 stars that have only been reviewed by six people, as opposed to the restaurants marked 4 stars reviewed by 3,000 people.
There are such things as free meals. . .well maybe
So we know where to go and where to stay, but what should we do when we get there? I always look up the best things to see, especially free things. It upsets me if I visit a place, come home and a few weeks later realise there was something really cool that I missed out on because I didn't research it in advance. Thanks to the internet there is an abundance of lists of best things to do etc, so there's no excuse not to research it in advance!
As a general rule, most major cities have free walking tours (well they expect a tip, but since you won't ever see them again that is entirely up to you. . .) and there are usually places where you can get a good view of the city for free - if you know where to look.
Also, be wary of paying entrance fees into places. Do you really need to go inside? Is the national gallery something you genuinely have an interest in, or is it just a 'must see' attraction you found on a list? Think it over before handing out the admission fee.
Take a chill pill
Well, not an actual pill. But you should relax and have a good time, it's a holiday after all!
This sometimes annoys people I travel with when I shout at them because we need to hurry up and catch the 10.11 bus because the 10.14 bus would completely ruin our schedule. But they appreciate it when we save time and stress because we know exactly where to go, or when we stay at a great hostel in a convenient location for a good price.
Plan In Advance
I am a firm believer that if you plan your trip in advance, it will ultimately go much more smoothly and the experience will be more enjoyable because you will be saving time and money while getting the absolute best out of your trip.
However, I will also concede that plans should be flexible, and if you get delayed and can't catch a certain bus or visit a certain museum, all is not lost. Stressing because everything didn't go 100% as planned will mean you won't have a good time either, so relax!
Know Where You're Going
I think one of the most important things is knowing where you are going. I personally have a terrible sense of direction, so if at all possible I will designate someone else to be in charge of the map. Before I go on a trip, I will go on Google street view and examine the area around the hostel, for example, and certain areas along the route so they will be familiar when I get there. Up until recently I didn't have a smartphone, so I used to go on street view a few days before and take pictures of the screen on my phone, so when I arrived I could go back and check we were in the right direction.Getting lost, for me anyway, is really stressful. It means you waste a lot of time that could have been spent doing something else. That's not to say that you won't have an adventure and come across some hidden gems off the tourist route, but especially if you're travelling alone I think it's vital you know exactly where you're going.
Money, money, money
I'm a total cheapo, which you may or may not have noticed. So when looking for a hostel, I have to reconcile the following: price, location and safety. If there's a big group safety becomes slightly less important, which leaves price and location.
I can spend hours on websites like Hostel World in search of the perfect hostel, constantly comparing ones closer to the city but slightly more expensive etc. A well researched and thoughtfully picked hostel should have all the things you're looking for. For me, that means a cheap hostel in a good location, with no hidden fees for breakfast, bed linen etc.Regarding food, it's obvious that restaurants and cafés on the main tourist strips are going to be much more expensive. This can't always be avoided, but try not to make yourself a victim either. If you want to check out some places in advance, reading through Trip Advisor recent reviews is always a help. But beware of those restaurants marked 5 stars that have only been reviewed by six people, as opposed to the restaurants marked 4 stars reviewed by 3,000 people.
There are such things as free meals. . .well maybe
So we know where to go and where to stay, but what should we do when we get there? I always look up the best things to see, especially free things. It upsets me if I visit a place, come home and a few weeks later realise there was something really cool that I missed out on because I didn't research it in advance. Thanks to the internet there is an abundance of lists of best things to do etc, so there's no excuse not to research it in advance!As a general rule, most major cities have free walking tours (well they expect a tip, but since you won't ever see them again that is entirely up to you. . .) and there are usually places where you can get a good view of the city for free - if you know where to look.
Also, be wary of paying entrance fees into places. Do you really need to go inside? Is the national gallery something you genuinely have an interest in, or is it just a 'must see' attraction you found on a list? Think it over before handing out the admission fee.
Take a chill pill
Well, not an actual pill. But you should relax and have a good time, it's a holiday after all!
Sunday, 5 January 2014
#78 Weather Forecasts
When you are travelling anywhere the weather is imperative. Not only does it affect what activities you engage in, or what sights you see, it also means feeling miserable when you are either wet/cold/sunburnt. Plus your pictures will almost certainly turn out awful, grey skies make even the nicest view look dull, and you'll probably not be in picture perfect mode either.
Of course it's unavoidable and unfortunate if it happens to be raining or in the middle of a heatwave when you arrive at your target destination - but planning is also vital. For some countries, the weather can be anticipated depending on what season you go. So for example, if travelling to Sweden in Winter you can assume it will be snowing and very cold, or if you go to Japan in the Summer, you can expect it to be very, very hot. But for some countries, like Ireland, the weather can be hard to predict regardless of season.
Out of habit, the national weather services are always where I would go to for the most accurate and trustworthy weather information on a country. I am wary of the internet and it's vast amounts of wisdom, and I guess that the national website will probably be the most detailed and reliable.
However, in Ireland The Irish Meteorological Service (Met Eireann) website is something that has been annoying me for quite a while. While many national weather service websites are helpful and detailed, this website provides you with as little information as possible. It is irritatingly vague in comparison to many other websites of this kind.
For example, if I go to the Met Eireann website and look at forecasts for the Dublin area, it will tell me that today it will be raining, and the same for tomorrow.
Of course it's unavoidable and unfortunate if it happens to be raining or in the middle of a heatwave when you arrive at your target destination - but planning is also vital. For some countries, the weather can be anticipated depending on what season you go. So for example, if travelling to Sweden in Winter you can assume it will be snowing and very cold, or if you go to Japan in the Summer, you can expect it to be very, very hot. But for some countries, like Ireland, the weather can be hard to predict regardless of season.
Out of habit, the national weather services are always where I would go to for the most accurate and trustworthy weather information on a country. I am wary of the internet and it's vast amounts of wisdom, and I guess that the national website will probably be the most detailed and reliable.
However, in Ireland The Irish Meteorological Service (Met Eireann) website is something that has been annoying me for quite a while. While many national weather service websites are helpful and detailed, this website provides you with as little information as possible. It is irritatingly vague in comparison to many other websites of this kind.
For example, if I go to the Met Eireann website and look at forecasts for the Dublin area, it will tell me that today it will be raining, and the same for tomorrow.
Photo: Vague information on the Met.ie website
If you type the words 'Dublin forecast' or something similar into Google, you get a combined result from different weather websites. This gives you a much more detailed breakdown of the expected temperature, wind and rain for 3 hour intervals.
Photo: Detailed weather breakdown from Google
Comparing the Met.ie website versus the information from Google, you see quite a difference. Met has told us that it will be raining today. If you go to Google though, it tells us that there is only a 10% chance of rain for late afternoon, and 0% chance of rain for the night.
Wondering what the weather is like in Stockholm? Let's check the SMHI, Sweden's Meteorological service:
From this you can see the website is available in both English and Swedish - and is also quite detailed - giving you information for every few hours.
Similarly, the JMA, Japan's Meteorological service, has detailed information in both Japanese and English about the weather, as well as earthquake and tsunami information.
JMA website
Met Eireann give more detailed weather information after the 9pm news on our national tv station, RTÉ. I can't see why this information can't be put on the website too. When I was in Sweden I had no TV, and I couldn't figure how to make mine work properly in Japan. Providing weather information once a day via television is simply not a feasible idea, and Met Eireann have to update their website in keeping with the needs of both the Irish people and visitors to Ireland.
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