I am always excited to go on a vacation or have a change of environment; however, the
cons of travelling for me is when things don’t go according to plan- especially when I encounter a situation that could have been avoided. One of the worst travelling experiences I had years ago was when I arrived at my destination and didn’t get my boxes; I was baffled and disoriented because I kept my documents in one of the checked-in boxes- how silly of me. I needed those documents to proceed to the next level of an exam. It took about 2 weeks to get my boxes. If you’ve gone through that heart wrecking experience will definitely understand what I went through; phew! It was truly my worst experience.
It is not uncommon to be in a situation where you realize some mistakes in your travel plans or regret not doing certain things before travel; in extreme cases, such mistakes might make you end your travel plans. I have made several travel mistakes; for instance, I didn’t remember to:
1. Bookmark places of interest: If I checked out the places of interest in that country before visiting, it would have made my vacation more interesting. The places I visited were quite far from the hotel; meanwhile, various sites of interest were within the community I lodged in.
2. Have a budget: Yo! I’m always amazed at how foreign currencies seem to easily get used up😂. On a serious note, when next you’re going on the long-awaited vacation, make your budget your best friends.
3. Take pictures: I grew from a weird phase of “not taking pictures at all” to “not remembering to take photos”. I’m glad I’m in the phase of capturing memories.
4. Make new friends: I had the opportunity to make new friends or at least get out of my shell at one of the medical conferences I attended with my family several years ago. However, I decided to be in my most natural state as an introvert. Glad things have changed for the better.
5. Cross-check my documents: This would have been an unfortunate and embarrassing situation as I didn’t know I was with my mom’s passport instead of mine. Luckily we were travelling together, and the officials notified us.
6. Make copies of my documents: What saved me was that I remember to do so at the last minute.
7. Use the hotel pickup service: Some hotels arrange that for their guest; however you have to notify them ahead of time. When I remembered, it was too late. I ended up spending so much on an airport taxi to get to the hotel ( I would have got a nice dress with that cash! 😐)
8. Let go of unrealistic expectations or what I’ve seen in movies: I refuse to spill the tea on this one but sis, be open-minded when in a new country *winks*.
9. Book a hotel reservation way ahead of time: I meeeeean, this saves cost, time and prevents unwanted circumstances.
10. Read up on my vacation destination- You have to be prepared for changes. To avoid unwanted circumstances, know more about the place you will be visiting, i.e. the weather, culture, food&restaurants, time zone etc
11. Charge my devices: I had confidence that I will get a place to charge my devices, but unfortunately, there was no USB port close to my seat.
12. Check-in online: On two occasions, I was the first person to be attended to at the airport because I checked in online. I don’t like those long queues at the airport; the anxiety from flying is already enough for me.
13. Choose a seat online: After checking in, you can choose where to sit. I forgot to do that one time and was given a random seat. Tbh, I didn’t enjoy the flight.
14. Sign up for frequent flyer programs: Who doesn’t like a reward program? The mistake I made was not joining Emirates Skyward early enough. I guess by now, I would have been enjoying the benefits. Well, according to one of my motivational mottos is “it’s never too late to start.”
15. Weigh my boxes before getting to the airport: Actually, I assumed that the hotel would have a scale, but to my surprise, that wasn’t the case, to God’s glory, the story didn’t end in tears ☺️
16. Avoid carbonated drinks: I always feel bloated and uneasy when I drink soda before travelling.
17. Download my favourite TV shows, movies and music before embarking on a road trip.
I’m glad I have learned from my mistakes :). Now that I’ve exposed my worst travel mistakes, I’ll like to know which of the mistakes above you’ve made?
If you love reading my posts, kindly share them with your friends and love ones. I’d also like to know your thoughts in the comments section.
Love,
Grace
If you love this blog, kindly share the posts with your friends and loved ones. It will mean a lot to me to know your thoughts in the comments. Love, Grace
