Travel Top Tips

Apps: Google Translate ▪️ Google Maps ▪️ Google Voice ▪️ WhatsApp ▪️ Airalo ▪️ Local Rideshare (Bolt, Grab, etc.)

Sites: Escape.flights  ▪️ Google Flights 

• Portable Monitor and Stand

• Laptop Stand

• Full size keyboard and mouse

• Webcam

• Headphones with dedicated mic

• Rapid Charger

• 240W Cables

• Order physical SIM card or download eSIM in advance

• Update apps and download books, TV, music, and podcasts

• Download the local language in Google Translate

• Download offline map of area

• Order currency from your bank

• Have the concierge make your spa appointments in advance (not doing this has burned me MULTIPLE times)

• Know how you will get to your hotel (car service, train, etc.)

• Bookmark the highest rated laundry service located near fun stuff

• Search TikTok for the city you are visiting until it is in your algorithm for the month leading up to your trip

• Read the Wikipedia page of the country you are about to visit

• Food Tour (always on Day 2 to get the lay of the land, meet other travelers, and usually the guide will send a WhatsApp message with all of their top recommendations)

•  Shopping (for artwork and something I can use at home every day)

• Spa Days

• High Tea

• Cooking Class

• Photo Shoot

• Private Cultural Tour

• Read a Book in a Park

• Night Food Tour / Street Food Tour

• People Watching at Cafes (either on fancy shopping street or fancy hotel lobby bars)

I do a lot of Air BnB Experiences, and pay for them using discounted Air BnB gift cards. 

Everywhere I go I buy a location-specific tea towel and a piece of art.  For friends and family, I always bring home whatever food is popular where I am.  Weird flavored KitKats from Japan, tea and coffee from Turkey, sardines and port wine from Portugal, chocolate from Switzerland, etc. I also try to find one thing to replace in my house, and one piece of jewelry.

My phone has a physical SIM card, but it also has an eSIM slot available.  I keep my SIM card in my phone during travel, then download a local data SIM from Airalo or Ubigi.  I set my calls and texts to my physical SIM card, and my data gets set to the eSIM.  Then I set my texts to be delivered via data.  This way, I still get my text messages while out of the country, and my month of data is usually less than $20. 

The only downside to doing it this way and not paying the exorbitant cost of international plans of most carriers is that I don't get group text messages, only text messages from individuals. Never been able to figure out the settings.  So I need someone to recap the group threads for me once a week.  But I'd rather do that than pay $300 at $10 a day for a month of roaming. 

I also have a Google Voice number (which everyone gets for free if they have Gmail) and texting through Google Voice is always transmitted over data, so if you find your regular texts not going through and don't have time to figure it out, just use your Google Voice number.  

WhatsApp is what you are mostly going to be using to communicate with travelers you meet while on your trip, your tour guides, laundry delivery, the concierge, and others.  Before you go, learn how to locate your in-app QR code and scan other people's QR codes so that you can exchange contact info.  

I also travel with a backup phone that I keep in the hotel safe, just in case I lose mine or it gets stolen. 

A month prior to a trip, you should start walking in increasing amounts, and should work your way up to about 5-7 miles a day. You don't want to be in pain on day 3 of your trip and have it be hindered by an injury.  

Since you will be walking a lot, you may get blisters.  To prevent blisters from forming, tape them up the moment you feel a "hot spot" developing.  The non-woven medical tape I use (Rollfix) has to be cut with scissors, so I have pre-cut strips in my bag when I'm traveling.  I don't think they sell that particular tape in the US, but here are some other options.  Change out that tape every other day.  

If you already have a blister, what I do is wash and dry the area, put on a Compeed blister patch (or a Band-Aid if you don't have a patch), and then cover that bandage with a super adhesive medical tape like the ones I linked above. Band-Aids alone will fall off immediately so you need the tape to make sure it doesn't move.  Never put the super adhesive tape directly on the blister.  If you put on a blister patch and then tape, that's all you have to do. Leave it alone, the blister patch will seal itself around the blister and it will heal up in a few days.  If the blister popped and you put on a Band-Aid and then tape, change them out every day.  

I very much enjoy traveling by myself. You can do whatever you want, whenever you want, you don't need to consider another person's budget or interests, and I require my own bathroom, always.  However, it is also nice traveling with other people if your travel styles are compatible.  To know if you are compatible, take a test trip - a quick domestic weekend away so that before you take a weeks-long international trip, you know that you are not annoyed by this person.  It could be that they talk in their sleep, or they want to really economize on accommodations and food, or they could want to spend every moment together and not have any separate time.  I was on a solo trip last year and having lunch, and there was a woman eating at the table next to me - the sound of her chewing was so insanely unpleasant that I texted one of my friends who I travel with "I'm so glad the sound of your chewing does not bother me."  It's good to figure this stuff out beforehand so that your big trip isn't derailed. 

Every year I buy the maximum number of IHG points allowed, usually 500k, when they have a BOGO promotion.  If I remember correctly this costs $2500.  I do this because if you book an IHG hotel with points and you have the IHG credit card, every 4th night is free. The main hotel chain I stay at is the Intercontinental - if points are worth .5 cents each, booking with points per night is sometimes about even (like a $225 per night room costs 45k points per night) but many times points are actually a more favorable deal than money (like a $225 per night room costs 38k points per night). So now, 4 nights that would cost $900 paying with money, actually costs $570 paying with points (38k points x 3 nights at .5c per point) - a 37% savings.

Whatever hotel I book, I always investigate if it is cheaper to buy points than to pay in dollars to stay. 

What I usually do, if I can't find a reasonably priced business class fare using airline miles, is this:

1. Book the absolute cheapest flight I can find - so for example, I booked a round trip flight to Bangkok for $580 with one connection.

2. A month before the flight, I call the airline and ask for an upgrade offer. They may say there is nothing available, but normally they will give you an offer.  In this instance, they said I could upgrade to business class for 40,000 United miles and $600 each way. The flight I booked had my layover in Tokyo which means it takes 30 hours to get to Bangkok from where I live, so for an extra $1000 each way, that's a HELL YES from me.

3. I transferred 80,000 points from Chase to United, which is a 1:1 points to miles transfer, and the United rep booked me in

4. So $580 (original flight cost) + $1200 ($600 each way) + $800 (average value of 80k points) = $2,580 round trip.

If I wanted to book this same route in business class outright, it would cost me $6,000 - $8,000.

This is why the only acceptable use of points in my opinion is on flight upgrades or transferring those points to airline miles and using them to book business class flights. To give you another example, a one way business saver ticket cost me 110,000 United miles to get from Houston to Saigon.  So a RT business flight is 220,000 miles, about $2,200.  That is a phenomenal deal to fly from Texas to Asia in business class. 

I have been to 43 countries and traveled alone to ~15 of them. I have never felt unsafe but people ask me about this a lot. I generally stay in nicer hotels that are staffed 24 hours a day, and the staff know me by name.   I also usually travel to major cities where I feel more safe than, say, a beach town. 

Another reason I feel safe is because I work remotely, so that means I'm at my desk from 4pm to midnight (or later depending on time zone) and do my exploring during the day and at dinner.  I'm not usually out at night. If you are traveling by yourself I would be wary of Air BnBs or VRBOs and stick to hotels in really populated areas, and if you want to go out at night, go out with friends or on a group tour. I rented an apartment with a friend in Istanbul last year and it was fantastic, but I don't know if I could have stayed there by myself and felt safe. 

I used to travel a lot for work and in certain countries we got a safety briefing upon arrival.  The main two takeaways were:

• Mind your own business

• If you see a large group of locals gathered together, walk in the opposite direction. 

You should also register your trip with STEP.  That way the local US embassy has a headcount of Americans in that country and can send you updates about what to do in case of emergency.

I travel internationally a lot, for extended periods of time, so I usually buy an annual travel insurance plan for around $400.  But for shorter trips or purely domestic travel, your credit card should provide enough coverage.  

I have used my credit card trip delay insurance and baggage delay insurance extensively over the years. If you land somewhere but your bag does not, most premium credit cards will reimburse you for your expenses - toiletries, new clothes, new shoes, etc. until your bag arrives. If you are flying between cities or flying home and your flight gets delayed overnight because of a storm or the plane is broken or whatever, the card insurance will cover your hotel and food until your rescheduled flight. 

You should also keep in mind that most medical care is way cheaper abroad than in the US.  I had a respiratory infection in France one time and spent 2 days in a hospital. My bill was $37.  Last year I got food poisoning in Turkey and the kind and lovely paramedic who saw me puking my guts out in front of the Hagia Sofia insisted I go to the hospital.   The total bill for my doctor visit with English translator, meds and a bag of IV fluids was $57. I didn't even bother submitting it to my travel insurance for reimbursement.  

Spreadsheet will be linked at some point. 

I generally assume I can buy whatever I need anywhere in the world, but it's better to be prepared.  I learned during a trip to Sweden that they do not believe in cold medicine, and they do not sell it in pharmacies or grocery stores. Everywhere I went, they advised me to rest and drink tea, which is not super helpful if you are only there for a short period of time and want to enjoy your trip.  I carry a small quantity (around 5) of each of these in a little pack that lives permanently in my carry on:

• DayQuil / NyQuil

• Aleve / Tylenol

• Docusate Sodium

• Loperamide

• Pepto Chewables

• Benadryl

• Tums

• Cough Drops

• Hydrocortisone cream

• Band-Aids

• Blister Patches

• Medical Tape Strips