You may have been thinking about travelling for some time now, but are having a tough time actually getting up the courage to plunge off into the unknown. It can be extremely intimidating to go to a foreign country on your own or even with friends. Heck, it can even be scary going to another part of your own country!
It’s natural to be nervous, especially if you’ve never been off on your own before. There’s a lot of responsibility to deal with, much of which will be new to you. That’s why it’s important to do your research ahead of time.
Without research, you could land in a foreign country and suddenly realise that you have no idea how to catch a taxi, find the bathroom or rent a hotel room. Easily preventable by just a few well-spent hours ahead of time.
Buy a guide book or check one out of the library on your destination. Read it thoroughly and get to know the areas that you want to explore. If you will be travelling to a non-English speaking country, learn some useful phrases in the native language. Some good ones to know are ‘Where is the bathroom/airport/my room/information?’, ‘I need a doctor’, ‘How much?’, ‘I don’t speak . . . .’, ‘I don’t understand’, as well as the basic numbers and ‘Please’, and ‘Thank you’. Also, make sure you understand the country’s culture a bit, enough to know what clothing is appropriate and which Western customs are frowned upon.
Check out what forms of transportation are most widely used in the area you are heading. Guide books will tell you how reliable each mode of transportation is.
Some great guidebooks are Fodor’s and lonely planet. Both should be available at your library or local bookstore. You can also buy them online through a .com bookstore or go directly to their websites.
Www.lonelyplanet.com has a section called the Thorn Tree where you can ask questions about the country or area you want to go to and have the questions answered by people who live or travel there. They can be very informative and you receive much more personalized information than you receive in the guidebook. Lonely planet also features a section on themes, so you can travel according to your tastes in music, fashion, etc.
At www.fodors.com, you can research your country, right down to restaurants and hotels. You can also book online. Check out the discussion areas for information on travel. Or go to Ask.com and type in the country’s name to get all the info you need.
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