Overseas Travel Tips

Here are some things to remember when you are going overseas: PASSPORTS & VISAS - Unless you are going to Canada or Mexico, you must have a passport. - Your passport must be valid for 6-months AFTER your exit date from the foreign country. - While many countries do not require a visa, there are those that do. If you do not have the proper visa you may not be allowed to enter the country. - Make sure you know how long you are allowed to stay in the countries you are visiting. Some have limits even though you are not required to have entry visas. The penalty for overstaying you visa can be jail time. - Make sure you have the correct visa. You cannot work or study on a tourist visa.Keep your passport on you at all times. If you use the type of holder that goes around your neck, keep it inside you shirt. - Keep a copy of you passport ID page in your carryon luggage and not in the same holder you keep your passport in. - Some hotels will ask for your passport. Do your best not to let them keep it. Try to get them to take the information and return it to you immediately. - If you are going to be in the country for an extended period of time, register with the US Embassy. - If you plan on driving, get an International Drivers License before you leave the States. They are available at AAA offices and are about $20 for non-members. - Carry some extra passport type photos with you. These come in handy when dealing with the local governments. CARRY-ONS - Your passport. Sounds like a no-brainer, but you luggage will be on the other side of immigrations. - Money and travelers checks. - Any prescription medicines that you need and they should keep it in the original prescription bottle. - Keys. If you drove to the airport, it would be nice to drive home and be able to get in the house. Occasionally your luggage takes a different route and may not arrive at the same time you do. - A change of clothes, or at least a change of underwear and socks. This will be a big help when your flight gets canceled and you are not able to retrieve you luggage or you luggage gets lost/delayed. - A copy of your itinerary. - Your camera, PDA's and computer. - Anything else that you would need should your luggage get lost. WATER - Never, ever drink the water out of the tap regardless of how expensive or nice of a hotel you are staying in. Good hotels provide bottled water in their rooms. - Don't use the tap water to wet or rinse your toothbrush. Use the bottled water. - When you get a drink, get it without ice. Put up with a not so cold Coke rather having than an intimate relationship with the commode. - Watch out for many juices as they are reconstituted and not always with bottled water. Fruit juices that they squeeze fresh are normally safe to drink. - Things that go fizz are generally much safer than things that don't. Sparkling water, sodas, beer, etc. - If you are in a third world country, even the bottled water may be tap water that they refill the bottles with. Stick with the fizzy stuff. - Washing your fruit before you eat is a good idea in the States, but not overseas. Only eat fruit that you can peal -- bananas, oranges, watermelon, etc. FOOD - Enjoy the local food, but take is easy to start with. Select items that are fully cooked, fried or boiled. If you are with a local, let them suggest foods. Don't be afraid to ask what it is that you are eating. - Don't try to find food like you eat back home because you aren't back home. You are in a foreign country. When you do find something familiar -- McDonalds, KFC, etc. don't expect it to be just like back home. While some things are pretty close to what you have back home, they adjust much of the menus for the local tastes. - Asian catsup is very sweet, so try it before you load up your burger & fries. - Try to avoid salads until you have become acclimated to the region. Remember that they wash the greens in tap water. - Try to find out about the local customs. In some places, you should clean your plate, or they think that you did not like it. In others if you clean your plate, they did not cook enough. - Never leave your chopsticks sticking in your bowl of rice. It is very bad insult. Just lay them on the table or rest them on the holder if provided. - If you hear belching & slurping, it is just people enjoying their food. Don't be offended, just accept it and move on. - Many Asian cultures chew with their mouths open. Again, just accept it and don't watch if it really bothers you. - Some of the special dishes that they serve in your honor may not be something that you really want to eat. Some Asian cultures eat things that westerners would not. This may include dog, cat, rat and many sea creatures. Be polite enough to try a little portion of it. It will go a long way with most people and you may be surprised about some things. - If you want to eat off of the street vendors, you can get some pretty tasty items. Just be very careful of what you select. The corn-on-the-cob is very good as are some of the fried breads and meat on a stick. Make sure that it is fully cooked. TOILETS - There are many different types of toilets and a large number of them do not have any place to sit. - Stalls without doors are common and even some with stalls. But when you've got to go, you've got to go. - In Asian countries the toilets look like a small urinal laying flat on the floor. In Europe, some are square blocks with footpads that position you over a small round hole. Hint: Step off of the pads before flushing. - If you are in the restroom and see a trashcan full of toilet paper next to the toilet, this usually means that the system cannot handle flushing toilet paper down the toilet. This is where the used toilet paper is placed. - Carry a small package of Kleenex tissue in your pocket whenever you are out. Many toilets are kind of short on toilet paper. - The large public toilets like the ones in the markets or housing areas should be avoided except in an emergency. Just trust me on this one. MEDICAL & HYGIENE - Hygiene is not the same as in the States. - If you are going to require shots or will be in country for an extended period of time, get a prescription for syringes from your doctor and bring them with you. - A lot of medicines, both prescription and over the counter type are easily obtainable. Look for western brands if you can. Much of the local medicine is just that, produced locally and not under much government control. Check the expiration dates. - Have a good supply of Imodium and Pepto Bismol tablets, and keep some with you when you go out. - Feminine products can be difficult to find, especially tampons. - Deodorant can usually be found at the airports, better hotels and in the largest grocery stores, but not in you normal grocery or drugstore. - Look for brand names that you are familiar with, then read the ingredients. SAFETY - The biggest thing here is to just not be stupid. - Don't flash lots of cash around in public. - Don't go off of the main areas. - If you are supposed to be picked up at the airport by a driver, make sure that there is someway that you can verify that the driver that says he is there to pick you up really is. - The most dangerous thing about Asia is the driving. Everyone has the right-of-way and takes it. People walk, ride, pull out in front of traffic without ever looking. Traffic signals are regularly ignored. Bikes and scooters are the worst offenders at intersections. Watch out for them on the sidewalk, too. ELECTRICITY & PHONES - Only the USA, Canada and part of Japan are 110-volts, 60-cycles. The rest of the world is 220-volts, 50-cycles. You must carry a converter in order to use your USA appliances overseas. - Check out the Internet to find out what type of plug configuration the country you are visiting has so you can make sure you have the correct adapter. Some countries have multiple types. Just because it looks like a standard outlet does not mean that it is 110-volts. - Many of the chargers & power supplies for you cameras, PDA's, computers, etc. are dual voltage -- 100/240-volts, 50/60-cycle. Double check what yours is. - Your extension cords and surge protectors are not designed for 220-volts -- leave them at home. - GFI's like you find in most US bathrooms and kitchens are not common overseas - Carry an adapter that changes your three-prong plug to two prongs. - US mobile phones do not work overseas. If you do have one of the GSM phones in the, you may be able to set it up to work when you are overseas. If you are visiting more than one country, find out if you phone can be set up for that. Also you may only be able to call back to the US and the country you set the phone up for. Make sure you are aware of the costs of making and receiving calls as it can be expensive Let people that call just to chat that you are going to be away and not to call until you return. If you have to have a phone, you can sometimes rent one at the airport or from the car rental agency. - Making phone calls, even local ones overseas, usually requires a phone card. They can be purchased many places, but you may have to find out how to use them since the instructions will most likely not be in English. TAXIS - Taxis are the best way to get around. Some places are cheap; others cost an arm & a leg. From Narita Airport to downtown Tokyo is well over 100 US dollars. If possible, find out the cost from someone who knows or check with the airport information booth. - Have the concierge write down where you want to go, and take a card with the name of you hotel with so you can get back. Sometimes there are taxi books with favorite destinations in English and the local language. - Seatbelts will be found only in the front seat and you are only allowed to have 4 passengers to a cab. SHOPPING - The most fun part of a visiting and the most frustrating part of living in a foreign country. - Bargaining is alive and well. Don't be afraid to try. The worst that can happen is you walk away with out buying or you pay their price. - Buying brand names at prices that seem to good to be true, may be. There are a lot of knockoffs and look-a-likes around and not much control over trademarks or copyrights. Check the quality before you buy. You cannot by a Rolex for $15 no matter what the guy on the street selling them says. - There are lots of bargains to be found, but if you are planning on buying cameras or other electronics, know what they cost in the states. Also be aware that there are several different formats for televisions, VCRs and DVDs. What you buy overseas may not work in the States. Even if the player plays NTSC, it may be setup for a different region and won't work with you DVDs back home. - Be aware that there may be import duty due on certain items when you get back to the States. You are only allowed to bring back so much duty free. ODDS & ENDS - When you are out in among the public in Asia, you will find yourself bumped and jostled about. They don't really mean anything by it; it is just their culture. If someone steps on your foot, it was obviously not done on purpose, so probably won't hear an apology. - Many Asian cultures do not do lines or queues well. They just cluster around and push forward until they get there. - Asian personal space is a lot smaller than westerners. It can seem like they are right in your face. Get used to it. - It smells different. You hometown probably smells funky to them. - Don't get caught up in the style of government that they have. It is the people that make up the country and most of them are friendly and open. - Religions are different from one part of the world to another. If you have a problem with their beliefs, it is best to keep it to yourself. They probably believe that you religion is as wrong as you do theirs. Remember, almost all religions preach peace and proper behavior. - Try to learn at least how to say Hello, Good-bye, Please & Thank you in their language. It goes a long ways. - In some cultures the way they address you is based upon you age and/or position in regards to theirs, and they only way they can find out how old you are is to ask. - Business cards are very important to Asians. If offered their business card, accept it with both hands and look at it, don't just stuff it in your pocket immediately. If you are at a conference, place their card on the table in front of you that matches the way that they are seated. This way you can correctly address them by name. DO NOT put their business card in your billfold. Put them in your shirt/jacket pocket or in your brief case when the meeting is done. Similarly, you should have you business cards in someplace besides you back pocket. Best kept near the heart and not the butt. - In Asian business meetings, the leader of your group goes in first, and would normally be seated opposite of his equal at the table. - Be careful with hand jesters. When you want some to come to you, put you hand out with the palm DOWN and move you fingers. The "OK" hand sign that many Americans use means something very different/rude in some places. The thumbs-up sign is safer. The same as making a fist with you thumb sticking out between you index and middle finger. It means much the same at an erect middle finger does. - Two young women walking down the street holding hands are not lesbians, they are just friends. - Two men walking with their arms around each other are not gay, they are just friends or one is holding the other one up. What ever you do, take the time to see and enjoy the different things that the world has to offer.