This episode of the podcast is about my guide to first-time travel. I’m going to run trough my guides for what to do before you leave, what to pack, how to take better photos, and how to preserve your memories.
The first thing I want to talk about is things to do before you go to make your trip better:
- Buy travel insurance. If I have medical or scheduling issues while abroad, this will cover it.
- Submit a travel notice for your credit cards and bank. Sometimes, they will cut off your cards if you don’t do this.
- Make sure you backup everything on your phone and laptop.
- I like to download some of my songs on Spotify so that they can be listened to offline while on the plane (I do this with movies on Netflix too).
- Load up your books on Kindle. I like to read books about where I’m going to visit.
- Check your passport and make sure it is valid for at least six months after your trip is over.
- Check your credit and debit card expirations and order new ones if you need to.
- Read the Wikipedia pages for the country you’re travelling in and the city you’re arriving in.
- Look into necessary immunizations.
- Look up directions from the airport to your accommodation and screenshot it.
- Rearrange a taxi from the airport beforehand or get an idea of how much it should cost.
- Have accommodations booked for at least the first night.
- Bring the right bag. It’s better to bring too little than too much.
- Build your travel wallet. The cards you carry should be a bit different than the ones you use at home.
- Email a friend or family member a copy of your passport, US embassy information, and details about where you’re staying.
- Walk with your hands in your pockets so you don’t get pickpocketed.
- Apps to download: Splitwise, an offline translator, a currency exchange calculator, an offline map, Agoda, Airbnb, Orbitz, and Hostelworld.
Now I’m going to jump into my packing list:
- For clothes: socks, underwear, boardshorts, workout shorts, tank tops, one pair of regular shorts, one pair of jeans, T-shirts, a sweatshirt, sandals, and one pair of shoes.
- A portable speaker, a GoPro, a Kindle, a backup phone charger, a travel adapter, and two sets of headphones.
- Medicine such as painkillers, stomach meds, bandages, etc.
- A rain jacket is nice to have.
- A refillable water bottle (if you’re in a country where the tap water is drinkable).
- Carabiners and zip ties.
- A combination lock.
- Earplugs and an eye mask to make it easy to sleeps on planes, trains, etc.
- A pen for filling our immigration documents.
- A clothespin to open up my SIM card.
- Laptop and charger, of course.
- A notebook.
- A mini flashlight.
- A second pair of sunglasses that you don’t mind losing can be handy for parties.
- Snacks for the plane.
- In most countries you can replace anything that you’re forgotten, so the pressure’s not too high.
Next, I want to talk about taking photos. There are three things you need to learn to make your travel photography much better:
- The rule of thirds. If you were to cut the picture up into thirds, don’t put the person in the middle section. This way, you get to see more of the landscape and get a better composition.
- Learn to tap your phone to get focus. That’s simple.
- Make sure to shoot your videos in widescreen, except when you plan to share them on Instagram or Snapchat.
Next, journaling is a way to organize memories in a way that you’ll really appreciate. Take ten minutes every day to write down what you did. Travel is going to bri