Latest Post

October 02, 2018


What local customs should I be aware of on my first trip to Afghanistan?


In general:
  • Many Afghans enjoy talking about their children and parents and enjoy questions about such.
  • Have photos of your family to share.
  • Remember that your behavior is being observed and judgment is being made about it - by work colleagues, by others in the guest house, etc. Gossip about your behavior, however unjustified, can get you fired.
  • NEVER put your feet on a desk
  • Try never to show a room the underside of your bare feet
If you are a man:
  • Always leave doors open when you are meeting with women, not just Afghan women, and no other men.
  • Do not offer to shake hands with a woman, Afghan or not, unless she offers it.
  • Do not touch any women, Afghan or otherwise, in a casual way (on the shoulder or arm, for instance).
  • Do not eat one-on-one in a public place or employee break room with a woman (having another man or woman there is helpful for appearances)
  • Please wait for your female colleagues that are accompanying you to a car or another building if they need time to put on their head scarf.
If you are a woman:
  • When you are outside your workplace or guest house, wear the headscarf.
  • Pants, even jeans, are fine, but make sure whatever shirt you are wearing extends all the way past your butt, completely covering your crotch as well.
  • Avoid tight shirts that fit snugly around your chest.
  • Wear shirts with sleeves that come at least to your elbows.
  • Always leave doors open when you are meeting with a man, not just Afghan women, and there are no other women present.
  • Do not offer to shake hands with an Afghan man unless he offers it.
  • Do not touch any men, Afghan or otherwise, in a casual way (on the shoulder or arm, for instance), because this can be misinterpreted, not necessarily by the person you touch but by people watching.
  • Do not eat one-on-one in a public place or employee break room with a man (having another man or woman there is helpful for appearances)
  • Many women choose to say they have a husband or fiancé, even with they don’t.


Read more »

October 02, 2018


What are some traveling tips to save money?


I am not the type of person who will take the longest flights to save a few hundred bucks, and I don’t clip coupons while I am on the road. I believe it is better to spend time making more money, rather than saving. Frugal living should be a lifestyle, not just random things you do here and there. I don’t spend too much time worrying about saving money; instead I develop habits that will help me avoid wasting my hard earned money.
Here are some ways to save money and travel more without killing yourself in the process.
1.Check Out Sharing Economy Services
Last summer, my grandmother asked my family to take her to New York City for the first time. That wasn’t her only “first” during this trip.
My grandmother and mother took their first Uber, and asked that they never take a taxi again. My 75 year old grandmother who barely speaks English, enjoyed conversations with Uber drivers. She asked us to translate their stories. Every Uber trip was an interesting story she wanted to hear. Grandmother asked us to teach her how to call an Uber.
They stayed in their first AirBnB apartment and loved it. My mother told me to buy 2 condos when we get back and become an AirBnB host. They were in love with the concept and experience.
Shared economy services have changed the way many of us travel. And it is not just for the younger generation. It helps cut out the middlemen and connect the service providers to the customers. This helps improve customer service and reduces costs significantly.
Using shared economy services is a great way to lower your travel expenses, get better services and creates a more authentic experience.
You don’t need to be travelling to Uber. If you live in a busy city, using public transportation and Ubering is cheaper than owning a car in most cases.
It doesn’t stop there. Now you can find Uber for almost everything. For example, you can eat authentic food at the home of local chef usingEatWith. You get a richer experience at a fraction the cost of a fancy dinner in a tourist area.
Before you book a hotel, call a cab or make a reservation at a restaurant during your trip, check out the shared economy service options. It might save you some money and it allows you to get a more unique and authentic experience.
Get $15 off first ride with Uber
Get $27 CAD off your first AirBnB booking.
2. Leverage Business Trips
People ask why I have been visiting so many places recently. Most of my trips are business. I am lucky, because at ThinkRenegade, we work with a lot of travel brands. We often have the opportunity to travel to exotic places for work.
Sometimes I bring my family with me on business trips and extend the travel by a few days. They can explore the city while I am working. That saves me the cost of my flight; clients never have problem with it.
3. Don’t Wait Until The Last Minute
During the New York Trip, my grandmother was surprised that I knew all the best places to do everything. That wasn’t luck.
Before every trip, I create a Google My Map for every city I am going to visit. I added all the top attractions, the top restaurants, top bars — all the important places (hotels, airport, train station etc.)to Google My Map.
It is a great way to find affordable places while traveling and stay within your budget. Before a trip, you should check out review sites and top list articles for affordable restaurants and attractions. Add them to your map, and search when you need to find a place to eat. If you wait until the last minute, you will have to pay premium price.
Also don’t book your accommodations and flights last minute. They are usually much more expensive. Don’t book too early nor too late.
4. Plan Less
I love travel planning.I love researching the history and culture of every city I visit. Sometimes I think I like planning even more than travelling. However, the best part of travel is being spontaneous. It is about meeting new people, going to new places and trying new things.
If we plan too much, we lose the beauty of travelling. And over planning can cost you. If you have booked everything and have to cancel last minute, most likely you won’t get your money back. Plan the overall trip but don’t worry too much about the finer details. You should focus on enjoying the moments instead of trying to stick to all your plans.
5. Bring Less
My suitcase for a week trip and a month trip look identical. I just finished packing my clothes for my one month Asia trip. Five years ago I had four suitcases of clothes for a similar trip. This time, I have 10 dresses, a pair of flats and a pair of heels.All my clothes are low maintenance clothes. I can easily wash and hang them to dry everyday. It is usually faster than a dry cleaning service. I even took a few trips last year with only a carry-on. I still manage to look great with a minimal amount of stuff, and it’s nice not worrying about the possibility of lost luggage.
The more things you bring with you on the road, the more likely you will become a slave to them. Many budget airlines will charge extra for checked bag. Also you will waste a lot of valuable time waiting in baggage check lines.
And if the airline loses your luggage, you will spend more money to buy things on the road. It is a risk I cannot take when traveling for business; I cannot speak at a conference wearing a tshirt and jeans. It’s fine, but it doesn’t align with my personal brand.
Bringing fewer things will make your life easier. Less is more.
6.Get A Local Or Roaming Sim
The first thing I ask when I get to a new country is INTERNET. I lose more money being unplugged. If you stay long enough in a country, it is a good idea to get a local prepaid card or a roaming Sim.
I have two roaming sim cards for US and Mexico travel. It allows me to check my emails and use any app services such as Uber on the road. The amount of money I save and make from having unlimited data while travel is much more than the cost of a roaming card.
7. Make Local Friends Before You Travel
Whenever I go to a new city, I always hang out with local people. Twitter makes the world much smaller. I have friends everywhere I go. It is the best way to explore a new place like a local and get an authentic experience. By avoiding all the tourist places, you will have a much better experience at a lower price.
Tinder isn’t just for dating. I use it as a way to meet local people to hangout with on the road.I have met some of my good friends on Tinder.
8. Dress Polished
I always make sure I look extremely polished on the road even if I am tired. Looking my best is important to me, I take pride in my home country Canada, so when I’m working abroad I want to represent. You would never bump into me wearing sweatpants and a t-shirt at an airport. Always a nice comfy dress, black heels and oversized sunglasses.
I always get nice treatment from the TSA, free upgrades and lots of free perks on the road. People treat me much nicer when I look put together.People are more likely to be nicer to people they like.
Dressing up doesn’t mean wearing uncomfortable clothes. You just need to wear stretchy and breathable material. I like to wear black on the road.
9. Stock Up On Snacks
Growing up with so many kids in the house taught me this valuable habit. Once we were on a road trip to an island. It took three hours to find a restaurant. Luckily I had a lot of snacks in my bag. We just snacked while searching for a restaurant.
The first thing I do after I get to a hotel is buy healthy snacks. If I get hungry at night and don’t like anything on the room service menu, I always have some snacks.People always come to my room for food.
This can help you save a lot of money when you cannot find an affordable restaurant to eat at. Stocking up onhealthy snacks can also help you avoid junk foods and weight gain, we’ve all been there, it’s a challenge keeping on track while travelling.
10. Download Offline Versions Of Apps
If you don’t have a roaming sim card, don’t forget to download offline version of your travel apps. Did you know that you can download an offline map from Google?
It will save you a lot money, data roaming is very expensive.
Download all the offline versions of your favorite app and turn off your data while you are travelling.
11. Do Free Stuff
There are plenty of free things to do on the road. Many of which are much better than paid activities. Coco Channel once said, “’The best things in life are free. The second best things are very, very expensive.”
Many cities offer free or ‘pay-as-you-wish day’ for popular attractions.Usually a quick Google search will give you a full list.
Free Museum Days In New York City
Free Museum Days in Paris
Free Things To Do In Rome.
I have heard Free Walking Tour By Foot is much better than paid tours.
12. Spend More Time In Fewer Places
Often times people try to visit as many attractions as possible when they are travelling. But that is not the best way to see a country. To see all the hidden beauty of a place you have to take your time to discover and fully immerse yourself in it.
By spending more time in a fewer places, you will getdiscounts for accommodations and save money on transportation.Don’t be a travel slut, take your time to enjoy your journey.
13. Don’t Buy Things You Don’t Need
The best way to save is don’t buy. Simple.
It is easy to collect random things on the road. I purposely leave almost no room in my suitcase. It is almost impossible for me to buy things unless I buy a new bag and check it.
I don’t check bags. That simple trick keeps me away from impulsive buying.
Spend less time buying material things, and more time buying experiences.Interesting experiences will last much longer than random souvenirs.

Read more »

October 02, 2018


What is your experience eating a foreign food that was way out of your comfort zone?


Back in early 2000s a couple of my friends and I were travelling through Kawardha district in what is now Chhattisgarh. On our way we came upon a village of lower caste people who were really dirt poor.
But, poverty didn’t put any dent on their spirit of hospitality (you get that hospitality anywhere in India). They wanted to serve us a meal. Free. But, they were not sure if we baboos (gentlemen) from big towns would appreciate their food.
We had to convince them. Really convince them that we eat everything. I had to tell them my stories of eating dog-meat curry and dried python. One of us had an experience with eating boiled tree roots. We were no Bear Grylls, but we were no ordinary travellers either.
Thus empowered they finally decided to serve us whatever delicacy they had.
Ant eggs…


And, ricegrass seeds…


Boiled in earthen pots. Garnished with wild lemon juice and salt.
How was it?
Bland. Very bland.
But, it was the best food they had at the time. And, that selfless hospitality rendered a lot of taste and flavour to the food.

Read more »

October 02, 2018


What is the weirdest thing you’ve gotten stopped for by airport security?



I was flying back home to Norway from a weekend in Copenhagen very early in the morning, I think the plane took off at 5 am or something. I was tired, cranky and my eyes were blood shot and had dark rings from very little sleep.
As I landed at Gardermoen OSL I was waved aside by a young woman who asked me what I had been doing in Copenhagen. I answered that I had been visiting my boyfriend during the Valentines weekend and she asked why he wasn’t going back home with me. I answered that he was working in Copenhagen at the moment and again that I just had visited him for Valentines.
She then stated that I was looking rather “tired” and asked if I had visited some special areas of Copenhagen… My sleepy head finally kicked in and I understood that she thought that I was high on drugs and had been to Christiania, a part of Copenhagen that is rather liberal. I told her where my hotel was located, that we had been to Tivoli, some restaurants, visited some sights and that I thought the architecture was lovely.
She sighed and went on to search my small suitcase. Asked why I hadn’t bought any liquor or wine with me from the tax-free, and I said I didn’t drink much. Then with a big grin on her face she found my tobacco… AND my rolling papers…“Why do you have this?! Tell me, now!”
I answered that I was a smoker and I rolled and smoked tobacco because I didn’t like the dry taste of cigarettes. I had bought my 5-pack of tobacco in Copenhagen because it’s much cheaper in Denmark than in Norwegian stores.
She tossed it aside and grabbed one of the packs of rolling papers and waved it in my face while she said “And these?! Why do you have these?!”I answered, beginning to get a bit annoyed; “I’m a smoker, not a chewer, so I as all who rolls tobacco, use rolling papers…”
She then sticks the rolling papers up to my face, holding it as close to my nose as she could without touching me while she triumphantly tells me: “My boss told me to be on the lookout for many papers!”
And here I started laughing… Trying to tell her between giggles that those papers was called a double pack, held 100 papers and were also sold in Norwegian grocery stores, but that the single pack with 50 papers were more commonly used

Read more »

October 02, 2018

What is the most disrespectful thing someone did to you while you were on an airplane?

Long ago during the Cold War we used to practice rapid re-inforcement of the armies in Germany to forestall any sudden invasion by the Soviet armies on the other side of the border.
To carry out the mammoth task of moving several tens of thousands of UK based soldiers an intricate plan involving ferries and chartered ships and military and chartered aircraft was conceived and rehearsed from time to time.
I was in the UK and I had to reach a rather wet and muddly location near the river Weser, close by Hamelin of pied piper fame. My orders required me to assemble my people in good order with all their equipment and weapons and to report to a numbered bus at a given place and time. The bus took us to the back gate of Heathrow Airport where we queued to be loaded onto a chartered aircraft.
The chartered aircraft was a long haul Tristar (or similar three engine ‘plane) and it was crewed by its normal crew all dolled out in their smart uniforms with tight skirts and natty caps . . . . From the top of the steps at either end they saw a long line, four abreast, of assorted soldiery. Not just people but all their kit and assorted rifles, machine guns, sub-machine guns and the odd bit of specialist gear carried by individuals, fortunately mine was in a natty brown case with no sharp corners along with sandwiches, fruit and cold tea.
The chief of the cabin crew threw a fit, it appeared that no one had considered the amount of stuff that we were carrying and it was quite clear that no arrangements had been made to load the holds and pretty much every seat had been allocated. Maybe they thought that we went to war with a single roll on! It took three times the time to load as had been predicted and every nook and cranny was stuffed with packs, cases, webbing harness sets and sundry sleep mats and sleeping bags.
Our hardware presented the greatest problem. All those nasty guns, metal bits, bits that poked out and might damage the pristine interior of the aircraft and glistening with oil just waiting to mark the fabric surfaces. The cabin supervisor decided that they must be surrendered up and packed in a single area. Our collective response was “Not bloody likely, I signed for this exact one and I’m not letting go . . .” She decided to try to force the issue and approached me (as I was the nearest person exhibiting authority organising my people) snarling “give me your weapon” and looking round to identify my rifle. A bit of a problem as I only had a pistol and that was tucked away in a covered holster.
Thwarted she then insisted that I order my ‘people’ to give her their ‘guns’ . . . There followed a to and fro discussion of demands and refusals until the ‘plane driver pitched up. I explained our reluctance to be parted from items that we had signed for and a truce was negotiated with the agreement that we would keep the nasty things from scratching or marking the furnishings.
As our ‘plane driver revved up the engines and got us into the queue for take off the cabin chief barked her orders over the cabin speakers ending with the immortal words “This is a short flight, I want to see you buckled in holding your weapon erect between your legs. If you don’t keep it upright, where we can see it, keeping any fluids off the seats then the cabin crew will come and seize it!”
 And so we went to war . . . ! Accompanied by gales of laughter, I really don’t think she realised what she had said to conjure images in the minds of the licentious soldiery.

Read more »

October 02, 2018


What should I absolutely not do when visiting the USA? 2018


Don’t get out of your car if you get pulled over by police.
I was pulled over by a police officer while driving in Iowa. It was one week after I had arrived in the USA for the first time. I had accidentally made a minor mistake disobeying a traffic sign. Back home in Australia it’s considered polite to get out of your car and walk over to the police officer’s car and hand him your license* so he doesn’t have to get out of his seat. I wanted to be extra polite so I immediately jumped out of my car and walked towards his car while reaching into my back pocket.
I’m lucky to be alive.
If you come from a gun-free country like the UK or Australia you don’t have any natural instinct for gun culture. You don’t realize that police assume that everyone is armed.
Things got immediately serious. The police officer’s hand went to his weapon and I responded by dropping to my knees with my hands up. He yelled a bunch of things at me but my memory is vague because my heartbeat was suddenly pulsing in my ears blotting out all sound. I don’t know if he drew his weapon or not. I was staring intently at the ground, shaking and trying to project non-threatening vibes. My next memory is that there were three police cars around me and a bunch of cops who’d been called for backup. They were all keeping their hands close to their guns. After some time passed (a minute? 30 minutes? I have no idea) the tensions de-escalated and they told me to get up. I gave the officer my license and tried to explain why I’d approached him. It was completely incomprehensible to him that there was a place where people don’t fear cops and vice versa at traffic stops. It was as though I was trying to tell him that I came from Narnia and our cops were all talking animals.
I’ve spoken to several British people, New Zealanders, and Australians who have shared almost identical stories. They really need to put signs up in all major US airports.
Don’t get out of your car if stopped by police. They will assume you are armed and they might shoot you.
*Edit: There is a bit of a debate on twitter (and to some extent in the comment thread here) about whether Australians are still taught to get out of the car and hand their license to police. I haven’t lived in Australia for 15 years so it might have changed since then. It made me curious so I made a twitter poll. I’d appreciate it if you took a moment to answer. Non-Americans only please.

Read more »

October 02, 2018

What are some scams to be aware of while travelling in Europe? 2018 
I have never been pickpocketed in India in all my years of living and traveling here.
Day 2 in London and I was relieved of my wallet DESPITE taking precautions.
This wasn’t a scam but a stunningly common occurrence in many European countries. Happens in public places and happens inside hotels/restaurants.
I had my wallet inside a zipped up bigger bag that hung across the front of my body. I even had one hand on it. So how did I still lose it?
The MO of the pickpocket was as follows.
It was the evening rush hour at the London metro called the Tube.
When the train pulled into the station, it was already full. As I stepped inside, I felt someone run in just behind me and give me a big push. The person seemed to have lost balance and fell on my back. In turn I fell onto some people at my front. I put my hands out to grab something to balance myself.
That person seemed to struggle to stand and grabbed me from the back. The next second she cursed loudly that she had gotten into the wrong train and stepped back out of the train, just before the doors closed. I never saw who it was.
When I straightened up, I discovered my bag was unzipped. And my wallet was missing. The person had been so quick and smooth that in a few seconds, she had not only reached around me with her arms, she had also unzipped the bag, removed the wallet and exited the train.
I looked up in dismay. The passengers around me noticed what had happened and shrugged. I had become yet another hapless victim of pickpocketing in London tube.
Keep in mind a few points when you travel anywhere and not just Europe:
  1. Be pre-warned that tourists are favourites of pickpockets since they always carry cash and often don't report such crimes.
  2. Avoid rush hour travel in public transportation.
  3. Be wary of over-friendly strangers offering help.
  4. Do not be a typical tourist standing on road-side peering at a map. Be aware of your surroundings all the time. Do not open your bag and fiddle with the contents when you are in a busy place like a train station. You are being watched.
  5. Keep your wits around when you stop to watch road-side tricks/shows. You will be pulled in to participate. You put your bag down for an instant. And that’s the last time you will see it.
  6. Don't carry all your cash in one wallet. Spread it out. A jacket with an inside pocket that zips up is the safest place.
  7. Do not carry your valuables like the passport and traveller’s cheques on your person all the time. Leave them in a safe deposit box at your accommodation. Have a picture of your passport saved on your phone.
  8. Before leaving home, remove all the extra credit or debit cards you are not likely to be using.
  9. In India, you need to put in your pin when you use your credit card. Abroad, that same international credit card may not even require a pin. If you lose it, someone can easily misuse it.
  10. Have the customer service number of your credit card company saved on your phone so you can instantly disable the card in case you lose it.
  11. To be able to call, you need a calling plan already enabled on your phone. Many Indian telecom providers now offer affordable plans that you can buy before you go. That way your phone is usable as soon as you land and you are not scrambling to find calling plans after you land in a foreign country.
  12. And keep your guard up all the time even if the country you are traveling to is much more ‘affluent’ than your own. The tricksters and pickpockets bank on you being ignorant and careless.


Read more »
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Author Name

Contact Form

Name

Email *

Message *

Powered by Blogger.