"Tips of the week" part 2 0f 3
Great the plane has landed and you are ready to begin the trip of a life time! First things first before you left home you did your research and learned your passport number by heart. You read the travel page on the airline website to know what was going to be required and by whom. Naturalized citizens, aliens and green cards all have their own specific requirements. You went to the bank and made envelopes or little piles of money. Your tourist card or entry fees should be set aside in small bills. Your cab fare should be set side and very definitely in small exact bills. This is one of the first crtitical mistakes new travelers makes "do not assume that people will have change". Even if they do have change they are not likely to give it to you because there is a greater likelihood that you will just give them the larger bill and they will make money on the deal. Along wth the cab fare set aside a note to yourself with the cross streets of the location you are going, be sure to note any special landmarks or instructions to help them find the place. LOCATIONS ABROAD DO NOT USE FULL STREET ADDRESSES similar to what we are accustomed to in the U.S. AN ABSOLUTE MUST is to agree on a SPECIFIC price BEFORE getting in the cab B E F O R E I said! Remember you are in a foreign country and the law as you know it and expect do not exist they have their own culture and law. If you do not speak the language, you can almost guarantee the law will not be tilted in your favor. A fairly reasonable assumption is that it is not in your favor to exchange money at the airport. Food, beverage and everything else including exchanging money at the airport is tilted against you. The rate maybe 34.5 nationally but the airport will only give you 31 or 32.
Once you have arrived at your lodging the first thing to do is reconfirm your arrangements with the manager. Make sure you are all in agreement on the length of your stay and the rate you agreed to pay. Once in the room make sure everything is working or in good condition. Some managers have been known to charge guests for broken lamps, chairs and tables that were broke years ago. The next item, check out the safe and separate your passport, tickets and any credit cards and identification not needed. Well- what exactly is needed. Your passport is not, never walk around with your passport unless traveling in a communist state. Before leaving home you should have made copies of your passport. THe copy and your dirvers/ non drivers ID are sufficient. Remember an American Passport is one of the most prized and sought after documents in the world. I have known several people who have given their passports to the police and never received them back. Ask the maids and hotel workers who has the best exchange rates in the neighborhood. They are a good source because they often need to change American money they receive as tips. You can always ask the desk clerks but they are not necessarily as strong of an information source as the general help. Calculate what your expectations are for the next three days and exchange 5% above that amount of money. If you exchange 3 or 4 days worth at a time it better limits excess foreign money to bring back home and if an emergency occurs you will have one less thing to worry about exiting the country. You can always exchange the money for American money at the airport but will take a signifiant loss. Now that you are ready to get out and about. Walk around the area during day light and establish markers for getting back to your hotel later after partying. Tryto locate and introduce yourself to the "expat community". This is a group of Americans who now make their home in the local area. They can be a wealth of knowledge and resources. THIS DOES NOT MEAN you can just blanketedly trust them. You can ask questions about the local scene, where and where not to go and why! I have personally had some bad experiences with expats but by and far I have had thousands more good experiences. Basic common sense should always dictate. Never wear expensive designer goods and flash large sums of money. If they are expensive to you they are 10 times as glamorous and expensive to locals who have little access to owning them and you are asking to be robbed or mugged. Many of the people admire your presence, they envy the fact you had the opportunity and money to come to their country. Many of them can and will never have the resources to get a visa or money to travel out of their country. Basically you can be the poorest person in America who barely scrapped up enough money for the trip but to them you must be wealthy and have money because you did make the trip. People view situations from their own point of reference not necessarily the real point.
I should not have to say this but for those who don't know. Trade proof your room before having company. Lock up anything of value, small enough to easily be slipped into a pocket or scooped up. Don't line up all of your sneakers in plain view because it only invites numerous requests for a pair because if you have 10 pair you must be able to give a pair away, what the hell you are rich!
For the dumbest of you kids out there you NEVER - EVER -NO NOT EVER do you share your safe key or combination with anyone. Many a kids have left their safe key laying around while having trade and gagged after they checked and found their safe empty, a pair shoes or glasses missing. Hopefully you are practicing this at home and know to do it on vacation. Listen to the undertones, I know the old adage that she is just saying that because she is trying to block me from having him, well part that maybe the case but the fact that he stole her laptop and car keys is real and bears consisderation. It doesn't mean that he steals from everyone but it does mean he may steal from everyone and bears watching. Always have dates on your terms and place. If you do not fluently speak the language and know the area do not go anyplace with them. Too many people have been lured to the country or bario and robbed, stripped naked and left on the highway gagging not to mention naked! In part three we will deal with corrupt police, the bars and what else there is to do other than getting your fuck on!
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