Travel Life Lessons

When I'm travelling, I usually only use my phone for one thing - maps. But generally, my take is that if you're using your phone a lot when you're actually at the destination, you're simply wasting time there. A phone is an extremely poor substitute for decent research, and you may find that you enjoy your trips more if you plan sufficiently beforehand to de-phone your hand. Tourist information offices are there for a reason. Free or cheap maps, hints on the fastest transportation options, tips on how to save money and all the rest of it. Tip 1: Don't feel obliged to stay somewhere that turns out to be uninteresting or underwhelming. It's a lot like reading novels - if it isn't working for you, just quit. Tip 2: Don't plan your trips based on what everybody else thinks you should visit. Decide what interests you and plan around that. For example, a huge proportion of visitors to Japan follow the exactly the same itinerary of Tokyo -> Kyoto -> Hiroshima. They won't give you any justification for visiting those places except "oh, we're in Japan, we have to see them." The other common approach is following Lonely Planet, which is a lot like following propaganda and expecting to think differently to other people. Go do some proper research: check out blogs and trip reports to see how things work in reality, rather than how they worked a few years ago when the guide books were written. Tip 3: Don't take anything larger than a carry-on size case. If there isn't a washer and drier available, washing in a sink and using a travel laundry line works. Post souvenirs back home as soon as you get them. There's nothing worse than having to lug too much stuff around. Also - Japan related tip - luggage lockers at stations and yamato's cheap luggage delivery service are there to make your life easier. Tip 4: Learn how the locals eat cheaply. For Japan, this is buying discounted bentos and other prepared meals from supermarkets from 6pm onwards (it will depend on the ultimate closing time). Other popular places are Sukiya, Yoshinoya and the like (often these places have ticket vending machines outside or in the entrance). Again, this involves research, because if you're searching for this on your phone at 8pm and the supermarket has just closed, well, that's a shame. Tip 5: Take people's advice.

Triposo makes great travel apps with offline maps that don't require a data connection. I never pay for data when I travel internationally because that app is so wonderful. It's saved my confused ass a dozen times. One thing I also learned the hard way traveling in a third world-ish place is to ask how much something costs before you commit to buying it. It's really obvious when you're an American in a place like that and small shopkeepers will often assume they can get away with making you pay many times what they would charge a local. I also always go to a national (or city) history museum on my first day in a new place, to give me a good overview of the region's history and culture. And I never go anywhere with packets of instant coffee in my purse. But maybe if you don't have a potentially debilitating caffeine addiction you don't need to worry about that.

Not specific to Japan, but: 1. If there are bottles of water on the counter by the sink, it's a good idea to brush your teeth with that water. 2. If the lights and such in your hotel room won't go on, look for a slot to put your key in near the entry door. 3. Copy (front and back) your credit cards and passport, and keep those in a safe place separate from the actual cards/passport. 4. Register for https://step.state.gov/STEPMobile/default.html. 5. Put your http://m.wikihow.com/Add-ICE-to-Your-Cell-Phone on your phone. 6. Schedule a buffer day when you arrive there too. Your time will be so much more enjoyable. 7. Melatonin in the evening and exercise in the morning really helps jet lag. 8. Researching information for expats can provide great information on local culture. 9. Registering for a hotel rewards program can have big unlisted benefits: later checkouts, assistance with arranging things, etc. it can make things just all around easier. 10. Most American credit cards, even if they have a chip, still don't work in chip and pin stations that aren't connected to a network. I've usually encountered this at train stations. You'll probably need cash, and sooner than you think.

Staying hydrated before a flight is good, but don't drink anything carbonated; the gas bubbles will expand funny in cabin pressure and you'll end up with a case of gas. (That tip was something I picked up via a cartoon Virgin Airways showed us all before a flight, which they illustrated with a farting airplane.) Other than that...I think you're good. The biggest piece of advice I was going to give was to be willing to go off-schedule and be spontaneous, but you've got that. I would add to check in with yourself daily to see if you're still having fun sticking to a plan; I was "sticking to a plan" during my last trip to London, and started feeling out of sorts after three days, because it felt like I wasn't really exploring, I was just sort of doing homework and checking things off a list. So I spent an afternoon doing exactly what I felt like, which turned out to be just going back and forth in Regents Canal in a little ferry; I took pictures of the other painted narrowboats, and during a break between trips I got into a fun conversation with a coffee shop owner who gave me a free cupcake. Oh, one other thing - keep a journal. It's a good way to have something to do if you're dining alone, and those things are hella fun to read later on when you're home. Plus if you see or do something totally stupid or something goes comically wrong, it'll help you keep your perspective. (My account of a performance art piece I saw in Montreal, which was entirely in French even though I had expressly asked whether some bits were English before they sold me the ticket, is really, really funny.)

Having extremely versatile clothing is useful for traveling light. For example, you can rarely go wrong with a lightweight black cardigan because it can be dressed up or down, and wearing layers is generally good for traveling. I also have a windbreaker because it packs extremely well and can keep me dry-ish in rain. I also use pretty much the same bag every time I travel somewhere, and keep my passport, money, and other documents in the same zipped inner pockets so that I never have to think twice when checking my bag/pockets. Also, the first thing I do when I go to a new place is check out the grocery stores. Not only is it a cheaper way to eat, but it also gives me a feel for the foods that may be unique to the region I am visiting. Even if the difference is only in the way that it's packaged, I find it to be a generally educational experience: e.g. milk sold in plastic bags in Canada, unrefrigerated eggs in Germany; World Cup-themed EVERYTHING in Spain; very large flags that denote country of origin, along with the high prices they command in China because foodstuffs are perceived as being somewhat unreliable there. Entertaining and educational!

Ooh, also, keep an "everything notebook," preferably one with a back pocket and one that is reasonably moisture-proof. I use one that is 3x5 inches so it fits everywhere. It's a good backup in case your phone dies on you for addresses and phone numbers. I've also used it to exchange contact info with random people I've met during my travels, jot down memorable quotes that I come across in a museum or something, and store stamps and stickers and ticket stubs, and even though it's not a journal or all that well organized, I enjoy flipping through it and remembering the random sights I've seen.

HERE maps let's you preload the data for the area you're visiting, so you have map access on your phone even if you don't have data.

toiletries bag (there's probably a word for that, but what do I know) I call it a toiletry case but in recent years I learned the term https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dopp_kit which I like.

I carry a battery pack in my general bag AND a battery case for the phone itself. Lower capacity, but impossible to forget at your lodging and a lot easier to deal with than a battery pack+cable. I didn't try this until my most recent trip and it ruled. Plug the phone in at night and you charge the case+phone, then during the day you have about 2.25x the available run time. It makes the phone bulkier, but honestly most modern phones are way too thin for my giant meathooks so I wasn't complaining there. I have a $$$ mophie brand one, and a super cheapo generic one from amazon. They both hold the same amount and work just fine. The mophie one is a bit slicker with a nice battery meter rather than just a color changing light, but I'd get the cheap one every time in the future.