kenoathtravels.com - trips tips

When leaving the country that you have just visited, remember that when you arrive at the airport you will have to pay departure tax.
So make sure that you have enough local currency to pay the departure tax.
There is nothing worse than arriving at the airport, ready to head off back to your home country and you have no local currency to pay the departure tax.
So always make sure you know how much you need and have it at the ready.
If you haven't got the departure tax you will have to hurredly find a money changer (if a late night departure you may be in the shit) and if you find one your exchange rate will be very poor indeed.
Know what amount you need before you get to the airport and you can relax!

Many hotels have very good security so you don't have to worry too much about yourself or your belongings.
When staying in more basic accommodation out in the sticks and your room has a pretty ordinary lock on the door this little gem will keep you safe and make you feel secure.
Buy a door wedge.
It's a piece of wood, or plastic.
When you are in your room just close your door and jam your wedge
between the door and the floor and if someone tries to enter your abode it jams the door when being forced open, so no worries!
A very inexpensive piece of security, easy to pack, easy to use and very, very reassuring, especially if you are on your own and am concerned about the lock on the door.

Bottled water is a necessity in many countries as the local brew out of the tap can be full of all sorts of nasties and unsafe to drink.
Bottled water can also be expensive.
If you are staying in one spot for a while, buy larger containers of water and fill up smaller containers to take with you on your day to day travels.
It's usually cheaper to buy in bulk and you can keep it cool in the fridge if you have one.
Keep an eye out for 'home brand' water, it's cheaper and the same as the expensive ones anyhow!
In fact when you visit supermarkets just go for the cheapest brand available, after all, its all the same and well known brand names mean nothing.
Make sure that the seal has not been tampered with when purchasing.

If you have an electric jug in your room fill with water from the tap and boil.
Do this before you go to bed and by the morning it will be cold and you will have water to fill your water bottle which has had all the nasties boiled out of it.
Nice fresh sterilised water for free!

Malaria and other mosquito borne diseases are very nasty.
They can make you pretty crook and can kill!
Take malaria tablets, and keep yourself covered around dusk.
Keep the insect repelant handy and buy some mozzie rings on your travels, they are so cheap you don't have to pack and take them with you.
A mosquito net is invaluable when you are asleep and they fold to nothing making them easy to store and carry.
The main brands of malaria tablet are Doxycycline and Larium.
You take Doxy daily and Larium once a week.
I, and others, have found that the weekly Larium can knock you around a bit and you may get crook for a day a month.

Have a small torch handy in your room or tent.
There is nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night in a strange place and trying to find the dunny in the dark.

Don't forget to take the camera.
It's best to take your own film from home as the expiry date on some films overseas are not usually marked and could be to old and could result in poor quality photos.
If your camera is worth a few dollars don't just hang it around your neck but keep it in a nice sturdy camera bag slung over the shoulder.
Expensive cameras and video cameras can be prime targets for theives.
With the price of digital cameras within everyone's reach they are the way to go these days.
Your photos are stored on a memory stick and have to be downloaded onto a computer before you can format it and continue shooting more photos.
We use a Sony Cybershot 3.2 megapixel digital camera with a 128 meg memory stick which holds around 64 shots.
When the memory stick gets full we download our pics into an iRiver H320 Multi Codec Jukebox.
This has a 20 gig hard drive so you can keep snaping as long as you like.
It's fast, easy to use and you can preview your photos on the high resolution and bright screen as thumbnail and fullscreen view.
We even downloaded our photos on the move while on the top of a volcano in Java so you can be miles from a computer and save your photos securely.
While on the road you can download and burn CD/DVD's on the move and once you get home you download onto your computer.

When you are in a lot of South East Asian countries it is respectful when invited into someones place or visiting temples or mosques that you take off your shoes.
To make life easier pack a pair of slip ons or thongs so that you can put them off and on with ease.
Even if you forget to pack them before you go they are available everywhere at a very reasonable price.

Keep an eye out for local Internet Cafes so you can send an email or two to your friends and family back home.
They seem to be everywhere these days so check out some prices before you head into one.
Also, a lot of these establishments usually have a discount rate after 8pm at night.

MacDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken are just about everywhere you go on the planet.
It's all very well if you have spent a fair bit of time in a country eating their local food and you would like to get into a feed of takeaway for a change.
But, more importantly, they have clean Western toilets on the premises.
At last, a real reason to go to these establishments!
After a feed there you will probably wonder what came over you and you again start to enjoy the local yummy fair.

The first thing to do when you get into your room, which has a mini bar, is turn the thermostat up to as high as you can.
They always either leave the fridge off or have it on the lowest setting. If you want your beers or other drinks to be cold get the thing going and make sure that everything on the list is in there.
If not, ring reception and get someone to check any discrepencies.
This will avoid you being charged (usually an arm and a leg) for drinks that you have not had.
And because the old mini bar contents could cost you nearly as much as the room itself just take everything out and fill it with all your own goodies.
Remember to put the hotels stuff back in when you leave!