Travel & Culture
BY SABA SHAHID (ECON/IV)
The Do's and Don'ts of Traveling
Around a year ago we were all ready to drop my sister off at the airport for her return flight to London. Since we are a Pakistani family, we were obviously all going to go for the farewell, and because she is a Pakistani, she obviously had a load of luggage, which included two suitcases full of clothes, a carry-on bag with her laptop and other essentials, another suitcase with homemade samosas and other food (Asian moms are usually very emotional, and this comes out in their cooking, which, by the way, they can never do for fewer than five people), and last but not the least her handbag, which contained her passport and ticket.
Her ticket...yes, that A4-sized itinerary that tells the traveler what time their flight is and what date it's on -- which she forgot to check until about two hours before departure. When she did check her ticket, she realized it was booked for June and not January, the month in which she was supposed to be catching the flight. Now I wouldn't blame it all on her, since at a glance it's difficult to differentiate between "Jun" and "Jan" (they really should stop using abbreviations), but my father…well, you can guess what he had to say to her. The point of this story is to introduce to you what I think are the "Do's and Don'ts of Traveling," and the very first item on the list would be:
Do check your ticket and flight details. This may seem like a stupid thing to put on the list, but trust me, we're humans. And, make sure you check that A4 before the usual 24-hour deadline to change the booking, so you won't end up paying more than the original flight cost, as was the case for my sister.
Don't exceed the weight limit for your luggage, or there will be consequences. Coming from a girl, this may not seem very credible, but because I am a girl I know. Just when you're about to check in, if your luggage is found to be past the weight limit, you'll be kindly asked to either pay the 20 euros or so per extra kilo, or get rid of the extra stuff, i.e., trash it (this option would be best if you're at Heathrow Airport, for example). A third option, and the most common, is to transfer stuff from your checked bag to your carry-on when the management isn't looking. Although this may seem the most rational choice, it's quite a pain, and I speak from several instances of experience. For one thing, you'll have a line behind you made up of people competing as to who can give the evilest of evil stares, and two, it's difficult dragging a heavy carry-on bag around the airport. You know, I should really take my own advice sometimes.
When in a foreign country, don't touch upon a topic sensitive to the locals, or there will be even harsher consequences than those in the previous "Don't." A friend of mine was visiting Rome, and being the good host I am, I took her to one of my favorite pizza places for her to try one of the world's most celebrated cuisines. Had I known what was going to follow, I would have rethought my choice. Anyway, when we got to the restaurant we ordered Pizza Margherita, one of the most basic of pizzas and a source of pride for Italians. Now, genuine Italian pizza has a thin crust, but this friend of mine, ignorant as she was, commented on the pizza crust and criticized its height, saying it should have been fatter and fluffier. You know what comes after friend-criticizes-Italian-pizza-in-Rome.
Don't be lazy: learn the basics of the language of the country you are traveling to. Misunderstandings, for example with the local taxi driver, could take you to an altogether different destination; you could end up ordering the weirdest-looking dish on the menu; or you could end up penniless on your first trip to the market after a failed negotiation with the vendor.
Do try and have a good experience of the local culture and traditions. Often, I've come across people who have returned from a trip to a very exciting destination without having visited some of the famous monuments, tried the local food or even just casually explored the country and its uniqueness. Random walks around a city will surprise you, and it's quite possible you'll end up discovering something the travel guides don't mention. What's the point of having McDonald's in China, if you know what I mean.
Above all, DO enjoy yourself, and try to forget your worries when you travel. In fact, there are no rules of traveling and vacationing - it's all meant to be a time away from routine life. So, just remember not to pack any tension in your luggage -- why travel if stress is going with you?