Hold on a minute, let me just put by bags down.............. Oops!!!! the big thud you heard was my heavy bag, sorry for the noise, but now I can sit down and rant on about the ten tips for safe and carefree travel.
I am sort of putting them in order, if you may, you can use this as a checklist. Also please feel free to comment if you think I missed out anything. Last but not the least I am putting the tips down for Air travel and am not venturing into any other category, blame it on my obsessed compulsive air travel fixation........
THE TEN STEPS.
- THINK BEFORE YOU PACK......
Yes that’s right, think long and hard before you pack. Things to be taken into consideration are.. Where are you going? How is the climate there? What are the amenities available at this place? How many days you are going to spend there etc. This is very important. Imagine being stuck in a hill station with only a bathing suit????? or in a place like the desert with a sweater? No I don’t mean to be mean, I am only citing the worst case and hopefully never occurring scenario. Then the children, you know the younger the crowd the more the clothes. Because we all know that we adults don’t usually make a mess.......hehehehehehehehhe
2.USE A STURDY SUITCASE, MARK IT APART.
Be good to yourself and buy a sturdy suitcase. Luggage takes a solid beating while it is handled, if only you were to go behind the scenes you will realise the importance of a sturdy suitcase. It need not be hard case, but make sure that it is a good make. Please also do remember to mark your suitcase, you can do this by tying a ribbon around it, tying a bag, sticking a cartoon character or anything of such sort.
There are basically two reasons to do this, first a distinctive looking suitcase is less likely to get lost, and secondly, not only will it help you to identify your luggage but also help others by letting them know that it is not their luggage. But for god’s sakes, do not put your name address and phone number in big bold letters and stick it to the side of the luggage, gives everyone around a good laugh and a crooked mind a big chance.
3. MAKE SURE OF DOCUMENTATION AND ARRANGEMENTS.
The day before the travel it is a good idea to actually go over both the documentation and the arrangements for the trip. In case of anything that needs to be done further it is a good idea not to delay it : this will then ensure that the day of the travel will be started out carefree.
- START EARLY/ REACH EARLY
This is soooooooooooooooo important. So many people calculate the exact time and leave home and end up missing their flights. There are so many factors to be considered, like traffic maybe a full flight etc, all these will cause you check in to be pushed further, which my in turn make you miss your flight. So start early and reach early.
- CHECK IN LINE.
The check in line is perhaps the most stressful place. Everyone on the line has their eye on someone else, tracking their movements. People are thinking about the seat assignment, their excess luggage, the long coming security line, Duty free and all the other worrisome stuff.
At this time, it is very important to maintain a certain level of calmness and respect others. Do not cut into the line. If you are traveling with your family specially small children, then please make sure that you do not have them on the line too, it is not necessary for them to stand in the line, try to keep the family out of this as far as possible.
- PASSING SECURITY
The big bad wolf!!!!!! Believe me it is not so bad if you know the basics, Everybody complains about the long lines at the security gates and about all the inconvenience. It becomes easy to go through this process only if you follow these few simple rules.
The key here is to take your time........ and take off your metal !!!. When its your turn to pass through the metal detector, make sure you have taken off all the possible metal on yourself, including your watch and your shoes, because sometimes metal in shoes will set the alarm off, a simple piece of gum wrapper will set the alarm off , so be careful. The time you will take to make sure that all requirements are met is totally worth it, considering the fact that you might as well not stand in another line and get strip searched.
7. REACH THE GATE ON TIME FOR BOARDING.
I am putting this as a separate category because, so many people shop around duty free so much they forget the flight!!!!. It is very important to reach the gate even a little early because so many times people get randomly searched in this place to, and in that case it is better to be there incase you are chosen. This will believe it or not speed up the process and make sure the flight takes off on time.
8. ON THE PLANE.
When you get on the plane, be nice to all around you as far as possible. One very important thing is that as soon as you get on board locate your seat and step in, this will allow the person behind you to get past, and will in turn not cause a traffic jam. As soon as you are able to, make sure your baggage is safely stowed away, and sit and relax, remember to get your seat belt on.
- THE END.
On reaching your destination, be nice and thank the crew. Make sure all your documentation is complete for customs and immigration. After clearing them, go and collect your luggage [ Hopefully it has reached and reached safely :) ].
- VERY IMPORTANT.
One very last thing I had to put down, Please be nice and polite to all, there is a thing called air rage and all of us go through it, specially the crew since they fly so much so be nice to them specially, believe me, there is such a thing called KILLING WITH KINDNESS
RELAX !!!! the journey is over. Go home sleep and take lots of water. Put your feet up and relax, you deserve it, you have traveled a thousand miles, even though the journey may be more mentally exhausting than anything.
Hey come and visit when you can, but please make sure you follow the above !!!! Bon Voyage.
Love
Angel.