Mistake #07: Relying totally on the guide book

The whole point of traveling is to explore the unknown and bask in the exotic foreign culture, food and people of the country that you are visiting. So put your guide book aside and explore. Talk to the locals, talk to other travelers, compare notes, and go with your gut. When I traveled to India, I made friends with a group of locals and had an absolute blast experiencing life as a local by watching a hindi movie (with subtitles), eating at restaurants only frequented by locals, shopping at niche stores only known by local fashonistas. So make friends and enjoy yourself. Limiting yourself to a guide book is probably one of the worst things you could possibly do! Bottom line, you are paying good money on your holiday, so go explore, toss that guide book aside and make some friends and enjoy!

Mistake #08: busting the budget

When traveling its so easy to spend far more than you have allocated. Recently when Iw as in Thailand, my friends told me that I would only need approximately 50USD a day on shopping and other expenses. So based on their advice, I allocated USD50 a day into the seven days that I would be in BKK. Unfortunately, I ended up blowing my entire weeks’ budget on the first day. Bottom line, stick to a realistic budget and have some emergency cash in case you need it for a purchase that you can’t live without. Know your limit and what you can afford. Going beyond what you can afford and getting into debt is not worth it.

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