When I went to Prague, a lot of things were not done properly. Some my fault, of course, but some of them were beyond my control. I learnt the hard way. I wouldn’t want anyone to get the lesson’s I learnt.
Get your itinerary sorted early. I had to rely on the company travel office – Eish! Let’s just say, if you can do things for yourself. Do it. I only got my itinerary so late I had concluded the trip was not gonna happen.
Get your Visa sorted early. There is nothing as frustrating as waiting for a visa. Get all the required docs and alles together, drive yourself to the Embassy of the country you are visiting. You will have less stress than waiting for a travel office to do it for you.
Get a small guide on the country or town you are visiting. This will help you understand the languages spoken, the weather, the modes of transport available and what to watch out for. Believe it or not; crime is everywhere! When I was in Prague, there were signs of be careful of pickpockets in certain areas and trams. Unfortunately one of the conference delegates became a victim because they did not see the signs.
Get immunized if it is required. There is nothing as bad as getting sick far from home. Do not take it for granted if they require you must be immunized for Malaria and the like. I have seen people get so sick from a trip because they did not follow the guides.
Learn a couple of phrases or buy a small bi-lingual dictionary if they speak a language you can’t speak. This will help sssoooo much! You will be able to attempt a conversation about the local spots. When I was in Prague (Xhosa Chick; this is for emphasis, not tautology. LOL) 96% of the people I tried to ask for directions to a bank or eating place did not speak English. Some flushed red and walked away. Poor things! They probably thought they were seeing a ghost as my colleague and I were the only black people there. The white people openly stared so much, one of the conference delegates told us we were exotic as they don’t see much black people there. The people speak Russian and Czeky, some kids are learning now but still prefer to learn French and German.
Get the weather guide for the amount of time you are there. Technology has advanced peeps; you don’t need to pack a whole year luggage. Just go on the net; find out what season they are in and what the lowest and highest temperatures could be, and then pack for that. I learnt the hard way, ok! It wasn’t my fault, though, like I said. The whole trip was so rush-rush organized that I wasn’t sure I was going until the 12 hours before the plane took off.
Do not change money on the streets. Ok, I know I am daft but not that stupid so don’t think I did this. I was just approached so much with ridiculous rates that I knew that something was fishy. I was the other only black person there so they knew I was a tourist; and some tourists are gullible. This; you should know but you will get approached so just be cautious.
Decide what kind of momentos you wanna bring back home; otherwise everything is a souvenir. I collect flags and fridge magnets. So, Dimago and Toxic, that is what I brought back. Be willing to negotiate. King K says when they give you a price; negotiate to half! He does it and gets the best deals so I tried my luck in Prague. Some places I succeeded, some places I failed because they would go 30% lower than original price. When you buy clothes; find out how different the sizes are to back home, fit the clothes if it is for you. In Msanzi, I wear a size 34, In Prague I am a size 40! Eish! Imagine if I had not fit the clothes – but I am still devastated that I am that big!! Imagine all those peeps that wear a size 26 in Mzansi, they would wear a size 34 there!
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