Travel Photography | Research and Preparation

Before I planned to travel anywhere, I like to do a little bit of research about particular place or country that I want to visit, be it official assignment or travel for fun like my Rajasthan trip. It is very important to have a little bit background about the place we want to visit. Among very important thing that I must get to know is whether that particular country that I want to visit require me to apply for a Visa, how long will it take to processed the Visa application, is it easy or difficult to get because I’ve bad experience while applying for Pakistan Visa here in Kuala Lumpur.

Another factor that is very important also is about the cost of living there, how much money do I need in for the period of stay in that particular country. I’m not a rich person, otherwise I don’t bother calculated about the expense traveling to any country, so I need to know how much it will cost me to stay at budget hotel, how much do I need to spend for a decent meal there. Another factor to consider also is that how much does it cost for traveling there, how much the bus or train will cost me, is it easy to get a ticket, do I need to booked the ticket few days or week in advance, I need to get all this kind of information first, so that I can plan my journey better and enjoy traveling there without worrying about too many things.

It is also good to plan ahead when to travel, get to know how many hours the flight times, it is important because if you wanted to check-in into hotel, in most country they will not allow you to check-in into hotel before 12:30 PM or 2:00 PM, so I need to know what time I will arrive at that particular destination so I don’t wasted my precious times and energy carry a heavy backpack because I can’t check-in just yet.

I also need to know the distance between the airport and the hotel that I want to stay and also the cost of transportation from airport to the hotel, so I can get ready with the money at hand and not to be taken for a ride by paying too much to a taxi driver because we don’t know exactly what normal fees is. Like in India, I plan to travel by train once we arrive there so, before I go I need to get a hotel that was close enough to the train station so we don’t need to hurry to catch a train and it is also very good to have our hotel located just a walk away to the train station, this not only will save our time but also will save our money for not taking any transport to get to the train station because we  can walk there.

About traveling by train in India, I need to know how long it will take for the train to arrive at my chosen destination and I need also to consider any eventuality that might  happen along the way, we are not living in the perfect world. I need to carry extra money to buy a plane ticket just in case I can’t get back to the New Delhi on time by train, for an example if we are stranded at Jodhpur for whatever reason, I need to know where is the nearest airport so I can buy a ticket to New Delhi because from Jodhpur to New Delhi will take around twelve hours by train, If we miss our flight in New Delhi to Kuala Lumpur, we need to buy a new ticket and off course the price will be very hight because we bought it in the same day a we travel.

Other than that, I would like to know about interesting place at any destination that we want to visit or stay, so I can just tell a taxi or Auto Rickshaw driver to get us there, just mention the place that we wanted to visit clearly and like I said it is good to know beforehand the cost of a taxi to get there so we can haggle for a better price or even if we do have to pay more due to peak season, we don’t end up paying too much.

Usually those who travel as a backpacker who carry a large backpack at their back is not rich, is not a millionaire, so we need to calculated everything that we spent, if you are a millionaire, just pay a travel agency whatever amount that you can pay and just ask them to take you anywhere in the world without worry too much. We backpacker traveler, need to work hard to save every money that we get in order for us to see the world, we don’t mind sleeping at the floor as long as we get a place to sleep, we really don’ need a bed like a thick comfort five star hotel bed because most of the times we spent more times outdoor than in our hotel room, that’s why we travel, to see the world. When we are very tired, sleeping at the floor seems like heaven.

For me Lonely Planet travel guide book is indispensable, during my traveling to Rajasthan, this book really help me a lot to plan my journey, I can trust the hotel that was recommended, the best restaurant to eat, transportation cost, entrance fee for historical place like Taj Mahal for an example. I bought this book a year ahead before I went to India, I know that I can get all the information on the internet but spending too much time on the internet facing the bright computer screen sometimes can be tiring, and during travel, a book is so much better than a computer, you don’t need an power or battery to read a book, you need not to worry about your book getting stolen because most people doesn’t bother so much to steal a book and you don’t have to worry so much leaving or left your book at the hotel or at the restaurant.

I really suggest to those of you who plan to travel anywhere to get a new book, I mean the latest edition of the book about any destination that you want to visit because things change, maybe a bus station that was located somewhere five years ago has been relocated to some other place, maybe the train time change and maybe the name of the hotel changes too because new owner took control over it. Get the latest travel guide book so everything in the book is still accurate or relevant. Also please do check the internet for the latest news about particular country that you want to visit, few days ahead before departure time, there maybe tsunami happening there, floods, everything that might affect your flight schedule and make sure also that your passport is still valid for at least six month before expiry date, otherwise renew it to prevent any problem while you were there.

The other thing that you must remember is to bring extra copy or Photocopy of your passport because whenever you want to check-in to any hotel usually they will ask for your passport copy and also if you plan to use any internet cafe, most of them will also ask you to give them a photocopy of your passport, yes they can make a copy for you but you don’t want to wasted your precious time to get it done there, so better be prepared and I guess anywhere else in the world, the procedure are quite the same.

Also keep in mind that if you plan to travel in Asean country or to travel anywhere else that is quite far from the city center, or less developed country, in the hinterland, make sure you have enough small change with you, some of them doesn’t have much small change, even in New Delhi also, they prefer if we give them a small change.

If you choose to travel with a tour group or with a package tour, then you don’t have to worry so much because most of this kind of thing already taken care of, you travel and shoot as you wish but for those independent traveler, you need to have some basic idea about the country that you want to visit, maybe learn few simple language for communication, what to do and what not to do, learn a bit about their culture, tradition, so you will enjoy your traveling more than those who have less knowledge about the country that they wanted to visit.

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