When In Manila, or the Philippines, I can’t emphasize enough how you need to discover, or re-discover, how beautiful and how much fun this country really is!
It saddens me whenever I speak to Filipinos who have yet to travel outside of Manila or their own cities. You definitely have to immerse yourself into the different amazing places around Manila and beyond!
For those of you ready to take the plunge unto the unknown and step out of your comfort zones, here’s a short list of reminders to make things a lot easier for you to get out more.
1. Have somewhat of a plan, or plan to not have a plan
Yes this sounds a bit confusing, but depending on your personality, your current mood and your vision for your trip, either having a well thought out travel plan, or having no plan at all, can both make or break your trip.
Make sure you understand yourself and know if you’re more of the spontaneous type who wants to just go with the wind, or if you’re the O.C. type who wants all your itineraries laid out to the minute for the next trip! Make sure you also travel with folks who are like minded and can keep up with your randomness, or your strict observance of your timeline.
2. Read
Whether you’ve decided to make plans or not, it’s still vital to know a little bit about the place you’re going. This is especially important to ensure two things:
A. To make sure you know of the BEST attractions and the absolute MUST SEE MUST DO events and adventures from your travel destination
B. To make sure you stay out of the places you should stay out of. Imagine a tourist going to New York and talking a stroll in Central Park, in the middle of the night! That’s like suicide! In local terms, that’s like going to Tondo in the middle of the night.
So read up to know the must do’s but also to know the must not’s. Knowing these can make your trip a lot more memorable, while keeping you a whole lot more safer.
3. Travel light
I can’t emphasize enough about how packing light can make your trip so much easier and convenient. Plus it gives you a great reason to go shopping more.
Bring only absolute essentials. In fact, even the absolute essentials can sometimes be bought in the places you’re going anyway.
This is usually how I decide whether to bring something or not: I ask myself, “Would I survive two days without needing this widget?” Usually, if the answer is “YES” and I find that I will survive a couple of days without it, I just leave that widget at home.
(I’ll be honest and say that this may not apply to “girly girls” )
4. Leave worry free
Now this is very important! You won’t be able to leave for a proper vacation or travel experience if your mind is still worried about that one proposal, or if you left your gas stove on, or if you’ve paid your cell phone bill!
You want to leave town not just physically, but you want to take your whole mind, body and soul with you.
So make a checklist of things you need to take care of and ensure that they are all checked off and properly managed.
For example, make sure you’ve double checked with the babysitter, also triple check that you shut off the electrical stuff in your house, oh and make sure all your bills are accounted for; you don’t want to have your phone lines or electricity cut while you’re gone!
Best to sign up for online banking like with BPI 24/7 Banking. With this, you can spend less time banking and more time traveling. Now that bills payment and banking is easily accessible anytime anywhere, you have more time to get out, explore, make connections, and live with adventure.
Visit www.getoutmore.ph to know how BPI 24/7 Banking lets you GetOutMore on a FREE trip for 4 to the top destinations in the country!
5. Have fun
A lot of people end up worrying too much about everything else on a trip, that they forget the most important part of it all. So I’m here to remind you…. HAVE FUN!
Oh and just in case you forget…. HAVE FUN!
Did I mention you should HAVE FUN?!
Enjoy your next trip!
When In Manila #GetOutMore
Travel Tips and Reminders: Top 5 Things to Remember when Traveling
