旅行管家的叮嚀
Planning on a trip abroad? Perhaps your summer holiday? Take note of Olivia Sterns’ Top 5 Travel Myths. Here they are in bold, and my comments to each.
Myth No. 1: Change Money At Home
Olivia says that carrying a large amount of cash makes you vulnerable to pickpockets. Agree. She says it’s better to rely on your credit cards. Er, I would say it depends. In a lot of places in Asia, ATM machines are hard to come by and may not accept all ATM cards. In some resorts and hotels in Asia, credit cards are also not accepted. The exchange rate may also be far worse, depending on the location. Unless you’re staying in a posh destination, never assume that e-transaction will work. Do your research before departure and prepare accordingly.
Myth No. 2: Deals on Last-Minute Booking
Last minutes deals are indeed becoming more and more rare. Better to watch out for sales and promotions (which regularly comes up anyway) to save on airfares and hotel bookings.
Myth No. 3: Locals Are Experts
Absolutely not. In fact, in a lot of cases, locals are foreigners to their own territory. In fact, if you’re heading off the beaten track, locals can’t even understand why, out of all the possible places in the world, you would be interested in their locality.
Myth No. 4: You Get What You Pay For
No, particularly in Asia. There are really good deals to be had, some worth far more than you have paid. And vice versa: some expensive digs just aren’t worth the top dollar they ask for. Do your research, and look for online reviews.
Myth No. 5: Buy Extras Ahead
When buying packages, you will always be lured into getting a“package”, agents telling you it will come out cheaper that way. But, sometimes it pays to be prudent.
正在規劃你的出國旅遊嗎？還是正在籌劃你的暑假？來關注一下奧利維亞·斯特恩的《旅行五大不得不說的事》吧。看見下麵的粗體字了嗎？同時也一並附上我的評論。
不得不說之一：在家換好錢
奧利維亞說隨身攜帶巨款的你特別容易引起小偷的注意。我個人完全讚同。她說最好是用信用卡。我個人認為這是因地而異的。在亞洲的很多地方，自動取款機的分布點並不是很多，而且這些自動取款機也不一定能識別所有的卡。在亞洲的一些旅遊勝地和酒店，是不能用信用卡的。而由於地區的不同，兌換率也不同，這是個令人頭疼的問題。除非你的目的地很現代，很繁華，否則永遠不要期望那裏的網上交易平台會良好地運轉。在出發之前一定要做足相應的準備。