The Purple Passport

Seasoned advice for British Travellers

John Telford

First Time in Asia: 5 Savvy Travel Tips for Your First Trip to Southeast Asia

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How many times have you returned from a vacation only to wish you’d done some things differently while you were there?

That’s okay if your adventures were just around the corner. It’s another thing altogether if you’re planning to join the ranks of the 323 million tourists who visited Asia in recent times.

If you’re heading off to spend time in Asia, take note of these tips so you don’t have any regrets after your trip.

1. Make the Most of Your Time in Asia

This doesn’t mean try to cram as much of the place into your travels as possible. Sure, it’s a wonderful idea to take in all the famous sights and activities on offer, but try to keep it simple.

You’ll get far more out of the experience if you focus on a few destinations and explore them thoroughly. Rushing from place to place is hardly enjoyable or relaxing.

2. Pack Light

Seriously, Southeast Asia is pretty advanced. You’ll find great hotels and shops in all the main centers.

You don’t need to bring all the comforts of home along with you. If you need something, you’ll probably be able to buy it.

Plan to do doing laundry every chance you get. That way, you can get away with packing fewer clothes.

3. Prepare Thoroughly

Before you leave, make sure that you’ve gotten all the necessary vaccines for Southeast Asia. While you can get your inoculations in Bangkok on arrival, you don’t want to waste precious time searching for a clinic when you get there.

Anti-malarial medication will spare you the agonies of this tropical disease. However, there’s nothing like a good insect repellant to save you from buzzing annoyances throughout your stay.

If you do need a visa for Southeast Asian travel, you can get one on arrival. The trick is to come prepared.

Make sure you have US dollars and passport photos handy at the time. You can also save time by printing out the necessary online forms and filling them in beforehand.

4. Travel Differently

Don’t confine yourself to using standard public transport like planes, trains, and buses. Hire a bike, hop on board a tuk-tuk, or take the ferry.

When you try something new, the journey can be as exciting as the destination.

That said, hiring a scooter can be fraught with risk. The crowded urban roads are daunting and everyone drives on the left. Mastering these two aspects at once may prove a little much, even for experienced scooter drivers.

5. Change Money on Arrival

Hotels and airports aren’t the best choices if you’re after a good exchange rate. Rather, opt for a local bank when exchanging your currency.

Be sure to keep plenty of cash on hand as you travel. You’ll need it for tips, fares, and attractions. If you want to use a credit card for some purchases, make sure you have one that doesn’t charge a fee for foreign transactions.

Keep Exploring

One of the best ways to prepare for a trip abroad is to research destinations before you leave. Travel bloggers and tourist sites are filled with helpful information for incident-free journeys.

Whether it’s some time in Asia or you’re after or other lifestyle tips, you can rely on us for the latest information. Keep browsing our website for more.

How to Plan an International Trip: Tips and Tricks for Your Travels

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Travel can be exciting, fun and it’s supposed to broaden the mind too. Over 41.7 million Americans agree. That’s how many U.S. citizens traveled abroad in 2018.

If you’re about to travel out of the country, you need some tips that can help make it an experience to remember. Read on to learn how to plan an international trip.

How to Plan an International Trip

Like many things in life, a successful international trip takes planning. Treat it like a project and your careful preparation will make your trip of a lifetime a wonderful experience and not a chaotic disaster.

Use a simple planning tool such as timeline creator to visualize your itinerary. It makes it easy to check where you are meant to be at any time.

Research

There are some dull and serious things you need to do before the holiday fun starts. Check out the safety and security of your trip. The government publishes travel advisory and alerts about any countries where there are risks.

You should check the published information about the countries you will be visiting. Check entry and exit requirements and any visa requirements. Do this as soon as possible to resolve any issue as it can take some time.

Check local customs, laws, medical facilities and transport arrangements. Take a note of the U.S. embassy or consulate address and telephone number.

Check any vaccination requirements or other health risks. Get vaccinations organized in plenty of time.

Money Preparation

Let your bank know that you will be taking a trip. This will make it less likely that they will block your card thinking that it may be stolen. While you are doing this, check how best to obtain local currency, use credit or debit cards and use ATMs in your destination country.

Prepare Documents

Just to be safe, make a couple of copies of your travel documents in case of theft or loss. Take one set with you but keep it apart from the originals. Leave the other set at home with a friend.

Obtain a passport. It might take several months to get one so plan ahead. If you already have a passport many countries require the passport to be valid for more than six months after your return and have two or more unstamped pages remaining in it.

Some countries require a visa. See the U.S. government travel advisory to check this. If you need a visa, contact the embassy of the country you are visiting for details about how to obtain one.

Medication

Not all countries share U.S. regulations about medications. If you are taking prescriptions drugs abroad you should check that they are permissible in the countries you are visiting. You may need some documentation to take with the drugs.

Driving

Driving abroad can be a challenge. Not all countries drive on the same side of the road or have the driver’s position on the left side of the vehicle. This can take some adaptation.

Some countries do not accept a U.S. driver’s license. Check if you need an International Driving Permit. When renting a car, check the insurance cover you get thoroughly before you travel to avoid expensive surprises.

Plan for Fun

Planning well can reduce mishaps and distractions from the enjoyment of your trip. It leaves you free from travel anxiety. Now you know how to plan an international trip, you can plan to have fun.

Keep browsing our site for more exciting travel tips.

6 Different Trip Ideas for 2020

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The cost of travelling has significantly reduced in recent years, and now you can find a cheap flight to Asia, or to the other side of the world on a budget airline for a reasonable price. Travel enriches the mind, as well as the soul, and it’s well renowned as being the only one thing you pay for that makes you richer.

If you’ve long been thinking about taking the time to escape your usual routine and enjoying a break next year, then be sure to begin putting a plan into action now. It’s never too early to start figuring out whether you want to embark on a cross-country road trip, hop on an indulgent Mediterranean cruise, go interrailing, languish over a series of city breaks, or a staycation.

For all of this, this guide has got you covered.

Road trip

Life is for the living, and it makes sense to do as much travelling as you can possibly afford, and what’s more indulgent and lusted after than a road trip, especially one moving from state to state in the US? Of course, you don’t need to necessarily travel through the US, but some of the routes in America are famed as being some of the very best in the world.

When making a final decision on RV rentals, ensure it has enough space to enjoy time to yourself away from your travel buddy, as well as air conditioning, a freshwater toilet, microwave, shower, refrigerator, generator, and a gas cooktop. Some rental services will allow you to travel alongside your dog, so it’s worth enquiring whether your pooch can get in on the action too.

Road trips can experience bad press due to questions of safety, so always be sensible, never knowingly take risks, and be alert when driving at all times. Ensure you’re prepared and well before your departure date.

You will need the following, and these are crucial, so take note:

  • Notes on compiled research concerning particular trailer parks, and parking permits
  • License and registration number
  • A copy of your car insurance policy
  • The vehicle’s manual
  • A spare tyre
  • A roadside emergency kit.

Learn the language before you depart

Although this isn’t necessarily a trip in itself, endeavouring to grasp the language spoken in your chosen destination is going to open up so many more possibilities to you, and travelling plans may well naturally form for you. If you can communicate with others around you, the chance of being invited along to events, bars, parties, and excursions will increase tenfold.

You’ll be able to ask after recommendations, as well as engage with interesting people.

Mediterranean cruise

Cruises afford the ultimate luxury, convenience, and easy living for their duration. By nature, you’re cruising over some of the most fantastic and tantalising shore and coastline in the world. Your needs are taken care of, there’s no washing up to do, you can easily have your laundry completed, and you can dine on some real gourmet food, enjoy daily visits to the spa, and lounge on the top deck soaking up the warming rays.

Having said this, cruises are not for everyone. Those who prefer to get out and explore may want to consider another trip for 2020, but for those looking for a slower approach to relaxation in 2020, a cruise could be for you.

Interrailing and railways

Interrailing has been a rite of passage for young people for many years now, and although it’s been met with some controversy in recent years, it still remains a hugely popular way of exploring European cities and enjoying a whistle-stop tour of many places in a reasonably short space of time.

You can create your own interrailing journey simply by collating train tickets, and hostel stays along the way. This would provide you with a less rigid form of travel, and you can explore at your own pace. Look into the best railway journeys in the world, and choose which sounds the most exciting, engaging, and exploratory to you. Consider the likes of the Trans-Siberian Railway if you’re ready to brave the bitter cold in Russia, Siberia, and Mongolia, and pass through onto China (your final stop).

The experience is truly electric, and you won’t be forgetting your chilly adventure anytime soon, that’s for sure.

Rally of city breaks

You can keep this one cheap, or blow the bank with this suggestion. It depends on what kind of trip you’re ideally searching for. If you’re seeking indulgence and luxury, then you can book yourself into glorious all-inclusive hotels with a pool, fine dining, and spa facilities, or you can go down the budget route and crash in hostels, eat street food, head out on foot with a large backpack, and generally explore how you would as a backpacker.

Each of these has their advantages and disadvantages, so you will need to weigh up your options before ahead and choosing. You can travel through France, and onto Spain, then Portugal, for example, or could adventure through France, into Italy, then Germany, and finally reaching Switzerland.

Staycation

Think about it, have you really explored the country you live in? If you’re squinting your eyes and thinking dubiously, then chances are, you know in your heart that you haven’t. If this is a safe assumption, then you should try to head out and see more of the land you spend most of your days. Okay, it’s not the most exotic idea to form this guide, but it’s the one that’s closest to home and also, very likely, the cheapest. If you’re not particularly flush, then staying at home to enjoy a holiday may be just the ticket. There’s a bevvy of delights in your home country, it just requires time and planning to navigate your way around, and perseverance.

Consider driving from one end to the other, or driving across the landmass and stopping off in several locations. You can do this in a campervan, by hopping on and off public transport or even donning your walking boots, traversing some of the most outstanding national parks, and setting up camp along the way.

How To Reduce Stress By Practicing Meditation Online With Glo

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It seems like people today are more stressed out than they ever have been at any previous point in history. We’ve always had jobs and families to worry about, yet it seems like today people are experiencing levels of stress that are uniquely severe.

It makes sense why people are experiencing more stress than ever. Our wages haven’t grown significantly, yet we all seem to work more hours per week than ever. Anytime you turn on the news, you hear about more cultural, political and economic issues that make our collective future prospects seem bleak.

You might not be able to snap your fingers and make the world a better place. You also might not be able to quit your stressful job. However, there are things you can do to help reduce your stress levels and cope with the world around you. Here’s how to reduce stress by practicing meditation online.

Start Your Day The Right Way

If your current morning ritual involves rolling out of bed at the last minute after hitting the snooze button a dozen times, you’re not doing yourself any favors. The way we start our day can have a huge impact on how we feel throughout it. This is why starting your morning by doing a bit of meditation online with Glo can completely transform how you feel as you proceed through your day.

Glo offers many different options for guided meditation that you can do in the privacy of your home. There are several sessions and classes that are specifically designed to help you welcome the morning and emotionally prepare for the day ahead. If you ditch the snooze button for morning meditation, you’ll feel a sense of calm that you can easily keep with you throughout the day.

Cope With The Day’s Stressful Situations

When you join Glo, you will be able to access their guided meditations on your phone or tablet. Doing meditation online isn’t just something you do in the privacy of your home. You can easily do a quick and brief meditation session at your desk at work without anyone even realizing what you’re doing.

We all have different strategies for coping with the stressful situations that we encounter at work or at school, but many of these strategies aren’t particularly healthy or good for us. For example, if you tend to turn to the vending machine whenever your boss yells at you, you might be finding brief release from the stress. However, you aren’t helping yourself or your health in the long run. Instead, turn to a quick meditation session the next time your boss barks at you. Not only will you help to ease the stress, but you’ll be in a better state of mind to tackle any problems at hand.

A Great Way To Wind Down At Night

Not only is doing meditation online a wonderful way to greet the day, but it’s a stupendous way to say farewell to the day as well. Meditation is a beautiful ritual to do before going to bed. It will help you to let go of the day and emotionally prepare for the next morning.

Remember, doing meditation online doesn’t take hours. Glo offers guided meditation sessions that only take a few minutes but can have a significant and positive impact on your emotional wellness. Thanks to these short sessions and the ability to take Glo with you wherever you go on your phone, you can always find a few minutes to recharge your mind, body and spirit. Doing meditation online is an easy and simple way to change your life for the better.

How to Plan a Dog-Friendly Holiday in the UK

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Jetting off on holiday overseas might provide the perfect opportunity to spend quality time with your other half and kids, but it could lead to your pet pooch missing out on all the family fun.

If you want to incorporate them into your getaway this year, which can strengthen your bond and provide the whole clan with wonderful memories, you should find out how to plan a dog-friendly holiday in the UK.

Find Dog-Friendly Accommodation

The first thing you will need to do is discover dog-friendly accommodation, which will ensure your canine companion is welcome at your chosen destination. For example, if you want to enjoy a scenic holiday that offers superb coastal walks, you should look for locations for caravan holidays in Cornwall that allow pets.

Research Trails and Beaches

Variety is key when holidaying with your pet pooch. If you want to introduce your dog to different sights, sounds and people, you should do your homework about the best walking trails and dog-friendly beaches for your canine to enjoy a healthy run or a stroll. For example, some beaches will prohibit dogs for hygiene reasons, which is why you must research a spot to ensure you won’t be turned away.

Prep Your Pooch for Travel

If your canine companion is often anxious when travelling in a car, it is a smart idea to work on the issue in the run-up to your getaway. For example, you should take regular, short car journeys with your pet. If, however, you’re planning to travel to a destination via train, you should confirm that dogs are permitted to travel with your chosen provider.

Don’t Forget the Essentials

There are some essentials you will not want to forget when embarking on a dog-friendly holiday. For example, you should pack:

  • A lead
  • Dog food
  • Healthy snacks for your pooch
  • Biodegradable dog mess bags
  • Dog toys
  • A dog bed
  • A dog blanket

It will ensure you will have all the items you need for your dog to feel happy, healthy and comfortable at your chosen destination.

Buy an Extra ID Tag

The last thing you will want is for your pet to go missing at your holiday destination. For this reason, you should purchase an extra ID tag that should feature information regarding where you are staying during your getaway and how a person can contact you.

Alternatively, you could add a clip-on capsule onto their dog collar, which should feature a piece of paper with your contact details. It could help you to be quickly reunited with your pet should the worst happen.

Find Dog-Friendly Restaurants

More UK restaurants and pubs are becoming dog-friendly, so you probably will not need to look hard to find a place to grab a bite to eat or a drink with your pet pooch. It is, however, worthwhile researching the best dog-friendly restaurants to avoid disappointment and ensure you have a place to eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner.