UTK BAHASA MELAYU SILA SCROLL KE BAWAH
Hello again people!
It's 2.20pm Malaysian time and it's about 34 degree Celsius right now. Yeap, it's hot and sticky. I just got back from grocery shopping and I needed some time to cool off my body.
Somewhere out there in the world, it's freezing and here we are over in Malaysia, hoping for some cool air and colder weather.
Sophie is leaving for U.S again by end of this month and she's going through her wardrobe thinking out loud what kind of clothing suitable for her to bring over there. Like I state earlier, Malaysia is a very hot country and we only have two seasons to boast, wet and dry. Now is the dry season and it could be terribly hot when it's hot whereas wet season, well wet means wet, lots of rain and flood but never snow. So, we never had to worry about getting new winter clothings every time winter sets in.
Every time before she leaves for any destination (most of the time on her working trip), she'd seek my help to remind her of what needed to be taken on her trip. We'd go through together until she was satisfied that every thing was in order and in it's place.
That gives me the idea of writing about travelling tips especially for occasional travelers like me. I seldom go travel especially abroad but when I do, I am the person you'd want to be with since I cross checked everything religiously.
Let's see what do we need to know/do prior to travelling:
1) Pick the destination that has always been your ultimate dream especially if the money that you have right now was the money that had been saved for over a year. Make it worth your while.
2) Open a few websites and airline companies to compare prices for air fare tickets. Once you've made up your mind, you can book your tickets online. Be extra careful while filling in the form. There would be some extra charges that you may not want to include in your air fare such as the insurance coverage for travelling, on board food or pre-booked seat. All these could very well raise up the airfare that you saw earlier.
3) Next, please remember to take out whatever sharp items you have been carrying in your handbags all these while such as scissors, razors or items deemed dangerous while travelling on air.
4) Make sure to change some currency prior to departing to any destination. You may need to use it for taxi fare or tippings or something that might arise when you least expect it.
5) If you're worry that you might get air sick while on board, get a prescription from your local pharmacist or doctor before starting on any long haul trip.
6) Do not pack too much clothings for a week trip. This could cause you more money to pay for excessive baggage fees. Always travel light.
Avoid carrying heavy items such as rice cooker, pestle and mortar etc...etc. Believe me, people do this all the time.
7) Do not carry anything liquid or fluid more than what was specified by the airline. You'd end up mad at the custom officials for confiscating your items before you even board the plane.
8) It's better for you to make arrangement with the hotel that you'll be staying to arrange for an airport transfer.It'd be a better idea if you place the booking with airport pick up transportation company because they're offering a much better deal than the hotel.
9) Keep all your travelling documents such as passport, flight tickets, hotel vouchers and others in one place and within easy reach.
10) For Muslim travellers, don't forget to pack your prayer mat and prayer garment as well. Compass would be practical too for those who doesn't own a smart phone toshow you the direction of Mecca.
11) Don't forget to check the expiry date of your passport and visa.
12) Keep some of your night dress or undergarment inside your hand luggage. That way if your luggage end up in Siberia instead of where you were going, at the very least, you can still walk around with your bras and panties strapped safely on your body. Better than nothing, don't you think?
13) Never forget to bring along your hair brush, tooth brush, moisturizer,toiletries, medication that you're currently taking, and a pair or two of your most comfortable shoes or snickers. You are going on a holiday after all, so you surely need something comfy and familiar!
14) Do not keep all your money inside one place, e.g all in your purse. Take some of it and stashed inside your jeans pocket or inside your hand luggage. In case you get mugged, you still have some money left.
15) Shopping: This is Malaysians favourite pastime. They can be anywhere in the world, they can claim that they're so flat broke,yet shopping is a habit that never dies in any Malaysian.
Before doing any shopping, or better still, before leaving the country, check or Google the best place for shopping. Try to avoid the commercialized centre since the price has been hiked up to the max.
16) One of the best persons for you to get information about the hotel/place you're staying in is, the hotel concierge. You can also try your luck with the housekeeping ladies. Believe me, their info will lead you to a place that wasn't swarmed with tourists.
17) Take some initiative to find the telephone number and address of your country's embassy. In case you landed in some kind of trouble, you know what to do then.
18) Don't show that you are nervous or uneasy in that new place especially when you're in the midst of price haggling. Self confidence will come in handy when dealing with street vendors.
19) Do not entertain any phone calls in your hotel room from any strangers. This could only lead to trouble.
20) Remember to keep the hotel's telephone number and address in your phone directory.
21) Make sure you have some extra cash inside your bank account should you get hold up at the immigration or custom check point.
Those are some tips for you guys before starting on your trip on your upcoming vacation. Remember we are travelling to an unfamiliar country. There are many things that maybe totally alien to us that could leave us in bewilderment. Thus, like I said earlier, it's best to do a little homework by Googling
for information from any search engine. This should put your mind at ease more than you know.
I hope my little tips could assist you in your future holiday planning.
Have fun and take care people!
Love always,
Rose
29th.Feb '16
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Salam semua,
Sekarang dah mula masuk musim kering. Hujan dah kurang, rumput dah kering dan kita pun dah tak tentu arah nak duduk kat mana sebab semua tempat dalam rumah terasa bahangnya.
Di sebelah sana dunia, keadaan sejuk melepasi suhu 0 darjah.Sesetengah tempat dah hampir ke paras beku. Masyaallah.. Hebat ciptaanNya.
Untung kita disini tak perlu nak cari baju2 tebal atau nak pasang heater dalam rumah atau dalam kenderaan sebab kita di sini cuma satu musim.
Sophie memanggil saya dari dalam bilik minta tolong ingatkan dia apa lagi barang-barang yang perlu dibawanya untuk perjalanannya ke U.S petang nanti atas urusan kerja. Saya cakap paling penting bawa baju sejuk dan baju pemanas badan yang mencukupi sebab kita tak biasa dengan keadaan sejuk yang melampau.
Ini memberi idea bagi saya untuk memberi sedikit tips sebelum anda membuat sebarang perjalanan ke luar negara. Bila saya menulis tentang tips perjalanan ini, bukan bermaksud yang saya sangat hebat dan selalu ke luar negara, sebaliknya saya jarang keluar negara tetapi tips yang akan saya beri dibawah ini lebih berasaskan kepada perkara asas yang kerap kita terlupa atau lalai sebelum melakukan sebarang perjalanan.
Tips-tips yang anda boleh guna pakai sebelum sesuatu perjalanan :
1) Pertama sekali, pilih destinasi yang anda idamkan sepanjang hayat anda untuk kesana, apatah lagi sekiranya duit yang anda kumpul selama ini adalah dari hasil titik peluh selama bertahun.
2) Buka laptop anda dan cari harga tiket penerbangan dari beberapa syarikat penerbangan. Dari situ, anda boleh membuat perbandingan harga.
Bila anda dah puas hati dengan pilihan harga tiket, anda boleh terus membuat tempahan online. Hati-hati semasa mengisi borang tempahan sebab selalunya ada sikit tricky situation dimana pihak pernerbangan akan memasukkan sekali caj tambahan seperti insurans perjalanan dan berat bagasi. Jadi baca betul-betul sebelum tekan enter sesuatu borang itu.
3) Harus di ingat, barang-barang tajam seperti pisau lipat, gunting atau seumpamanya, tidak dibenarkan didalam sesuatu penerbangan. Kalau kita masih membawanya juga, jabatan kastam akan merampas dari kita. Kan rugi?
4) Sebelum berlepas ke suatu destinasi, tukar wang kita ke matawang negara yang ingin anda lawati. Kalaupun tak nak tukar banyak, tukar sedikit dahulu supaya senang untuk kita membayar tambang teksi atau lain-lain kegunaan kecil.
5) Dapatkan preskripsi dari doktor atau farmasist sekiranya anda senang mabuk udara.
6) Jangan pack terlalu banyak pakaian atau barang untuk perjalanan seminggu. Kita bukan nak buat fesyen show disana. Kemas apa yang perlu sahaja. Ulang pakai apa yang ada. Kalau tak, alamat bertambahlah kos bagasi anda.
7) Jangan bawa bahan-bahan cair seperti air botol, pencuci muka atau bahan-bahan cair melebihi had yang ditetapkan. Semua bahan ini akan dirampas sebelum anda dapat menaiki sesuatu penerbangan.
8) Adalah lebih elok sekiranya anda membuat tempahan awal untuk airport transfer dengan pihak hotel supaya anda tidak tercari-cari kenderaan yang akan membawa anda ke hotel penginapan. Kalau dapat cari agensi pelancungan lebih elok sebab mereka menawarkan harga yang lebih rendah berbanding hotel.
9) Simpan semua dokumen perjalanan seperti passport, tiket penerbangan untuk kesemua destinasi, voucher hotel dan lain-lain didalam satu beg kecil yang senang dicapai bila diperlukan.
10) Untuk kaum Muslimin, eloklah dibawa kain telekung dan sejadah sekali sebab sekiranya negara yang kita lawati bukan negara Islam, agak susah bagi kita untuk mengerjakan solat kita, ya tak? Kalau boleh bawa kompas sekali untuk menentukan arah Kiblat kecuali smart phone anda ada apps untuk kompas.
11) Jangan lupa check balik tarikh luput pasport dan visa anda. Takut nanti bila dah sampai di airport, tengok-tengok visa dah mati. Kan sakit hati.
12) Simpan setengah drp baju baju anda didalam beg bimbit. Mana tahu beg besar yang dicheck in mungkin hilang sampai ke Siberia. Anda sampai di hotel tapi beg baju tak ada. Nak tunggu sampai beg tu, tak tahu berapa hari baru sampai. Tak kan tak pakai baju kot? Jadi sebagai langkah berhati-hati, bawa barang yang paling diperlukan didalam beg bimbit anda. (beg yang tak di check in, yang kita carry sendiri)
13) Bawa sekali, sikat rambut, berus gigi, moisturizer, ubat -ubatan yang sedang anda ambil dan juga kasut yang paling selesa untuk kegunaan semasa anda disana.
14) Jangan simpan wang tunai anda didalam satu tempat, contohnya semua duit didalam beg duit anda. Cuba pecahkan dan letakkan separuh didalam poket seluar jeans atau didalam beg sandang anda. Jadi sekiranya anda dirompak atau hilang duit itu, sekurang-kurangnya masih ada lagi yang tersimpan bersama anda.
15) Shopping : Haa..yang ni orang Malaysia punya kegemaran. Kat mana pun depa sampai, shopping dah termasuk dalam list mereka. Kalau nak shopping kat gerai-gerai kecil kat tepi jalan, jangan tunjuk sangat kita orang luar, cuba buat macam biasa. Baru senang nak tawar menawar.
16) Kalau nak dapat informasi mengenai tempat yang anda kunjungi, cuba tanya bahagian concierge dihotel penginapan anda. Anda juga boleh cuba bertanya kepada wanita yang bekerja di bahagian house keeping sebab mereka ni boleh bagi panduan kat mana tempat yang boleh kita kunjungi yang jarang pelancung lain lawati.
17) Cari dan simpan nombor kedutaan kita, mana tahu sekiranya kita terbabit didalam sesuatu yang tak diingini, merekalah orang yang harus kita vcari dulu.
18) Jangan jawab panggilan telefon dari orang yang tak dikenali semasa berada di dalam bilik penginapan anda. Jika perlu, hubungi bahagian front office dan minta penjelasan dari mereka.
19) Simpan juga nombor telepon dan alamat hotel penginapan anda, untuk tujuan keselamatan.
20) Pastikan anda mempunyai sedikit wang tunai didalam akaun bank anda untuk tujuan kecemasan.
Itu lah serba sedikit tips perjalanan yang dapat saya kongsi untuk kemudahan anda sebelum melakukan sesuatu perjalanan.
Ingat kita berada di satu negara yang didalam banyak keadaan, suasananya sangat berlainan dari negara kita. Jadi untuk mengelak dari sebarang kesulitan, adalah lebih baik anda lakukan sedikit homework dengan mencari maklumat melalui beberapa search engine di dalam computer anda.
Salam hormat dari saya dan semoga semua diberikan kesihatan yang elok.
Rose
29th.Feb '16
