Heading to a new country? After 10+ years of switching countries more than yearly you would think I had it down cold. Wrong. I still constantly find new and innovative ways to make my life more of a hassle. Here is a list of some of the things I have learned along the way, so you don’t have to repeat my mistakes.
- Two driver’s licenses. If you’re from the US, just tell them you lost yours and ask for a replacement. It has the exact same # on it. Shady? Yes. Illegal? Possibly. Does it hurt anyone? Nope! This comes in clutch in case you need to drive overseas, because you need your license alongside your IDP (International Driving Permit) to legally drive in many countries. If your license is lost or stolen, you have to get another one sent to your home mailing address from the DMV, and have someone who can pick up your mail that can send it on to your current location. It takes weeks. If you drive without it, and get into an accident, you can be in big trouble if you are not fully legal. Does not matter that you lost it, local courts and your insurance company will almost ALWAYS try and screw you over. This includes not paying your medical bills, they will have a clause saying your coverage is only valid if your are operating a vehicle legally. Without a license on your person, you are almost always not legal.
- Forward Texts. Get your texts overseas. Have a cheap phone with a SIM card left plugged in and charging at a friend’s house, and sync with the Telegram app on that phone. Now, on your phone you are using overseas, access that same telegram and you have access to all the texts sent to that phone. Why? 2FA is a problem overseas. Google voice numbers and virtual SIMs often don’t work with verification texts, such as from banks. Even Google Fi has been known to suddenly cut people off without warning. If you have ever tried to access one of your accounts, and it has to send you a text to verify, you have to be able to read that text or often you can’t access that account at all.
- Alarms: Now that everyone has a “smart” phone with alarms as standard, not many people travel with an alarm clock anymore. Well, let me tell you, this is a mistake. Someone, someway, you are going to wind up in a situation where you need to be awake at a certain hour to catch the next bus to the airport. Your phone will likely be close to dead, after you watched a ton of “Rick and Morty” on the 12 hour bus ride you just took, because SURELY you could charge your phone at the next bus station. I’ve never done this, obviously I would never be that stupid, just a random scenario… Anyways, you are going to want an extra alarm of some sort. Pick one up before you head out! I got a $5 digital watch from AliExpress with a handy alarm.
- International Driving Permit. Get an IDP before you go! Even if you don’t plan on driving. Easy to end up renting a scooter unexpectedly. Heck, get TWO for when the first is inevitable left in your pants pocket and run through the washer. They are made out of paper. Seriously, they are living like it is 1950. It’s over-sized, impossible to fit into a wallet, and just an overall embarrassment that we are still using them. WHY? Well, as mentioned earlier, if you get into a wreck without one things can go sideways really fast. Even if you are sitting on a scooter at a stoplight and someone plows into you from behind, drunk as a skunk. It is now your fault, because the other person automatically wins because you were not road legal to begin with. Now your travel insurance, World Nomads!, who seemed like a caring cuddly friend, whips out the fine print and does not pay a dime of your hospital bill since you were breaking the law. It happens. Don’t drive without being legal, check the laws before you go. Have an IDP and your license if it is needed, and NEVER drive without being legal. You can be held responsible, and locked up until you pay damages to the other party, even if you were not at fault.
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Backup Credit Cards and Debit Cards! I can’t stress this enough, and yet it is a mistake I have made many times. I was once robbed in Colombia and found out exactly what a pain it is to get money sent to you. First, you have to have someone you know that can do it. 2nd, you have to have some way of picking it up. Western Union? Money Gram? Better hope there is one close by and that you also did not have your license and passport stolen. Possibly you can send someone at a hostel money via PayPal, Venmo, or CashApp and have them hand it over to you. Make sure you have some of these accounts accessible via a laptop, and not just an app on your phone.
Banks also have a bad habit of suddenly locking your card if they think it has been stolen. Even if you set a travel alert first. It can be totally random, your debit card is working great at all ATMs. You stop at one while bar hopping in Peru, and it eats your card with no warning. Guess what? That ATM has a history of robberies during certain hours, and you just triggered it. Yep, your bank has had other customers robbed there and if a request is made from that ATM late at night they just straight up take your card when you try to withdraw cash. Or maybe it is VISA or MasterCard doing it.Make sure you have at LEAST two credit cards and two debit cards, from different banks and also not all VISA or all MasterCard. Variety is the spice of life. I have over eight credit cards. I take them all. Hidden in my luggage, carry on, shoe, money belt, and of course just in my wallet as well. Of course I also have backup cash hidden now as well. A stolen or not working card is now just a few minute deactivation from my phone away, instead of over a week long of your trip grinding to a halt while you wait in the exact same location for a new card to be sent.
What cards do I use? Check out my article on it here! Chalk full of affiliate links, but only the best options. Promise. - Earplugs: Absolute game changer. Nah, don’t go out and buy $200 noise canceling earphones. They are nothing compared to some cheap, disposable, foam earplugs. These take up almost no space and WILL save from a sleepless night at some point. Trust me. It’s 2am. You’re awesome AirBnb in Hongdae, South Korea is perfect. You are enjoying some well deserved sleep. When you hear it: The unmistakable sound of a Didgeridoo. Yes, your next door neighbors are Australians. Yes, they are on the balcony drunk. Yes, they did bring a didgeridoo with them. This has happened to me. Twice. It’s the American equivalent of bringing a banjo. More commonly, your next door neighbors in Vietnam playing karaoke at FULL volume for hours straight in the middle of the night. Think you can call the police? Wrong. No one is going to stop them, because all the other neighbors will ALSO do the same thing at various times throughout the year.
Get earplugs. You have been warned. Bad stuff will happen if you don’t. - Travel Insurance: It’s relatively cheap, and will often come with cool things such as replacing your stolen phone, or flying you home in a MedJet after you break your back skydiving in China. Happened to my friend, he was okay but was stuck in his bed for about two months until he was able to sit up straight long enough for a flight home. Check various providers, and trip lengths. I usually have two sets of travel insurance, one regular and one for a MedJet evacuation. I was doing some questionable BASE jumping and it was a real possibility I would need it. After I stopped doing sketchy jumps, I kept getting it for traveling especially if riding any scooters or motorcycles. You don’t wanna be that person who has a GoFundMe setup for the 100k+ bill to get you back to your home country, because you were too cheap to pay $1 a day for insurance. This story is incredibly common.
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