Solo International Travel Tips For Women: While it’s not always simple or enjoyable, travelling alone as a woman may be a blast. Moreover, there are a few things you should keep in mind when travelling alone if you want to enjoy it. Pre-reserving your accommodation, airfare, train, taxi, and other modes of transportation is highly recommended for all legs of the trip. Always reserve your hostel room in advance if you enjoy travelling light. You will generally hear people say these things. The top 10 advice items that you should be aware of before travelling alone are given below.

10 TIPS FOR SOLO FEMALE TRAVELLERS FOR INTERNATIONAL TRIP

1. Dress Modestly: Yes, this tops the list because it is one of the most important points. As the old adage goes when in Rome, do as the Romans do, it is necessary to blend in with the crowd, or at least not look too much like a tourist, so as to avoid unnecessary attention. You can of course don anything you please, but avoid skin show and revealing clothes. PS: I have no intention to hurt the sentiments of any feminists by listing this out, but it’s for safety’s sake!

2. Pack Lights: Being a girl, it is difficult to part with that night cream, hair straightener, the LBD you bought last week and the lovely pink blush, and of course, those sexy leather boots, right? But while packing, ask yourself, if you will really use any of it, and if it is absolutely needed. If not, then leave it back home (you can thank me later for this advice)! Carrying heavy bags is an added pain and I’m saying so from personal experience!

3. Be Aware: Be aware of your surroundings and beware of your fellow travellers. If you feel someone is following, cross the road and head towards a bunch of people. Look after your belongings all the time, and don’t leave them behind even if you need to use the restroom. Beware of over-friendly folks, coz not everyone who appears nice is actually nice! It’s ok to be cynical sometimes, especially while you are travelling alone, and for your own security!

4. Pepper Spray, Swiss knife And a Whistle: These tiny items will barely occupy any place in your bag. Remember, prevention is better than cure. So carry this safety kit, which you may actually not have to use. But at least you know, you’re prepared!

5. Daytime Arrival: Try and book your tickets such that you reach the destination in the daylight. This will give you a chance to explore the area around your hotel well. However, if you do arrive at night, ask your hotel to send a cab instead of hiring any odd taxi off the road. Safety first, fellow travellers!

6. Carry Hotel Details Around: Remember how we used to have a school badge pinned to our uniform as kids? Of course, you don’t have to pin anything to your dress, but keep your hotel card handy. If you don’t have the card, then note down the details of the place where you are waiting, on a piece of paper. Inform the hotel authorities where you are headed and ask them how safe it is.

7. Photocopy Your Documents: It is important to carry at least one photocopy of each of the documents that you are carrying. If you were to lose any of the important documents, this could be useful, while reporting to the police.

8. Lie Convincingly: If you want, you can flaunt a wedding band. However, it is difficult to tell whether one is married or not, especially in India, unless you apply sindoor or wear ‘mangalsutra’ around your neck. You don’t have to go this extreme to fake it. But in case someone approaches you, at a bar, restaurant, bus or even train (yes, people try and hit on you on trains too), tell them your boyfriend is on the way, or you are going to meet him later. Lie convincingly coz it’s for your own good!

9. Create A Scene: If your lie doesn’t help, and someone still bothers you, don’t be shy to create a scene. Most people cower down once you make some noise, afraid of the humiliation and public response. While Indians are touted as unhelpful, someone will certainly run to your aid in a situation like this. What’s more, they might even beat up the eve-teaser! You just have to speak up and you will realize you are never really alone, even on a solo trip.

10. Stock Enough Toiletries: In India, sanitation issue is a major problem. You will get the real feel of it, once you set off on a backpacking trip. So, ensure that you carry enough sanitiser, toilet paper, tissue paper and all other sanitary products, as you may not find what you need at your travel destination.

From the unclimbed peaks of Antarctica, to the Himalayas of Nepal, to Mount Everest, to the forgotten war zones of Angola, Uganda, and Pakistan, National Geographic photographer and Nikon Ambassador, Cory Richards has done it all. Richards is a passionate climber as well as a social documentarian and has all of the adventure photography techniques one could ever need. Want get on his level? Here are 8 photography tips from the award-winning photojournalist:

1. Only go so far to get any shot

Assess the safety and the risk around any given situation before going headlong into it without really knowing what you’re up against. One – be hyperaware of your surroundings and two – know exactly what the risks of those surroundings are. It’s amazing how many people every year, especially in adventure photography or travel photography, get injured or even killed trying to take that extra step, get a little bit closer to that edge, get a little closer to an animal or something like that and end up worse off for it. So that’s my big number one before I get into anything else: know how far you’re willing to go and don’t go beyond that. Always push your comfort zone, but not to the point of personal harm.

2. Outdoor tech tip: batteries

I get asked all the time how to keep batteries warm in extreme conditions and there’s a number of different ways to do that. But primarily use your own body as a heater. Keep batteries as close to your body as possible when you’re in cold conditions. Before you use them, make sure they’re as warm as you can get them safely. I always climb with batteries as close to my body as I can. When I’m climbing in the Himalaya, I put them in my down suit on the inside and zip them into pockets that are the most insulated, the most protected from moisture, the most protected from wind and obviously the ones that are getting the most heat. Sleep with your batteries in the bottom of your sleeping bag or in between your legs is a good way to keep them warm overnight. That’s how I keep powered for long expeditions without having to take extra chargers.

3. Know your kit and pare it down.

I’ve been a fan of mirrorless systems since they’ve come on the market. Right now I am using the Nikon Z 6 and Z 7 mirrorless systems because they’re lighter and they’re smaller. This allows me more versatility with packing. They’re easier to carry with me in strenuous or hard situations where weight matters and they’re also incredibly tough and robust. You want to make sure the camera systems you’re using can handle the conditions you’re in, but you also want to take the absolute minimum and know them really well, so that you’re not weighed down by their presence. As soon as you’re weighed down by the presence of a camera you’re not going to use it anymore, in fact you’re not going to want to touch it at all. As soon as you are aware of the camera’s presence and it’s making your life harder, that’s when you’re going to start resenting it. You want to take the simplest, easiest camera system to use that will give you the highest quality possible results and is also the most versatile in terms of stills and videos. So Nikon’s Z 6 and Z 7 is where I put my money right now in terms of photography in the field.

4. Check your settings

This seems super simple, but every morning before you go out, before you take your first shot, turn your camera on and check where it’s at. Check the ISO. Check the aperture. Check that it’s still shooting RAW if that’s the kind of image quality you need. Check that you’re not on video mode or check that you are on video mode. Make sure that you start every day by resetting the camera to your default settings so that you are working from a foundational level. Throughout the day you’re going to change the ISO, you’re going to change everything on the camera, but so often I’ve gotten up in the morning, stepped out of the tent, seen something beautiful and started shooting away only to have missed the moment because I didn’t check and see what the ISO was, what my shutter speed was. So it’s always one of those things to be hyper aware of. Any time you make a drastic adjustment in your settings, maybe even reset directly after that. I always make up in the morning, turn all the cameras on and make sure they’re where I want them to be.

5. Storing your cameras

People always ask, what do you do with your cameras at night? How do you store them? Where do you keep them? The truth is that I usually take the batteries out and I leave the cameras and lenses in the vestibule. I leave them somewhat protected from wind and elements but out of all of the condensation that occurs inside a tent and the reason is because it’s really easy for that moisture to get in between the panes of glass in the lens and once that moisture is in there, it’s often really hard to get it out. In fact, sometimes it’s impossible without stopping and literally letting your gear dry out all day. So that’s a huge tip that I think people sometimes don’t really understand. Leave your cameras in the conditions you expect to use them first thing. It’s not going to hurt the cameras, specifically if they’re robust and well built. And with that it’s also the first time you step out, you’re ready to go. Try to avoid drastic temperature variances as you step in and out. Always keep them ready and adjusted to the ambient temperature that you’re going to be working in.

6. Know the environment that you’re going into

Know the relationship specifically, culturally to cameras. Do your research. Ask beforehand if this is a culture or an environment where cameras are appropriate, where they’re accepted. Know that if this is something that you’re trying to cover for a job or if it’s for yourself, know how to put a team around you that is going to make that possible. You never want to just burst in there and be the guy with the camera in people’s faces – that’ll turn people off immediately and that will certainly make it harder for you to get the results that you want. In a cultural context, know that specific culture’s relationship to photography and cameras going in. Don’t be overly timid, but also don’t be overly confident. Take cues from the people you’re working with and take cues from the people that you’re photographing. Try not to be arrogant with your camera and also try not to practice parachute journalism where you go in and you are primarily a taker in the situation. Work hard to give something back in whatever way it can be.

7. Lenses

It’s really easy to get overburdened by carrying too much glass with you. If you’re traveling light and fast through a new environment, try to have a lens with you that accomplishes most of what you want to get done. One or two lenses is plenty. If you’re shooting professionally, obviously you’re going to pack that lens kit out a little bit more, but for the most part, having a lens or two that you know really well that can cover a lot of ground and that you’re comfortable with the apertures – that’s going to make a huge difference. The less you have to use and change, the more you’ll use what you have and that will make more pictures. And remember that if something doesn’t feel intimate enough, that doesn’t mean to zoom in. That means to get closer. Zooming in actually doesn’t make images more intimate. It creates a visual effect that makes you seem closer to somebody, but the actual proximity of your camera and the relationship that you create within that proximity are what’s going to give you intimate photographs, whether it’s people that you’re adventuring with or cultures that you’re traveling through.

8. Know when to stop

Photography and all the settings, everything you use, all of that aside, light, composition, everything. Photography is about story as much as it is about anything else. Good photography, great photography, transcendent photography has very little to do with technicality. It can be technically good, but more often it’s a moment. What I mean by know when to stop is if you’ve gotten the message, hang up the phone. You don’t need to beat people to death or beat situations to death with a camera continuing to shoot beyond what’s useful. Learn when you’ve got the shot. Know your photography. Study your own photography. Study the photography of others. Don’t abuse a situation. Don’t abuse the intimacy that’s been offered to you. Know when to stop. Know when to reel yourself in. Know when not to push it anymore and live and die by those rules.

If you’re planning a trip abroad but have no idea of where to go and what to expect in terms of food, worry not here’s some help at hand. This article explains where to look for delicious local cuisine, as well as how to avoid common mistakes along the way.

Mine the knowledge of professionals

You may have heard about the region’s cuisine before booking your trip but have no idea where to locate the greatest restaurants, then check on google or Yelp for the top-rated restaurants. If three or more reviews point to the same conclusion, then probably it is true. Do look for references of natives, foodies or trained chefs.

Take into account cultural differences

Local eating customs may differ from your own. And you definitely don’t want to make an embarrassing gaffe. Having a connection with some local people will be helpful. If that isn’t an option, do look up reputable web resources to ensure you know the local customs.

Make use of social media

If you’re worried about a communication gap due to linguistic or cultural differences, then social media can bridge the gap. Pinterest, Instagram, and Google Translate are fantastic resources to learn local customs.

Even if a restaurant does not have a website, you can get reviews on social media platforms.
When researching for a restaurant, do use Google Translate to understand local terms. When placing an order, just show the server the picture. Alternatively, you might try having a conversation with the server.

The finest way to sample regional cuisine

Some tour operators organise food tours, do your homework and choose a tour where you visit the maximum eateries that interest you.
Participating restaurants like the exposure and new consumers that food tours provide. You can discuss food with other gastronomes you meet on the tour.

Techniques for efficiently keeping track of your grocery spending

The price of food may surprise you or could exceed your budget. There are several techniques that you can use to efficiently keep track of your spending while on a trip. One technique is to create a budget and stick to it. Determine how much money you have available for food and try to stick to it as much as possible. Another technique is to make a list of the items you need and stick to it when shopping. This can help you avoid impulse purchases and stay on track with your budget.

When planning a trip, it is important to consider what type of food you will need to purchase and in what quantity. One way to do this is to investigate online by looking at blogs and forums related to the destination you are visiting. You can also check websites that provide information on local grocery stores and markets. Additionally, you may want to consider the type of accommodation you will be staying in, as this can affect how much food you will need to purchase.

For example, if you are staying in a hotel with a kitchenette, an AirBnB or a hostel, you may be able to purchase and store more food than if you are staying in a hotel without one. It is also a good idea to consider the length of your trip and your expected activities, as these can affect your food needs. Many travellers carry ready-to-eat meals if they are travelling for longer than a week. By doing so, you can ensure you have enough food for your trip without overloading yourself with unnecessary items.

The price of different food items often differs from country to country. In addition, some restaurants catering to tourists may provide subpar cuisine assume tourists are not repeat customers. Explore the area online to understand which is popular among locals.
There are chances you’ll discover a new favorite dish from the area. And you may encourage others to follow your.

Just in time for your summer vacation plans.

Going on vacation is the best. Not so fun? Trying to cram your cutest outfits into your suitcase. Indeed, the anxiety of figuring out what to pack (and how to make it all a fit) can put bit of a damper on your pre-getaway excitement.

To the rescue: These savvy packing tips from the Good Housekeeping Institute’s travel experts. Whether you’re someone who starts packing a week ahead of time or waits until the last minute, these hacks will ensure that your favorite travel dress doesn’t get wrinkled and you have plenty of room for souvenirs.

Keep reading to learn how to pack faster and smarter — without the stress.

1. Roll clothes and pack them first.

The best way to prevent creases and make the most of your space is to use the roll method. Lay tops facedown, fold in the sleeves and roll from the bottom up. For pants, put the legs together and roll from the waist down. Once you’ve rolled everything, place pants and tops in your suitcase before walking shoes and accessories; then, fit in other oddly shaped items, like hair tools.

2. Choose travel-friendly fabrics.

We always recommend opting for knits and stretchy fabrics while traveling. Even when these fabrics wrinkle, the creases will fall out when you hang them up. Woven fabrics (like linen or cotton twill) are more prone to wrinkling.

3. Pack the first outfit you’ll want to wear on top.

If you know you’re getting off the plane and going straight to dinner or a meeting, plan your outfit and put it into your suitcase last. That way, when you arrive, you won’t have to dig through everything else to find it (plus, it will be less likely to wrinkle). This strategy is a great excuse to think about what you’ll wear in advance so you don’t make one of the biggest packing mistakes: waiting until the last minute to pack.

4. Place heavy items at the base.

Keep weightier things like shoes and books by the wheeled end of your suitcase. This placement helps your bag stay stable when upright, and stops other items from getting smushed.

5. Layer plastic dry cleaning bags between clothes.

The next time you pick up your dry cleaning, save the plastic bags. You can use them to protect delicate items from accidental pulls by layering them between your clothes. They help your clothing slide (not snag) when your bag gets jostled (and they help reduce wrinkling!).

6. Use packing cubes.

These blocks keep your suitcase organized and stack together easily — no more trying to fit in oddly shaped items like a puzzle. Plus, the best packing cubes are lightweight and thin so you won’t lose any precious suitcase space.

7. Avoid over- or under-packing.

While you might be tempted to leave space for souvenirs, extra room means items can shift and crumple or break. Fill empty spaces with dry cleaner bags (and fill them later with mementos from your trip). It’s important not to over-pack either (especially if you’re only bringing a carry-on), since that’s a surefire way to create crease marks and can make it extra tricky to repack when you’re going home — or heading off to another spot.

8. Get an extra tote for souvenirs.

You’re going to want to shop so bring a foldable tote bag or travel backpack. It won’t take up much space on the way to your destination (many fold into a small pouch!) and you can fill it with (almost) anything you buy on your travels.

9. Take a mini iron.

Despite your best packing efforts, some wrinkles and creases are inevitable. That’s where a pint-size steam iron or garment steamer comes in. Most are under two pounds, meaning they take up very little space and are perfect for quick touch-ups anywhere — just don’t expect it to de-wrinkle a full garment in record time.

10. Bring two small laundry bags.

Use one for lights and one for darks. If you forget, grab plastic bags from your hotel room’s closet. When you get home, throw the presorted loads in the wash. Other must-haves: two-gallon resealable bags for wet bathing suits and an instant stain remover.

11. Organize your liquids bags.

You know the drill: Stash any liquids you want to keep in your carry-on bag in a separate, clear bag so you can easily pass through security. Our must-haves: a do-it-all hydrating balm, cleansing wipes for your face or hands (or the seat) and a lightly scented hand sanitizer. Not sure which liquids you can bring on the plane? Remember TSA’s 3-1-1 liquids rule: Products must be 3.4 ounces or less and they all must fit in a one quart-size bag.

12. Keep important medications in your purse.

Even if you plan to carry on your bag, there’s still a risk you could have to check it at the gate. If your meds are in your purse, you’ll have what you need even if the overhead bin space fills up and you end up having to check your bag.

13. Bring a scarf for the plane in your carry-on.

No matter what season it is, planes are often on the chilly side. Bring a pretty, warm wrap that you can bundle up in if the temp doesn’t feel comfortable. Bonus: You can also fold it and use it as a pillow.

14. Carry a reusable water bottle.

As long as it’s empty, it’s okay to bring a water bottle through airport security. Once you’re inside the terminal, fill it up at an airport cafe or water station. You’ll stay hydrated, and it’s greener than having to buy plastic water bottles while site-seeing.