How to Bypass International Calling Charges when you Travel Abroad

So, you’re back home. It was a really nice trip and you are all refreshed. But then you check your phone bill and it comes out to be a hefty $8000. What the he**? How come? And you’re struck dumb! International roaming can be nothing less than a bombshell, so it is important to know about it before it explodes and messes everything. The best way is to explore about international roaming before your flight takes off.

You need a smart roaming solution that keeps your international communication costs to a minimum so that you can stay connected with friends and family without any worry. Below mentioned are two effective solutions that could save you from the standard roaming charges as assessed by your local network provider.

An International Roaming App:

When you’re using apps for just everything, why not for international calling? A roaming app for international travel will let you receive calls for free through the app when connected to WiFi. This way, you can enjoy calls at your home country number.

Buy a Local SIM Card:

However, in absence of Internet, you can purchase a local SIM card and can enjoy local calling at nominal rates. Also, you would be able to receive calls at 90% lesser charges if you have an international roaming app installed on your phone. You just need to link the app with your local SIM card; no internet required. It is a good option for pocket-friendly calling when you are on international travel.

Tips for Travelling Internationally Without Exceeding your Budget

Money is the number one thing that could hold back someone from travelling, but the fact is that one could never have enough money to hit the road. Since this is a common issue that keeps on buzzing every now and then amongst the masses, here are some really useful and amazing tips for those who wish to travel internationally without burning a hole in their pocket.

Save on your stay

Even a decent hotel will charge you hundreds of bucks than why not opt for a comfy and clean home accommodation that’s just for a few bucks a day. Well, you can search for such rentals on airbnb to choose the one that best fits your taste.

Don’t spend too much on flights

When booking flight, make sure you look for discounts or deals that are sometimes available on third party websites. Also, it is recommended to seek help of a travel agent in your area as these agents can help you save a lot on flight booking. They can also customise your travel in the most budget-friendly way.

Eat, but not at twice the price

When in a foreign land, having food of your choice might seem to be the most difficult thing. To solve this problem, you can do a little effort prior to your travel by learning a few easy recipes of your choice. So you can cook the food by yourself and save on huge hotel food bills. Even if you want to try the local delicacies, find out the most reasonable eating joints on Google and don’t forget to check their customer reviews.  

Calling should not cost you an arm and a leg

A major problem faced by international travellers is the huge amount of roaming bills that they have to pay. Using a reliable and smart international calling app could be the simplest solution to this problem. With such an app, you can make free calls on your home country number and can even enjoy 90% lesser costs even if you make calls using the visiting country SIM.

7 Great Gift Ideas for a Traveler Dad

A dad is someone who doesn’t want to catch you before you fall but instead picks you up, brushes you off, and lets you try again.

True, isn’t it?

Well, fathers are special and deserve to be treated extraordinarily with all the love and care. So whether father’s day is approaching soon or not, you should grab this opportunity to show your love for the fantastic man in your life. In this post, I am sharing a few valuable gift ideas for Dad’s who travel a lot. It could be because of their work or they might love to explore new places.

Let’s go!

• Gadgets

Probably, this is one of the most useful gifting idea. Dad’s today are smart enough and if your man falls into the category of technology lovers, then start searching for a good gadget for him. It could be a cell phone, tablet, camera or battery chargers and power banks.

• Recharges

While he’s out of home for a few days, roaming cost might be one thing that would be bothering him. So what you can do is - use an online mobile top up recharge facility to let him call and connect without any worry. Also, you can share with him an international roaming app that allows free incoming and outgoing calls.

• A Nice Shirt

The choice of shirt depends on the purpose of the trip. If he’s going for business and work, then choose a light colored formal shirt that he could wear on his next meeting. However, if he’s out for a holiday or something, then go either for a casual shirt or simply grab a t-shirt in a good color.

• A Sturdy Bag

This one’s both stylish and useful. Get a smart leather bag in which he could carry his essentials when out for a day. You can easily find handmade leather bags in classy shades on internet. Make sure it comes with a warranty!

• A Reading Material

If your Dad loves reading, then gifting him a book would be a great idea. Even better, you can gift him a kindle which will become his personal reading station. Kindles are in much trend these days because of their stylish look and modern technology. However, there’s nothing that could beat the charm of books. So choice is yours!

• Fitness Band

To ensure that your dad stays fit and fine when is away from home, gift him a fitness band that could use for keeping a check on his day to day moves. This will be an inspiring addition to your father’s routine and he will be more determined to stay healthy and fit.

• Liquor

There’s nothing more precious than a classy bottle of wine or whiskey for a man. Get one for your dad as he would love to relish some delectable sips during his entire trip.

There are endless ideas that comes to the mind when we think about gifting your father. But the real take is find that perfect gift for your special man. I hope the above mentioned ideas prove useful for you!

The 5 Best Travel Books of the World

“Traveling — it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller”

― Ibn Battuta

When you travel to a certain place, you get to see a lot of things. Sometimes these are the significant ones and sometimes you have to delve a little deeper into the details to find the ecstasy. But no matter what, travelling for me has always been a great experience and for so many of you around the globe. One could easily find numerous travel experiences scribbled onto the sheets of paper and bonded together to form travel books.

Be it about delighting the gazing sun rays on an outlying beach or adjusting to the hustle and bustle in a train while travelling to the mountains, there are lots of experiences that we could find and read in travel books by authors around the world. In this post, I would like to make you familiar with the best 5 travel books of the world and their writers.

Have a look:

Paulo Coelho - The Alchemist

As a young boy travels from Spain to Egypt, he encounters interesting individuals, realizes his inner thoughts and get to know the real meaning of love and life. Once you will start reading this book, you will discover that it’s more and more inspiring as you get along the flow.

Alain de Botton- The Art of Travel

A thought-provoking read that digs a little deeper on what excites us to travel around the world. You will get to know the eagerness of getting to a new place, living there and coming back home in Botton’s words.  This book should be on your must to read list as it will enlighten the traveler inside you and can simply be a life changing read for you. .

Patrick Smith - Cockpit Confidential

Who else would be a better traveler than a pilot himself! For those who are a bit anxious about travelling in flights or want to know the secrets of what all happens when you go above the clouds, this book is a perfect pick. You will get to know what a particular movement of a plane means or from where that specific smell you have experienced during the journey comes from. Patrick Smith makes you better understand how a plane actually works and eases most of your flying fears.

Ed Stafford - Walking the Amazon: 860 Days. One Step at a Time.

Walking across the Amazon Jungle from Peru to Brazil, this guy is the first person to make such an adventurous journey. This is a brilliant story that describes his experience about his struggle to make it happen. Diligence, Steadfastness and resoluteness are the words that best describe this man and his journey. You will get to know how it is to be sleeping in the lap of nature, starving when there’s no food, and several other instances.

Cheryl Strayed - Wild

Bored up from your life? Need a fresh start? Read this real life story of Cheryl Strayed who shares her journey to the Pacific Crest. Reading along the flow, this book describes how Cheryl dealt with the loss of her mother, break-up of her marriage and drug addiction. On her way to this journey, she experiences a deep sense of belonging, generosity and happiness.

How to Survive An 'Extended' Business Trip?

While travelling seems to be a fun activity to most of us; touring for business is entirely a different story. Especially if you are not lucky enough to make it quickly to the airport, getting a perfect hotel room, food and so on. Further, things could become more messy when you have to extend your business trip because of some meeting or task. So how are you going to survive? Do you have sufficient stock to make it comfortably for a few more days? Well, for most of the people, the answer would be a straight NO. But then there’s nothing you can do other than surviving the time no matter what.

The trend of extended business trips is catching on as a result of more and more work across the borders. I thought of writing on this topic as a friend of mine recently had a real tough time while he was on an extended business trip. Listening to his experience and advice, I planned to do some research to provide my readers with some useful tips to withstand such situations. Take a look:

• Pack Appropriately

Every time you pack your suitcase for a business trip, or I would suggest the same for any trip, make sure you pack a little more stuff for the stay. From your clothes to your toiletries and accessories to footwear, keep it in such a way that you have things in hand for at least 2-3 days further.

• Take A Break

Suppose today was the last day of your business trip but now you have to stay for 4 more days to attend a meeting which is after 2 days. So you have 2 days in between, right? How about a day out to the nearest beach, zoo or museum , or whatever is easily accessible. This way you can add fun to the monotony side by side utilizing your free time. Google the nearest attractions and start visiting them.

• Cut On Cost

Since you are on a budget for this business trip, you have to see not to exceed much for this extended period. Though your company would be paying you for all the expenses made during the trip (the genuine ones), but you surely don’t want to agitate your boss with a list of heavy bills. Moreover, if you’re an entrepreneur travelling abroad for his business, then certainly there’s a need to make the trip as much cost-effective as possible.

For this, you need to look on various aspects. The first one could be your hotel room or accommodation. Make sure it is good enough but not too expensive to live in. You can try out those home accommodations that are ‘affordable and appeasing’.

Further, you can look out for lesser costs on calling, by purchasing a local SIM card or using free apps for international calling. These tricks could help you save a lot of money when you are on roaming.

• Stay Uber-Prepared

Since there might be n number of things happening not just the right way - but you need to face them all. It is better to keep a positive attitude and look for solution whenever a problem arrives. Otherwise, your trip could turn out to be a spoiler. Stressing too much for the unexpected arrivals and delays is simply not worth it. So stay happy, calm and smart.

Can you think of more suggestions or tips to pull through during such situations? Let me know your thoughts on the same. Do share your personal experience, if any!

4 Tips for Travelling Long Distances with Pets!

For pet lovers, there’s nothing more important than the comfort and safety of their loved creatures. And when it is about flying across the oceans with these pets, one needs to be more careful than ever before. In this post, I would like to share the 4 most useful tips to travel long distances with your pet:

• Check Your Flight

The first step is the most crucial one. Search for a flight that is pet-friendly. At the time of booking your flight ticket, you need to book ticket for your pet as well. There are several international flights that allow you to take your pet in the cabin but with some restrictions. The pet should be encased in a carrier inside which the pet should be able to stand and move in a circle freely. In other cases, you can opt for the cargo area as well.

• Check Your Destination

  

Once your pet flies along with you to the destination, it is important that the place offers comfort to him as well. Be it a hotel or a home accommodation, you need to check in prior whether the place welcomes pets or not. You can check online to find pet-friendly destinations and hotel chains. To make things easier, it would be better to call the services and get to know about their pet policies.

• Consider A Sedative

  

Your pet must not be habitual of travelling especially in a plane, therefore in order to make this journey a little more easy for him, it is better to tranquilize him. This will reduce the anxiety and fear of staying in the new environment thus maintaining peace. It is important to note that you should consider visiting a veteran for a suitable dose and type of sedative to be given to your pet.

• Reach Before Time

  

Since you will be coming along with your little lovable creature, it is crucial that you reach airport a little before the mentioned time. This is helpful because it will save you from the unexpected security checks and formalities that happen at times as a result of increased security concerns at the airport areas.

I hope with these points in mind, you would be able to travel long distances with your pet easily and comfortably. Let me know your suggestions on the same!

Things To Do When Your Flight is Delayed

Okay! So you are all set to fly with your baggage at the airport but then the announcement says that the flight is delayed. Upset a little bit? I know, however, there’s nothing other than waiting that you can do about it. So what’s next? You’re just not sure how to keep yourself occupied until the boarding starts.

Well, being a frequent traveler, I’ve been into the same situation a couple of times, which is why I have a long list of ideas to keep myself busy rather than sitting idle and doing nothing at the airport. Here I’m sharing the most useful and interesting ones. Take a look:

Go for A Walk:

Having spare time to do just anything seems to be a 'golden opportunity' for lazy as*es like me. Since I never take the initiative to wake up early in the morning and go for a walk or exercise. So here’s the lucky chance to take a long stroll around the airport area and get my legs moving. This way I get to see what's happenings around, loose some calories and prepare my body for the long seated journey of the flight.

Browse Some Useful Apps:

I have seen many people standing lost at the airport and making calls to their families from the telephone booths. Guys, we’re into the Internet age then why not take advantage of it. While everyone carries a smartphone in their hand these days, it is a wise move to look for some useful roaming apps that support international calling for free over internet. The benefit? Using such apps you can save hundreds of bucks while making calls to your home country. Be a smart internet user and try this out!

Pamper Yourself:

Whether you are visiting the foreign land for a holiday or it is about work, your body deserves to be pampered. How about getting into a massaging chair that are usually available at the airport area for free. Try relaxing your mind and soul while the massaging chair soothes your body with its healing vibrations. It’s a must to try when you have plenty of free time.

Play Some Fun Games:

This one would help you lower down your frustration level. Find a funny game in your smartphone or go for some tricky puzzles that would bring back the memories of old school days. Do it; you are never too old to play games. trust me!

Apart from the above stated tips, you can talk to other passengers, grab a sandwich or something, read a book or watch a movie on your phone. With all these moves, you would be able to spend this cumbersome time usefully. Share your thoughts and words with me in the comments section. I would love to hear from you!

Corporate Travel - How to Minimize Your Expenses?

Travelling across the oceans for work is a common thing nowadays. However, with this, comes a lot of planning and considerations to make your visit comfortable and cost-effective. Being an entrepreneur, I have boarded a lot of corporate journeys till date and there are many more to come soon. Initially, I found my everyday expenses to be quite reasonable but when those bills piled up, I realized the hole these bills were creating in my pocket.

So, it was the time to review my travel arrangements - from hotel stay to city rides and from international roaming charges to airfares. Considering the tips mentioned below, I charted out a cheaper yet suitable corporate travel plan, which helped me save a lot more than before.

Here we go!

• Reconsider Your Stay

The hotel or accommodation where you are going to stay is going to wipe a major chunk of money from your decided budget. Though, each and everyone have their own preferences, you can look out for cost-effective yet comfy accommodation options that are quite in trend these days. For instance, you can checkout airbnb's global product suite for businesses that has made a significant impact in the realm of shared economy. The good part is that you need not to compromise on free WiFi, clean bed & bath, meals, etc; what else would one ask for!

• Travel Agents are Valuable

This might sound false to you at first, but trust me if you’ve a good agent in hand, it’s going to be worth it. These agents can help you save big bucks as they know when flight rates are at peak and when not. The best part is that you are not bothered with all the research, calls, comparisons for airfare as your agent makes it all and brings the itinerary at a lesser (or same) price range as available on internet. Don’t believe? Check the original fares on the web. All in all, there’s no planning headache and you save money as well.

• Check for Calling Discounts

While you are miles apart from your colleagues and families, it becomes a real monetary burden when you have to connect with them. Making calls, especially for long duration generates huge bills that makes you sweat. While I too have been bothered with the same problem, a simple solution is to find a useful international roaming app that let’s you make calls through internet for free. You just need to install the app on your handheld device with a few settings and you're good to go.

With these considerations in mind, you can make the most of your corporate trip without investing too much into it.