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Going abroad is a wonderful experience ! However, it requires some preparation. Like all the administrative formalities for example. It’s easy to forget something for your trip; so let’s see what are the different things you should not forget :
1) Your passport
Can you imagine arriving at the airport, going to check-in your suitcase and when the steward asks for your passport you just look for it and… Oh ! Yes, you remember, you forgot it on your bedside table ! Such a pity… now it’s too late to go back home and the plane will not wait for you. Don’t forget it next time !
2) Your health insurance european card
That is true only if your trip concerns European Union countries, but in that case, this card is your savior. Sick ? Then go to see a doctor. Actually, nobody wants you to be sick (except your doctor if he is a true greedy sadist) and the one who want it the least is your credit card. Visiting a doctor is not free and even though it’s for your health, you don’t want to pay for something you couldn’t avoid ! But you can save money thanks to the health insurance European card : free visits to the doctor for you, isn’t it great ?
3) To book a room
Very important this one, you don’t want to sleep on the street, under a bridge or over a bench in a park do you ? So you have to find a place to sleep. However, the worst thing is to do it at the last moment. If you try the day you arrive and everything is full, you’ll regret it !
4) To book your flight
It’s the exact same thing as for a place to sleep. The earlier the better, if you do it the last minutes, maybe there will be no flights available, maybe there will still be a place but for what price ? 300 euros from Paris to London ? Okay, you don’t want to pay that much, so just try to look at it early and avoid bad surprises.
5) To research the way from the airport to your home
Yeah, that’s the next step to point 4, but even though it’s less serious, it’s still a hassle to be lost in an airport. You won’t always have a welcome team to tell you how life is good there and to pay the taxi for you ! And even if you manage to bring a friend to welcome you and show you the way home, he can be late or he could just forget to wake up (it’s sunday and you arrive at 7a.m. ! What did you expect ?), so it’s better if you know where is your home and how to get there in advance.
6) To unlock your phone
If you go for only a few days and you are not a phone addict, you can skip this point. But, if you want to use your phone, don’t make the mistake and unlock it before you leave. Be sure to be able to use a SIM card from your new country, you don’t want any bad surprises (it’s something that can drive people mad you know ?). Then, don’t forget it !
7) To check the currency
That’s really funny if you don’t ! Wherever you’re going, just check the currency, change your money, get a new bank account or whatever, but don’t try to buy sunglasses for thirty euros in Northern Ireland. It belongs to United Kingdom dear, you have to get yourself some POUNDS !
8) To prepare sealed bags for electronic devices and liquids
We already talked to you about how to put a lot of things in your suitcase. But when you go to the airport and you want to have any electronic device or liquid with you during the flight. You’ll have to put it on sealed bags, if you don’t do this, the customs officer will take it from you. So don’t forget it.
9) To ask somebody to take care of your pets or garden
That is quite a sensitive subject actually. There are a lot of cases of pets dying because of people who forgot to tell someone to take care of them (the same goes for gardens, but I don’t know why people don’t really care about that). If you have a cat, a dog or any kind of pet, don’t be irresponsible and think about someone who can take care of it while you’re abroad. Friend, family, neighbor, anybody to whom you can give your keys and instruction about how and when to take care of your pet (or garden, gardening is important too don’t you think ?) so that you won’t have a really bad surprise when you come back. If you can’t find anyone then ask a special organisation to take care of it, maybe it’ll cost you a bit, but it’s better to ensure your pet’s safety.
10) When you’re suppose to leave
Actually I wonder if there is really somebody on this planet who would forget the date he’s supposed to go abroad… But just in case, don’t forget it !
