Ignore anyone who approaches you on the street

If someone that you don’t know tries to talk to you, ignore them and continue walking away. If you don’t know them, you have no reason to talk to them and they have no reason to talk to them. When this happens, they’re most likely trying to selling you something, perform some kind of scam, or pickpocket from you.

Travel With AirTags (or another tracking device)

Having an AirTag, SmartTag, or a Find My Device tag (like Chipolo) while you travel may be a good idea. In case you misplace something, your luggage goes missing, or something gets stolen, you can always have the peace of mind knowing where that item is.

For me, I always put an AirTag in every single bag, backpack, and luggage that I bring with me, this ensures that if my bags gets misplaced, lost, or stolen, I will most likely know where is that item’s location.

Reducing Jet Lag

I tend to reduce jet lag by trying to adjust my sleep schedule slightly one day before I flight out, depending on my destination.

On the day that I fly, I will attempt to take some Melatonin to match my destination’s night time.

Depending on what time I arrive at my destination, I may have a coffee or two if I arrive in the morning. The important part of minimizing jet lag is to not take a nap or fall asleep until night time.

Buying Water Bottles

If possible, try to buy bottles from supermarkets or connivence stores. They tend to be much cheaper than purchasing them from tourist attractions, street vendors, hotels, and restaurants.

Get a No Foreign Transaction Fee Credit Card

Many credit cards will have a foreign transaction fee. So, if possible, try to find a credit card with no foreign transaction fee in your country.

If you are from the United States, you can take a look at any Capital One credit cards, as they all don’t have any foreign transaction fees. Travel Credit cards, such as Chase Sapphire Reserve or American Express Platinum or Gold will not have foreign transaction fees as well.

Be sure to always deny the payment processor’s conversion rates (exchange through local currency, never your home country’s currency), as they typically will markup the rates. When you deny the payment processor’s conversion rates, this ensures that you are getting a good conversion rate from your bank when you are using a no foreign transaction fee credit card.

Get a Charles Schwab Debit Card (For Americans Only)

If you live in the US, getting a Charles Schwab Debit Card can help eliminate foreign currency conversion fees. Charles Schwab will reimburse you ATM fees internationally and charges no foreign transaction fees when you are converting currencies.

Be sure to always deny the ATM conversion rates (exchange through local currency, never USD), as they typically will markup the rates. When you deny the ATM conversion rates, this ensures that you are getting a good conversion rate from Charles Schwab as there are no foreign transaction fees.

Bring a Travel Adapter

A travel adapter along with a portable power strip can useful while traveling internationally, especially if you have many devices to charge.

Do note that many travel adapters are not voltage converters. Be sure your power brick or charger supports 100-240V. Many official chargers tend to support 100-240V, you can double check the supported voltage by viewing the fine print on the power brick or charger.

Bring a Portable Battery

A portable battery can be useful when you are wandering around for the entire day. For me, I have a MagSafe portable battery, which eliminates the need for me to carry around a spare charging cable wherever I go.

Have your Passport handy when checking in

Whether you are staying in a hotel or hostel, be sure to have your passport handy when checking in. In many countries, your accommodations are required by law to have a copy of your passport.

Bring a Night Light

Bringing a night light while you travel may be a good idea, especially if your accommodation does not have any lighting whenever you want to wake up in the middle of the night. Having a night light ensures you don’t trip over anything when you want to use the toilet in the middle of the night.

Bring a Noise Cancellation Headphone or Earbud

When flying, a noise cancellation headphone or earbud is essential to my travel arsenal. With a NC headphone, I tend to sleep better on the plane when I don’t have to hear any airplane background noises or any babies crying throughout the entire flight.