NEVER EVER EVER LOSE YOUR PASSPORT FOR ANY REASON AT ALL. CONSIDER SEWING YOUR PASSPORT TO YOUR HIP, OR HAVING IT TATTOOED ONTO YOUR BACK.
...sorry, that's rather a hobbyhorse of mine. Seriously, though, if you don't have the ID for a replacement passport already on you - that's a birth certificate and two forms of photo ID, and they're very restrictive about what they accept - it's very difficult to get them without, you know, having your passport. I've done it twice now. Neither time was it fun. ...Well, once I ended up in England for a month, and tooled around London and Liverpool and Birmingham and the like, and that was pretty fun. Still, I'd rather have spent my time tooling around London and Liverpool and Birmingham without having to fight with every overseas agency known to humankind.
If you've got tiny little ear canals, consider getting butterscotch or another kind of hard lolly for the flight. The sucking action reduces the pain of ear-popping. That said, I apparently have tiny little ear canals, and my ears popping have only hurt twice in my glamorous jet-setter lifestyle.
Several books. Seriously. Even to Kuala Lumpur it's too damn long for one book. A portable music player or games system is also good, and make sure to get them out of your carry-on before, I cannot stress this enough, before stowing it safely in the overhead locker. ...Or I suppose you could talk to your family. Still, books are good.
If there's a problem with your passport, or you get called out to have your baggage searched, don't actually scream at the top of your lungs, fall into the foetal position, and weep while beating the floor with your fists and wailing that, again, fortune has forsaken you - as was my wont. The employees, while working what must be a quite unpleasant job, are actually pretty good at what they do. At one point I had my baggage searched and the first thing they saw was a game with a gigantic picture of a gun on it. The searcher nodded, and said "So, you're a gamer, huh? My son's into that sort of thing." INCARCERATION: AVERTED.
That said, never try to cross from Canada into the United States of America in a car filled with five teenagers and twenty-somethings. The border agents will kill you on principle. I know this from experience. (avenge me. aveeeeeeeeeeeenge meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.)
During takeoff, I sincerely recommend waving your arms and shouting "whoo".
If you've got one of those planes where even in the cheap seats you can choose your own movies - or if you're in a non-cheap seat - don't pick anything over PG, as the cutting will only make you suffer. My last trip on Malaysian Airlines, I just watched The Lion King three times over (once in Japanese, just to hear the character voices - it was kind of awesome, though the English voices are better), and it was far more rewarding.
Don't spend the day before you travel listening to songs about the destruction of the place to which you're travelling. I once landed in Toronto Airport with my brain singing:
Oh, I wish I was blowing up Prince Edward Island, And going on to bomb Ontario! The destruction of Canada and all of its culture, Is by far my fav-ou-rite scenario!
Which made going through Customs an exercise in non-singing will.
Guidebooks can actually be pretty useful, if only to say "hey, look at this stuff you can do". I like the Lonely Planet ones, but it's personal taste. Phrasebooks are not so useful, but have their place.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2007-01-22 12:05 pm (UTC)...sorry, that's rather a hobbyhorse of mine. Seriously, though, if you don't have the ID for a replacement passport already on you - that's a birth certificate and two forms of photo ID, and they're very restrictive about what they accept - it's very difficult to get them without, you know, having your passport. I've done it twice now. Neither time was it fun. ...Well, once I ended up in England for a month, and tooled around London and Liverpool and Birmingham and the like, and that was pretty fun. Still, I'd rather have spent my time tooling around London and Liverpool and Birmingham without having to fight with every overseas agency known to humankind.
If you've got tiny little ear canals, consider getting butterscotch or another kind of hard lolly for the flight. The sucking action reduces the pain of ear-popping. That said, I apparently have tiny little ear canals, and my ears popping have only hurt twice in my glamorous jet-setter lifestyle.
Several books. Seriously. Even to Kuala Lumpur it's too damn long for one book. A portable music player or games system is also good, and make sure to get them out of your carry-on before, I cannot stress this enough, before stowing it safely in the overhead locker. ...Or I suppose you could talk to your family. Still, books are good.
If there's a problem with your passport, or you get called out to have your baggage searched, don't actually scream at the top of your lungs, fall into the foetal position, and weep while beating the floor with your fists and wailing that, again, fortune has forsaken you - as was my wont. The employees, while working what must be a quite unpleasant job, are actually pretty good at what they do. At one point I had my baggage searched and the first thing they saw was a game with a gigantic picture of a gun on it. The searcher nodded, and said "So, you're a gamer, huh? My son's into that sort of thing." INCARCERATION: AVERTED.
That said, never try to cross from Canada into the United States of America in a car filled with five teenagers and twenty-somethings. The border agents will kill you on principle. I know this from experience. (avenge me. aveeeeeeeeeeeenge meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.)
During takeoff, I sincerely recommend waving your arms and shouting "whoo".
If you've got one of those planes where even in the cheap seats you can choose your own movies - or if you're in a non-cheap seat - don't pick anything over PG, as the cutting will only make you suffer. My last trip on Malaysian Airlines, I just watched The Lion King three times over (once in Japanese, just to hear the character voices - it was kind of awesome, though the English voices are better), and it was far more rewarding.
Don't spend the day before you travel listening to songs about the destruction of the place to which you're travelling. I once landed in Toronto Airport with my brain singing:
Oh, I wish I was blowing up Prince Edward Island,
And going on to bomb Ontario!
The destruction of Canada and all of its culture,
Is by far my fav-ou-rite scenario!
Which made going through Customs an exercise in non-singing will.
Guidebooks can actually be pretty useful, if only to say "hey, look at this stuff you can do". I like the Lonely Planet ones, but it's personal taste. Phrasebooks are not so useful, but have their place.
...I believe that is all I can think of!