If you are thinking of going to South America, consider these:
Some South American countries like Brazil require vaccination, especially yellow fever, if you are coming from certain areas of the globe – but not North America.
Some countries do not require visas from an unusual list of nationalities such as Filipinos but do require them from Americans and/or Canadians. Three countries come into mind: Suriname, Brazil and Peru.
If needing a guide book, the best and most up-to-date is Footprint. Others like Lonely Planet, Moon, Frommers and Rough guides are either not updated yearly – and in South America there is a relatively quick turnover of businesses so phones and addresses change - or has some typos. Forget about Let's Go – written by parachute college writers who like to make most jaunts sound “cool and sweet”. Once you're there, you will find out Let’s Go borders on hyperbole. Although with the internet and enough planning, you can do without a guide book. But only if you are the disciplined kind.
Review some good travel web site forums – just google "travel + country name".
Although one can travel by air from country to country, bus travel in South America gives you a real feel of the continent. I took a four-day bus trip, no showers, from the NE corner of Brazil – Belem to its SW metropolis Sao Paolo. It was well-worth it and if I have the time I would do it again. Avoid sitting at the back of the bus near the toilet – often they are not clean and they stink.
Make sure when you travel by bus that all very important stuff are hidden in your money/ documents belt. I remember a Japanese backpacker who entrusted his backpack to a bus ticketing office in Lima, Peru in order to grab a quick bite. Once back, he was told by the office that his backpack was missing – inside the bus management room! If it's that important, it should never leave your sight or your body – even when going to the shower in a hostel. It only takes a second, a nanosecond for someone to snatch unseen and unheard of your stuff. The culprit could even be your roommate.
I travelled in South America for three months just with a school kid-size backpack – no kidding. Do not carry a lot of clothing or toiletries. Buy locally – they are cheap and a good souvenir. With fewer clothes, I did use the laundromat a lot. Laundromats are not that common. There is rarely a self-laundry. You entrust your wares and pick them up the following day. In Brazil, laundry was surprisingly 4xs more expensive than in the United States or Canada – and there is a reason. Laundry does not just mean wash – you have to pay for the whole service of drying, ironing and folding.
Never put anything valuable in your pant's back pockets – that is literally giving away your wallet. Use a decoy to trick the pickpocketers – such as stuffing your back pocket with paper or a hanky or a small bible in the local language (Thou shall not steal!).
Always, always bargain in South America – most shops will jack up their prices if they hear a foreign accent. Bargain real hard – like one-third of the spoken price. If they say no, shop around – you will be surprised at how the same thing is priced comparatively lower, much lower, in other places.
Never ever go on a hike or trip in a remote area by yourself. It's not worth the danger. Hire a guide if necessary - they are not that expensive but hire from a reliable one - ask around especially from hostel staff.
Avoid being out alone after 10 pm unless you are very sure it's safe. Muggers target foreigners in beaches even as early as sunset.
At night, ignore invites from any stranger on the streets. In certain parts of a South American city, do not walk on streets a few blocks to your hotel to save money; take a cheap cab fare – ask the restaurant's waiter to call you for one.
Always check your bank statement so if there is anything remotely questionable, you can investigate it right away while you are still in the area.
Carry the international contact numbers of bank cards just in case the bank stops use of your card because the card is showing unusual activity such as being processed in a foreign country. Before you leave home, call your credit cards and tell them you will be at ____ and at ________ for a time period of _____ starting _______ and returning _________.
However don't be surprised if one slip through the cracks. Meaning, in spite of my call informing them of my trip, while I was in South America my VISA card was denied because for some reason or another the credit card automatically detected foreign activity and stopped issuing credit. When this happened to me in Brazil, at a restaurant and I had no cash and it was late at night (debit was scary to use in a machine), I told the restaurant I will come back the following day and pay for my meal. They agreed.
Sure enough when I got back to my hotel, called VISA in the USA - VISA thought my card was being used fraudfully (this is where bringing international credit card contact numbers helps - you can call collect and save $) allthough I had alerted VISA of my trip.
At airports, some of your fellow passengers seeing you are a light traveler might request you to check in an extra luggage for them to avoid paying for an extra baggage. Don’t! You never know what’s in their luggage.
It is tempting to buy local herbs and bring them home. Don’t! What are herbs in country A may be classified drugs in Country B.
Carry a facsimile of your important documents – located in a separate compartments than the original, just in case.
Have three sources of money just in case:
• Cash – limit currency exchange at the airports – be it in North America or destination – you will lose a chunk of money just with the exchange. Use your bank instead.
• A Debit Card that has international withdrawal capabilities (though the bank charges are shocking)
• A Credit Card, a VISA preferably since Amex, Diners and Master Card are not as widely recognized.
Travelers checks can be quite inconvenient.
Have a small First Aid Kit – especially anti-bacterial.
Sunglasses are important – the roads can be very dusty and local buses are very open because of heat – no air conditioning. But wear cheap good sunglasses. You will lose one for sure.
Do not carry laptop or ipad. A USB stick will do – there are gazillions of cybercafes – but always back up your files by saving them in your e-mail accounts or blogs or facebook accounts.
It always helps to know Basic Spanish and Portuguese – bring a small dictionary. Unless you're in the three Guyanas where English, Dutch, or French is spoken depending on which one. Just to let you know, Spanish and Portuguese, though they share a few words, are as different as English and German.
Hopefully the above tips help. If you have some notes to share, drop a line.
No comments:
Post a Comment