# Travel Tips By [Veresa](https://paragraph.com/@dongdo) · 2021-11-14 --- * When you travel to the endemic areas (Gansu, Ningxia, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and western Sichuan, etc.), pay attention to self-protection, away from the dog and never touch, wash your hands, do not eat hands, bring your own mineral water, do not drink raw water, preferably even boiled water, do not buy air-dried meat, not to mention eating raw meat! * Trust your intuition. If someone doesn't seem like a good person, he may really have a problem. * Ask questions and listen a lot, you never know what you will meet or learn. * Bring your student ID. Some tickets are 50% off! * Save money by going to the grocery store or eating at roadside stands from time to time. If you're staying in one place for a few days, buy large buckets of water. * Take it easy and don't storm off. Accept and enjoy the moment. It's your life, not a checklist. * Stay in a hostel or be a couchsurfer, you can save a lot of money that way. * Go to less of those famous tourist cities and more small towns. They are full of local culture, food, and friendly people. * Bring an extra bank card and keep it in a different place from your wallet. * Go off the beaten path. (Go to [http://www.atlasobscura.com/](http://www.atlasobscura.com/) for inspiration) * Take lots of photos and back them up several times a day on flash drives, facebook, and the cloud. I've seen people have their cameras stolen and along with them were photos of their entire trip. * Send yourself an email with all your relevant information, such as passport number, bank card information, contact information, etc. If you lose your important documents, you can also go to a coffee house or hostel lounge and retrieve them online. (Remember to transfer this information to the cloud!!!) * I'll save screenshots of the confirmation letters and tips so I can find what I need faster. I created a special folder in my iPhone album with all my travel-related information. If you're not connected to the Internet, you can still find them exactly. * Download offline maps from Google Maps when you have internet access, zoom in to see all the details, load the whole city, and your GPS will work even without Wi-Fi. That way you know where you are and where you're going. * Stay in touch with travel companions you meet on the road on social networks. You never know if you'll see them again and travel with them. * Look for volunteer opportunities, such as working on a farm or helping out at a hostel to get a discount on your stay. * Keep a journal and write about your experiences, it will help you remember the people and the events. (I often write in three parts: language, journaling, and thoughts) * Learn a basic foreign language - "Where is the bathroom?" "Hi," "Thank you," "Do you speak English?" May I please have a ? （May I please have a ?" "How much?" and how to read the numbers 1-10. Write them down in the back of your journal and say them with confidence. * Always say "hi, excuse me" before you ask someone a question. Americans are known to be the kind of people who ask questions or make requests without saying hello...it's rude. If you say hello and bring your smile before asking, you will get a better response. * Remember to keep a journal when you write: where you went, what you bought, how much you spent. Do this every day to create an at-a-glance bill. You can understand your money situation and know whether you should save or can continue to splurge. * Download some exchange rate apps, such as XE Currency Converter is good; download language related apps. set the time zone. * Look for pictures online before you go to a spot to see if it suits your taste. * Don't judge a country one-sidedly just because of one person or place. Your evaluation can easily be influenced by some bad experiences...open your eyes and see things in many ways and your world will be different. --- *Originally published on [Veresa](https://paragraph.com/@dongdo/travel-tips)*