Mark your map to Southeast Asia - Travel Tips

flickr/Courtney Dirks (courtneyrian.com)

Be it on a shoestring budget, a family holiday or a luxury outing, Southeast Asia is the place for you as it offers destinations catering to any type on your platter. Any new place you head to brings out a lot of questions about the place and sometimes we forget to address the most basic needs which might lead to us being caught unawares. We, at Flitterbot, are here to help you with those generic travel tips, plan your schedule and make it a memorable trip for you.

Some travel tips for your SE Asia exploits are:

Cheap air travel: More often that not, air tickets eat into our trip budget expenses. Hence, look out for the airline deals which help in economizing your trip. There are also quite a few budget airlines which run in this region like Air Asia, Jetstar Asia and Tiger Airways, to name a few.

Research your visas and currency: As a tourist, it is very important to find out about the type of visa required to enter a country - whether it is single entry or multiple entry and the number of days allowed for foreigners to reside in the country for a single stay via any mode of transport. Photocopies of your documents and passport size photos are essential travel items. The local currency is preferably carried but for backup, its always good to have some US dollars which is generally accepted in most of the countries.

Accommodation and time of travel: The variety of places to stay is wide in the region. Places generally have variance in accommodation from backpacker motels to the luxurious resorts. During the off season, travel deals which are value for money can be bought. In the peak season, advance booking would be required to stay in a place of your choice but otherwise, finding a place to stay is also possible once you land.

Clothes and footwear: SE Asia is pretty open minded about what you wear. The only instance where certain dress code is requested to be followed is when tourists visit religious attraction sights like temples, churches or mosques. Hence pack a shawl and track pants in your traveling bag as handy items which can be used anytime. Flip-flops also happen to be very useful in this side of the world as the region is not a stranger to rain.

Food hygiene: Bottled water is inexpensive and available everywhere. Eating from food stalls or hawker markets need not be entirely avoided. They offer some of the best culturally satisfying tasting experiences of the local region. Be careful of the spice levels as it is different from other parts of the world, hence ensure to mention it clearly while placing your order.

Travel vaccinations and other medical concerns: Once your itinerary is determined, you can always find out if any malaria vaccination is required, especially if you are traveling with kids. This is suggested more as a precautionary measure only if your are trekking to remote places. Sunscreen and mosquito repellents are definitely useful. Even if you forget to carry them, they are available at cheap rates in all the places.

Support sustainable tourism: Traveling in foreign lands is a privilege. While visiting rural areas or small cities, please make an endeavor to support local handicrafts by buying them as souvenirs. The places in SE Asia are culturally very rich and have a lot of unique things to offer in the form of their art and crafts.

Friendliness: It is always helpful to learn some basic words of greeting of the local language of your place of visit which could act as the communication starter. This helps in earning sweet bargains while shopping and also in reflecting an open mind toward other cultures. If you want to find your way, most SE Asians are tolerant and helpful people and may even communicate through gestures to guide you. While using local transport or eating at small joints, be smiling as that will really take you a long way and also help in gaining quality service.

At the end of it, we would like to say, put on your travelling boots and flitter around Southeast Asia with us...