Pre-departure:
I had never organized my own overseas trip so this was a completely new experience, but it was a worthwhile learning experience. Make sure you apply for passport at least a month before you book your ticket. I luckily got my passport a day before the final day I was allowed to book my ticket so rather avoid such a hair-pulling stressful experience. When you apply for your visa, make sure you have all the documentation.
My Thailand adventure
The Journey:
Every good tourist does a fair amount of planning before a trip to be prepared for the broad array of peculiar situations one might find oneself in when travelling abroad. Being a researcher, I just couldn’t stop myself from digging into every bit of travel information I could find. This included everything from the best type of suitcase to travel with, what clothes to wear on a plane, customs and visa regulations, pre-travel health precautions and insurance, right through to transiting in foreign countries, cultural do’s and don’ts and of course sights to see!
All this research naturally led to the discovery of a lot of interesting facts and opinions. I will share the most important ones with you that ensured a smooth ride all the way to Thailand and back!
Pre-departure:
I was one of the three fortunate South African students who got to go on a journey across the world to the Kingdom of Thailand for the AC21 International Graduate Summer School. I was exposed to this opportunity by our faculty administrator, who was boasting that our professor, Alan Brent, will be presenting at this prestigious conference, and that students could apply to go too… of course I was keen!