Tips

My girlfriend and I recently met a group comprised of some of my best friends at a destination wedding located at the Dreams Punta Cana Resort in the Dominican Republic.

I ran into Jack, the father of the bride and overall one hell of a guy, at the airport and was amazed we shared the same flight in Punta Cana.

My friends Christine (a.k.a Steen), and Ameer (a.k.a. Am, Amstar, and the builder of this fine website, who pushed me to start this whole thing to begin with), arrived the day before us as well as Jeannine, the beautiful bride to be and Michael her fiancé.

Typically, resort travel has not been my cup of tea.

Yet, this all inclusive resort was beautiful, and the ceremony was equally so, with an overall experience that was more than memorable.

The Dreams Resort facility offered something for everyone, from a sports center, beach side activities, a massive pool, a spa, a casino, live shows, a night club, dancing on the veranda, and more restaurants than we could try.

Their staff went above and beyond to take care of our party, several of whom took the time to know us on a first name basis, actively seeking us out to ensure our stay was optimal.

To name a few, Scooby Doo and Vanessa were hilarious hosts and dancers at the veranda, who would often find us to let us know of any events later in the evening.

While our bartenders Carlos, Pedro, and Angel did an amazing job providing quick service and keeping the bar fun while you waited.

Walking into this experience, I was fortunate to receive some advice on how to optimize my stay, which greatly helped to maximize our experience and picked up a few helpful tricks along the way.

 

Bring a Yeti

This trick was easily the most helpful and was given to me by the Tobins, some of my bar guests who always have great advice since they are avid travelers as well.

The bars serve most beverages in plastic 8 ounce cups, and Tom and Cathy were right about how getting refills can become a bit tedious.

Having a Yeti helped us to be more efficient with grabbing drinks and helped to reduce the amount of trash we produced during our stay.

Bigger drinks, colder drinks, less waiting, and all the while people jealously look at you like a rockstar.

Brilliant!

Tip your bartender

Many countries don’t have the custom of tipping service industry employees, and in these countries it can be deemed insulting.

However, an all inclusive resort is not the time to be stingy.

Yes, you have already paid, but think about it.

Coming out of pocket can make a big difference in the lives of some of the employees.

For example, 1 USD is about 50 Dominican Pesos.

So, scout the bars on your first day and find which bartenders you like the best.

Tip $20 on the start of the next day and it’s amazing how quickly you make friends and get your drinks.

After that tip a $5 every few drinks and you will rarely wait and will get the V.I.P. treatment for the rest of your stay.

Take care of those who take care of you and you will never go wanting.

Choose fine dining options

Dreams Punta Cana had many food options but I found the best to be Bordeaux, their French restaurant, and the Seaside Grill, a steakhouse on the water.

With everything already paid for, I recommend eating at the fine dining options.

While the portion sizes were a bit small, it is understandable, considering the potential for food waste when hungry eyes read the menu.

Plus, if you want more, just order more.

All in all, you’ve already paid. Treat yourself.

Plus, the only complaint I would have with Dreams was that the late night room service menu that was the only thing I found lacking in options and quality during my stay.

So eat well, while you can.

Stay hydrated

After a few days of drinking in the hot sun, it’s best to remember the essence of life. Water.

It’s readily available in the resort.

It’s a life saver.

It’s game changer.

Need I say more?

A crucial step to maximizing your time overseas is to plan enough activities, while keeping a loose enough schedule to actually enjoy your travels.

Remember to take your time, it’s called holiday for a reason.

Overcrowding has gotten the best of many ambitious travelers so work to maintain a balance of local culture, sightseeing, and fun, while prioritizing which large and small activities you wish to partake in throughout your time in each city.

For example, visiting the Louvre and Chateau Versailles in the same day is possible, but both places take several hours to see, and possibly days to fully appreciate.

It is more enjoyable to see Versailles early, eat lunch at a nearby cafe, visit the Eiffel Tower on the return trip, and have an evening at The Moulin Rouge.

This will help to avoid overcrowding your schedule, which forces you to speed through things and takes away from the overall experience.

Identify which activities in your itinerary are large and small undertakings as well.

Anything that takes the majority of the day or is expensive, I categorize as a large activity. They typically involve excursions, opera, theater, some outdoor parks and sporting events to name a few.

Smaller activities take an hour or less to see. Cathedrals, museums, cultural stops, and other hidden gems you may find along the way belong in this grouping.

Being flexible with your activities may allow you to do more.

If it is nearby, sometimes it is best to reshuffle your plans, jump off the metro, and check it off you list, rather than spend the travel time to commute back at a later date.

Safe travels!

There was a strange air around Bordeaux on our last day in the city.

We set out on foot along Quai Richelieu toward Place de la Bourse and saw a large group moving in the same direction as us. There was a clear indication that they were protesters from their neon green vests and huddled masses.

Immediately my girlfriend noticed a fight break out as we crossed the street and we decided to part from the crowd since we were unsure of their intentions, moving to see some of the other, less turbulent sights.

As we moved on, many of the stores were closed and people flooded to the crowds to join in the demonstration to protest their discontent with the current government.

We reached St. Andre Cathedral and noticed the police barricades and officers in riot gear.

The cathedral was closed due to the demonstrations as well as the museum of fine arts, which we also planned on visiting.

After a brief moment of disappointment we decided to walk toward our AirBnB hoping there would be less tension in a different area of the city.

Signal flares shot into the sky, protesters slammed on signs, people on motorcycles were driving erratically through the streets, armed soldiers marched, and police sirens wailed.

We grabbed some wine and bread, then decided to lay low and take a nap in hopes that the tensions would calm while trying to avoid the seemingly endless amount of people marching in protest along most of the main city streets.

There was a faint smell of smoke as I was awoken by the sounds of screaming, sirens and a police helicopter overhead.

We turned on the news to see violent outbursts had broken out around the city and noticed some were just around the corner from us at Porte de Bourgogne.

I opened the window to our place on Rue de Maubec and noticed a group of young men in masks about ten feet away at the corner of Rue de Pontets and Rue de Maubec.

They screamed and threw bottles down the street shouting at the nearby police only to be met with return force.

I head a low thump and saw a canister hit the street. Tear gas poured from the canister and I scared my girlfriend letting out a very clear “OH SHIT!” and slamming the window closed.

We stayed in as the smell crept through the window and the chaos ensued for another few hours before going back to the normal tranquility of Bordeaux’s city streets.

Hopefully there won’t be much more of the same, but we treated the situation like any Floridian treats a hurricane.

When you’re trapped indoors, lock down, stay in, and drink.

Cheers to unexpected surprises….right?

Most of the world is comprised of interesting and kind hearted people, but thieves and assholes are everywhere. Here are a few tips to help you out along the way if you run into a tough spot.

Empty your wallet of any valuable items

Fill your wallet with old business cards, your drivers license, an expired credit card, and a little of your cash. Keeping too much cash in your wallet not only attracts undue attention, it is also a recipe for disaster.

The rest I sometimes put in a travel pouch I tie around my waist, under my jeans, or under my boxers. This includes my extra cash, credit cards, and my passport if I don’t have a safe available at my lodging.

Never leave your money in your bag. In one fell swoop your whole trip could go to shit.

Consider the possibility of getting mugged overseas. It doesn’t sound like the ideal beach vacation we all dream of and we all like to believe we can handle ourselves in a spot of bother, but bad things can happen to anyone.

Be humble.

A wallet or bag with a bunch of bullshit in it isn’t as hard to part ways with than the one that contains all of your valuables.

Spread your cash in your pockets

Pickpockets count on easy prey and if you have all your valuables in one place, you are asking to be robbed.

Surprisingly, many hang out in areas that have signs warning about the presence of pickpockets. This is because most tourists see these signs, check their pockets for their belongings, and tell the thieves exactly where their belongings are like a neon sign saying “I’m an asshole, rob me”.

To avoid this, keep your wallet in your front pocket and spread some cash around the others. Keep the rest of your cash either in a travel pouch like I mentioned before, or just don’t withdraw it until you need it.

Put some money in your sock or shoe

This one is also a good trick for keeping a larger sum of money on you without it all being in your wallet. It’s a difficult place for thieves to get to and allows you to access it quickly if needed.

I just recommend you step into a bathroom to get your money before buying anything if you do choose to adopt this method. I don’t know many people who would appreciate damp money that smells like foot. So keep it out of sight so it stays out of their mind

After all, we all like money, and what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right?

Should you choose to travel to on a low cost budget or not, I highly recommend you pack away some sandals, flip flops, slops, or whatever your region of the world calls them.

After a day of pounding pavement or blazing trails, they continually prove to be a nice lightweight addition to any travelers supplies.

Therefore, a pair of sandals can be be a helpful alternative for relaxing or when you are traveling in the same shoes for a long period of time.

Laundry day is where I have found sandals to be most helpful. This is because they provide you the ability to wash an additional pair of socks that could later prove helpful when the same facilities may not be available further down the road.

The majority of hostels I have stayed in were frequently maintained and just as clean as, if not more than any hotel I have booked.

However, not every accommodation to meet the acquaintance of the budget traveler has proven to have the best facilities known to mankind.

Therefore, having something to wear in the shower is a pleasant prevention of annoyances such as athlete’s foot or whatever else may roam

Also, keep in mind that in some countries, the presence of shoes is an uncommon thing.

For instance, if Southeast Asia is your destination, a pair of sandals will make your life much easier since you will remove you shoes to enter nearly any temple you encounter. With that being said, I assure you there are more temples than you can see without a degree of burnout. Choose shoes wisely.

As someone who unknowingly started his travels in uncomfortable sneakers or boots, I highly recommend you bring appropriate footwear to your destination of choice.

So, if you unintentionally find yourself on a beach, touring temples or in accommodations which are lacking and not reminiscent of the photos, at least in one department, you came prepared.

Hopefully.

Stepping off the plane in Narita airport was a truly humbling moment.

Tokyo is a fast paced city, tied together by an amazing subway system and local buses. You can pick up a PASSMO card at any subway stop, charge it up, and be on your way.

The map of the subway can be intimidating at first, but I recommend you take a day just jumping on and off the train to get the hang of things. I found the locals to be very helpful if I got turned around to help point me back in the right direction.

As a tip, circle your stop on the map. It helps since it’s inevitable that you will get mixed up.

The locals understand most people don’t speak Japanese, but something like the example below will get you a lot farther than “Do yoooou speak Ennnglish??”

A simple “Sumimasen” (excuse me), point to your circled location and say “Koko kudasai” (Improper grammar for “here please”).

Google translate says “Koko ni shite kudasai” is correct, but I’m not sure, either way, they will love the effort.

They may even walk you there personally.

One of my favorite parts of Tokyo was how readily available street food was. I gorged myself on ramen, takoyaki, yakitori, and Japanese BBQ.

Keep in mind that the Japanese don’t typically eat and drink food on the go, so even if you stop at a vending machine, drink or eat what you purchase before you move on if you don’t want funny looks. Plus all of the garbage cans are generally located by vending machines in my experience.

I stayed in Asakusa as my home base and branched out from there.

Shibuya was great for night life, Ueno for shopping, and my night in Roppongi was a shit show where I barely escaped a mob brawl and was stalked by a toothless hooker until drunkenly finding the subway to get back to my hostel.

I spent 4 days in Tokyo and easily could have stayed longer. There is something to do for everyone, but found Tokyo it’s best just to wander and people watch.

My biggest regrets were not seeing a Sumo match, as well baseball live in Tokyo, but there is so much to do that you are bound to miss something.

“You got to know when to hold ’em, 
know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run. You never count your money when you’re sittin’ at the table.
There’ll be time enough for countin’
when the dealin’s done.” -Kenny Rogers

This is gospel when it comes to gambling and it’s pretty damn handy when haggling too. Keep reading and I’ll explain why.

The basics

The basics to haggling are to set your price obnoxiously low, feel the environment out and slowly work to an agreement. If they say the cost is 200, you say you will pay 20 and build from there. The shop keeper will usually tell you that’s too cheap, they will offer their “special price”, which will be around 150 and you should retort around 25-30.

If you set the bar too high and the shop keeper accepts, you made a deal and backing out is considered poor etiquette and just plain rude. I’ve seen shop keepers yell and even go as far as to throw things at people who go back on their agreed lowest price.

Start low, build slowly, and always beware of the “special price”, you can usually get it much cheaper.

Always beware of the “special price”

Here are a few examples of why I’ve been offered the “special price” for the sake of entertainment.

I’m so handsome, because I’m so nice, I’m a good guy, because I’m like their brother, because I like Kung Fu, I’m the first sale of the day so I deserve a special price, because I’m not Australian, my Mom will love it, they will make their parents proud, I must have a girlfriend and a special lady deserves a special price, because America, in addition to many other bullshit reasons why somebody tried to sweet talk me and rip me off. You get the point?

If you want something bad enough you will need to invest time negotiating and making small talk, followed by the most important part of all.

Never get too attached to something you may want to buy. Great shopkeepers can smell weakness like a shark to blood and if you can’t control yourself, they will get the kill.

Be aware of the exchange rate when haggling.

Numbers get fuzzy quick and you can forget their value. Know what your dollar is worth, but don’t be a dick to someone trying to make a living in a place where that money makes a difference.

Don’t fight over peanuts.

You don’t have to be so nice that you get ripped off, but remember, you have enough money to fly to the other side of the world and they probably do not.

Being too stubborn can screw up a really good deal over what adds up a few cents and desire can can get you ripped off.

There’s an ebb and flow to it all.

I’ve been thrown out of a few shops in the process, but I’ve also gotten some amazing deals.

Knowing when to walk away

Now, there is one ace up you should keep up your sleeve that has led many shop keepers to chase a potential customer down the street to make a sale.

Know when to walk away.

It’s the most powerful way to show you are serious about your bottom line lowest price and it’s pretty damn fun when done right. Plus if you get good enough, you might get what you want even cheaper if you play your hand right.

Don’t keep all of your cash in one place

A fun trick I like to use when haggling is to spread my money in my pockets and put about half of what I want to pay in my wallet.

Therefore, in addition to the contents of my wallet, I conveniently have something around twenty more dollars in my right pocket, ten in my left, five in my back pocket and a few more in my bag, etc. If you keep all of your money in your wallet it can screw up a good negotiation.

Being able to pull your wallet out and show what you have inside is a strong leverage point in a sale where haggling is involved. Then, you conveniently reach in your pockets accordingly.

If you still can’t get the deal you want, just leave or go next door.

Conclusion

Have fun when shopping in countries where negotiation over price is an option and don’t rush. Haggling is considered considerate shopping in some places and the ability to make small talk can take you far.

Another tip is that some countries consider the first sale of the day to be good luck.

Use this.

In conclusion, be respectful of the shop keeper, don’t be a pushover, and remember, if the shop keeper is smiling when you leave, you lost.

Happy hunting my friends.

Great effort can produce great reward. That’s where having fun and being a great host can really pay off.

The service industry is cold, hard and ruthless.

Yeah, we take care of the masses, who could typically could give two shits to notice our efforts.

Whenever there is any fun to be had, we sling food and drinks while our friends enjoy themselves. On our days off, we tend to keep the party going or spend our days off recovering from the previous shift.

Yet, as someone who is used to the thankless efforts of the service industry, I can honestly say it’s nice in a lot of ways.

Here’s a few reasons why the service industry rocks, especially for travel.

Time off is easy

Getting time off in the service industry is simple. If you budget correctly, through the peak season, you can open a lot of doors for vacation time in the off season.

You can be a shift whore.

There is at least one in every bar or restaurant.

Pick up shifts at any and all times, keep those favors as well as your tips in your pocket and live frugally. If enough people owe you for covering their shifts, a month off in the slow season is more than possible.

If you play your cards right, the world is yours.

Work is seasonal

Be a loner, a rebel! Save when it’s busy!

Most service industry employees spend their money as fast as they make it. If it’s slow season and shifts are scarce, your less responsible coworkers will be more than willing to pick up in hopes to make a buck when rent is due.

We’ve all been there.

So if you put enough away while business is booming, you can let your coworkers work the worst times of the year while you galavant around the world.

Cash comes fast

In this day and age, nobody gets a vacation, they earn it. The time and effort happen somewhere else in order to foot the bill. So while you are racking up favors by covering extra shifts, use the money from these shifts to help foot the bill to send you where you want to go.

2 birds, one stone.

It’s really this easy. You just have to be willing to work on a day off, work doubles and go home prematurely when you get off early.

Think about the end game.

You can work as a side gig

I have a friend who is a flight attendant and a bartender. She flies the friendly skies full time and when she is home for a few days, she picks up shifts at the pub. Due to the perks of both jobs she has found a nice way to show her daughter the world on a budget.

Free flights, quick cash…smart thinking.
A+ for creativity.

A great source of information

Bartenders and servers know just about everybody.

If a job needs to be done, we probably know somebody. There is always someone out there has done what you want to do, or been where you want to go. Ask around. Just like anything else, the answer is out there if you look hard enough.

Information opens many doorways and the service industry offers a lot of it. Between this and time off, hospitality is great for travelers of all sorts.

Some people love to ask when I’m going to get a real job, but I’m not making fake money and I’m not taking fake vacations.

So to those people, I say enjoy your cubicle bitches.