We all love to travel. At least most of us do, while some are put off by the inconvenience of travelling all together. But not all times we travel are for leisure and the next Instagram picture. Sometimes we find ourselves travelling for work completely removing the fun element from travel. Do you know what I mean? But here’s a little guide that’ll help you from not having to always think that way!
Backup Stash
Adventure funds or a bit of savings from your monthly income is always a good idea. It’s always great for emergencies, an extra treat for yourself at a given month or if you are a travel addict – a trip for yourself!
See when you travel for work for at least a short period of time and while it is stressful and tiring to actually wake up early in a hotel room (or alternate place of accommodation), dress yourself off a suitcase, have the same breakfast eggs you had the past three mornings and actually drag yourself to a meeting, you tend to miss out on the bigger picture: you are in another city or country. There is a world of travel and photo opportunities that await you!
But how?
Most of the time if you are to travel away for work, chances are that it would be notified in advance. This means, you have ample time during lunch breaks, after work while waiting for a friend for dinner or even on weekends to do some research on where you are going to. See what can get interesting in the location you are travelling to. Is there a great beach? Or even places of religious interest? Or is the hotel in close proximity to a wildlife park in the district?
Once your research is done, it’s time to tap into that backup stash or “Adventure Fund” as I like to call it. See how much you have, how much you can part with and most importantly, if you have enough to come back home to. The latter becomes important especially when savings are low and you will be planning adventures by utilising your monthly income.
Also if you are travelling to a city outside your country, calling up that friend from University who lives there might be a good idea just about now. They might help you let you know what’s hot and what’s not, what the weather is like and if you’ve been a good friend, might also volunteer to take off your accommodation costs by letting you live with them.
Fulfil Responsibilities
While planning a trip sounds fun, if you are working a full time job and will be taking time off following your work trip, be sure to apply for leave ahead of time. Trust me, you don’t want to be answering work calls while you are getting an authentic Balinese massage. Simultaneously be sure that you will begin to work towards completing your work so that you actually will be able to take some time off during the time you intend to.
Jet, Set, Go!
Once the boring part of the duties are done, it’s time you start making plans on where you will stay after your work is done, because more often than not accommodation booked by your organisation would not necessarily be on the budget side of things. Unless of course you are looking for a non-budget holiday, then by all means. If the location you are travelling to has facilities or online services to book tickets online for certain tours and buy entrance tickets for places of interest, do so to avoid queues on the day of travel and you might even be entitled to a discount!
Now who said that you can’t have fun while at work?
