Memory of April 19th 2018

Google Photos threw up some memories from a couple of years ago. Thanks to Google Timeline I could relive the experience of what was one of the most eventful days of the 21 days long trip to Europe in April 2018.

The day started with tension. We were staying in a studio apartment with zero provisions. We had to check out early in the morning since there was loads of things to do that day and the travel for the day isn’t even sorted yet. The breakfast coupon provided by the accommodation was at a cafe nearby called Bar Trani. We went rolling both our big suitcases to the tiny cafe, got our breakfast done in a flash and started booking the cab to Ciampino Airport, because Leornado Da Vinci airport was out of cars to rent. Why couldn’t I have booked this before, I was kicking myself. We are losing precious time going out of the way to another airport on the southern side of the city and the whole cab ride I was furious and not in the right mood. 

We reached the airport Hertz counter at 8AM only to learn that the category of car I booked was sold out. Being a Hertz Gold member and having paid upfront, he had no choice but to upgrade me for free (booking direct always helps). He tried the next two higher categories, even those were sold out. Finally he had to upgrade me 6 categories after having a word with his manager who still hasn't come to work yet by the way, and hand me the keys to a brand new Land Rover Discovery Sport. 

All the frustration from morning disappeared as soon as I saw the car in their garage being wiped clean before handover. I couldn’t hide my smile and was grinning ear to ear just moving the car out of the parking lot. Out on the highway, the next stop was Bologna to visit all Italian auto museums. 5 hours of continuous driving got me to Bologna with our first museum visit being Ducati. 30 minutes was my limit, was out in 45. :) boys toys drooling takes time. ;)

Our next stop Museo Lamborghini was at least an hour away. Reached there at 3 PM, and both of us spent a good hour and a quarter exploring every milestone till their latest creations. It was already 4.15 and museums shut early and I still had one more museum to go to. FERRARI. How could I miss that. To my dismay, I figured there are two museums one in Modena and one in Maranello. I had to choose one as I can’t do both. Next day is my flight out of Milan, so I can’t even stay back in town. After a few calls made, we decided to ditch Modena (which was more F1) in favour of Maranello (which was more history). Reached Museo Ferrari at 5.30 PM with just an hour and a half for closure time.

We left at 7 PM, and headed towards Milan with dinner target time of 8PM. Mind you, we still haven’t booked accommodation, and we haven’t even figured out which town we are going to stay. We reached a town called Casalgrande, and found a restaurant to eat by 8.30 PM. We had to book since it was already late, and most staff would leave for the day and we need to inform we will be further late. All the possible accommodation options we had short listed in nearby towns were sold out. We were shitting bricks as if worst case we had to spend the night in the car. 

We found a property called Ca’ Maera B&B in a town called Ponte Dell Olio which was a good 40 km off the highway to Milan. We had no choice, the price was great, it was last minute, so we took the risk. Little did I know we would reach the property at 12.30 in the night. Once we went off the highway, for almost 10km, we had proper highway roads, which then became local highways, and then tiny roads, and then just broken roads. The property was atop a hill. Zero lighting around, the last 5 miles was literally heart in mouth. There were no signs, except for one tiny half broken board with the property’s name.

It was half pointing in one of the directions of a Y fork we reached. A gut feel said left, so we went ahead. Half a mile into the road, we figured it was going nowhere. I have a big ass car and a single lane road with no place to even turn around. Pitch dark I have to reverse 800 metres, without falling off the road, one side being a cliff. I couldn’t imagine what would have happened had I got that budget car instead of this Land Rover. Heartbeat well over a 100 bpm already, reversed the whole 800m with just the feeble light from the reverse LED. You could stop me here and ask, why didn’t I call the host and ask where the B&B is, well, mobile network was nil. Proper Rural Italy. 

Our host was patiently waiting for us, as the clock ticked half past midnight, made sure we are comfortable and offered us biscuits in case we were hungry after the early dinner. A pleasant end to an eventful day. We were totally exhausted after a long day, but somehow couldn’t get to fall asleep immediately, as there was an eerie silence. I wonder if the ambient noise was close to zero decibel. It is so unusual for us not used to such an environment. Finally managed to sleep by 1 AM. Following are pictures from the next morning.

Planning what to do in a city that you chose to visit

Once you have made a rough itinerary and you know the towns and cities you are going to visit, you need to decide what you're going to do there. I mostly figure out after I land in that city. It depends on how you arrive in the city. If you are arriving by flight, head to the travel desk or pick up brochures from the arrival hall. If you are arriving by train, almost the same. If you are arriving by car, then it is a bit tricky. You need to check online on sites such as Foursquare or Tripadvisor about the recommended places to visit.

Planning your own travel, also lets you choose what to do and what not. For example, I saved a whole afternoon just deciding not to go into the Colosseum in Rome and just walked around it a bit. I know it is crazy, but it depends on what you want to do, you want monuments or you want experiences. I mostly choose the latter. Go out and visit public parks, nice cafes, find cheap deals like aperetivo in Italy (which means buy a drink and eat all the food you want). In other words, just wander about, it is okay to get lost and not have a plan.

If I could spend a week in Paris, on my 2nd visit and still not be bored, there is so much. Doing 18 countries in 21 days? Are you aiming for a Guinness record or what? For me, anything less than 2-3 nights in a city is not worth at all. For you to soak in the energy of a city/town, it'll take more than 24 hours. You need to remember and cherish each town you visit. Give yourself time, soak in the nature, experience the calm or the chaos. Basically chill out, you are on vacation.

There will be 15 things on a must-do list, and you did 5. So what? You're not aiming for some distinction in a classroom test right? Do the 5 you chose properly. Don't rush to the next just because, you know, time is running out. You can always change plans at the last minute, when you are touring on your own. Some monument closes for the day just before you reached there. Chill. Pull out your phone, fire up foursquare, go to the nearest highest rated cafe or bar. Get talking with the bartender. Your plan for the evening is made.

It is these kind of experiences that you will remember. Not the 10 monuments in Rome that were a must-see. Let me know in the comments if you have done something off the beaten track and how you regretted it at first but now you don't. 

Hotels or BnBs or Homestays

Once you have decided where to travel and when, the next big question is where are we staying. It is a tough choice, especially if you are like me who likes everything planned before you step foot on your first flight off your hometown. Why tough? Because you are missing out on last minute deals. Unlike flights, which charge you more for the last minute booking, there are hotels that are willing to fill up their unsold inventory at a far lesser price if you book last minute. So flights as far ahead as possible, hotels as close to the date of arrival as possible. At times, I have booked a hotel at 21:00 local time for the night. But that is way too adventurous, which I do not advise.

Booking.com is the best place by and large, to book hotels, BnBs or anything that allow you to stay for a night or more. Yes, I hear you screaming AirBnB, I've tried it all, ultimately the luxury of having a full service hotel room which you can leave as dirty as possible while checking out without the botheration of how the host is going to rate you is priceless. If you still haven't signed up with Booking.com register through this link https://www.booking.com/s/34_6/9daf0dcb and get INR 1,000 off (15 USD approximately) on your first booking.

I cannot stress enough the fact that loyalty pays. So if you stick to Booking.com for your stays, stick to Booking.com throughout and it ultimately pays off. For example, I didn't even know that if I complete 3 bookings with Booking.com, they make some Genius and start offering Genius benefits. I get 10% further off on the best deal found on their platform, and if that's not enough, they even offer priority early check-in and late check-out. As always, this is subject to availability, but hey why not.

If you are visiting a big city, a hotel is always a good option. If you are like me who doesn't like the idea of a shared bathroom, filter it off. Homestays in cities are usually very minimal in amenities and services, so you're better off in a small hotel or a boutique hotel. If you're going by the country side, a Homestay is always recommended. The smaller the better. The lesser number of rooms the better. Check out the view from my bathroom in one of the homestays I stayed in Italy. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7EYDBSFHmj55LIQJ3 Beautiful ain't it!

If you find a deal in a hotel, that is part of a chain, always check if you are getting the same deal when you book direct. For example, if you found a deal on an ibis hotel, head to accorhotels.com and see if you get the same deal. Even if it is a few dollars more, just book it directly, of course after signing up for free for their loyalty rewards program, as the benefits are a lot more. You will get the full price including the taxes displayed, you stand a chance for an upgrade in case the room type you booked is not available, etc. The staff are also nicer to you and treat you like a boss. I mean why not. A business is getting the full 100% of your money instead of paying an intermediary 25%.

I will be back with more tips on my next post.

How do I book my flight tickets

Many people have told me many OTAs as their preferred booking choice. I agree they do sometimes give a very good deal. But when it comes to making a change or cancellation, you will get to understand why it is better to always stick to booking with the airline. I'm giving you a tip right away, use all the OTAs, and book with the airline unless you are absolutely sure your plans won't change and the offer by the OTA is too good to refuse.

The trip in 2016 that I had mentioned to Paris, I had booked through an OTA because of an offer that was too good to overlook INR 10,000 cash back per passenger. I had applied for my Schengen visa and it had got rejected. That is when I contacted the OTA to cancel my tickets and realised I cannot. In fact, they asked me to pay extra to cancel the tickets. I applied for the visa through another travel agent who happened to know a relative in my family quite well. I got my visa just 5 days before the actual travel date. Phew!

Another important tip that I cannot stress enough is join the airline loyalty program. You might think there are a million airlines and you would never know if you're going to fly this airline again. But trust me, it costs nothing to sign up for a loyalty program. Barring an email a week, there is no bigger inconvenience by doing this. If you have already signed up for an airline which is part of the One World Alliance, you can use that airline's frequent flier number with any of the other airlines on the One World Alliance. For example, I had signed up for Qatar Airways program when I flew to Paris in 2016. I had used the same account information to book my flight to Colombo later next year. One other major alliance is Star Alliance. Air India is a part of this alliance. When I had flew Lufthansa to Austria in the end of 2014, I had used my Air India frequent flyer account. Never ever, fly again, without adding a frequent flyer number on your boarding pass. You can do it as late as your check-in even if you forgot during booking.

Where do I check for flight deals? As any blogger would say, Google Flights is the simplest and often the most convenient to track. One other software I use is matrix ITA software which is also owned by Google. All the rest is up to you to check. Read the first paragraph again on where to book.

That's all folks! I'll be back in my next post with how and where I book my hotels and why it is not a good thing always to pre-book everything.

How I start to plan my travel

Lately, a lot of people have been asking me how I manage to travel for a longer duration and spending lesser than I had intended to. It is not that I spend less, I spend where absolutely necessary and try to cut corners wherever possible.

What does a holiday mean to you? For me, it is not ticking all the must-dos in a town/city that I visit. It is more to tune into the vibe of the city and chill for a while. I use the open bus tour wherever available (it is available in most of the cities that even has the slightest number of tourists), which is a good start as you get to know what you want to visit. If there are 12 stops, for example, on a such a bus tour map, there will be some 5 places in each of those stops to visit. You're not going to do 60 attractions in 3 days and end up tiring yourself down with just one city right?

Let's get back to the drawing board and start with a clean slate, shall we? One of the largest spends when you do a Europe/America trip is on the flight tickets. So before planning where to go, have your options open, with two or three places in mind, and then start searching. Start looking for flight fares across several months and several nights, say for example, you are planning 7 nights, look for flights anywhere between 6 to 10 days (Yes, I don't like shortening trips, extending is welcome, Lol)

I will give you examples of unbelievable flight fares me and my partner have taken.
2016 - May - INR 30,000 return trip Chennai-Paris-Chennai
2017 - August - INR 52,500 return trip Chennai-San Francisco-Chennai
2018 - April - INR 24,500 return trip Chennai-Milan-Paris-Chennai

How is this even possible, you may ask. Well. If you are somebody who is rigid about dates, or somebody who books the travel after freezing your leave dates, then this won't work for you. Your travel dates should be completely open and you have to apply for your leaves only after you saw an offer that is irresistible. I booked my 2016 flights 3 months in advance. 2017, 5 months in advance. 2018, 3 months in advance. It all depends on when the airline is running a special offer.

In 2016, the offer I used was an INR 10,000 cash back by MakeMyTrip.com on return international flights to Europe by using an Axis bank issued card. In 2017, there was no offer, I was just lucky to find a fare that is closest to Saudia. No, I didn't fly Saudia. In 2018, there was a Jet Privilege offer of 15,000 Bonus JP Miles for any return international flight booked to Europe, which by itself, translates to an INR 7,500 equivalent of flight tickets.

I started out to just introduce this blog but since I've come this long, I'll leave it here and continue in my second post. Happy travels!