My First Overseas Business Trip. What Should I Do?

First overseas trip? How exciting! Where do I begin? There are many mental notes to make when you prepare for an overseas trip. But, why make mental notes when we can write them down?

I have run into a few unpleasant business trips in my career. Believe me, it is scary! Running low on cash is one of the most unpleasant things that can happen when you're in a foreign country! Always carry enough cash AND a "swipe-able" credit card. Best if you have more than one credit card. (Just In Case) 

Here are some things that I learned from my travels that may be helpful to you:

1. Find out more about the country you're visiting 

What's the weather like? What's the current season? What is the country famous for? Where is it located on the world map? Don't make guesses or assumptions. Just look the country up in Wikipedia. Wikipedia is pretty informative and tells you almost everything that you need to know about the country.

2. Pick a good and reasonable accommodation (hotel/apartment)

What is the purpose of your business trip? If you're participating in an international trade fair, then pick a hotel that is situated nearby to the exhibition centre. I find Google map extremely useful when I'm making travel plans. Type in the name of the exhibition centre and zoom in. You'll be able to see the locations of nearby hotels, restaurants, malls, mode of transportation, etc.

Next would be choosing a suitable hotel which is within your company's budget and one that has business facilities such as Wi-Fi. I normally go to this website to book hotels when I travel. The rate is one of the lowest that I can find. You can browse through all the hotels in the city of visit. Another thing I like about this website is that it lists down places such as tourist spots, airport, exhibition centre and even states the distance each place is from the selected hotel. Try it! 

Request for your hotel to give free shuttle service from the airport to the hotel and vice versa. Saves on taxi charges. The taxi meter rate could be unbelievably high in some countries.  

3. Book Your Flight 

Does your company already have its own travel agent that plans your flight itineraries? If there's an  existing agent whom you're working with, request for quotations for different airlines. Compare the rates. Most importantly, compare the time schedules. Pick the one that has a fairly good rate and the most suitable flight time.  Get travel insurance! Check with your agent on the available insurance package. Avoid travelling at odd hours. It's good to touch down one or two days before your meeting appointment to rest so you'll feel fresh during the meeting.

Tip: Flight booking and hotel booking should be made at least 2 months from the desired travelling dates. Doing things at the last minute cause stress and panic, so plan everything ahead of time.

For your benefit, subscribe to a loyalty program of the airlines you'll be flying with. Membership is free and it earns free miles every time you fly with the airlines. It is okay if you have a few loyalty cards from different airlines. Gives you more options!

4. Packing

Here comes the tricky part: packing. Based on the information you found on the country. Take note of the current season (climate & temperature) so you'll know what type of clothing to pack. Check your baggage allowance with the airlines. Standard baggage allowance for economy flights is 20kg. Make sure the weight of your luggage does not exceed 20kg or you would have to pay a penalty. Penalty charges differ from airline to airline and country to country.

I remember when I was in Stockholm, the weight of my luggage exceeded by around 10kg or so. I had to pay an amount in Swedish Krona which was equivalent to USD800.00 as penalty! Thank God that I carried enough cash or I would have missed my flight. I did not have a credit card at that time. Moral of the story? Stick to the baggage weight allowance and carry a credit card.

Know what items are prohibited to be brought into the country. Again, you can look up Customs in Wikipedia.

Recently, a friend was detained in Hong Kong for carrying pepper-spray in her handbag! She has carried it as a self-defense weapon for a number of years and did not have problems going through customs in other countries. Now, Hong Kong customs has her record and she will be charged if she is found carrying pepper-spray into the country again. So, remember, no pepper-spray in Hong Kong.


When I first travelled abroad, being the inexperienced traveller that I was, I had a 250ml of body lotion that I loved in my hand-carry. At the security check point, I had no choice but to transfer some of it into a 50ml empty bottle and threw away the rest, along with the nice glass bottle. It was definitely a pinch that I did not find out about all this information earlier. Said goodbye to my favourite lotion, and spent money getting a new one. Avoid unnecessary spending!


Tip: You can pack all your lotions, cleansers, shampoo and what not in your luggage which you will be checking in. (Regardless of the liquid measurement) The liquid measurement only applies to items in your hand-carry.

5. Request for cash in advanced or daily allowance

You need to do a little research on the living standards of the country you're visiting. Do a little calculation and take note of the current exchange rate of your country's currency and the country of visit.

You need to consider the average cost per meal and transportation costs (taxi/rail/metro,etc).

Tip: It is better to request for more cash than the estimated calculations to cover unforeseen expenses.

On the case of currency exchange rate, here's a scenario:  You're from Singapore and you're  travelling to Sydney, Australia for a duration of 7 days. Your basic expenses which include meals and accommodation would probably work out to be approximately AUD3,000.00. As reference, the exchange rate today is around SGD1.00/AUD0.86. So, depending on the buying rate in Singapore, you can choose to either convert SGD to AUD or SGD to USD/EURO. USD and EURO are the two most widely used currencies around the world. You can always sell it in exchange for AUD in Sydney later. The rate could be better. Then again, there's administration fees to Forex. All in all, try to get the best available rate before you buy or sell currency so you don't lose as much.

If your company's giving you daily allowance, make sure that it is enough to cover at the very minimum your cost of meals per day. If not, well, work out the costing and propose for a higher allowance!

As I mentioned, make sure that your credit card has enough credit limit as you need it to pay for your accommodation.  If you don't, call your credit card company to increase it temporarily. Check if you're able to withdraw cash in Sydney using your ATM card. Some local banks/ international banks do offer these services in foreign countries. Good to know in case of emergency situations.

6. Travelling

It's really easy to get dehydrated when you're in the plane, especially during long flights. We know that bottled water is not allowed through the custom check point and it's difficult satisfying our thirst when we're offered small cups of distilled water. It's worse if you order other beverages such as juices, coffee, wine, beer, etc.

So, here's a tip: Before you board, get a bottle of water from the duty-free shop. All you need to do is finish the water and empty out the bottle. When the stewardess is attending to you, ask her to fill up your bottle with water. Voila, simple. Saves the stewardess the time and energy from walking up-and-down the aisle bringing you cups of distilled water. Just ask for a re-fill when needed. This way, you won't get dehydrated so easily.

Here's something I learned: Keep your boarding pass even after you're back from the trip. You'll never know when you would need it again. It's useful when you need to claim missing miles from the airlines or as a document proof > I'll share more about this in another post.

7. Communication


You have to be reacheable when you're travelling; by email or phone. International roaming is necessary even though the bill's a killer. Sure, it may be cheaper getting a local SIM card  but it's easy for people to contact you on your current mobile number than asking them to call your new number. Better yet, if you have two mobile phones, I suggest that you keep one for international roaming and one for local number. The international roaming's for people to call you, while the latter's for you to make outgoing calls (local or international).

Even though you may be on a business trip, but you're still working. So, check and reply to urgent emails!

8. In case of emergency, who should you contact?

Scary thought, but this is important information that you need to know!  Do you have any friends or relatives in the country you're visiting? If you do, make sure you have a few of their contact numbers. Remember to get the contact information of your country's embassy as well. It gives you a peace of mind to know someone from your country who speaks your language that will be able to help you in times of emergency.


Alright, this post is longer than it should be and hope this has been helpful and it  isn't too much information to digest.

Have fun going on this trip! Take lots of photos and learn a little of the lingo. Experiences like this are golden opportunities that broaden your perspective and mindset. ;)

 
If you have any comments or feedbacks, please leave a comment and I will reply as soon as I can.

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