Do your research..... but try not over-doing it


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ed9119

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Just my personal opinion...... and many will differ

Do sufficient research but dont over-research or micro-research your travel destination(s)..... it dilutes the fun of discovery..... u could well end up on a 'Verifying' holiday verifying the acuracy of your research work.... many have ended up in this unconscious trap.

To some, the fun of a holiday is actually in the googling and searching and compilation of information weeks or months in advance......

To others, the fun is just packing the day-bag with 2 underwear/ 2 t-shirts/1 xtra shorts and a toothbrush , bringing enough cash, ..... and letting the wind blow them to wherever it blows them to.

Discuss.......... :)
 

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Yeah. Another thing is don't use google street level map to view the destinations b4 even stepping foot there. :bsmilie:
 

Always go to your destination with an Open Mind..... what customs the local has might be strange you.... but common place to them.
 

I always do research on the general areas I want to go to, what kinds of things I'll see there, and good times to go to those areas.

Many times, when I didn't do those research properly and decide to 'just go and see where it takes me', I end up with a less satisfying experience, just because I missed good and interesting lighting/conditions that happened just a week back, or finding myself spending more time looking for than sitting down and enjoying the scenery.

Normally, after I've kind of covered those areas in my research, I'll go explore.

Many of us don't have the opportunity to be stationed in a place to understand that place enough, and take good photos from there... so IMO, research before hand always helps.
 

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I always do research on the general areas I want to go to, what kinds of things I'll see there, and good times to go to those areas.

Many times, when I didn't do those research properly and decide to 'just go and see where it takes me', I end up with a less satisfying experience, just because I missed good and interesting lighting/conditions that happened just a week back, or finding myself spending more time looking for than sitting down and enjoying the scenery.

Normally, after I've kind of covered those areas in my research, I'll go explore.

Many of us don't have the opportunity to be stationed in a place to understand that place enough, and take good photos from there... so IMO, research before hand always helps.


:thumbsup: :thumbsup: for sure for sure !

I am in-between with a slight bias towards less research...... chao chao minimum have to research where to stay and maybe best way to get out of airport and into town....

I make it a point to AVOID searching for best pubs and discos etc etc....... somehow you know you're going to end up at drinking places crowded packed with similar cowboys who also did the same research before arriving
 

Some people just like to detailed everything, even what time to go where do what.
Some people just like to (or lazy actually) get a bag and board the flight without knowing what's next.

I will always get a travel guide and study what are the interesting place to go. But when to go I will just follow my instinct.
 

i will just reach the place, print out a copy of tripadvisor and get some nice places to go from hotel keepers. then off i go
 

i will just reach the place, print out a copy of tripadvisor and get some nice places to go from hotel keepers. then off i go

yup, that's the way that it should be done.. :bsmilie:

if not, might as well join those tours from the travel agencies with itinerary..
 

most of my trips are short so i like to do a certain amount of research so that I plan my own schedule. i try to visit places of interests(that are near each other) on the same day so that I can save time on travelling.

i do not plan to visit a place at a certain time on a certain day, i just go with the flow. If i like a place better, i will stay longer. If not I will just go on to another destination.

If there's nothing else after I have visited all the places on my list, I will hop onto a random public bus and ride til the last stop, then take the return trip to where i started. This is normally the best part of any trip. I get to see the "real side" of country and it's people on the bus trip. It's cheap too
 

........ I will hop onto a random public bus and ride til the last stop, then take the return trip to where i started. This is normally the best part of any trip. I get to see the "real side" of country and it's people on the bus trip. It's cheap too

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: true true
 

Really depends ... especially since my better half can't quite leave it to chance :p
But with all the influx of information online and otherwise, one can get overloaded really fast
End up getting frust even before the holiday; so many things to keep track and consider
Always a fan of less research, a general idea of what's there is all.
The guidebook stays in the cam bag, only refer when need to.
But as I grow older and when annual leave and expendable income are becoming more precious, the need to be more 'accurate' goes up

I must admit however the best moments are almost always unplanned
Once had the "tankful of gas, let's see where this road takes us" kinda holiday before, truly thrilling ... especially when looking for place to stay at the end of each day lol
 

Hi,

I think its ultimately up to individual's preference and what he/she wants out of the trip but I can understand what TS meant. The joy and fun of exploration.

The first time I backpacked with 2 other friends was travelling from SG to Yunnan by land. We did not plan much. We just knew roughly where we wanna go and where we gonna stay. The rest was impromptu. It was quite fun and exciting. Even though there might be small hiccups and stuff, its part of the experience (we took a unofficial van in vietnam and almost got ripped off).

Subsequently, I always use the travel guide because I want to cover as much as I can during the trip (of course not to the extend where I feel tired and not enjoying it).
 

my style is more like researching for the good places to visit,see what kind of places ppl ussually go....then.....avoid those places...
 

Like Photoart, whenever I am traveling to a new city for the first time, I like to just hop on a bus and it can be any bus! I then look out for interesting places and I'll alight as soon as I see something interesting.

This has helped me cover some ground and almost always, given me results I'm happy with.

To me, if I have never been to a place, any place is a good place to visit right?
 

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one of my favourite parts of travelling alone is getting lost, and having more adventures. :)

as long as it's safe, why not? the most fun part of my trip to valencia was getting off at the correct stop, thinking that i wasn't at the right stop, and walking for nearly 3-4 hours, complete with spanish old couple sending me to the utterly wrong destination. :bsmilie: to top it off, i had a fun time wondering if i had missed the last bus home standing next to a pole proclaiming itself to be a bus stop in the dark for nearly 30 minutes. :bsmilie:
 

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Do sufficient research but dont over-research or micro-research your travel destination(s)..... it dilutes the fun of discovery..... u could well end up on a 'Verifying' holiday verifying the acuracy of your research work....

Agree. Let it be a holiday - explore, get lost and discover things - and not a research confirmation trip. :thumbsup:
 

Sometimes it also depends on who you are travelling with, its always a bonus to travel with like-minded people.

Some will walk with you for hours to look for recommended local food, some will think that a meal is just a meal and will prefer to just settle it conveniently.
 

an unfamiliar place to visit research can only do that much, the rest still depend on the physical exploration over at your destination...
 

Between the two types of travelers, I'm the sort who'll do detailing right down to micro details, even recording street-view images on portable devices (iPhone works great) of where I'll be at. That's never diluted significantly my experience of being there, as seeing the place in a 2D image and actually being there still remain vastly different for me. There's people, movement, ambient noises, weather etc. sensations you can't get viewing an image.

I do stop at watching video recordings of a place prior to travel though.:)
 

Between the two types of travelers, I'm the sort who'll do detailing right down to micro details, even recording street-view images on portable devices (iPhone works great) of where I'll be at. That's never diluted significantly my experience of being there, as seeing the place in a 2D image and actually being there still remain vastly different for me. There's people, movement, ambient noises, weather etc. sensations you can't get viewing an image.

I do stop at watching video recordings of a place prior to travel though.:)

thats cool, we respect your style :)
 

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