International Business Travel

I end up traveling about twice a month at the moment, but its ramping up at the moment as my region extends. Have been visiting Europe and the US on and off for best part of a decade (man i feel old :()

My tips are:
- Small mesh bags from Muji with power adaptors (usually a mains -> USB & Mains -> UK plug) a 2m USB cable & small hub (for the power socket problem) short usb -> micro cables and currency pre-packed
- Decent clear bag for toiletries - inc small borroca case to hold a selection of pills & hangover cures
- Roll packing is great - nearly no wrinkles :)
- If you do get wrinkles hang the shirt in the bathroom and put the shower on full heat for a while and they usually steam out.
- BusinessPlus for LHR terminal One is great!
- Apps - TripIt, google offline maps, ba/lufthansa apps
- Load up on films / tv shows to help the time pass and a backup battery
- photos of documents on phone and in the cloud, saved me a few times that!

Oh and never say your on business when your going to the US, if in doubt your going to a conference (make sure you know whats on in the area).
 
Firestar_3x said:
Yes they know, i travel with my boss on and off, they accept that needs must, you have no other option at the end of the day.
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Interesting; if I was caught paying regular bribes to people I'd get disciplined and most likely fired. I assume you work for a small to medium sized company?
 
I'm learning to be comfortable eating alone in restaurants. I absolutely hated it at first, now I find it just about tolerable. I always have a look around for others that are in the same boat as me but its not that often.
 
Siliconslave said:
If you do get wrinkles hang the shirt in the bathroom and put the shower on full heat for a while and they usually steam out.
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I always do this, but i got a phone call and a visit from security in a hotel in Amsterdam as I was trying to steam out some particulary stubborn creases in a shirt.
The steam had triggered an alarm, they thought I was smoking and were sending a team up to investigate. So i had to quickly jump in the shower, get my hair wet and answer the door in my towel, as i really could not be bothered to explain myself :P
 
panthro said:
Interesting; if I was caught paying regular bribes to people I'd get disciplined and most likely fired. I assume you work for a small to medium sized company?
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It's part of travelling to the likes or Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Russia, South Africa and Nigeria.

We are easy targets, and when a rather large Russian speaking security official pulls you into a room, asks you to empty your bags then look in your wallet, you don't stand around and argue.

It's not worth the trouble for the sake of 10 or $20.

What's almost as bad is being searched leaving a country because they don't allow you to take local currency out of the country, but they will also take whatever else is in your wallet.

Which is nice.
 
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Firestar_3x said:
It's part of travelling to the likes or Kazakhstan, Pakistan, India, Russia, South Africa and Nigeria.

We are easy targets, and when a rather large Russian speaking security official pulls you into a room, asks you to empty your bags then look in your wallet, you don't stand around and argue.

It's not worth the trouble for the sake of 10 or $20.

What's almost as bad is being searched leaving a country because they don't allow you to take local currency out of the country, but they will also take whatever else is in your wallet.

Which is nice.
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Not that I don't believe you, I know it can happen regularly, but for comparison:
I used work rotation in Kazakhstan; never paid a single bribe.
I worked on rotation in India and never paid a single bribe.
I used to work in South Africa (only for a few months) and never paid a single bribe.

Never been to Nigeria or Pakistan though.
 
panthro said:
Not that I don't believe you, I know it can happen regularly, but for comparison:
I used work rotation in Kazakhstan; never paid a single bribe.
I worked on rotation in India and never paid a single bribe.
I used to work in South Africa (only for a few months) and never paid a single bribe.

Never been to Nigeria or Pakistan though.
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Me and my boss both got pulled into a room in Aktau, we went through the non VIP area with Business class tickets because that's the location our company driver dropped us off, that was probably the problem.

I've been done in Karachi and Luanda aswell.

Oh yes, upon Arrival in Almaty we payed more than the face value for the visa, they even argued over our dollar bills having slight pen marks on.
 
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I didn't have to pay any bribes when I spent a fortnight in ZA, nor did my driver or my South African colleagues (although they do say that it does happen every now and again).
 
The only perk from my 8 years of travelling for work was the effective "free" trips around the world, and adding on an extra week to have off and enjoy the more exotic locations (Caribbean, States, etc...) being free and single and working on large yachts did draw positive attention, and the personal development. It allowed me to live a frivolous lifestyle too.

Now though, much more interested in a quiet settled life - with occasional travel, that doesn't bother me, just not constant travel.

My advice? Do it! Do it as much as you can before you start to settle down. Have fun (stay safe), and build up your experiences. :)
 
Prophet said:
What do you travelers do for a living? I'd like a job with travel (for a while) but always get stuck with desk jobs that require the odd trio up/down the M1.
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Corporate risk management for companies running a certain enterprise software.
Small to Mid-size company.
 
@ Firestar and panthro

It's funny to see how things vary between those in the industry, even working in the same countries.

I must say that for Nigeria I've heard $$$ bribe money is a bit of a must and you should always have some dollars in your wallet, or hidden away ready just in case.

Our Sales Managar has just come back from his first trip in Nigeria (4 days)....... with Dengue Fever.... Oops!!!!



For me:
- Super multi country adapter is your life.
- Extension USB cable.
- Pens. You always need a pen when you never have one!!!
- Ensure you sign up to the main air miles programs and make sure you know who the partners are. Flown a number of times recently with China Southern/Eastern and I think they are SkyTeam. Then place your claim in online.
- If you're in Oil, make sure you get the Flying Blue Petroleum card when you start off :)
- Remember to have fun where you can. Don't just hide in your hotel room!!!!
 
It's an odd one, i must look like a good target :p

Trip wise:

I enjoy it simply because i get to see places i wouldn't otherwise and travel in a manor which i wouldn't pay for myself.

Plus points are deffo the class of service, some of the hotels are spot on, sunshine, meet some very interesting people very high up the foodchain and i really enjoy the site visits, overseas allowance and overtime is the cherry ontop.

Negatives, long days, staying on site can suck, somtimes sketchy security, i landed in Pakistan the morning after the bin laden killing, got some very interesting local newspapers which i've kept.

Enjoy yourself whilst you can, nice meals, evenings in the sun, good beer, gym and swimming pools.

Sounds good to me!

Nowt but desert, sun and snakes!

NvYFjn0.jpg
 
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Biohazard said:
Really?

It's definitely overkill and probably slightly impractical as well unless you have a really tiny wad, or a really big wallet.
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I do, but not so many currencies for travelling. Before I started keeping all sorts in there, I'd always have some Euros and Swiss Francs in my wallet.
Jimbo Mahoney said:
Use Quidco to book hotels - get cashback AND points towards free / discounted hotel stays.



Agreed with these EXCEPT signing up to every loyalty program. I made this mistake and realised that I could have used some of the points on shared schemes instead (e.g. OneWorld, Star Alliance etc.). Now I have a bunch of points "stuck" with various obscure / less used airlines and hotels.
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Still sign up for every scheme, even if you 'bill' the points to a shared one. There are some perks you will get related to number of stays that make it worthwhile.
Prophet said:
What do you travelers do for a living? I'd like a job with travel (for a while) but always get stuck with desk jobs that require the odd trio up/down the M1.
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I work in the automotive industry, for an IT/data company. Most of my travel (c. every 2-3 weeks) is for meetings/workshops/conferences.

Example of my near future travel:

Week of 6th May - Day job in the UK
Week of 13th May - Workshop in the UK
Week of 20th May - Workshop in Madrid
Week of 27th May - Meetings in Switzerland and Turin
Week of 3rd June - *goes off to check*
Week of 10th June - Conference in Helsinki
 
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I am like many on here, I have travelled extensively for work but the enjoyment and novelty has worn off. I intentionally changed jobs last year to cut down on travelling as I would much rather be at home with my family.

I don't regret it though and would highly recommend it when you are younger and don't have as many commitments. I have been to nearly everywhere in the world with work apart from India and South America. The best part was staying and eating in great hotels and restaurants as well as visiting interesting places hosted by people I was visiting.

Personally, I always tried travelling with hand luggage so I could get on and off planes quickly. Business Class cabin baggage allowance is quite generous. I would only check bags in if I was going for more than a week. In that time, I was lucky to only lose my bags once, it wasn't a nice experience.

My favourite airline is Virgin Upper Class but my favourite plane is the Emirates A380
 
I'm glad I don't have to anymore. People often try to paint it as the definition of success, forgetting the fact that they're often just glorified travelling salesmen except they're on a plane instead of a train or car.

With a young family it's a no-go but even without one, I'd rather earn my money at home then travel on holidays when I can really see places.
 
Yeah I hated it when I had to go to Madrid and met Ronaldo and Carlos Sainz. And when I went to Bangkok and met Pep Guadiola, or for NFL fans, going to US and meeting Adrian Peterson :p

It's a way to see the world and stay places you never would. I attend global product launches as technical. Nothing to do with sales.

Just cause your experience is that of a glorified salesman doesn't mean everyone's is.
 
Traveled abroad a couple of times to Europe and USA, I enjoyed the flying but hated everything else. Find it impossible to relax in a hotel when I have a conference or whatever the next day and didn't have any time to actually visit where I was travelling to. This applies equally to overnight business travel in the UK though :p

I get to fly domestic on the private company 8 seater a couple of times a year now with no requirement for overnight stops which is much more fun.
 
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