Traveling exposes us to different cultures, lets us have a variety of different experiences and we meet a number of people during our travels which we wouldn’t get a chance to meet otherwise. Here are some of the things one must be careful of while we are on a trip to distant countries with different cultures:

Nguyen Do/Pixabay. Be respectful of the local culture and traditions.

• Respect the culture of the place you are visiting:

When you visit a country with values and cultures vastly different from what you are used to, it's best to be respectful of their ethos without being ignorant about it. You can completely disagree with a certain practice, but you must always show respect. The locals must recognize that you are a foreigner, and will not mind if you are not practicing their culture, their dress code or any other specific ritual, but being blatantly ignorant is simply rude behavior. Before clicking pictures of locals, always ask permission.

stux/Pixabay. Never click pictures of locals without their permission.

On the topic of respect, always practice the basic ethics of asking locals before clicking their pictures. Not everyone likes to get photographed by random strangers, and it is a breach of privacy when you capture pictures of others without their explicit permission. They are living people with their own set of values, and it is extremely disrespectful if you treat them like objects  by clicking pictures without prior permission.

• Keep a Power Bank with you at all times

On day-long trips and excursions during your travel, do not forget to bring a power bank with you. As you use your phone for maps, looking up local hotspots, capturing pictures and Instagramming your special moments, you may find that your phone battery gets drained fairly quickly. And you do not want to be stranded in a foreign city without a working phone. Make sure to keep a full power bank to avoid situations like these.

C10Maj/Pixaabay. Always keep a backup power bank with you while traveling.

• Google Translate is your best friend

While traveling is extremely exciting, it can often turn frustrating when you are unable to communicate with the locals and put your point across. All of us have faced a communication barrier in foreign lands, and in such situations, Google Translate is your best bet to put your point across. You must learn a little bit of the local language as it is a very sweet gesture when foreigners try to adopt the language and culture of a place, but for communicating well, use Google’ Translate feature.