Helping yourself
Self-help trips, exchang tours add spice to life

By Sam Yung

Miss Carol Wong Ka Man, 23, is a fresh graduate from City University of Hong Kong. She took a self-help trip last year to Europe with two friends on summer vacation.

“I picked up travel agents to arrange transportation and applications for visas. Everything was arranged properly,” said she.

During her 35-day trip, Miss Wong travelled to seven European countries — Britain, Italy, Greece, Austria, Germany, France and Switzerland. Finding accommodations was at the top of Miss Wong’s agenda throughout the trip.

“It was important to find a place where we could settle down.

“When we reached our destination, we would look for accommodations immediately,” said she.

The Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association is an organization that helps travellers find hostels overseas.

According to Miss Mavis Hung Sau Ling, the general manager of the Hong Kong Youth Hostels Association, members can arrange accommodations overseas through their worldwide computer network.

“Through the network, travellers can immediately make overseas reservations.

“Besides, travellers can make their payment in Hong Kong dollars rather than in foreign currencies, and this will certainly cost them less,” Miss Hung said.

In Europe, some hostels are run by local citizens. They lend rooms at a cheaper price in their homes to travellers temporarily.

When Miss Wong and her friends arrived in Germany, they chose to stay at this kind of hostel.

“Our hostess was so friendly that she took us to a bar and got us free beer. It was a great chance to understand German culture.

“However, I got measles. Luckily, my friend had brought some medicine and it helped to relieve my pain.”

It is important to keep healthy when travelling overseas.

Mr. Lui Kwok Hung, 32, of Wong Tai Sin, visited Nepal in 1992 with five friends for three weeks. Before he headed to Nepal, he went to a clinic for vaccination against malaria.

“Since Nepal is an underdeveloped country, I paid more attention to hygienic problems.

“We did not consume raw food or cold drinks during the travel. We drank only distilled water that was properly sealed in bottles,” said Mr. Lui.

Adequate rest is also very important.

Miss Wong said, “We grabbed every chance to take a rest.

“Usually when we got on a train, we would sleep so as to have enough rest,” she said.

In order to reduce transportation costs, Miss Wong’s team got Eurail passes, a kind of train ticket, in advance.

“It would have cost a lot of money if we had not gotten the Eurail passes,” said Miss Wong.

One kind of Eurail pass allows travellers to travel by train at any time within a specific period. However, it cannot be reissued if the traveller loses it during the journey.

Miss Wong’s team lost their passes when they had almost finished their trip.

“In order to continue our trip, we had to spend extra money to buy train tickets,” said she.

Unluckily, another problem arose.

“One of my friends lost a pair of glasses worth over $1,000.

“Fortunately, my friend had paid insurance on her luggage in advance so that the insurance company compensated her later.

“I think travellers should buy travel insurance,” said Miss Wong.

Miss Sibly Chan Siu Ha, a travel section reporter for Apple Daily newspaper, said, “Good plans certainly make self-help trips easier.

“Travellers ought to keep their luggage as light as possible. This is because a travellers’ energy drops as their trips continue,” Miss Chan explained.

Other than self-help trips, there are some exchange tours for students arranged by different associations.

Miss Rita Liu, 24, who graduated from The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1994, has experienced both an exchange tour and a self-help trip.

She joined an exchange tour organized by Highwise Youth Center, an organization with a Taiwan background, in her final year at the university.

Said she: “I joined the tour because I want to visit the places where ordinary visitors could not have access to.”

Miss Liu found the tour arranged properly. However, the participants’ freedom was restricted.

“I once suggested changing the schedule, but this was rejected.

“Having joined the tour, I learned how to get along with people because the participants came from different backgrounds,” she said.

Miss Liu also had self-help trip experience. In the summer of 1994, she spent a month in Europe with two schoolmates.

“It took us two months for planning,” Miss Liu said.

“Even though a travel agent helped us on applying visas, we still had to keep track on everything.”

Spending is another thing that bothered Miss Liu. She checked her expenses daily. In addition, they were always on the alert for thieves and pickpockets.

“We met our schedule and could visit places worth visiting.

“The sense of accomplishment and satisfaction impressed me most,” Miss Liu said.

Comparing the self-help trip and exchange tour, she said both gave her valuable experience and fun. They were almost two extremes.

“However, if I were given a chance to travel again, I would choose to have a self-help trip.

“Although it’s pressing, I found it interesting. I think it fits young people’s characters more,” Miss Liu explained.

March 1996