Over the long summer vacation, many students would find it hard to resist the temptation to carry their backpacks and go on a trip with their friends to see the world. In this day and age, the Internet may have become a sort of window on the world at home. But while you can take in the sights on a computer screen, to get up close and personal with a place and its people, you can't do without the actual visit.

Youngsters these days would of course prefer to be their own masters, and travelling on their own without having to follow a tour guide around would give them the freedom to see anything they want, and at whatever time or for however long they like. At the top of their list would no longer be the so-called tourist hot destinations, but such exotic, though less accessible, places as Eastern Europe, India, South America, the Silk Road, Tibet or Africa.

But without a travel agent to plan everything for you, it would pay to make careful preparations on your own ahead of time. There are of course travel guide books to give you all the information you would need on your destination. All you have to do is to read it through and follow the instructions. Nevertheless, I find that young people would tend to overlook certain important details, particularly health-related issues.

For one thing, before heading for a less developed destination, it's necessary to find out if there is any common infectious disease and, more importantly, if you can have yourself vaccinated beforehand. The sooner you talk to your doctor about this the better, as most vaccines would take one to two weeks to become effective.

Another thing is, get all your medications ready, including those you're on at the time, precautionary medications and a first-aid kit. You can talk to your family doctor and ask for his advice so as to make the right preparations. Girls should take note of their menstrual periods to make sure that they won't get in the way of their travels, and seek help from their doctors to adjust them if necessary.

These are the ways to make your trip more enjoyable and safe.

By Dr Singsit

*Translation from Chinese article.