1. Plan - why did you want to visit it in the first place? What can you get free, cheap and which are the ones that you need to spend on and are a must.

2. Research - what are the good, the bad and the ugly? Surprises are for birthdays and are only welcome if they're good surprises.

3. Calendar is your best friend. Plot your day. From the time you arrive at the airport to bed time. Possible activities, restaurant you've heard off where you want to dine at, the whole nine yards. It's your drawing board, make it as messy as you want. It's easy to trim it down later.

4. Mix and match. Weigh what activities are possible. Mixing high involvement to low so you maximise your day but keeping it real, you're only human who needs to rest. And accept it... you don't have 48 hours in a day. Selfies alone takes 5 minutes ;)

5. Plan the payments. They are all booked, now get back in there and make your first review. Time to pay for the ones you're dead set on. Either you pay it in advance or you pay them later, you want the experience or the food? either way, you will pay. Pay them in advance if you can, that way you don't have to worry about it in your trip, you can just enjoy.

Booking and paying in advance means you're locking in the amount. Fees become expensive the closer you are to the date. So pay/book early and save money.

6. Pay according to capacity. You should have a payment schedule along with your calendar. Set aside the usual monthly cost and the savings then use 75% of the surplus. That way you have 25% buffer for any incidentals or sudden urge to splurge. Then carry forward the remaining amount to your next month's surplus.

Make it fun. Look forward to it every month. Make a colourful chart, reward yourself every time you're able to stick to it and settle an amount, give yourself a free pat on the back or a lollipop or a bucket of ice cream,,, GET YOURSELF REWARDED, DAMN IT! YOU DESERVE IT!

7. A month before the trip. List your "what to bring". Our challenge is to carry one knapsack each. So check the weather, change of clothes for 3 days, laundry day on the third (that's why we preferred renting houses than hotels), who will carry what? One set of smart casual (for those dinner dates). Go simple... solid coloured tank tops and a cool looking jacket sounds like good options. Tank top with shorts and walking shoes are ideal for day out, add a jacket, change shorts to slacks and smart casual shoes and you can dine in anywhere in town. We ladies can just add heels and a chic jacket or a shawl and they'll let us in.

8. You have forgotten your favourite shampoo or your toothbrush? Don't fret,,, wherever you are going, chances are, those people also brush their teeth and shampoo their hair. Duh? Get out of the house and buy it from the local shop,,, be a local for a few days, it's a good excuse to chat the small shop owner or talk to him in sign language.. that can work too.

If you think those are essentials, other people in other part of the world also think they are. BEAUTY OF GLOBALISATION, eh?

9. Plan some more. Because you have lots of time to spare before the trip, (that's for doing your homework early), if you want to splurge on some areas of your trip, do it but don't overdo it. You still need to live the real life after your vacation.

10. Download an audio tour app. If you are going to Europe? Hands down, Rick Steves. A friend of mine who hated me for talking about the guy non stop (RS said this, RS said that), went to Amsterdam and is on her way to Belgium and Antwerp messaged me and said "sorry, I am marrying your boyfriend RS! I am in love with him!!!! our trip was amazing because of his app!" mind you she's been going to Europe for the last 10 years, 2x a year.

11. Dry run your packing strategy, your walking shoes (try them a day in the mall, if your toes don't turn black and you have no sprain after 10 hours, they're good walking shoes), your clothes. Dry run everything possible.

12. Don't be shock if nothing goes into plan. This is life. If it goes according to plan, fabulous! If some or all goes haywire, it's an adventure! A story to tell and a darn good memory to last all of ya a lifetime. So what if you left your son up to the next train station ala home alone? Hope not :P

13. Enjoy! When you set eyes on a trip, you are already in one heck of a journey. From planning to budgeting to the actual trip including the jet lag and the wanting for another vacation after the vacation. They are all priceless time of your life, non-refundable, one time only. So enjoy and live your life!

Let's discover the world!

It felt like the longest 7 months of working, planning and working some more non-stop. 

There were days I cried, days I fell ill, days I felt, "I pushed myself way too far this time". There are days when I got cranky as hell for just being tired and hungry or got seriously depressed ... oh for the same reason!

But as the saying goes, never give up. So I didn't. I pushed myself and pushed myself and pushed myself even further. I believe our elasticity can be compared to a rubber band, the only difference is... if we rest a bit and plan a bit more when the tension starts to build up, we divert that tension to strengthen our core. Then like a kid, as if the tension didn't happen, we stretch our reality even more, bordering it into a dream and fantasy.

The idea hatched in November, one fine (boring) and very eventful (NOT!) day. I thought of how our lives here in Dubai have been and what explorations have we done so far. Almost 15 years and we have not really ventured out. We haven't really seen much of what the world has to offer. The only reasons why we were able to see other countries were either because of work, because it's along the way to the Philippines or because of relatives.

Then I thought, where's the closest place to visit? Somewhere different, somewhere we are purposely visiting and touring for the sake of history, culture and adventure. Somewhere my kids will be just in awe because it's something they only see in movies. I thought of Europe. Very few places in Europe where it seems like time stood still... then the idea hatched... "what about Prague?".

And the birth of multiple travel bug bites happened. I got totally infected by it and 7 months from its inception, I don't think I'm close to getting cured.

By January this year, the first trip's ticket and accommodation were paid for. Every month, during pay day, I enjoyed seeing my personal account full to the brim, just like a full figured woman who has just eaten a feast. Her bosoms spilling over, her waist a bit wider, she looked a little heavy but a lot happy. Then like having a food disorder, the same account gets depleted massively and without mercy as I settle payments and secure bookings every 2nd day of each month to be exact. 

Like a child, I enjoyed ticking the boxes and colouring cells as I settle scores. Seeing how my "to pay for" cell gets smaller and smaller and smaller. What joy!

I planned for two months, last two months of 2013 passed me by without me even noticing. I studied my monthly income from work and my part-time worksssss. How much is plausible per month, where can we splurge and where should we be a smart traveler? Formulating a full spreadsheet with rainbow colours, comparing each and every possible transportation and routing, for trains and airlines, comparing travel dates against each other, non stop. When I cannot compare anymore and my head hurts like it will break, I sleep on it and continue the following night after a long and toxic day in the office. 

Two months, I look forward to each late night studying the best places to see, the free places to see, the food we can try, connecting flights, hotels versus houses, if it's a possible scenario, I would have considered it.

Seven months down the line from that fine (and boring) day, Prague trip became a trip to 9 different cities spanning across Europe and the Americas. Bidding adieu to work every other month takes convincing management with a magical potion. Researching and projecting possible public holidays takes some awesome instincts. 

I am super proud to say that whatever happens next in these trips, they were laid out so beautifully by moi,,, It is all my hard work, missing out on weekends consecutively with the worst recorded history to be 3-weekend gig. Working for 26 days straight was not joy but it's a job that has to be done. 

I am not delusional. Something is bound to get screwed up sooner or later. But traveling is an adventure so I can just easily blame it on that :P

Join us in our adventure as a family, wander with us as we explore places we have never ever seen before, eat dishes we have never tried before or sample authentic ones we didn't know existed. 

Get to know our journey, tour companies who assisted us, restaurants we have tried, hotels we stayed at or houses we rented. 

I am beyond excited! Four days to go and we will get to see Prague and its old world beauty.