1 Bring ​Your Best Clothes Forward

Think about the amount of money you are spending on your trip. Add up not only the flight, the lodging and the food, but also the days you are taking off for this trip. The amount of money you spent ​on ​ a day is most likely equivalent to a black tie event, if not more!​ Your trip deserves a black tie treatment.​ ​

So why not put on the cool shades, dresses, or pants you bought for the special occasion? Remember, your holiday is a special occasion! Sure, I also have jeans and a white T with me for every trip, but I also pack clothes that would fit going out on a date in Florence, and clothes that​ makes me feel all romantic when I walk the small streets in Paris and sip on a macchiato at Emporio Armani Caffè in Milan. ​I​nstead of being an outsider observing the habitat of a cool place​, ​l et your clothes be your ticket to melt into a culture​, joining in with the locals. I must admit the kiddish joy I had when I was mistaken as a local in Paris and Milan, even though my French is as broken as broken can be, and I don't even speak Italian. ​

It's awesome to take pictures with the landmarks, but as bored as you are when you go through your friends' landmark "I have been there" kind of pictures, you will soon be bored with yours. Look for interesting tiny streets, quiet cafes and old wooden benches with faded paint, often time, these overlooked places capture the history and culture much better than the over commercialised tourists hotspots. Better yet, you don't even have to fight for a space with other tourists to snap away.

3 Pose!

Again, you are spending so much time and money on a trip, why not do something extraordinary? Why ​standing like an embarrassed teenager ​wait ing for your senior photos? ​Pose like there is no tomorrow, remember, you don't live there, no one will recognise you, if you think someone is laughing at you, let them laugh, you will have awesome pictures of yourself on holiday where you do not care what the world thinks. It is actually overcoming that embarrassment that helps me to be more authentic. The world will judge no matter what you do, but the world would also celebrate with you when you celebrate who you are. When I was snapping away of myself dancing in front of the Colosseum in Rome and posing right next to an ancient old well in Tuscany, so many people came and chatted with me. Old couples on holiday, handsome gentleman with curiosity, and jolly locals who found it fascinating to see a woman setting up the tripod and camera and then posing as if a team of photographers are snapping away. They all came to talk to me and I made many friends along the way. I think people are captivated when we are passionate with what we do ​, and having a good laugh with ourselves while not afraid of looking silly.

So what are you going to pack for your next trip? please show me your holiday pictures! I would love them see them. You can email me or attached your photos in the comments below!