My first international trip was five days in Dubai, visiting my cousin. I had saved for a year, laminated my itinerary, yes laminated, and still made seven rookie mistakes in five days. My colleagues at HTG Travel still tease me about some of these. Learn from my pain.

The Seven, Counted Honestly

1. I Exchanged All My Money at the Airport

Twenty minutes after landing, I swapped my entire budget at the airport counter. It felt efficient. It was not. The rates were poor, the fees were worse, and I lost roughly PKR 12,000 before seeing a single sight. Now I exchange a small amount for the taxi, find a proper exchange house in the city, or simply use my card.

2. My Card Froze While I Was Buying Sunscreen

By day three my cash was thinning, and my card chose that exact moment to decline at a pharmacy. An international call to the bank followed, forty minutes on hold, and one sunburnt customer explaining she really was in Dubai. Tell your bank you are travelling before you fly, and carry a backup card. For any international trip, this is the golden rule.

3. I Packed for Every Possible Scenario

Twenty-three kilograms for five days, and half the bag was just-in-case items. Just in case of what, I still do not know. I dragged that suitcase up metro stairs, paid an overweight fee, and wore maybe half of what I brought. Pack half of what you think you need. Whatever you forget, you can almost always buy there.

4. I Planned Every Hour Like a School Timetable

My itinerary had colour-coded time blocks from nine in the morning to ten at night. By day two my feet had blisters, my cousin had stopped speaking to me, and I was too exhausted to enjoy the view from the Burj Khalifa, the one thing I had come for. One or two anchor plans per day is plenty. The empty hours are where the real memories happen.

5. I Skipped Travel Insurance

On day four I ate something that disagreed with me, loudly. A clinic visit cost AED 350 in cash, more than the insurance policy I had shrugged off would have cost for the entire trip. Even for five days, never skip insurance. It is the cheapest thing you will ever regret not buying.

6. I Ate Where I Felt Safe

Mall food courts, hotel breakfast, familiar chains. Dubai has some of the best shawarma and karak on the planet, plus little Pakistani eateries tucked into old Deira that my cousin still raves about, and I tasted none of it. Ask locals where they eat. A line full of locals is always worth standing in; a food court never is.

7. I Went Two Days Without a SIM

I relied on hotel wifi and screenshots of maps. I got lost twice, overpaid for one taxi, and missed a meetup because I could not message anyone. Buy a local SIM or eSIM at the airport. It usually costs less than a single day of roaming, and it solves navigation, translation, and ride-hailing all at once.

Sort the boring stuff early, pack light, plan less, and eat bravely.

Brief me before I fly

What I Do Differently Now

Those seven mistakes were expensive tuition, but they shaped a career. I now help plan trips at HTG Travel, and every first-time traveller we work with gets a pre-departure briefing covering all of this, bank alerts, insurance, eSIMs, realistic itineraries, before anything gets booked. Watching someone's first international trip go the way mine should have is my favourite part of the job.