Travel US-The Pakistani way

 

During my last trip to the U.S. I traveled around 8500 miles by road across about 15 states and I realized that there are a lot of things which I need to share with other fellow doctors heading towards the U.S. I am writing this so that you can save every penny that you can during the interview season.

The means I am mentioning may not be the most convenient, but definitely the cheapest.

 

Faraz Khan Luni

(With loads of advice from Muhammad Ali Khan)

Dow Medical College

Batch of 2008

Choosing a flight to the US

 

There are various flights going to the US so go around asking different travel agents before you decide anything. You must check out the online rates at the official sites (especially Turkish, Qatar and Etihad Airlines) as they are mostly the cheapest. If the credit card is in your name then there is no problem in booking online but if you are using any one else’s credit card than you have a problem as the airlines want to verify this with the card holder.

There are two ways to do this.

Firstly you may have to take the credit card holder with you to the airline’s office and they will verify personally from the credit card holder.

Secondly you can take the photocopy of the credit card along with the authorization letter of the credit card holder and submit it at the airport before you are given a boarding pass. Some flights may use one method or the other, or both before you are allowed to use the ticket. So make sure the credit card holder is willing to go through this trouble.

The other things you should keep in mind while booking a flight is to find out whether they allow a free change of flight date and to check the validity of the ticket. Some flights like Etihad, Emirates and Qatar allow you free change of flight for the first time and around Rs 3000 for the next time you change your flight schedule. So this is a good option especially when you have no idea when you will be coming back. Qatar and Etihad allow you to change the date to any date within one year of the day you travel but some like Turkish allow it for only 4 months or so.

If you don’t come back within that time period your ticket will be wasted so if you are not sure how long you plan to stay, then it will be smart to get a ticket with validity of one year. Policies may change but do ask these things when you are booking a ticket.

There are a few things which you must do when you go for the interview season.

 

 

Bank Account

Firstly you should open a bank account because it is unsafe carrying a lot of cash around with you. There are so many banks to choose from but the one which most of us Pakistanis open an account with is Chase Bank. The Chase bank requires less paper work and has many branches across the country. You just need a passport, another form of Photo ID apart from your passport (more on that later) and a permanent address. Just give the address where you are staying at and your debit card will be sent there.

Open a Checking account and make sure that you DON’T use the facility of Overdraft. The reason that overdraft should not be used is if your account goes to $0 and you make a transaction the bank will pay for you but will charge an insane amount of interest. So never use that option. Also when getting a debit card make sure you get a card with no user charges. The bank manager will try to tempt you with the benefits of earning rewards and free gifts if you get a card with reasonable user fee but just get the card with no user charges.

Last thing you want is seeing money deducted when you are least expecting it. The problem with Chase checking account is that if you don’t use it 5 times a month or if the money goes below $500 you will be charged $6 per month. Also if you close your bank account within a few months (I forgot the exact time period) of opening it you will have to pay some extra money, so keep these things in mind.

It seems a hassle but it’s worth it.  The debit card you get can be used in stores, subways and almost every where but do carry around $100 in cash with you at all times as some places don’t accept cards and only take cash. Also every city may not have a Chase ATM and withdrawing money from another bank’s ATM will cost around $5. Make sure the $100 dollars you have also has a lot of $1 and $5 notes as many vending machines use that rather than $10 or $20 notes (My $20 note was stuck in a vending machine once so you can imagine the agony!).

The best thing about debit cards in the U.S. is that unlike Pakistan, these debit cards can be used for online shopping so you can use them to buy bus and air tickets too.

Get a Mobile Phone Line

 

Unlike Pakistan where incoming is free, you are charged for both incoming messages and calls in the U.S. which can be pretty expensive. I strongly suggest that you get an unlimited talk and text prepaid package in which you have unlimited calls and messages (incoming and outgoing) in the whole of the U.S.

There are different companies offering different packages. At the time I am writing the article the best packages were of T Mobile ( www.t-mobile.com ), My Simple Mobile (www.mysimplemobile.com) and Cricket ( www.mycricket.com ). I personally used T mobile so I can tell you about that.

For 50 dollars (around 54 after taxes) you can call any where in the US (also incoming is free in all these packages from any where from the world) and unlimited messages within U.S. with 100MB GPRS. Initially you have to pay around $14 to get the SIM card. You may bring your mobile from Pakistan and save the cost of buying a mobile here. Others like My Simple Mobile are even cheaper and offer unlimited international messages too.

You have to pay around $15 to $30 to get a SIM card for the first time with these packages. So before going to a store check on eBay ( www.ebay.com ) where you can get this SIM card for as low as $1.  The deals change all the time so look at the websites before you go for a package.

Travelling

Intercity Travel

If you are interviewing at a lot of places and really want to save money then I suggest you get your self a greyhound Discovery Pass ( www.discoverypass.com ). This will allow you unlimited travel within the period of time that your pass is valid. The different packages that the discovery pass has to offer are

• GREYHOUND DISCOVERY PASS – 7 DAY  $ 239.00
• GREYHOUND DISCOVERY PASS – 15DAY $ 339.00
• GREYHOUND DISCOVERY PASS – 30DAY $ 439.00
• GREYHOUND DISCOVERY PASS – 60DAY $ 539.00

I suggest that you buy the 2 month one if have a lot of interviews and fit all the interviews within those 2 months. A lot of people have reservations about traveling by grey hound and regard it as unsafe. It is true that it caters to the poorest population as it is the cheapest mode of intercity travel but I personally never had a bad experience. Just sit in the front and mind your own business. The drivers are very strict and don’t allow drinking, smoking or listening to music at full volume even if you have headphones so don’t think it’s a mess in there. It’s just that you won’t run into Paris Hilton while traveling by greyhound.

Grey hound has the widest network of inter city buses in the US and covers almost every city. So you may have to use it one time or the other. Go on the website ( www.greyhound.com ) before you plan the trip to check the travel time and schedule.

There are some other busses which are better than greyhound but don’t cover as many cities. The best among them are Megabus (www.megabus.com) and Boltbus (www.boltbus.com). They are better than grey hound as they don’t have too many stops and take less time to reach your destination. AMTRAK ( www.amtrak.com ) is another option for inter city travelling, but it is far too expensive (can be used as a backup if other buses are not available or some other timing issues etc.)

Another obvious way of traveling is by air. Some times traveling by air is cheaper then traveling by bus. A good example is if you go from Philadelphia to Orlando, Florida the bus ticket is for around $130 while the airplane was for $92. So don’t book bus tickets blindly thinking that they are cheaper than air travel. Road travel which is only a couple of hours is cheaper if you go by bus but longer travel exceeding around 8 to 12 hours by road may be cheaper by air. Best way is to go on line and compare the rates.

The site which I found most useful for booking air tickets was www.expedia.com. Remember one thing when booking domestic tickets in the US. Most flights will charge you around $20 to $30 for every bag (excluding your hand carry) that you carry with you on flight(even your first bag) So a flight may cost $60 but if you take 3 bags with you then you end up paying as much for the luggage. Some flights like Jet Blue & Southwest allow the first bag for free on some routes so when booking tickets check if that flight allows the first bag free. During the interview season just carry one hand carry and don’t overload yourself. While searching for flights on Expedia read the “Review the rules and restrictions” section which comes up when you select a flight.

There is a link of “baggage fees and other fees” and when you click on that you will get to know how much they charge for first, second bag and so on. Try to book the tickets as early as you can as the prices start increasing especially around 15 days before the scheduled flight. So the bottom line is book in advance.

Southwest is one airline which does not charge you for your baggage. The ticket is valid for any change for a year since the day of purchase and if you go to another place which is cheaper then they will also refund the difference. Southwest is flexible but it is more expensive than other flights. One setback is that South West goes to specific airports so it is better to look up on their website beforehand.

Travel Within Cities

Travel within cities in the US is more expensive then inter city travel. Apart from the bigger cities like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Boston and Washington D.C. most of the US cities have almost a non existent public transport system and you have to take taxis which cause the biggest dent in your budget.

If you end up in cities which have a good public transport system then do make use of it. The best way to know bus and subway routes is to look it up online. The best sites are www.maps.google.com and www.hopstop.com. Google map also has a mobile phone application and I used it all the time to guide me even when I was on foot. Just remember the bus number, the stop where you want to get off at and the DIRECTION where the bus is going. Most of the cities have one way ticket of around $2. (Philadelphia $2, New York $2.25) A lot of them don’t give change back to keep quarters with you too.

If you also plan to go sight seeing it’s cheaper to get a day pass which costs around $6-10(different rates in different cities). With a day pass you can travel as much as you want in subways and buses for 24 hours so I used to go crazy traveling during those 24 hours. New York has recently finished selling day passes but many major cities do sell it. To know more about travel fares and other details you can go to the websites of local transit authorities and look it up for example the address of Chicago transit is www.transitchicago.com. Just Google the transit websites of other cities if you want to use them but Google Maps and Hopstop are more than enough for planning a trip.

 

Weather

One more thing to keep in mind is to check the weather of the place where you are travelling before you leave. There are many sites like www.weather.com which can even give you an hourly report of the weather so have your umbrella with you in case it rains. If you are travelling in the winter then do take a pair of gloves, warm socks, muffler, thermals, cap and a jacket with you.

Jackets are one of the few things which I found to be cheaper and much warmer in the US than in Pakistan. So buy only one jacket from here and get the rest from the US. Hatvilla is a shop in Saddar which sells good quality gloves, mufflers, thermals and other such stuff at a very reasonable price.

 

 

Accommodation

 

If you have no family or friends to stay in the US then there are various options you can try. First is APPNA home which is place to stay made by Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America. They have a home in New York and Philadelphia and it is quite cheap. You can check their details at http://cyponline.net/services.asp.

A useful website to find an apartment to share while in the US is  www.craigslist.com. Just go there and it has places of all rates in all cities, depending on the location and how many people you want to share the place with.

Staying over night at a hotel during the interview season is also very expensive. You can get hold of seniors living in the area of the interview and request to stay with them for a night. Most of them gladly help as they have gone through the process themselves. Try not to stay more than a night as more people may stay with them during the interview season and this disrupts their routine.

You can also look up different motels on Expedia and other websites. If you are broke and can’t afford anything then you can try Couch Surfing ( www.couchsurfing.org ). Here you can find people who are willing to give you a couch to sleep on. You can read the reviews of the person offering you a place to stay by people who have stayed with them previously so that seem a reasonable way to verify a person. Since I have never used it I can’t say how useful it is but for people who are broke it’s worth a try.

Other Tips

Do make an English Nadra card (called NICOP) before going to the U.S. This is important because it is not advisable to carry your passport with you at all times in the U.S. as your passport is too valuable to be lost. You need a photo ID with you at all times and the NICOP serves this purpose pretty well. Also some places ask for some other photo ID apart from your passport so NICOP is pretty handful at that.

For all those religious doctors trying to find Halal food and mosques, you can use www.zabihah.com where you can enter your current location and you will get the address and directions of Halal food joints and mosques near you.

These are all the tips I can come up with for now and I have tried to be as accurate as I can. The prices and deals may change from time to time so don’t depend on the prices and deals quoted by me. The main purpose of this article is to give you an idea of how to plan your trip and where to find the relevant information.

Whatever reason you are going to the US for whether it is for interviews, electives or exams; do make the most of your time there. It is a beautiful country with lots to do even if you don’t have enough money on you. I enjoyed the snow storms of Buffalo, the lakes of Orlando, the parties of New York & the historic buildings of Philadelphia. There is always a lot of free stuff to do and just walking around the cities and observing the sights and sounds is a treat. So have fun traveling and enjoy your trip!

 

 

 

Additional Tips from Maliha Azmi (November 2011)

Im writing this to share my experience travelling in greyhound so far…..you can add your experiences so people using it for the first time get an idea!

I purchased the discovery pass online using a credit card. This does not need to be in your name.

http://www.discoverypass.com/products.asp This is the link to the purchase options.

I received an email that had a REFERENCE NUMBER. I had to take this reference number, the credit card USED to make the purchase and a VALID photo ID to the station the very first time to collect my pass. They never asked me for the credit card. There is also a $4 fee u need to pay while collecting the pass. Go through the email carefully so u know what to take with you to collect the pass.

After getting the pass, sometimes I got the ticket from the counter, sometimes I didnt. I have travelled about 4 times so far and I only got a ticket for the first time. So, you can wait at the station counter and ask for a ticket if you want but I dont think its necessary once you have the pass. Atleast I never got ASKED for a ticket while carrying the pass.

The only thing I was careful about was making sure that my LUGGAGE was TAGGED for the destination where I was going. This I was always careful to check. However, some stations can be very laid back. At one station the incharge said its no problem, go without the tag. When I got off the bus, they did ask me to prove that its my luggage. Luckily, I had a photocopy of my visa in the luggage and I pulled that out and matched to my photo ID to claim the luggaage. So, put a photocopy of your photo ID in your luggage!

Do check that all the stations you will TRANSFER at are open at the time you transfer. Go through your transfer details carefully. Otherwise you may have to wait OUTSIDE closed station and if it is night time, that can be unsafe. so, check all schedules carefully for TRANSFER times of the greyhound stations.

http://www.greyhound.com/en/locations/states.aspx

Its best to stay INSIDE the stations. The stations are quite safe as long as you are INSIDE. If you have called a ride, its better if its on the station door when you step out. Just make sure u can see exactly where yor ride is when you step out of the station. You can tell the driver to step out, ask him/her to flash headlights or whatever. But I dont think its a good idea to go searching outside if You cant see where the person or the car is….

Its better if ure in front of the line when boarding the bus..that way you can get a seat of your choice. Sitting in the front is better. You may feel more comfortable . I end up being the last person on the line most of the time because the passengers line up really really really fast!…so, I guess be close to the door and literally JUMP to make the line if u want a front seat! You might just feel better sitting in front.

Take good care of your bag that u take with u on the bus. Dont put it under the seat and then go to sleep!…Have it on your lap or on your side if you are sitting by the window.

As a general advice. Keep your wits about yourself when travelling. There is no need to become paranoid but you SHOULD know who is around you and whats going on. Dont talk unnecessarily with strangers and take a book to read. that can be helpful.