Do you equip yourself with information, before you leave for a holiday

Yes, I browse the net before I travel to other place or country, not to question the guide or to make myself appear more informed than the tourist guide because it is insulting to them, but in order for me to know which places are interesting to go or visit, coz oftentimes travelling does not necessarily entail having to hire tourist guide. I prefer to go on my own or with my family or group of friends and explore the interesting places the country has to offer. I also like taking pictures of sceneries and historic places.

I go to my local library and borrow as many books on my destination as possible. If one of these has excellent information I get its details so I can buy a copy of it for myself. I look at the Internet, especially the most useful tourist information on the country or countries that I am going to. I like to see photos of the places that I plan to go to. Sometimes I book a trip at the last moment and so it is not possible to research enough before I go. Like I had booked a flight to Mexico but due to a hurricane hitting the Mexican coast it was canceled. So I made a very quick search for another flight. I had a flight to the Maldives offered and I had to say yes that that very quickly. Then when I went to my local library I got a guide book about the Maldives and I saw the price of accommodation there is very expensive. On the resort islands under $100 a night is the lowest price available. I found one island had a single room for $70 a night so I booked five nights there by email. I stayed a couple of nights at a guest house in the capital, Male. Then I had a pricey flight to Gan Island where I stayed for $80 a night for seven days. So my flight was cheap but my accommodation was very expensive.

Yes, I try to make sure that I know as much as possible before I travel to a new destination. Generally, I will buy a guide book and look on the web. Some of the guide books online features have forums where you can check out a lot of information, like places to go and where to miss, what pitfalls there are etc., It is so easy to be dupped by a local. I must admit that I am very wary when I am in a new place until I get a grip on what is what. I love going to places where others don't go and see places that are still 'unique' - not many of them about nowadays.... I like to see how the locals live, what they eat and where they like to go etc., that is really fun.