Some of you may know that I am helping my son-in-law plan a trip to Finland and Norway. He and my grandson are going there so my grandson's soccer team can play in the Helsinki World Cup in a few weeks. My son-in-law traveled extensively when he was much younger, but it's been over 20 years and certainly not with the advent of new technology, so he's pretty clueless about a lot of the things we know and take for granted. And many of the parents on the team who are also going are in the same boat.
I met with him and my grandson a few days ago to talk about things like cell phones (int'l plans and data usage), what apps to download, how to get money, how much to get, Tap-and-Pay, tipping and so on. But what was interesting was the next day, my daughter was at one of their games, and overhead some parents talking about the trip. One woman said she was very nervous and was wondering how to get Euros. Another parent said that she heard they should go to exchange kiosks at the airport.
So my daughter chimed in (she had been at our "meeting") and told them about using ATMs vs. exchange kiosks, and that ATMs are cheaper and what kind of ATMs to look for. They were extremely grateful for her comments. One woman mentioned that she had no idea where to look for that information. So when I heard that, I made up a basic list of travel tips, and my son-in-law sent it out to them, which they really appreciated.
I guess I'm posting this because many people come here with no idea of how to travel efficiently. And they don't know how or where to look for that information. The first inclination of long-time members here is to check a guidebook, search online, or ask very specific questions here, but many travelers are not tech-savvy and it honestly does not occur to them to do that. It would be like me looking for information on how to repair some large appliance. I'd be utterly clueless about that.
Sure, it can be irritating when someone comes here to ask very basic questions, and although many members here do give them good detailed info, there are those who give rather cryptic responses, or a google link. I admit that I have been tempted to do the same thing (and have been guilty of this).
But then it occured to me to do what I do when driving. I get impatient with slow drivers in front of me, but instead of honking my horn, I pretend that the driver is my mom, who was a very slow driver. So my suggestion is that the next time you see a post like that, before you respond, maybe ask yourself "What would I write if this was a family member asking this question?" and phrase your answer accordingly. Just a thought. YMMV. :-)