At this moment for me, everything seems to be going in perfect swing. I got my visa, got done with booking tickets and accommodation, planned all the locations- yeah, unlike last year we have planned everything well in advance this year, all thanks to 
If you hear about our last year's travel story, you would freak out!
Guess what I realized when I had already landed on European Grounds and was on week 2 of traveling last year?
That I wasn't able to transact anywhere in Europe using my card and all the money that I had was on it. :O
I had carried just 380 Euros in hard cash because the exchange I visited in Bombay could only arrange that much at the last minute. I wasn't worried in the beginning as I had the remaining amount in card but you can imagine my situation when I realized my card wasn't working and I had run out of cash.
Guessing how I managed?
Luckily, I wasn't alone and was traveling with 
This happening again when I'm traveling solo is my biggest fear - like imagine being in a country where you don't know anybody and you have an empty wallet and you have to survive a week in that country.
One of the biggest lessons I learned from last year was that never trust your banker. I had clearly asked my banker if the card would work globally and he had assured me that it would work a 100%.
This time around after learning from last year's lessons, I would definitely be carrying more cash and have personally activated my card to be able to do global transactions. Additionally I would also carry an extra card just in case.
Because this time around I would be traveling solo to some countries and I don't want my trip to turn into a disaster.