This is the third and final (for now) post in a series documenting the differences between traveling as a backpacker and as a business traveler. Click to see the first or second post in the series about the differences in the Flying and the Staying. Next I wanted to cover the differences in working while on the road.
This is where the real tradeoffs come in. While it would be great to stay in amazing hotels and fly business class as a backpacker, you just can’t afford to because it is so expensive. And if you are working while backpacking it is usually not for more money than covering your blog hosting costs and maybe a nice night out (in Thailand), hence the hostels and coach class seats. But since J&J is paying, I have a job to do when I get to wherever I am going. And all the sightseeing, eating in great local restaurants and even sleeping in those big comfy beds (no matter how jetlagged you are) comes second to doing excellent work.
Now with good planning and prioritization I have been able to do most of the fun things in addition to delivering great work. On my most recent international work trip to Brazil, I was able to fly down 3 days early and spend some time sightseeing over the weekend in Rio. A couple of my pictures are below.
I also spent some of that time at my hotel doing emails, working on PowerPoint decks and making phone calls. Although most of it was on Monday while it was stormy and raining.
I would also like it to be known that by taking my detour to Rio I managed to save J&J $650 off the direct flight from Newark to Sao Paulo and back. So not only did I get to enjoy the trip with a short personal stay on the front end, I saved the company some money.
And while I gave up a weekend at home with Amy, I was able to ensure that my first trip to Brazil was not entirely spent in conference rooms like this one, which turned out to be much nicer than many of the ones we have in New Jersey.
So what is your best business trip extension? Let’s hear about it in the comments below.
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