Chronicles of On The Road Travel

Rules To Travel By

I promised my mother that I wouldn't blog about the 'wrong turn onto a railroad track' incident she subjected us to on our way to Healdsburg this past weekend. Instead I thought I would recommend this article - Behold, the Ten Travel Commandments - in celebration of her independent travel experience to California during US Thanksgiving. The article, from Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper, provides some tongue-in-cheek, yet useful tips for travelers. A couple of my favorites that I had pointed out to her before she embarked on her journey:
    - Speaking of friends, avoid making new ones on airplanes:  She learned this one the hard way on her last visit
    - Carry a snack: The flight from Ottawa is timed just wrong so that you barely have time to grab your luggage off the conveyor belt to dash through customs only to throw your bag back on the belt and dash to your connection (there are no direct flights from Ottawa to San Francisco). There is rarely an occasion that I don't arrivestarving because I didn't bring a snack.
    - Bite the bullet and buy an upgrade: This was already arranged (she has lots of unused points)
    - Accept and consume all complimentary booze: This is a given in my family and is a much easier task when you take advantage of the upgrade

One tip that I hadn't considered, but will remember for next time: Don't expect to be dropped off or picked up from the airport

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Etiquette For Traveling Abroad

This past weekend's San Francisco Chronicle published an interesting list of 'do's and don'ts when traveling abroad'. It's always important when traveling to a new country to blend in with the local culture and not offend the locals. The Chronicle's list is less informative than it is tongue in cheek - one of my favorites:
    In Canada, don't pretend to be Canadian
A bit obvious, but you'd be amazed at the number of people who pick up 'eh' and 'aboot' after a few days in the Great White North.

A few others that are relevant to OTR Travelers:
    In Brazil, don't ask, "What's this sawdust doing on my food?" (It's dried manioc.)
    In Argentina, don't tango solo.
    In South America, don't tell people you're from America. (They are, too.)

To avoid these pitfalls, read our cultural cheatsheets for Argentina, Brazil, Guatemala and Peru, and don't miss the Kiss and Tango Guide to Buenos Aires.

Peace of Mind for Travelers With Dietary Constraints

Traveling to a foreign country can be intimidating enough without having to worry about every meal you order. It is hard to convey the severity of a food allergy and ensure that, for instance, the Pad Thai you ordered actually doesn't contain any peanuts.

The other day I came across Food Allergy Translation Cards. By entering your allergy information and the language of the country you will be visiting, you can print out credit-card sized translation cards that will be your guide through your dietary woes. Information is available on more than 175 food allergies and 11 special diets, which can be translated into 22 languages. The cards costs C$8 and you can print out as many copies as you need.

For those who are following faith-based restrictions, zabihah.com offers Halal restaurant recommendations for Muslims while shamash.org offers a list of restaurants that keep kosher.

Bon Appetit!

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The Best Airfare Websites

Bob Cowen at Internet Travel Tips just released the results of his comparison study of airfare websites. The study included Expedia, ITASoftware, Kayak, Orbitz, SideStep, Southwest and Travelocity, qualifying them by the speed and ease of which they display the best prices and fligths.

Kayak was the winner with the best user-interfaced for quickly finding the lowest price and the most convenience. However, the site does suggest using Kayak to locate the best price and then going directly to the airline's own website to avoid ticketing fees and additional schedule change costs.

             

Another site worth pointing out is Vayama - a new one that I came across recently. Although it has a nice interface (if a little bit slow), what I like most about it is that it aggregates the smaller, international airlines that you might not even know existed. I haven't used it yet, so can't comment on its efficiency, but thought it was worth pointing out for those planning international travel.

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Traveling with a Bump

One of the first things I wondered when I got pregnant (I’m on my 30th week now) was when I would have to stop flying.  I’d heard airlines wouldn’t let you fly in your last two months but no one seemed to know exactly what the magic date is not how it is enforced.  As it turns out, some airlines don’t even have any restrictions and others, like Continental, will let you fly as close as 7 days prior to your delivery date as long as you have a doctor’s letter.  American Airlines draws the line at 30 days, while Southwest Airlines has no restrictions but will just ask you not to sit on an emergency row if you are pregnant.  All restrictions are based on the honor system.  Baby center has done the legwork and assembled this great list  of what the restrictions are by airline for domestic and international flights.  In addition to this list, Air Canada restricts air travel for pregnant women after their 36th week.   

I’ve traveled in both my first and third trimesters, first to Peru and then to the West Coast, and had no issues in either case.  However, all situations are different and you are advised to consider your particular pregnancy history when considering flying.  If you have a high risk pregnancy or have had other complications, use common sense when deciding if you really need to get on a plane.  In general, your second trimester is the best time to plan a trip since this is when you have the most energy and you are past the higher risk stage of early pregnancy.  This is why a lot of couples plan their ‘baby moon’ for this time.  The ‘baby moon’, a new term for me, is the trip that most couples who are pregnant for their first time decide to go on as a farewell to their days of freedom and spontaneous traveling.  I think it’s the perfect excuse to plan a trip so highly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity, if your condition allows for it.

This article was posted by Veronica Montero

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The Mexican West

I never realized how predominant the influence of Mexican culture was all along the North Western coast of the US, especially in its cuisine, until recently traveling by car from San Francisco to Seattle.  We had been advised to be sure to try the Mexican food when in San Fran.  So we checked that off the list on our first meal out in the city with Jen and Seth at Papalotes in the Latin neighbourhood of The Mission,  followed by Cinco de Mayo celebrations at Dolores Park.  Little did we know that all along the North Western coast of the U.S. we would find traces of the Mexican culture and that Mexican food would be the most accessible to the point that we would end up dreading seeing another plate of fajitas or a basket of tortilla chips and salsa!

In the touristy town of Sonoma we ran into another Cinco de Mayo celebration and even in Florence, Oregon, retirement capital of that state, we were served Mexican egg soufflé for breakfast at our exclusive, historical b&b.  Our biggest surprise was Guadalajara’s, a sizable, bustling Mexican restaurant in the sleepy town of Shady Cove, Oregon, right next to the RV park.  Just outside of Mendocino we were so hungry we had to make a desperate stop at the first place we found by the road - you guessed it, organic Mexican tacos.  Finally in Seattle we had fantastic Vietnamese food.  Asian food has never tasted so good! 

We wondered if a few years or generations from now this cuisine will even be distinguished as ‘Mexican’ or if by then it will be so embedded in the locals’ tastes and customs that it will simply be absorbed into the local cuisine and be known as North Western cuisine, much like TexMex has become its own genre in the South West.

It will take me a few weeks to feel like having a burrito or nachos again but I have to concur with our friend who recommended we had to try Mexican food while in San Francisco.  Just take note that you might want to take advantage of other international cuisines earlier in your travels if you are headed North along the coast from there.

This article was posted by Veronica Montero

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Tour Guides - Can't Live With Them, Can't Live Without Them

This comment about 'travel specialists', or guides, by Mark Schatzker, the '80 Days or Bust' traveler from Condé Nast,  made me think about my own experience finding and dealing with guides.  I tend to agree with him that (even for independent travelers) a guide who can ease the hassles of negotiating in a new culture and language can enhance a particular experience.  Thorough research is advised if you're not going with a recommended guide, though.  Sometimes, unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of choice if we don't plan ahead.

Like the time I found myself stuck in the dreadful town of Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe with no prior plans on how to get to Botswana.  Considering ourselves expert travelers, Todd and I headed to Southern Africa for a month and decided to wing it as we had everywhere else we'd traveled to up to that point.  We were in for a surprise when we arrived in Victoria Falls from Cape Town to find out that most people traveling in this part of the continent booked tours ahead of time with foreign companies, as the infrastructure to get from point A to B (city to city, as much as country to country) was rudimentary at best.  Victoria Falls is a creepy town that felt abandoned and unwelcoming.  You were gawked at by seemingly unemployed young men everywhere you went and I did not feel safe, even when I was inside my hotel room. 

In this bleak environment we found ourselves staring at this man who was wearing a suit that was many sizes too large on him, sitting behind a desk in an unlit room inside a dingy strip mall, who claimed to be an expert tour guide of the area.  For the next 5 days he would take us through Botswana on a couple of safaris, then the Okavango Delta, and finally drop us off at the border crossing to Zambia, all meals, tent accomodation and transportation provided.  We just had to pay up front.  All our senses told us this was a bad idea.  After checking out the one other alternative in town, however, he was our only way out of that forsaken town the following day so we crossed our fingers and handed over our money.

As we probably could have predicted, the next few days were full of surprises.  Starting with being stranded in the rain at Chobe National Park with no guide, no tent and no food until 9 o'clock on the first night, to the meals of cold canned beans on plates that had been rinsed on dirty water out of the back of the trunk of our A/C-less car standing by the side of the road, to the unpleasant surprise that we had to purchase our own food to take to the Okavango Delta and yes, we were our own chefs.  Not to mention the fact that our guide casually told us he had been in jail and he carried a knife in the car in case we had any emergencies.  I honestly think the man did not mean to rip us off or give us an unpleasant experience; he truly thought he was giving us acceptable service, but there were many frustrated moments when we wished we had ditched the guide and struggled through the language and infrastructure barriers on our own. 

Looking back we had a great experience in spite of our guide and I remember the wonderful safaris, sceneries and people we met along the way.  I did walk into this one with my eyes open but I also had some key learnings from the experience: do my research (and potentially book tours) ahead of time when going to more remote, poor areas and set my expectations to the local custom when hiring a local guide in an untouristed country. 

If you're headed to Latin America, be sure to check out our recommended tours to avoid an unpleasant situation.  We stand by our recommendations, as we research all our providers before bringing them to you.

This article was posted by Veronica Montero

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Travel Tips for Your Hotel Stay

This one was passed along to me in an email. I can't confirm if its true, but if it is, it's worth worrying about:

HOTEL KEY CARD

Ever wonder what is on your magnetic key card?
Answer:
     a. Customer's name
     b. Customer's partial home address
     c. Hotel room number
     d. Check-in date and out dates
     e. Customer's credit card number and expiration date!

When you turn them in to the front desk your personal information is there for any employee to access by simply scanning the card in the hotel scanner. An employee can take a hand full of cards home and using a scanning device, access the information onto a laptop computer and go shopping at your expense. Simply put, hotels do not erase the information on these cards until an employee re-issues the card to the next hotel guest. At that time, the new guest's information is electronically "overwritten" on the card and the previous guest's information is erased in the overwriting process. But until the card is rewritten for the next guest, it usually is kept in a drawer at the front desk with YOUR INFORMATION ON IT!

The bottom line is:
Keep the cards, take them home with you, or destroy them. NEVER leave them behind in the room or room wastebasket, and NEVER turn them in to the front desk when you check out of a room.

They will not charge you for the card (it's illegal) and you'll be sure you are not leaving a lot of valuable personal information on it that could be easily lifted off with any simple scanning device card reader. For the same reason, if you arrive at the airport and discover you still have the card key in your pocket, do not toss it in an airport trash basket. Take it home and destroy it by cutting it up, especially through the electronic information strip! Information courtesy of: Pasadena Police Department
** I personally have a small magnet and pass it across the magnetic strip several times. Then try it in the door, it will not work. It erases everything on the card.

Another one that I find myself using more and more these days is the 'shoes on the safe' trick. If you leave anything in your hotel safe while you are staying at a hotel, you run the risk of leaving the next day and forgetting that you had used the safe in the first place. To avoid this problem, put your shoes, or another article of clothing that you plan to wear the next day, on top of the safe so that you will be forced to go there before you vacate the room.

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