• Darlene Berkel presents Air Travel Tips For The First Time Flyer posted at Every One Loves To Travel. Good tips for all flyers, really. And reserve your seat ahead of time if you can!
• Deb presents Hutong Tour Part 1 posted at ten-forty. (with pics)
Find more about italian charms bracelets.
• Eldon Sarte presents Mobile Writers: Do You Really Need a Laptop? posted at Wordpreneur.com. Maybe not, but don’t make me give up my MacBook!
• Jeannette Kimmel presents Buggin’ IT with Butterflies posted at Intelligent Travel. So butterflies like to travel, too…
• Veteran Military Wife presents Best Seats and Best Airfare All Around posted at Life Lessons of a Military Wife. Good tips for smart flight booking.
• Tara Skipp presents Melbourne, Australia – getting some culture isn’t as expensive as you think! posted at Champagne Travel on a Beer Budget. Good tips. I used to live in Melbourne. If going, spend time on Chapel Street and also hop on the trams and head to St Kilda Beach.
• Madeleine Begun Kane presents A Traveler’s Net Woes posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog. Not easy traveling with the husband on a business trip, then.
• OnAJunket.com presents Welcome to Guatemala City posted at OnAJunket. Well-written piece but warning: contains vomit!
• Nancy Hayssen presents Winemaking Secrets from Napa & Sonoma, California posted at Sonoma County. Great wine info! I’m learning about wine at the moment so it’s my topic du jour.
• Nancy Hayssen presents 6 Totally FREE Sonoma Wine Country California Vacation Adventures posted at Sonoma County. These nice ideas make me a little sad because I was near Sonoma just two months ago and now I’m about 30,000km away. Can the vacations come to me?

Do you agree with this? Have there been times when a place has disappointed you because it wasn’t what you had imagined?

For the most part, I am not disappointed when I visit a new place. But there are often challenges that threaten to affect my enjoyment, such as:

• The place I was looking forward to visiting is packed with tourists.
• The place I was looking forward to visiting is packed with tourist stalls which spoil the ambiance.
• The place I was looking forward to visiting no longer exists.
• The weather is crap the entire time.
• I feel ill, or tired, or stressed.
• An event occurs (a robbery, a terrible storm) that clouds my memory of the visit.

So what can be done?

As with everything in life, it is mostly us who control how we feel or react. We can resolve to have a bad time, or we can pull our socks up and make the most of things.

• When it rains: play games, visit museums and galleries, take an umbrella and go out anyway
• When the tourists are swarming: get out earlier, laugh it off, make friends, or get off the beaten track
• When the hawkers are in your face selling t-shirts: politely but firmly decline (unless you want one) and move on
• When the coveted cafe or nook has clearly been bulldozed for a shopping complex: shrug and seek out some other local haunts
• When the place just doesn’t look like the postcards/guidebook promised: lighten up. Try and ‘discover’ things rather than visiting all the usual suspects
• When you get sick: hrm, it’s hard to make the most of this one. Don’t push through it; give in, look after yourself and cross your fingers it’s a 24-hour thing.
• You get robbed: it is stressful and horrible. Report it to the police, keep safe, try and keep going. Don’t let it be your only holiday memory.

Do you find the anticipation of a trip beats the reality? Have you ever overcome a seemingly bad situation and still had a great holiday?

You’re less enthusiastic, of course. You’re already full. Well, the same can happen with travel. If you’re rushing around from place to place, seeing the 20th castle that week or experiencing your fifth flight in as many days, it’s going to become wearying. You’ll experience travel fatigue.

It may be a physical thing, since too much travel, skipping time zones, long flights, rushing around with luggage, can all leave you feeling exhausted.

Or perhaps your mind has been overstimulated by seeing the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower, Great Wall and Colosseum all within a week, and the wonder and excitement of seeing new things has dulled. It isn’t that traveling has become less amazing, it’s that you’ve moved around too much in a short time.

Travel fatigue also hits people who have to travel a lot for their jobs. Picture Edward Norton’s ‘Jack’, at the beginning of Fight Club, who spent his insomniac life on planes and faceless hotels fingering single cotton buds wrapped in plastic and meeting ‘ single serve friends‘ on the plane.

So how to prevent travel overdose?

1. Sit Still.
Visiting one place and simply hanging out for a while can be a much better experience than one of those 12-countries-in-3-days packages.

2. Cut back or pad out.
In your company are you needlessly shouldering all the business trips? Is there someone you can delegate to? Tried webcams? If you must go, try padding out the visit with a few extra days for R&R.

3. Check your itinerary
Does just reading it make you exhausted? Not a good sign.

Related Reading:

Signs You Travel Too Much

While he was talking, I felt myself swaying. His voice sounded far away. Spots appeared in my vision. My ears rang. I looked around for a seat, but there was none. The next thing I knew, I was lying face-down on the ground. People were gasping, and hands hauled me up. Water was thrown on my face as I came to.

I’m not usually a fainter; it must have been the combination of intense heat, humidity, jetlag, dehydration and probably a dose of anguish as I listened to the sad tales of land mine victims.

It is not uncommon to travel to a country with a climate very different to the one you are used to. It might be searingly hot. It might be suffocatingly humid. If you are small, or old, or heavy, or with low or high blood pressure, it can be hard to cope.

So what to do? You don’t want to miss out on an adventure because it’s a little warm outside, and you probably want to avoid embracing the ground like I did. The trick, as always, is to be prepared.

• Avoid the hottest part of the day (10am-2pm) if possible.
• Give yourself time to acclimatize to a new environment. If it’s boiling hot, don’t run around. Take it slow.
• Look around: what are locals doing? Are they back home at certain times? Napping under a tree at midday? Follow their lead.
• Stay hydrated. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Carry water with you so you don’t run out.
• Carry food. Salty snacks are best if you have low blood pressure.
• Check the seasonal temperatures when planning your trip. Do you need to travel at the hottest time of the year? Monsoon weather can be refreshingly cool, with rains falling mostly at night time.
• If you are feeling faint, put your head between your knees to return some blood to your head.
• Consider carrying a fan, water spray, and a hat. Wear loose clothing. No jeans!
• Opt to hang out in the shade if you can. Standing in the sun too long can result in heat stroke.

Related Reading:

• Hot Weather Health Threats from HealthAtoZ.com

I try and limit myself to collecting postcards. I have quite a large collection now. It may add up, but they generally cost 50c-$1 each, and they don’t take up much room. I used to buy it all: the clothes, the toys, the wooden figures and keyrings. I’ve learned not to.

But the souvenir industry is huge, a billion dollar monster with tempting shops everywhere you turn. For example, I had an encounter with yet another one today when I took a ferry over to Alcatraz Island, here in San Francisco.

Alcatraz was a prison for many decades, housing hardcore prisoners such as Al Capone. It was a windy, bleak, stony place, with narrow cells and little hope (nice views, though). After completing the audio tour, I coincidentally found myself in the souvenir shop. So, what was the building which formerly housed some of the country’s worst criminals selling?

DVDs. Posters of inmates and grim slogans. Alcatraz salt & pepper shakers. Magnets, playing cards, toys, t-shirts, badges, handcuffs, toy knives… and so on. Really. Salt & pepper shakers? Classy. A compulsory photo of me standing in front of an Alcatraz background was on offer for $22.

So when did this madness start? Check out An Ode To Souvenirs, a great piece about the history of souvenirs dating back to Homer’s Odyssey. It reminds us that we buy souvenirs to remember our trips (“we’re trying to buy back our memories”), but also as status symbols to show where we’ve been, and because human beings simply like collecting things. That’s how I feel about my pile of postcards, although I have no idea what to do with them all.

To be honest, my most sought-after souvenir would have to be a snowglobe (I’m a fan of Citizen Kane). They’re on sale everywhere, but I have yet to find a nice one. So I keep looking.

What do you buy when you travel, and what do you have on display at home?

Related Reading:

• Buying Tasteful Souvenirs
• Trash and Trinkets – souvenir buying guide from Australia’s The Age newspaper

My First Travel Article

My first travel article was written and published in 2000. It was about my experiences living in Berlin for a year. The ‘hook’ (what made it current and fresh) was the mention of a new Working Holiday Visa introduced in Germany. I wrote the article, emailed it to a random person at a newspaper – probably through their website – and forgot all about it until someone rang me congratulating me on being in the paper.

Since then I’ve had many other travel articles published, from Europe to South America to Asia. Here’s my advice on how to write your own publishable articles.

1. Find a ‘hook’
A hook is something that makes your article current and fresh, like the example above. Has the country or town been in the news for something special lately? Is there an event unique to that area? Did you have an experience unlike any other? Open with that.

2. Write in your own style
Your writing style makes you special. Although you need to keep the tone of the publication in mind that you’re submitting to, don’t ‘disguise’ your natural style. It’ll sound forced and awkward.

3. Don’t stress, just write
Get it all out onto paper/the computer. Tidy later. Don’t fret over each sentence. You’ll never get it done.

4. Don’t recount your itinerary
No one wants to read ‘Then… and then we… and then we…” Start with a strong memory, and link your thoughts, but it doesn’t need to be in chronological order.

5. Make it vivid
When traveling, take detailed notes as you go so you don’t forget your impressions. Look around and get the details down. What was said? What was smelled? What was felt? Take photos of the unexpected: an amusing sign, an unusual meal. The minutiae make up your trip and will make your readers feel like they were there, too.

6. Get your thoughts straight
Before you start communicating, have a think about what you actually want to say. Did you have a wonderful time, or an awful time that ended well, or an unexpected time that was better than you could’ve imagined? Do you want to warn people, encourage people, educate people, entertain people? Figure out your aim first, so it comes through in your writing. Choosing a headline and introduction can help you focus.

7. Talk to locals
Fellow tourists are fun and often have good tips, but if you’re writing a travel article you need to talk to people who can share words of wisdom about their country. Are the locals poor, oppressed, healthy, happy, hard-working? Unless you’re reviewing a resort you’ll need to get out and meet people. It’s also the most interesting part.

8. Balance facts and opinion
Your thoughts alone are unlikely to be enough. What is the history of the area? The population? The culture? Likewise, a geography lesson can be dull. Add your impressions. It’s about finding a balance.

9. End with a bang
End as you hopefully opened: strongly. Don’t trail off with, “So I had a great time and recommend it.” What was your overall impression? Can you link it back to the beginning? I always try and add an event or snippet of conversation that encapsulates the tone covered in the rest of the article.

10. Give to a friend
Get a friend to check and read your article. Chances are, you’re so close to it now you can’t see any obvious oversights or errors. Take feedback into consideration, and certainly word counts, but keep your gut instincts in mind too.

Already written your article? Here are my tips on getting published in print.

But there are ways to pass the time more enjoyably.

• Get access to airport lounges via club memberships
• Find a great book. You’ll be so absorbed you’ll forget your surroundings
• Surf wi-fi via your laptop, watch movies on your PlayStation Portable, or play with your new iPhone
• Listen to the announcements – you never know what you might hear
• Browse the shops and find the silliest souvenir
• Read the paper and catch up on the day’s news
• Chat to the person waiting next to you, if they want to be chatted to
• Enjoy one of the rare times when it’s acceptable to do nothing. Reflect on the miracle of air travel

Don’t:

• Lose track of time or forget your passport and ticket
• Forget to label your luggage, especially if it’s black like everyone else’s
• Freak out when your flight’s delayed. Happens all the time. Be Zen about it

Related Sites:

Sleeping at airports – When your flight’s delayed and you gotta stay, be prepared

How to kill time at airports from eHow, with user comments below

Got kids? Use some fun airport activities

How do you make airport waits bearable?

2. I can’t leave my .
This may be the case. Maybe you have someone physically dependent on you and can’t leave. Maybe you have an awesome job you can’t bear to part with. Fair enough. But ask yourself this: would it be possible to take a break, even if just for a short time, if you put backup systems in place first so things ran smoothly without you? Think about it.

3. It’s dangerous.
Yes, a visit to Baghdad would be dangerous, and so are other places. Crime happens. But it also happens where you are right now. If you travel smartly, having researched the area and taken pains not to buy drugs from strangers or wander round at 3am, your chances of doing okay are much higher.

4. I don’t have anyone to travel with.
Lots of people don’t want to travel alone, and travel can definitely be more fun when you have someone to share your experiences with. Try one of the following: ask your friends and family if they’d be interested in coming, or join a travel community online to find people in the area you want to visit, or head off alone and make friends with fellow travelers along the way!

5. It’s too expensive.
Travel can indeed be expensive, but consider this: if you go to a cheap country, and have rented out your flat/house to cover expenses while you’re away, you can end up spending less while traveling! Do some calculations. What would your dream trip cost? Start making it happen by opening a travel account, and take on some freelance work for extra cash, every bit helps.

6. No one in my family travels.
I know people whose families were slightly less than encouraging of their travel plans. They were ‘supposed’ to settle down and get a good job, etc. But who are you living your life for? If you travel responsibly and come back with new skills and experiences, you’ll show them how awesome travel can be and maybe even encourage them to give it a try. You can be a role model!

7. I don’t know where to go.
These days there are so many options it can be hard to start. But the best start is research. Buy some travel books and magazines, watch travel shows, search the web. Do you want adventure, or relaxation? Culture or partying? You’ll soon see where your interests lie.

8. I’ll be homesick.
Probably, especially if you’re a newbie traveler. Consider it part of the growth process. And these days it’s so easy to keep in touch with home. I’ve used wireless in some random locations (the middle of Laos!).

9. I’m too old.
I’ve seen plenty of ‘senior’ travelers on the road. It could be the best time to travel! Retired, kids have left home… There are plenty of senior packages and discounts. You don’t need to haul a backpack around the world, there are tailored tours if that’s what you’re looking for. 

10. I’m scared.
This is the main reason people don’t travel, even if it’s not articulated. I’ve lost count of the times people say to me, “One day…” It probably won’t happen. To them, it seems an intangible, enormous dream. To make it real you have to plan, to ask questions, to start by doing something concrete.
And travel can be scary. I was terrified the first big trip I took. But I was mostly terrified before I began. Once I started, it was just exhilarating.

What other excuses have you heard? How can they be overcome?

I can only speak from the position of a Kiwi, but many Kiwis head to the UK on the two-year visa. Many don’t even know that similar visas are now available for Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan and more. The visas are generally 1-2 years’ duration and include the right to work at least part-time while there.

These visas are awesome because they mean you can travel and earn money at the same time! Well, hallelujah!

Even if you’re over 30 it’s not all bad news. There are still visas available, and several are points-based depending on your college degree and work experience.

I’ve had two Working Holiday visas, one for the UK (two years, although I only stayed for one) and Germany (one year). I worked mainly as an English Language teacher, having taken a one-month course in NZ first called the CELTA, which is internationally recognized.

I’ll blog more about work experience overseas and how to get a job in another post. This post is mainly to share the good news that there are lots of overseas visas and you should start researching now!

Where do you want to go? Visit the website of that country’s consulate and check out the visa section. Find people who have lived there (Alabama, Arctic, someone will have done it) and ask them how they managed it. People love being asked how they did something.

Note: You will generally need to apply for visas before you leave your home country.

Depending on the country, there may be some red tape to wallow through first, so allow plenty of time. My visa for England took ages, because there were so many applicants. My German visa took a few days. My visa for the US wasn’t hard but I had to wait ages in queues to be approved. Be patient.

Note 2: There are organizations that can help you arrange your visa. Do a Google search for ‘organize visa for [country]‘. I have never used one so can’t comment too much, however I’m a fan of doing it myself because a) it’s cheaper and b) that way I know exactly what’s going on with my application.

Note 3: If you find that you’re from a country that sadly doesn’t have many overseas visa options, consider finding a job at a multi-national company and get an overseas transfer. Friends of mine have done this with great success.

It hit me the first time I left New Zealand properly (as in, packed up and moved away for my first OE) when I arrived in Bangkok. Bangkok is smoggy, hot, hectic, basically very foreign if you’re from the country where Hobbiton was set.

So I hid in my room a lot; I ventured out occasionally but the newness of it all wasn’t enticing at first, it was just overwhelming.

Culture Shock can range from mild to severe. I’ve known it to cause people to abandon trips entirely, or just have a miserable time. It’s a valid condition when in a very different situation, but there are ways to overcome it without running away.

• Research your destination in advance. What will the temperature be? What dress standards do people there have? What is considered respectful/disrespectful? How is the economy and the political situation?
• Learn a few words of the language. I always bang on about this but understanding a few snippets can make all the difference between getting by and feeling completely lost and helpless.
• Look around you. Venture out to explore (not down dark alleyways at midnight, but you know what I mean). The feeling will wear off as you sense the beauty and/or excitement of this new place.
• Change your attitude. The people around you are not all the same; they are individuals, like you. What can you learn from them?
• Lighten up. Get swept along by it all, don’t resist. Have an adventure. Get rid of the picture in your head.
• Make yourself more comfortable. Culture Shock can stem from physical discomfort. If in a hot climate, drink plenty of bottled water. Carry a fan. Buy lighter clothes. Eat regularly, even if you have no appetite.