Posted by holly on Jul 11, 2009 in
Blog,
BlogSherpa,
Tips Okay, so now you’re off. All your worldly possessions are crammed in your wheeled nylon sidekick, you have a complimentary bag of peanuts in your pocket and your camera batteries fully charged. I’m not going to tell you how to travel, that’s a very personal thing and can vary dramatically from person to person. But I am going to say: enjoy every second of it.
Whether you’ve been to the destination a dozen times before or it’s your very first, the most important thing is that you have fun while you’re there. Without a doubt, everyone gets out of a vacation exactly what they put into it. Happiness is contagious. Regardless if you can communicate with the people around you or not. a smile is universal and can go farther than you think in breaking down barriers. Things have a tendency to go awry on vacations (be it a late plane connection, mislaid luggage, a disappointing city tour or even simply getting lost), but the secret shared by all great travelers is to not let that event ruin your whole trip. Far too often I’ve seen it where something goes a bit off-track at the beginning of a vacation, and, despite the fact that the matter was resolved, the passengers continue to mope about it for the remainder of the trip. All this does is bring them and the people around them down. Move on. Roll with it. Don’t rob yourself of enjoying your hard-earned vacation. You spent a lot of time and money on this, you deserve for it to be great.
Remember, the joy is in the details. Even a trip to the supermarket can be fun if you look at it from the right angle (”They have seafood tempura flavoured chips? Cool! ”, “It called Coke Light here instead of Diet Coke!”) and revel in all that your destination has to offer. Then, no matter where you are and what you’re doing, you’re guaranteed to have great memories of your vacation.
But eventually you have to go home, which brings us to Stage 3…
Tags: BlogSherpa, enjoyment, luggage, memories, Tips, travel agent
Posted by holly on Jul 11, 2009 in
Blog,
BlogSherpa,
Tips I’ve been sitting here, staring at this computer for hours wondering what to blog about. From what I can find through google, most travel blogs are only for the duration of each person’s specific trip, so nobody has to write to fill the time in between vacations. That got me thinking: why? What is it about the “gap” days/months/years that fail to inspire bloggers? Granted, the most interesting part of any vacation is the time you’re actually on it, but the joy of travel is so much bigger than just the dates you book off from work that it deserves some attention, too. My Mom always told me that “every vacation comes in three parts: the anticipation, the actually going, and the talking about it afterwards”, and she’s right.
The anticipation is the longest and hardest to define part of every vacation, as it can take many forms. It starts with that first niggle at the back of your mind that you’d like to go somewhere, as, even before you’re actually planning anything, you’re already anticipating it. Watching that episode of Globe Trekker when they go to Brazil, or even seeing the Batchelorette go to Hawaii; hearing your friends talk about how much they loved Vegas; whatever it takes to get your travel motor running.
This then leads into the inevitable (and highly enjoyable) internet search phase. Depending on how research-centric you are this can take an hour or months before you decide “yep, this place has exactly what I’m looking for in a vacation” and you drop by to see me at work. I have tons of friends/clients who don’t do any research at all, they just decide to go someplace and book it, and on the flip side, there’s an equal amount of people who end up with that giant binder of yahoo printouts and know down to the second what they’re going to do. I’m somewhere in the middle. I like my research, knowing what the must-see sights are and exactly how to get there (on public transportation, if possible. Skytrains/subways/buses rock), and knowing all about my hotel and it’s location, but I’m not staying up nights obsessively googling.
And now you’re booked. Fully committed. Non-refundable. I love the feeling you get when your official tickets are in your hot little hands for the first time, it really hits home that “Holy crap, I’m going to _______!” This is awesome! I need a moneybelt!” This segues into the giddy phase, when just the mention of your destination (or travel in general) can cause you to drift away into daydreamland, a far away look in your eyes and a stupid grin on your face. Think of that TV commercial where the kid’s jumping on his bed wearing a snorkel as his parents book the tropical vacation. That too could be you! This is one of my favorite phases, as I love that happy, swimmy feeling in the pit of my stomach. Come to think of it, it’s a lot like prepping for date (but with more non-emotional baggage), you’re all excited, but you still have to remember everything you need to do/buy/take with you so you have the best time.
And before you know it all the days have been checked off on your calendar, you’re all packed, you’ve got someone watering your plants for you and it’s time to enter Stage 2…
Tags: BlogSherpa, Tips, travel agent
Posted by holly on Jul 6, 2009 in
Blog,
BlogSherpa,
Tips There are certainties in life. Death. Taxes. Travel problems. If you’re talking to someone who claims to travel frequently and everything always runs perfectly smoothly, they’re either a liar or in complete denial. Shit happens, the trick is to just roll with it and remember that one day you’ll be looking back at this and laughing. Not everything on your vacation is going to be particularly memorable, but if something gets messed up/goes wrong/is not what you expected, I guarantee you’ll still be talking about it years from now.
This I know from personal experience. Being an agent means nothing when I’m standing on a curb in Kuala Lumpur for two hours, waiting for my airport transfers which never showed up. The phone conversation with the company rep went something like this:
Rep: “Are you sure you have arranged transfers?”
Me: “Of course I’m sure, I’m the one who freakin’ booked them!”
Rep: “Oh.”
And I still had to make my own way to my hotel. But on the flip side, if I hadn’t been stuck there for so long, I never would have met some of the nicest people, complete strangers who went way out of their ways to help me out, or seen an incredible lightning storm.
Over the years all sorts of crap has happened to me. One time I was staying at a hotel in London, and one of the beds only had three legs, so it tilted at an interesting angle. When maintenance was called they went all high-tech and brought phone books to prop it up with. This same room had no less than 6 lights in a five by five room (well, it felt that small, anyway), but only three light bulbs, so half the time you tried to turn something on and got nothing. Maintenance was creative with their solution to this one, too, answering our request for more light by, while we were out sightseeing, moving those three bulbs to the other lamps. This was the only available room in the hotel, so changing rooms wasn’t an option, and, as it was a non-refundable, prepaid reservation, I didn’t have the funds to pay out of pocket to move to a new hotel in pricey London. But the location was great, steps from Paddington Station and Hyde Park, across from a cute little square that had live music some evenings for free, and surrounded by pubs and restaurants. Even knowing how crappy the hotel was, I would stay there again if it was the only one available in that area (and they could guarantee me light bulbs)!
Another time British Airways accidentally misprinted my boarding pass, sending me to gate 25, which was down this long gray hallway and felt like I was hiking to the middle of nowhere. Ten minutes before my flight closed, I discovered that gate 25 went to Cairo and my flight back to Vancouver actually left from gate 5. Ten Minutes, twenty gates, and this was at London Heathrow Airport, where each terminal is roughly the size of Luxembourg. It was very Amazing Race, running screaming through the crowded airport, dodging fellow travellers and hurdling luggage. I was the last person on the plane, and I smelled like a gym sock for the next nine and a half hours (I’m sure my seat mates appreciated that), but I made it. I’m actually pretty proud of this, I didn’t think I could run that fast!
Then there’s the time I was in Bangkok and we got the great idea to take the water taxis down the Chao Phraya river after dark to get a great view of Wat Arun, the Temple of the Dawn from the water. It started off swimmingly, water taxiing up, and stopping for a drink as we waited for darkness to fall. Finally the conditions were perfect and we go to board the water taxi, only to have people shaking their heads and saying “no” repeatedly. By now we had a fairly good idea of how the water taxi system operated, so we knew we hadn’t done anything wrong, but we couldn’t figure out why they wouldn’t let us on. Turns out that after the evening rush hour, all the water taxis only ran upriver, so we were stuck, on the wrong side of the river from our hotel, with no way of getting back. A taxi was looking like our only option (and not a good one at that, as our hotel was a very long – and expensive – distance away, and bartering with Bangkok taxis, especially for two women alone at night, was not a particularly appealing or safe thing to do).
The water taxi operators pointed us to a cross-river ferry that would, at the very least, get us back onto the correct side, so we hopped on that, the only passengers at this time of night. The view wasn’t the one we had been going for, but you could still see Wat Arun, and it was spectacular. This dropped us off in the midst of a night market, not a big, nice one like Chatuchak, but a clutch-your-purse-to-your-chest-and-look-around-furtively one. Fantastic. And it only got better, as when we reached the street there were no taxis to be seen, only Tuk Tuks. Every guidebook harps on how dangerous these little riding lawnmower taxis can be, but we were desperate, so we climbed in and agreed on a price to Hua Lamphong, the closest subway station I could remember the name of. Oh my God, this was a blast. Screw the guidebooks, zipping through the dark streets in little more than a pop can with an engine was exhilarating. We took them as often as possible after that.
It had started off as a big, stupid mistake, but it ended up being a really fun, incredible night that still makes me smile when I think about it. Murphy’s Law states “anything that can go wrong will go wrong”, but I prefer Holly’s Law, “Anything that can go wrong could go wrong, and if it does, roll wth it and laugh about it later”. At the time it may really, really suck, but everything, good or bad, only makes your vacation into more of an adventure, and isn’t that why you’re traveling in the first place?
Tags: airport transfers, Bangkok, BlogSherpa, Kuala Lumpur, London Heathrow, memories, travel problems, tuk tuks
Posted by holly on Jul 4, 2009 in
Blog,
BlogSherpa,
Tips “That’s not how my name’s spelled on my passport.”
Or, even more terrifying,
”That’s not the name on my passport.”
Aargh! Names are like travel kryptonite, the one thing that airlines don’t like you to change once the ticket has been paid for, at least not without a sizeable fee (and we’re talking hundreds here, people). From what I hear (this is back before my time in the industry) you used to be able to book a ticket using just an inital or a random name and then, if that person couldn’t/didn’t want to travel, you could just change the name and you were good to go. Not any more. Especially not since 9/11. Every country wants to know without a doubt who the heck they are letting onto their soil, and this is not taken lightly. If you show up at the airport and your ticket doesn’t match your passport (or ID, depending on the destination), you’re not going anywhere, plain and simple. That’s why we always, always, always ask for your name as it appears on your passport.
“Binky” might be cute, and I’m sure you like it better than your legal name, but it’s not going to get you on a plane unless it’s the first name on your passport. Not the middle name either (for all intents and purposes, middle names are to airlines like olives are to martinis, nice and decorative and easy to ignore), but the first. And it doesn’t matter if the people at Visa were happy to issue you your credit card to that name, either. Until they become a legal governing body (okay, with the way we all love our credit cards – me included – this could happen eventually…) it’s not going to help you get to Lima any more than your library card would. On a side note, firearms licences are never a good idea to show the people at airport check in, it just makes them double-search your luggage and eye you suspiciously for the duration of your flight.
Typos can happen, although rarely. If they do, we fix it. We’re professionals, we might be hyperventilating as we do it, but we’ll make sure you get on that plane. On the other hand, if you’re not 100% sure of what name appears on your passport, or your friend’s passport, go home and reconfirm it before putting your money down. The second that ticket’s issued, any change, no matter how small, is going to cost you big. I’ve witnessed friendships fall apart over this, when one friend gets a little over-eager and books the tickets with the names they think are right, only to discover their best friend has always gone by their middle name, and now it’s going to cost CAD$400.00 to get the ticket reissued. The friend with the wrong name doesn’t want to split that bill, since it wasn’t their fault the names were spelled wrong in the first place, but the friend who made the mistake either doesn’t have the money for the fee or resents the friend for not being understanding and helpful. From there it just spirals… you get the point.
Oh, and if you’re looking at tickets on EBay or Craig’s List, I hope it’s for decorative purposes only, because there’s no way that CAD$50.00 ticket to London is going to actually get you to London. Unless, of course, you actually do happen to have the same legal name as the seller, but I have yet to see this happen. If anyone knows of a time it has, please let me know, I’ll pass it around the office and it’ll become the stuff of travel legends.
So before you part with your hard-earned money, check your passport and make sure you know what name the government would like you to go by, or you’ll be parting with even more of that money and earning yourself (and your agent) a world of unneeded stress. You would never believe the amount of Tums I go through. Really. But if we work together and get the names right in the first place, we’re golden.
Thanks 
Tags: BlogSherpa, names, Passports, Tips, travel agent
Posted by holly on Jul 2, 2009 in
Blog,
BlogSherpa,
Tips In the travel world there are two camps: the Debit card withdraw-it-as-you-need-it people and the Moneybelters. I am firmly a Moneybelter. On my list of must-haves for travel, my moneybelt is right up there with my passport and air tickets. There’s a certain confidence that comes with knowing at all times that my cash is safely down my pants.
That said, I am one of those women who can’t – and won’t – function without my massive purse (is that a lettuce in there? And a curling iron? And a pair of pants? Honestly, all things I either currently have in there or have within the last week), where I do keep my spending money. For that day. Whatever excess cash I have is happily nestled in my moneybelt. Should anyone steal my baby, er, my purse (I’d take them out. Really. No one messes with my purse. But it’s the principle…) I’d still have enough cash to get a taxi to the police station, buy some food to sustain me for the long hours spent filling out police reports in some random foreign language, and taxi me back to the hotel afterwards. A moneybelt will never replace a purse, as it’s just awkward reaching down your pants when you try to pay for your bag of chips at the minimart (especially in some countries, where this could be punishable by jail time). If the hotel has a safe, I use it, too, for any currency I may be carrying for different countries, or just to keep the bulk of the wad in my moneybelt from being too noticeable. And for my passport. But there are times when you need to have your passport with you, and when it’s down your pants in it’s nicely zippered compartment, I know I’m not going to reach into my purse for a mint and accidentally drop it to the curb.
Speaking of passports, I always keep a copy of mine in my moneybelt, too, just in case it gets lost or stolen. It’s also a good idea to have a photocopy of the person you’re travelling with’s as well, and to have them carry a copy of yours. The liklihood of you both getting ripped off at the same time is slim, and having that copy will make it so much faster at the consulate to have a replacement ordered.
I know they’re not cool looking, and they do evoke images of those old couples with the matching khaki pouches on strings around their necks, but everyone should seriously invest in a moneybelt. Besides, unless you have random people looking down your pants (and you know who you are), nobody’s ever going to see it anyway.
I should also add that I’m a strong advocate to travelling with (at least some) cash, and not relying solely on my debit card to make withdrawls as I need it. Firstly, this is way better on your budget, as you know exactly how much you have and aren’t going to just be randomly spending until that magic machine on the wall stops giving you bills. Secondly, if you’re cashless and nowhere near a bank, your taxi driver in Calcutta or Bangkok or New Jersey is not going to take debit. Or, most of the time, credit, either. Nor are they going to understand you when you try to climb out of the cab at the bank, telling them that you’re just going to get some money and be able to pay them when you get back. This last one is never, ever a good idea. Cash is so much more convenient. Yes, you have to be mindful of where your money is at all times, but you should be doing that anyway, right?
Taking the local currency is also a big plus. I’m not saying take nothing but Colones to Costa Rica, but the local currency is guaranteed to be accepted everywhere (the American dollar is a good emergency fallback – you’d love the look of “what’s that, play money?” you get if you try to use Canadian!- but who knows what exchange rate you’re paying) and I, personally, just find it a sign of respect to the country you’re visiting to recognize their culture and not ask them to recognize yours. Plus, you get to play with all the different funky-looking monies out there. They’re totally fun. Like in Hong Kong, where they have 3 different, but equally effective $10 bills, so you have to keep double-checking that yep, that too is $10.
The moneybelt just rocks. If the situation was bad enough, it probably could save the world, though at the very least it could really save your back someday. Join me. Become a Moneybelter!
Tags: BlogSherpa, money, Moneybelt, personal safety, theft prevention, Tips