Cool Travel Gadgets

The Trace Me luggage tag is imprinted with a scanable bar code that’s unique to you. If your bag is found by an airline employee (or by a good Samaritan in cases your bag really goes astray) the finder can either scan your bar code or type your identifying number into the Trace Me website. You’ll then get a text message and/or email informing you where your bag is.

http://www.tracemeluggagetracker.com/

The PocketFinder is a device that will keep track of your bag’s location via GPS. Simply activate the PocketFinder, charge its batteries (they last for a week) and then place the tiny device someplace in your bag where it won’t fall out. You’ll be able to see exactly where your bag is using an internet-connected computer or a smartphone like an Apple iPhone or BlackBerry. Unlike Trace Me (above) there is a monthly fee for PocketFinder’s service.

http://www.pocketfinder.com/

Tugo Rolling Luggage Drink Holder

Trying to make your way through an airport with a rolling suitcase and a handheld bag and a cup of coffee? With the Tugo you need not attempt a potentially coffee-spilling juggling act. This little rubber item straddles the pull poles of your rolling bag and provides a secure holder there for your coffee cup or travel water bottle.
Out of the box the rubber Tugo tends to be a little stiff; loosen it up and it will hold your drink perpendicular to the ground no matter how the angle of your rolling bag changes.

http://www.goodtugo.com/

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Despite Slowing Economy, Airline Travel Not Expected to Drop This Holiday Season

     This year's holiday season runs from December 13 to January 2, and although we are all worried about fuel prices increasing, it is a spectacle to think that air travel is actually  going up this season. According to the Air Transport Association of America, it is expected that 47 million passengers will travel this season. The airlines are preparing for this heavy transportation period during the holiday season. They are using technology to increase convenience levels for their passengers. Many airlines will send updates to wireless devices for their passengers up to 24 hours before their flight's departure time. They also are using announcements in multiple languages on screens in the airport. Some airlines are even going as far as sending their flight status updates via text messaging to assist those that have that feature on their cell phones or PDA devices. So, on my long flight to Ecuador this Friday, I will gladly be enjoying the free wifi service that Delta is offering. :)

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Easy Packing Tips

    Christmas is coming up, and so is my trip to Ecuador! My official countdown to takeoff is 4 days and 97 hours! Christmas day for me will be in Ecuador's capital, Quito. Here are some tips for light and easy packing:

1. Make a list...and check it twice (no pun intended). Using a packing list will make sure you not only cut down on items to bring, but also remember to bring underwear (you'll never forget underwear twice by the way).
I have a convenient little gift idea for you travelers out there. My cousin got this for me last year before I went to Brazil and Argentina.
It's a handy dandy Pack This Pad.
Just read it (If the writing is too small, click the picture so it opens a new window and click once again to zoom in):

Cool right? You won't forget to take a thing! This little sheet of paper is your guide to easy and convenient packing. I use it all the time.

2. Go with a color scheme. A great way to save space in your bag is to limit the number of shoes you bring and reduces unnecessary repeats of clothing items so you can mix and match everything in your bag. The color scheme should probably revolve around a pair of your most well thought-out travel shoes.

3. Wear Layers and save space. If you’re going to a cold climate, there's no need to pack your bulkiest sweaters. Go with Under Armour or something similar to it, which is very light, under your shirt and a jacket on top of that. You'll be toasty and travel savvy.

4. Hand wash laundry. Soap packets will help give you the flexibility to re-wear items that get dirty (or stinky) and don't take up much space.

5. Don't pack things you wouldn't use at home. First-timers going abroad often make the mistake of thinking they are traveling to another planet and pack far too many items. This classic mistake might be due to the many seemingly fantastic travel gadgets available, but a good rule of thumb is if you don't need it at home, you don't need it while traveling.

6. Buy stuff there. Since you’re not going to Mars, you will be able to find things in your destination you can not only use, but once you bring them home will become souvenirs! And you just might find the perfect face lotion or hair conditioner in a brand that's expensive back in the States, making all of your friends back home green with envy.

7. Go mini. Just like it sounds...don't bring a full-size hairdryer or flashlight, etc. If you can't do away with these items entirely, pony up and buy them in miniature-size. An inexpensive LED penlight can light up a room or a hiking trail with ease and easily slip into a carry-on; check out online travel stores like Magellan's or TravelSmith to find more minis.

8. Use Packing Cubes or mesh storage bags as a way to keep yourself organized and save space. This is helpful if you have multiple destinations on the itinerary and need different types clothes for various climates. Packing cubes are especially useful if you've got kids and need to keep things under control.

9. Roll large bulky items, but leave the rest alone. It’s an old wive's tail that you should roll everything in your bag and here’s why: You have to keep rolling your stuff up throughout your entire trip. Not only is this a pain in the butt, it doesn’t actually save all that much space. To save yourself the headache, you’d be better off culling a few items out, and packing things that don't wrinkle easily.

10. Use unique luggage or luggage tags to help keep track of your bag while traveling. This way even out of the corner of your eye. Plus, if you do end up in baggage claim (which tends to get noisy and crowded), you'll see your fabulous zebra stripe bag or cute luggage tags coming from afar rather than elbowing people out of your way to check every non-descript black bag that goes by.

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New TSA Regulations - Is it too much?

          Since January 2010 the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has been rolling out what they term Advanced Imaging Technology, or Whole Body Imaging, at airports around the United States. These devices are used to perform a virtual strip search of passengers, looking beneath the clothes to display a picture of the skin. The TSA originally said that these machines would be used only for secondary screening, for those passengers that set off an alarm at the walk-through metal detector or Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) machine. They are now being used as primary screening at 45 airports, to take nude images of passengers who have done nothing more suspicious than present a boarding pass.

          Advanced Imaging Technology (AIT) is also known as Whole Body Imaging (WBI). This technology uses radiation to penetrate a person's clothes and create a nude image of the person. This technology is used to determine whether or not a person has hidden items under clothing. The TSA considers the images produced by AIT to be "family friendly". The image above is from an AIT scan of a man named John Wild using backscatter X-ray. This image is a low-resolution copy of the original, so it does not show as much detail as the original. Do you consider this image family friendly?

          These images are generated using radiation, either from a backscatter X-ray or millimeter wave device. Scientists and researches are already questioning the safety of irradiating thousands of people per day at every airport in the country. 

Privacy Risks

          Aside from the health risks of these devices, the fact remains that they allow strip searches to be conducted on a wide-scale level. That they are automated and mechanical in no way changes the fact that when a government agent looks beneath your clothing you are being strip searched. These strip searches are being performed without any probable cause or reasonable suspicion, as primary screening. 

Property Risks

          There are also property risks. During the time that a person is inside the full body imaging machine, it is impossible to maintain a line of sight to his or her belongings. Remember that because you cannot have anything in your pockets during the scan, this will include all your identification, money, and all personal items. Numerous thefts have been reported at security checkpoints, including incidents that led to the firing of four TSA employees at JFK as ABC News reported.

Benefits

          The benefits of the virtual strip searches are that these machines can confirm only that the imaged areas look normal, but not that items have not been hidden in body cavities or under folds of skin. Unlike existing metal detectors and Explosives Trace Detection (ETD) machines, these devices cannot determine whether the person being imaged is carrying metal or explosives.

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Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities for 2011

Who doesn’t love a city? Lonely Planet has scoured the globe for next year’s hottest cities. The top picks show that a city doesn’t need to be a heaving metropolis to get on the list. Then again, sometimes it helps. One of our favourites is the world’s largest city that cannot be reached by road. And there are even a couple of European cities that remain criminally underrated. Here they are, Lonely Planet’s top 10 cities for next year, ranked in order:

1. New York

Since 9/11, the site of the World Trade Center’s twin towers has stood out as a closed-off, out-of-view, painful gaping void. This year that changes, as the former WTC site finally reopens to the public with the National September 11 Memorial, a 6-acre, tree-filled plaza with 30ft-deep waterfalls at the footprint of the former towers, rimmed by the name of each victim and illuminated at night (its museum will follow in 2012). For the city, this will be more momentous than if the Yankees, Knicks, Rangers and Giants won simultaneous championships while the ball dropped in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. For all of New York, 11 September 2011 will be a defining moment.

2. Tangier

From its extraordinary position perched on the northwestern-most tip of Africa, Tangier looks in two directions: one face towards Spain and Europe, and the other into Africa. The ‘white city’ announces a culture excitingly different from that of its close cousins across the water. With the recent arrival of a new city governor, the town beach now sparkles, the hustlers are off the streets and even the taxi drivers are polite. A stylish new Tangier is being created with a dynamic arts community, renovated buildings, great shopping and chic new restaurants.

3. Tel Aviv

Tel Aviv is the total flipside of Jerusalem, a modern Sin City on the sea rather than an ancient Holy City on a hill. Hedonism is the one religion that unites its inhabitants. There are more bars than synagogues, God is a DJ and everyone’s body is a temple. Yet, scratch underneath the surface and Tel Aviv, or TLV, reveals itself as a truly diverse 21st-century Mediterranean hub. By far the most international city in Israel, Tel Aviv is also home to a large gay community, a kind of San Francisco in the Middle East. Thanks to its university and museums, it is also the greenhouse for Israel’s growing art, film and music scenes.

4. Wellington

Wellington is Cool-with-a-capital-C, crammed with more bars, cafes and restaurants per capita than New York, and a slew of gourmet producers including some 10 independent coffee roasteries. Year-round you’ll find arts and cultural events in abundance. Likewise, its film industry, ‘Wellywood’, centred on the Miramar Peninsula, is booming thanks in large part to the success of Wellingtonian Sir Peter Jackson (executive producer of the 2011 and 2012 Hobbit movies currently being made here). This little capital will be front-and-centre on the world stage in 2011 when New Zealand hosts the Rugby World Cup.

5. Valencia

Valencia sits coquettishly and again confidently along Spain’s Mediterranean coast. For centuries, it was overshadowed by larger Spanish cities – hard-nosed, commercially-minded Barcelona and Madrid, the nation’s capital. Not any more. While retaining its provincial charm, Spain’s third city now mixes with the international crowd. Host of a couple of America’s Cup yachting jamborees and an annual street circuit Formula 1 motor race, it’s also European Capital of Sport for 2011 and a favourite destination for conferences and congresses. Valencia enjoyed its golden age two full centuries before the rest of Spain.

6. Iquitos

After days forging by boat along rainforest-fringed rivers, Iquitos, mighty megalopolis of the Peruvian Amazon, comes as a shock to the system. Pulsating with life, the city’s latest boom is tourism: visitors may flock to reconnoitre the rainforest but taking time to imbibe Iquitos itself is imperative too. This is a sultry slice of Amazon life: Brazilian, Colombian, indigenous and expat. Clubs bounce to salsa and rock until the early hours with the vigour you’d expect of Peru’s jungle capital, but Iquitos is also a cultural hub: expect works by Peru’s top artists, opulent rubber-boom mansions and a museum on Amazon ethnography for starters. As a trading post for rainforest tribes, market mayhem and riverboat bustle are part of the package, all conspiring to fill the city with an addictive, round-the-clock energy.

7. Ghent

Here’s a secret within a secret: Ghent might just be the best European city you’ve never thought of visiting, in a country that continues to be criminally overlooked. Ghent hides away in the middle of Belgium’s big three – Brussels, Bruges and Antwerp. Most Belgium-bound visitors rushing between these see nothing more than the stately fortifications of Ghent’s St Pieter’s Station. Those who do hop off the train and stroll along the Leie River to the historic centre will have their eyes out on stalks. Here hides one of Europe’s finest panoramas of water, spires and centuries-old grand houses. But this is no place to simply kick back: Ghent has one of Europe’s most dynamic festival scenes, which vies for visitors’ attention. This year the entire centre will emerge from a major program of rebuilding designed to show off the huge pedestrianised squares.

8. Delhi

The great metropolis of Delhi, encompassing Old and New Delhi and sprawling out for miles, has not looked this smart and sparkling in centuries. Huge preparations for the Commonwealth Games, which took place in October 2010, improved the city’s infrastructure, cleaned up its streets and added to its accommodation options. Aside from, of course, a bounty of new or improved sporting facilities, there’s the marvellous artery of the Metro – an underground transport system that’s a futuristic, egalitarian world away from the sometimes chaotic, class-ridden situation above ground. This year marks 100 years since New Delhi was founded in 1911. At least eight cities are known to have been founded on this spot. The commemoration of this anniversary is sure to be a colourful and lively affair.

9. Newcastle

Is it Australia’s most underrated city? Anyone surprised to see Newcastle on the list of 2011′s hottest cities (and there’s a few of you, right?) probably hasn’t pulled in off the Pacific Highway, or at least not for a while. Newcastle flies under the radar of Aussies and international travellers in part because it’s overshadowed by its bigger, bolder and better-known sibling, Sydney, 150km south. But, at around one-tenth the size, Australia’s second-oldest city has Sydney-like assets: surf beaches, a sun-drenched subtropical climate, and diverse dining, nightlife and arts. Not only is Newcastle ideally located just two hours by road or rail or 30 minutes by plane or seaplane from Sydney, it’s less than an hour’s drive west to the Hunter Valley wineries, south to sailboat-filled Lake Macquarie, north to whale-watching and sharkfeeding at Port Stephens and to sandboarding at Stockton Beach (the southern end of the 32km-long beach is a five-minute ferry ride across Newcastle’s harbour).

10. Chiang Mai

If Chiang Mai were a person, it would be Bob Dylan. With a history dating back further than anyone can remember, its influence remains enormous. And despite its great age, there’s still a bohemian chic that makes it as relevant and hip as ever. Culture capital of Thailand, Chiang Mai was once the heart of the Lanna kingdom. Today those wanting to flee the bustle of Bangkok visit to lounge in coffee shops and drink in the city’s artisanal atmosphere. With a friendly, cosmopolitan feel, this is one easy, safe and pleasant place to explore. There are dozens of well-preserved temples here, too. Many new ecotours and adventure trips are appearing, and with a choice of river rafting, elephant rides, trekking and off-road cycling, even the biggest adrenaline junkie will be sated.

From: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/usa/new-york-city/travel-tips-and-articles/76165

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Social Standards

Many countries have important social standards, that are not laws, but have been enforced through society and tradition. If you travel to a country without knowing these standards, you may disrespect someone or experience a critical misunderstanding.

Here's a look at the social standards and misunderstandings that may occur in different countries.

• In Canada, lining up, or queuing: People normally line up or queue according to the principle of  "first-come, first-served." They will be angry if you push ahead in a line-up instead of  waiting your turn.  
• We Americans, and our British counterparts, consider eye contact to be a good communication skill. When we want to show respect for another, we will look that person straight in the eye. In Asian countries, it is considered rude to make eye contact.
• Being prompt is a positive trait in our country. In Argentina, and most of South America, arriving at a social event on time is thought to be rude. In contrast, in Denmark being late is completely unacceptable behavior.
• Arab countries consider shaking with the left hand an insult. At casual gatherings in the United States, individuals are comfortable to put their feet on the coffee table. To do so in an Arab country would be viewed as rude, for displaying the soles of feet is unacceptable.
• Thumbs up is an almost universal gesture for conveying a job well done, or approval of performance. The thumbs up gesture is an insult in the country of Iraq.
• Chinese custom is to serve the oldest person first out of respect. If age is not discernible, then the guest is served first. It is rude in China to pour your own drink. You must pour the drink of your companion, and he in turn will pour your drink.
• Beckoning someone to come to you with a curled finger is inviting in our country. In most Asian countries this same finger gesture is rude behavior.
• Raising a hand in America and Europe means, Stop. In Asian countries, when the hand is raised with the palm exposed, that represents asking permission to speak.
• In Japan it is considered rude to stare. Japanese also have a rule of etiquette that shoes must be removed before entering a home, restaurant, temple or store. Many Japanese even have special shoes to switch into when riding in their car. The Japanese also have their own custom for the proper way to receive gifts. It is considered rude to open a gift in front of the giver. The recipient must also decline the gift several times before acquiescing and accepting.
• In Westernized countries, people tend to be boisterous and loud with enthusiasm. Asian people are more soft-spoken and will view Westerners as rude and impolite.
• If you're invited over for dinner, or just for a visit, don't come to a Russian house with nothing. What you bring doesn't really matter — a box of chocolates, flowers, or a small toy for a child. Russian hosts prepare for company by cooking their best dishes and buying delicacies that they normally wouldn't for themselves. If, after all this effort, a guest shows up without even a flower, Russians believe he doesn't care

Always remember: The one universal social standard all over the world is simply a smile. :)

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Top Ten Aussie Slang

If you ever plan on taking a visit to Australian, learn these words and you'll fit right in. Goodluck mate!

1. Aussie

Another name for the country, its people, and anything else Australian.

2. Barbie

A favourite Australian pasttime is the barbeque or ‘cook off', getting friends together during the warmer months (not to be confused with Ken's girlfriend).

3. Thongs

Famous Aussie beach footwear, not to be confused with the undergarment.

4. G’day mate
The Aussie greeting – shortened from ‘good day’.
5. Boomerang

A flat, curved, and usually wooden object which - when thrown correctly - returns to the thrower. 

6. By jingoes
An exclamation of surprise.

7. Out in the sticks

Out in the bush, away from civilization, in remote areas.

8. Plonk

Cheap wine (usually cask). Ask us about Goon, baby!

9. Sheila

A common term for an Australian female, usually single and probably good looking.  Thought to have originated from the high number of female immigrants from Ireland called Sheelagh.

10. Dunny

Also known as the toilet.

Source:

http://www.statravel.com.au/cps/rde/xchg/au_division_web_live/hs.xsl/australian-language.htm

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Beep Beep. The Fashion Police is Here.

What NOT to wear on a plane:


Even if you're just an occasional air traveler, you probably know better than to wear any of these on board:


High Heels:
High heels are uncomfortable on longer flights and unusable during emergency situations, which hopefully are not needed. I usually take off my shoes and snuggle in my warm blanket, provded by the airline on long flights.


Too Much Odor:
Wear antiperspirant, but not a bottle of your Britney Spears perfume, or Usher cologne. If enough of your cabin-mates complain, they may compel you to move -- possible off the plane. Heavy perfumes can make your neighbors sick. We'll leave it at that.


Light Colored or Uncomfortable Clothing.
Dark Clothes are travel-friendly. I always follow the just-in-case rule. Ask yourself, what if? Stains are less likely to be noticed on darker clothing than lighter clothing. What if you are traveling to Spain and you baggage ends up in China? You may need to wear your stained clothes for a couple of more days.
Tight-fitting clothes are a big no. They can be uncomfortable, risky, and even hazardous to you health (ever heard of Deep Vein Thrombosis, also known as Economy Class Syndrome?) The seats are already uncomfortable on airplants, why make the situation worse? Also avoid synthetic fabrics. A natural fiber like cotton is a better choice.
As for shorts, once the cabindoor is closed and the air conditioning is cranked all the way up, you'll be sorry.


I know what you're thinking. What am I, the fashion police? And besides, what is left to wear now that I've ruled out most of your wardrobe? Keep reading!


What TO wear on a plane:


Think comfortable and elegant. You want something relaxed and natural that you could spend a few hours or days in without losing the circulation to your limbs. At the same time, you want to look as if you belong in the first class. Sometimes, crewmembers do judge their passengers by the way they dress. As for me, my traveling is always vacation oriented. I stick with jeans, a t-shirt, and a sweatshirt, along with a cute pair of flip flops.

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