Top 10 Travel Hints

Carry a Xerox of all your documents in your bag, separate from the originals; leave one at home in a large envelope ready to be Fed Ex-ed to you in a hurry; if you are traveling with someone give them a copy for their luggage and do the same for them.

Then make a Xerox of your passport, and stuff it into your pocket to be carried with you at all times.

Having done all this [at a huge cost of about 3 bucks] know that it is 99.99% likely a waste of time. However... if you are statistically attractive and fall into that 0.01% - and you took my advice - first thing you will do is take a flight down here to Rio and hug me! [or kiss me, depending on your sex... or, maybe... preference]

A sound piece of advice: NEVER carry your passport with you. NEVER. Leave it safely at the hotel. Make sure you have your photocopy with you. In some rare places the law says you must carry the original. However, if you are not buying drugs or having sex with a twelve-year-old, you are not likely to be asked for it. So leave it at the hotel. The worst that can happen is you have to pay a little fine for only carrying a Xerox. But carry your passport with you, and have it stolen - kiss goodnight to several days of your trip!

For the average traveler [99.99% of us, huh. Madonna might pack differently...] you are glued to your luggage, so better choose something friendly. The most practical and basic is this: a basic pack or bag to hold everything, plus a detachable or separate small backpack. The big bag you leave at your hotel. The small one you throw over your shoulder and lump around town every day - with your camera, water, map etc.

Ideally, this small bag fits inside the larger bag, and when traveling you pack it there! Traveling with two bags makes you a much greater [and easier] target for thieves.

It is easy to watch one bag, impossible to watch two. You think not?

1. You are standing on the queue at the checkout counter. You have two bags. Some guy/kid/geriatric in a wheelchair grabs one bag from right at your feet and starts to walk away. You jump quickly and grab him. He apologies... his mistake... you turn back... ho hum where's the other?
2. A guy bumps into you. You turn around. Then someone pushes you from behind... tell me, which bag will you keep?

One bag is good. Two bags is not good. Full stop.

An extra hint: right now, from day one, right here in the planning stage - develop an allergy to brand name luggage. The best luggage is solid, light, a bit battered perhaps - and pretty boring from the point of view of a thief.

Pack everything you plan to take. Won't fit into one bag? Don't start thinking second bag - start thinking what you will leave behind!

Whatever you pack to take with you, you are bound to discover this: you packed too much. Travel light, the golden rule. You have to haul that pack or that bag with you everywhere, through rain and shine, crowded peak hours and exhausting end-of-long-bus-trip arrivals. And a lot of what you think is so necessary - ain't. No need to carry extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, shampoo and all the rest. Believe it or not, these are common items even in other countries! And when you set out, buy a small tube of toothpaste, and small bottle of shampoo. Why drag the extra weight around?

These bits and pieces will come in very handy:

• toilet roll... you will be surprised!
• sunscreen... very expensive in many countries
• insect repellent... don't even imagine traveling without it
• electrical tape... tape up a hem... seal a package home... pick fluff off your sweater... tape your bags shut when traveling a distance on a bus/train...
  4. Money
  Always keep a small amount of cash separate from your main belongings.

  Travel with a minimum of cash. Your credit card/debit card will cover you in most places. Generally it is cheaper to withdraw money from an ATM using your credit card than to exchange dollars for the local currency.

  Traveler's checks are a dinosaur. The rate you will get is terrible, and the number of places that change them is shrinking daily.

  Have more than one credit card/debit card to access your money. Keep them in different places. One can be a secondary emergency card in case your primary card is lost, stolen or cloned. It is not difficult to arrange this.

  Open a PayPal account and apply for their card - just one more option.

  To travel with only one card is a tad crazy, especially since it is so easy to arrange one or two more before you travel.

  See Top 10 Travel Scams for some sound advice on using your Credit Card.

  5. Laptops

  Few people travel without them nowadays. Purchase a set of the most frequently used electrical adaptor plugs.

  In preparation for airport security checks, put your computer in 'suspend' mode (Windows) or 'sleep' mode (Mac). It will restart quickly and consume almost no battery power. When you go through airport security, you may be asked to turn your laptop on. Make sure your battery has enough power left, to avoid delays.

  X-ray machines at airports are not a threat to your laptop's hard-drive or floppy disks. However, the security checkpoint conveyer belt is a target for thieves who watch for unattended equipment passing through the x-ray machines. Wait till there is no one in front of you before putting your laptop through, so you can watch it! Or ask a security guy to manually process it.

  Disguise your laptop. LEAVE YOUR LAPTOP CARRY CASE AT HOME. Whenever you wander from your hotel to the cafe, or Lan house, with your laptop - never advertise that you are carrying... a laptop! That way no one is going to come on over and steal it from you, right. Carry it in a battered old backpack or bookbag or whatever. And in the airport, this is even more important!

  6. Pickpockets
  Endemic. Universal. So... for the traveler, some simple ideas to frustrate them.

  First of all... forget your wallet. It's bulky, inconvenient... just a habit to carry it with you. What's in it that you need 24/7 anyway? Plus it's a magnet for pickpockets.

  Carry a heap of small bills in one pocket. Use this for fares, snacks etc. Have your money in another, or in a money belt. And in yet another pocket, carry your 'wallet for the thief'... see below.

  I have come across several ways travelers use to protect their precious wallets. None are as sensible as the advice above, but here goes anyway.

  1. Put a comb in the fold of your wallet. With the teeth of the comb facing up, the comb will catch and make it difficult to remove the wallet.
  2. Pocket openings are usually quite wide, so take a safety pin and, from the inside of the trousers, pin the pocket and reduce the size of the opening. That way it's still accessible but no pickpocket can slide it out of there.
  3. Put a thick rubber band around your wallet. This will ensure that you will FEEL if someone is picking your pocket with the friction of the rubber band against the material of your pants as they try to slip it out.

  Ok, I did my bit... I gave you these hints. But really... why have a wallet anyway?

  Finally, always carry a 'mugger's wallet' when traveling. A cheap thing, with a few US dollars in it, plus a bit of local currency - plus an old library card, an expired credit card, something with your foto ID on it. All disposable. A thief is generally in a hurry, and much more nervous than you. He will take this wallet and run. So should you - in the opposite direction!

  7. Children
  Well, if you have to have them... Myself, I have an allergy...

  Two very simple and cute ideas. Firstly, give your kids a little plastic whistle, and have one yourself. If you ever get separated, just start blowing, and listen for the response. Simple, but amazingly practical. And incredibly effective.

  Have trouble with a wandering spouse? Try this in a crowd: Each carry a light but very colorful umbrella - something even Michael Jackson wouldn't be seen dead with. If you get separated, just open it up and hold it high. Works wonders.

  Isn't it amazing how the simplest things are just so powerful? Next thing you know I'll be trying to tell you sunsets are cool...

  8. For Women
  If you are uncomfortable in any situation - at the airport, for example, on arrival, when the cabbies are all pressuring you - just say you are waiting for your husband. Can save you from a lot of problems and unwanted attentions.

  Get rid of your purse - exactly as I wrote above for men and their wallets. They're heavy - and much too easy to put down and have stolen. Get used to wearing a fanny-pack, and traveling will just be so much easier and safer.

  Unfortunately, in many countries a woman traveling alone is seen as free game for any man. No point in getting upset - education hasn't arrived here yet, let alone liberation. In many countries they still haven't got to civilization [female circumcision ring a bell?] Protect yourself from the slugs by wearing a simple wedding band and always say you are there with your husband. And if you are married, leave your expensive [emotionally or financially] rings at home. Buy a cheap thingy just for travel. If a thief rips it off your finger, so what?

  Do a little homework on the country you are visiting [see Tip #10]. In many countries of the world women never respond to strangers. For a foreign woman it is never a good idea to respond to men who approach her. 'No' is seen as a 'Yes' simply because you responded. A smile means 'Come ravage me'. [I smile a lot when I travel...] This is country specific, so do your homework and have a great - and safe - trip.

  9. Safety

  Read Top 10 Travel Scams for some very good advice. But remember, this is to make you aware, so you have a great and safe trip - not to terrorize you into staying home.

  Some quick points:

  1. When arranging to meet people after a great night together, it may be best to arrange to meet in a lobby or communal area, rather than giving away your room number.
  2. Anybody [local] who speaks good english and approaches you is suspicious by definition. The pressure will start to be your guide, sell you a souvenir or whatever. Don't be paranoid but learn to say NO - see Travel Scams for more on this.

  Finally - don't carry anything for anyone ever! NEVER. Unbelievably, even though this is the most common advice given to travelers the world over, and for good reason - there are people who still do this. They get befriended by someone unscrupulous and foolishly agree to carry something – the outcome can be fatal. Ho hum, at least once a week you can read about some traveler who is now facing 20 years in jail because he carried 'something' for his new best friend - and 90% of these new best friends were fellow travelers - of course!

  10. Google it
  Now I know I've said this in other places - and no, Google is not paying me to do so. But up front, I will accept any payment from them that they offer!

  I know Google is trying to take over the world - but don't worry, in the long run this will demolish them. Any monopoly always crumbles, and ho hum they never learn. Even Microsoft will be dust in 10 years [or less].

  On the way is the $100 computer - and it uses... Linux. Currently there are 700 million computers in the world, 95% using Windows. The $100 computer expects sales of... 700 million, which will bring Windows down to around 45% of the market. But... weigh in China, also going the Linux byway... Microsoft could plummet to around 30%.

  But apart from all this, which is totally irrelevant so why did I put it here, huh - if you are going to travel, then google google google. Sure, it's a bit overwhelming - but that's why I'm here, right - to guide you gently to the best trip of your life. Google will just fill in the gaps.