In addition to my random things pouch which has proved incredibly useful over the years, I also have a slightly larger "health and safety" pouch. Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This includes: nail clipper, cuticle clipper, nail file, tweezers toothpicks, flossers q-tips small LED flashlight 2 or 3 instant towels, …
Continue reading Health and Safety pouch for travel: stay safe, travel well
Travel where you don't speak the language If you haven't recently traveled to a place where you don't speak the language, you'd likely be surprised how easy it can be these days. First, it's amazing to see how well pantomime works. When we were in Panama, and I couldn't remember the word for ice (kept …
Continue reading Don’t be afraid to travel where you don’t speak the language
For a recent trip to Asia I wasn't really looking for anything more than the trekking poles, some bathroom funnels so I didn't have to use the squat toilets if they are really gross, and an assortment of antibacterial products and consumable stuff like that. But then I found these kawaii cuties: They are as …
Continue reading Super cute TSA approved toiletry liquids/gels containers
A power line runs through it (The Great Wall, Beijing, China) I was surprised to see this when I visited the Great Wall of China: I bought a tour that went to the Ming tombs because I wanted to see the Sacred Way. The tour however just went to one of the tombs so I …
Continue reading A power line runs through it (The Great Wall, Beijing, China);
Updated 7/19 Because I travel so frequently, I have a few things that generally just live in my suitcase so I take them on every trip. One of those things is a small packet with a collection of small items in it that have often been helpful. I will list some of them here. Nearly …
Aruba - Cruise port Once off the dock, we started looking for a likely taxi ride to take us to the things we planned to see. Our primary interests were the diorite boulders and the butterfly farm. We quickly found a driver who would take the three of us to those two attractions and a …
Continue reading Oranjestad, Aruba – Netherlands Antilles – sightseeing and the Butterfly Farm
So you are going to Ketchikan, what should you do? There are many activities you can set up in terms of hiking, kayaking, sailing, and wildlife viewing that are outside the city. If you want to stay in the city, there are still good choices. First there is a big Totem Pole center in town …
Continue reading Cruise tips – Ketchikan, Alaska – active and non-active pursuits
I've run across an article several times in the past few years about how your happiness related to travel is mostly affected by planning a trip not taking the actual trip itself. The study abstract says: "Vacationers reported a higher degree of pre-trip happiness, compared to non-vacationers, possibly because they are anticipating their holiday. Only …
Swimming with a stingray fever (Antigua) Yes, that's what a group of stingrays is called. A fever. One of the more unusual collection names I've seen. Although my favorite is probably "a murder of crows". In Antigua (Ann-tee-guh), one of the popular attractions is to swim with stingrays at Stingray City. This is quite fun …
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Trip planning: attraction grid for cities like London and Paris When you are going to stay for several days in one place and do different things around the area, I find an info grid to be very helpful. I have used grids like this in Amsterdam, London, Paris, and Rome for a few examples. …
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One day after returning from a trip, as I went through a turnstile on my way to the train to go home from work, it was weird realizing that I'll go weeks or months going through multiple turn-styles nearly every day, and then I'll go on a vacation and possibly not go through a single …
Aruba - History and general info Tourism is Aruba's main industry. People here speak Dutch and Papiamentu (which is an amalgam of Portuguese, Spanish, and Dutch), as well as in many cases English and Spanish. Children start with Papiamentu, and then in school routinely learn multiple languages. Their passports are Dutch. The basic history of …
If you are looking for something interesting to do in Skagway, I highly recommend going to Jewell Gardens and doing one of their glass-blowing classes. The gardens there are quite beautiful, but go for the glass blowing. I have done several glass blowing classes and this was by far the best one regarding having fun …
Continue reading Skagway Alaska’s Jewell Gardens – go forth and blow (glass, that is)
Packing light - reversible/convertible clothes for women In addition to taking quick-wash-and-dry clothing with you (covered here), another winning way to pack light is to get multiple uses out of the same item while having it look different. One of the great things with some pieces of clothing is that they are reversible or convertible. …
Continue reading Pack light, fit in carry-on: reversible/convertible clothes for women
Travel where you don't speak the language If you haven't recently traveled to a place where you don't speak the language, you'd likely be surprised how easy it can be these days. First, it's amazing to see how well pantomime works. When we were in Panama, and I couldn't remember the word for ice (kept …
Continue reading Travel where you don’t speak the language #Travel #translations #language
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