The ABCs of Adventurous Travel

A – Address peel and stick labels for all your family and friends before you go. Then stick to postcards along the way and you'll come home looking good.



B – Bottled water is a must – don't drink anything else.



C – Cookbooks from your travels are always a great souvenir. Cook a dish from one when you have friends over to see your video and pictures



D – Digital cameras save the day; their small and you never run out of film



E – Expect excitement; go with anticipation, not trepidation



F – Food is fun, try something you've never eaten before like zebra pate or Australian wine



G – Give generous tips, especially in poor countries, you'll be so glad you did



H – Hang out with the locals. Get to know a new person on your trip and get a photo with them



I – Inform someone at home of your itinerary



J – Journal every day. Can you remember now what you did last week?



K – Kids love it when you have packed little surprises to open along the way



L – Learn something: Take a pasta making course in Italy, Scuba diving in Argentina or Belly dancing in Bagdad (just kidding)!



N – Note the local artisans and buy something authentic



O – One substantial souvenir is better than a lot of small things. Then ship it home to lighten your luggage



P – Postcards will rescue you when your photography fails. You can never have too many



Q – Questions help you get the most out of all you see and experience.



R – Read before you leave. Read lots of books about your destination. Find out who the local best sellers are, and read one of their books.



S – Scrapbook within the first week of getting home



T – Travel as light as humanly possible. Dragging luggage is no fun.



U – Unpack as soon as you get home.



V – Vaccinations and certain medications are necessary in some countries – be sure to check with the World Health Organization about what you need.



W – Whining never fixes anything – buck up and deal with the differences



X – exchange your currency at the airport or a bank and be sure you understand the value of your money



Y – You are the one who will make or break your adventure. Plan to be positive



Z – Zero in on one or two experiences and squeeze the most out of them. Adventure overload will leave you confused.



For information on travel adventures of the heart, visit www.negstusa.com



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Written by: News Canada

11 Essentials Tips for the Business Travel

As they say, getting there stopped being half the fun when airplanes were invented. If you travel a lot, here are some tips to make it more palatable.

1.Go ahead and pay to join something like AA's Admirals Club.

With it you’ll get assistance with reservations, seat selection and boarding pass issuance; a quite place to wait and work; complimentary snacks and beverages; private bar at most locations, and showers at some. At around $450/yr. for one person, it could be well worth it.

2.Use airport Conference Rooms and Executive Centers.

Saves everything from nerves to time to money. No membership required. Eliminates need for overnight stay, hotel or car rentals.

There are 22 available at O’Hare, for instance.

Executive Centers come equipped with everything you need to conduct business. Call 1-800-237-7971, option 3.

3.Keep all your luggage on wheels, use one carryon, invest in good luggage.

According to the US Transportation Dept., about 1 in 200 bags are lost, misdirected or stolen, which is about one person per flight. 87% of this happens at the curbside check-in station.

Advantages: don’t have to tip porter; don’t have to arrive as early; if you miss your connection, you can easily rebook yourself; you can easily volunteer to be bumped on a full flight; no wait once you land.

4. Take a book with you.

Better than TV in most hotel rooms, good for waits, also good to hide behind if you get next to someone in the plane who annoys you. Leave it behind for another traveler or tear off chapters as you go along and lighten you load.

5. The travel wardrobe.

Coordinate to one color, like black. Many women, myself included, swear by Tencel®. Indestructible, always looks nice. Choose the right print blouses and it won’t show stains. Gentlemen, consider microfiber fabrics. Choose something with inner pockets (that zip!) for important papers and cash.

6.Don’t appear wealthy.

Especially important in 3rd world countries. Wear cheap-looking watch and jewelry and leave the diamonds at home. Makes you less of a target for pick pocketers and luggage theft. If you must take a camera, guard the lens; popular with pick pockets as well.

Remove luggage tags from other trips. It’s a tip-off for thieves looking for the “rich frequent traveler”.

7.Cash.

Hide cash in different parts of your body. If traveling internationally, get new bills, as some countries won’t take “dirty” money. In Africa, for instance take new $100 bills. The exchange rate on anything lower is not good. Check with someone else who’s been where you’re going. i.e., in Russia, they aren’t supposed to take US dollars, but they sure do.

8.If you get a rental car, write down all the information about it. Just in case you forget what you’re driving.

9.Stay alert. Take a water bottle with you for dehydration and drink 2 glasses of water before you board. While on the plane, splash water on your face; when you get to the hotel, take a warm bath. Dry membranes are more vulnerable to infection.

Go rested.

Try the Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag Diet: http://performance.netlib.org/misc/jet-lag-diet .

10.Take measures to avoid developing deep vein thrombosis.

Drink lots of water, avoid beverages that dehydrate, avoid salty food, wear support socks, get up and move around whenever you can, exercise your feet and legs 4-5 mins. every hour.

11. Check out some of the travel products at sites such as www.magellan.com .

You'll find No-Jet Lag tablets, head and foot rests, packing aids, micro fiber wear, all sorts of helpful things.



About the Author

©Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach™, http://www.susandunn.cc . Bringing the power of Emotional Intelligence to YOUR life through coaching, distance learning, The EQ Learning Lab™, business EQ programs, and eBooks, http://www.webstrategies.cc/ebooklibrary.html . Mailto:sdunn@susandunn.cc for FREE eZine. Want to be a certified EQ coach? Go here: http://www.eqcoach.net .


Written by: Susan Dunn, MA, The EQ Coach(tm)