I used to travel through the snow, uphill, both ways

by Aaron Hotfelder on

People tend to romanticize those halcyon days in which they grew up. Every variation of the “uphill, both ways” speech that I’ve heard always seems to imply that it was better that way. As if there’s some virtue in suffering for its own sake. Okay, maybe if you’re a pilgrim.

I am of the unpopular opinion that things are, generally speaking, getting better in this world. That’s why it was so refreshing to read a new Chicago Tribune article that draws a contrast between the travel landscape 25 years ago and today, and seems to conclude that things have mostly improved.

Here are just a few examples from the article: Photos are easier to take and develop; plane tickets are cheaper and flights reach more destinations; music is more accessible; researching a city or country is much easier; accessing money is (in most places) a breeze; staying in touch with home is just a point-and-click away. Another point, which the article fails to mention, is that borders are more open and most nations actively encourage tourism– in short, nearly every part of the world is more accessible than at any point in history. That’s good news for the traveler, and (mostly) good news for the communities that benefit from the tourism dollars.

Of course, the march of technology is not without some drawbacks. E-mail has, to a large extent, replaced postcards. Meticulously researched guidebooks bring us fewer surprises on the road. Being in close contact with home is not always the best thing. All the gadgets we bring can keep us from interacting with our new environments. Other examples abound.

But in recognizing these criticisms– valid ones, all of them– it’s important not to throw out the baby with the bath water. In the travel world, as in the larger world, things really are getting better.

[Photo via Swapatorium]

Want a cheap way to travel to Europe? Check out a “positioning” cruise

by Jamie Rhein on

A friend of mine is writing a memoir about her mother’s life. Part of it includes details about her mother’s work as a “ladies maid/companion” of sorts for an alcoholic, wealthy woman. My friend is British– and her mother died when she was well into her 80s living an ordinary life through a world rife with change.

Sprinkled throughout the memoir are historical details to set the place and time. I find it a fascinating read, particularly the details about her mother’s travels on a cruise ship. If it weren’t for her job, my friend’s mother would have never taken a cruise–or seen the world past her working class roots. Cruises were not part of her station in life.

These days, of course, cruises are such great deals that you don’t have to hire on as a companion to someone to make a trip across the ocean. Ed Perkins, travel writer commentator suggests another way to score the cheapest option. According to Perkins, “positioning cruises” can get you to Europe in 13 nights for $599 if you don’t mind a non-ocean view cabin. If you want to see the ocean, the cost is $900 more. These are the prices he found from Miami to Barcelona from Hotwire.com. There are many, many options.

If you are flexible, prices go down the closest you get to the time the ship pulls away for shore. If you run with your suitcases flying behind you yelling “Wait for me! I can leap across” as the ship is starting to pull away, the price is almost free. Just kidding. I made that part up.

It is true that prices go down the closer to the departure day, though. These cruises aren’t the type that go from port to port to port. This is a trip across the ocean with the amenities on board. There may be a Bahamas stop, but, that’s it. The scope of the amenities depend on what sort of cruise ship you are on–mass market vs boutique.

As Perkins points out, since this is a one-way trip, you eventually need to have a one-way flight back to the U.S. if that’s where you are heading. One-way flights can be arranged, and are often cheaper if tacked onto your cruise deal. I wonder if you waited long enough, you could find a similiar deal for the return trip?

If I were having a “gap year” that Neil writes about, I think this would be an excellent way to start it off. While you’re staring out across the waters, pondering, letting your mind wander, you can imagine all the places you could go with days, weeks, months of exploring the world and meeting folks before you.

The article I read was in yesterday’s Columbus Dispatch, but there isn’t a link to it. Here is another article, also by Perkins from last September. He makes the same suggestions, although, the prices are lower this time of year.

In another article I found, this one by Arthur Frommer, Frommer suggests contacting major cruise lines to find out about this type of cruise deal, although, I think the deals he is referring to are on the ships that are coming back the other way. He calls them “repositioning” cruises.

Here’s a link to AffordableTours.com which may be a place to start whether you are “positioning” or “re-positioning”. The major cruise lines are listed.

How to live like Matthew McConaughey

by Jamie Rhein on

Living like Matthew McConaughey may involve taking your shirt off, as Matt Damon says in his hilarious impression of the often shirtless star while Damon was a guest on David Letterman. (Here is the YouTube video. It explains why I chose the photo I did.)

Another way that is less dramatic, perhaps, is by living with a family overseas. McConaughey was an exchange student to Australia in 1988 and lived with a family who he still visits. (YouTube video)

When I was in college, I was an exchange student and lived with a family in Denmark who I am still in touch with and plan to visit again on my next trip to Europe. I have visited two times already. My Danish sisters have also visited me and my family in the U.S.

When you live with a family there is an impression about a country you can get that’s much richer from traveling there. Although Abha found Copenhagen not worth traveling back to, which I can see if I didn’t know it better, I found the Danish culture a fascinating place to hang out for awhile. When you live with a family, you get to know more about the values and psychology of a place.

I also learned how to make a deep connection with someone who didn’t share my language and I didn’t share his. My Danish father didn’t know any English and I didn’t really learn any more Danish than to say “Thank you for the meal,” “Are you cold?” and “peacock.” I also know how to make a Danish lunch.

For anyone visiting the U.S., living with an American family is a way to understand more about the complexities of American life. We’ve had Japanese exchange teachers live with us on a couple of occasions. Both times it was only for a couple of weeks, but we took them to visit my husband’s parents and each were here for Halloween.

As an adult, there are still ways you can live with a family if your exchange student days are over, although many masters’ degree programs also have programs in other countries that involve staying with families. One of my close friends studied in Taiwan and lived with a family for the summer as part of his program through the University of Southern California. The first time I went to Taiwan, I visited him. Since he was studying urban planning seeing Taipei through his lens was a bonus.

Another way is to search out home stay options. There are organizations that link visitors to families, even for short visits. Here’s one for Nepal that I found, for example.

You can also possibly hook up with an impromptu stay. When we lived in Singapore, we had a few travelers stay with us who we met while we were traveling somewhere else. When they were passing through Singapore, we invited them to stay with us. Be friendly, open, and charming as hell, and you might get lucky.

When I was in the Peace Corps some travelers wandered into my village and guess who the villagers thought they should stay with because they might be more comfortable? Here’s an account of someone who finagled a stay with a nomad family in Mongolia. This stay involved learning a bit about sheep shearing. My Peace Corps visitors ended up going with me to a naming ceremony that involved drumming and dancing. By the way, they were Italian. One of them didn’t know English.

When picking a place for your next vacation, consider staying with a family in order to learn the language better. For that purpose, here’s one in Ecuador through the Cristóbal Colón Spanish school.

Here is a link to the Danish International Student program (DIS) that gives tips on staying with a family. They are worth a look at no matter which family you may stay with, even if it’s for a night or two.

Free sex in Prague (strings attached, of course)

by Jerry Guo on

Here’s an interesting, albeit lurid, idea coming out of a brothel in Prague. Known as “Big Sister,” a twist on the American hit reality TV series “Big Brother,” it’s perhaps the only brothel where the sex is free. But the twist is you’ll have to put up with the more than 50 video cameras mounted on everything from the bathroom to the bed.

And big surprise, their rather clever business model is quite a success. So far, more than 15,000 men have taken up the free lunch. One guy even drove eight hours from his home in France to have a go at it.

But apparently they’ve yet to become the Internet sensation they were hoping for (by selling streaming videos of the trysts). It’s only well known in Amsterdam and Prague circles so far.

Air travel in 2008 to get worse: Tips on how to deal with it

by Jamie Rhein on

The news is not rosy for air travel in the U.S. for 2008. An article by Jeff Bailey in today’s New York Times covers the predictions that make air travel sound like something people are REALLY going to be miffed about. If we thought there were hassles in 2007, watch out. We haven’t seen anything yet.

The changes make me think we ought to rethink how we see air travel woes in order to trick ourselves into feeling better about them. Here are some psychological strategies I’ve thought of that work in other areas of life. Let’s see if the same strategies can work in this air travel situation.

Change #1 – Prices are going up.

We can either think that flights are too expensive, or give ourselves the illusion that they are cheap.

Instead of thinking that you’ll be able to snag a round-trip ticket for a screaming deal, like under $200, just say to yourself, “The flight will surely be too expensive for me.” Then add $100 or so to whatever you think the price might be. Then when you find out what the price really is, it will be, more than likely, less than what you imagined. Instead of being bummed that you can’t afford the trip –or mad that you are paying so much, you’ll think that you lucked out on a good deal.

How strategy works in other areas of life: This is similar to the when you are considering buying a new item that perhaps you don’t need, but you really, really want to have. Your significant other asks you how much it costs. You initially inflate the cost by 50% or more so that when the actual cost is reveled, it’s clear that you scored a bargain.

Change #2- Planes will be even more crowded.

To deal with crowding, expect that you will be stuck in the middle seat, or that you will not find room in the overhead bin for your own stuff. Then when you have an aisle or a window seat and there’s room for your luggage, you can count your blessings.

Also think of something worse that could be happening. Say something like this, “At least I’m not in a crowded emergency ward at a hospital with a cut on my foot that needs nine stitches.”

How this works in real life: If you are in an emergency room with a cut that needs nine stitches, you say to yourself, at least I’m not stuck on an airplane with the chance of bleeding to death because the plane is in a holding pattern.

Change #3 – There will be even MORE lost or delayed luggage.

We can get angry and frustrated or not care –and possibly feel happy about it.

Plan for your luggage to be delayed or lost. Pack clothes that you don’t want anymore so that when your luggage is lost, you’ll think, “Good riddance.” If the luggage does shows up, after you wear the items one more time, donate them to a place like Goodwill for a tax write-off. You’ll have already done the hard part–deciding which clothes to get rid of. Consider this part of an ongoing winnowing process throughout the year if you travel frequently.

Be happy that you remembered to pack an extra change of clothes and your underwear in your carry-on bag so that you’ll be looking fresh as a daisy despite the snafu. Better yet, vow to only buy new clothes when your luggage is lost or delayed so you’ll be hoping that this happens. That way you can wear something new for a change instead of wearing the same tired wardrobe over and over again.

How this works in real life: When your dog chews up a pair of your shoes, decide that you really didn’t like them anyway. Besides that, they weren’t quite so shiny, the insoles had lost their puff, the heels were wearing down, and isn’t it great to have a good reason to buy another pair of shoes?

One change I didn’t notice is if flight delays will be more or less. Let’s just say, no news is good news on this account.

The article does point out the reasons for the increase of travel woes, (Let’s just call them opportunities that give us the chance to act like our best selves under duress.) Higher oil prices are the number one reason. Consider this. Last year oil was $52 a barrel. Now it’s up to almost $100. The airlines are looking for ways to boost their profits. That’s the bottom line.

The silver lining to this cloud, and yes, there is a legitimate one. Airlines like Skybus and Virgin America may get a boost because of their cheap travel options.