Staycationing: A Sign of the Times

by Brenda Yun on

At what point did Dorothy’s saying, “There’s no place like home,” turn into the motto for staycationers across America? Very, very recently. With soaring gas prices and airfares, a bottomed-out economy, and little time to take off from your job lest you lose it to one of the 10% of Americans who are unemployed and eager to step in for you, it’s easy to see why staying home is the safest, cheapest, and best option for families across the nation. The problem with staycationing has little to do with relaxation. That should and can happen anywhere as long as you let it. The real problem with staycationing has more to do with psychological welfare and distance from the familiar.

There really is no place like home if you’re like me and live in Hawaii, a paradise in its own right. It gets a little trickier, however, if you are one of the millions of people who are right now freezing your tooshy off in the Midwest and Northeast.The reality is that we all can’t be like Paris Hilton and jetset to desirable destinations all the time. We have to be creative at times, and that is a very healthy and perfectly acceptable thing for even the most well-traveled people in this world.

If you’re looking for a few good tips on how to plan a satisfying staycation, you can start by reading these two articles from MSNBC and CNN Travel. I like what MSNBC has to say about preparing for your “trip” as if you are leaving your house even though you aren’t, and what CNN says about “unplugging” your technology to de-stress. Fellow Gadling writers Jeremy and Anna have some other great staycation tips that are worth checking out too.

So grab a great DVD from Blockbuster, or dust off those cross-country skis in your garage. There’s no better time than now to have a staycation in your backyard.

Traveling Solo: You Are Not Alone

by Brenda Yun on

I just moved out of my parents’ house and into a one-bedroom apartment about fifteen minutes away by car. While this does not sound like a daunting “trip,” there is more to living alone than meets the eye. In fact, as I type this with no other sound but the whir of my bedroom fan, I am reminded of the pangs of loneliness that I occasionally feel when traveling solo on the far reaches of this planet.

Loneliness is a very tricky matter. I feel loneliness now, despite being just ten miles from where I spent my adolescence. I feel loneliness all the time when I’m traveling, too. Yet there is a distinct difference between the two. The loneliness of travel is surprisingly easier.

Let me explain.
When you’re out in the world by yourself, traveling with just a backpack and maybe not even knowing a lick of the native language, you are already out of your element. Your “survival of the fittest” instinct will inevitably kick in and you will (trust me, you will) make genuine efforts to get out and explore the place around you. Once you step your foot out of your hostel and into the unknown, you won’t let yourself turn around and seek refuge in your room. Instead, you will want to see that world around you because it is so unfamiliar and because you have the cultural curiosity of what awaits you around the street corner (otherwise, you wouldn’t have traveled so far away from home, right?).

On the flip side, when you are sitting in your apartment by yourself, in an environment that is familiar (my high school is just five blocks from here), there is less excitement about what’s around the corner because you know what’s there (in my case, there’s a sushi shop, hairdresser, laundromat, market, and coffee shop). And you don’t HAVE to leave the confines of your home. There’s always tomorrow.

In the end, while it appears to be a difficult and scary thing, traveling solo is actually easier than living at home alone. I promise. If you’ve dealt with loneliness at home, then you can certainly get out there and explore the world on your own. Tell it Brenda sent you.

Gadling Take FIVE: Week of Nov. 8–Nov. 14

by Jamie Rhein on

Today Gadling welcomed our newest blogger, Brenda Yun. Yun, who is tapped into the thrill of world travel without guidebooks, has looked for surf in a remote spot in Vanuatu and has traveled to where many haven’t tread.

Keeping with a theme of thrills in mind, here’s Gadling’s Take FIVE for this week:

This week also marks the end of our series, Catching the Travel Bug. The series offers personal accounts of various parts of the world where the kindness of strangers and newly made friends have resonated over the miles and years.

Small yet significant tips to make your long-haul flights better

by Abha Malpani on

All my life I have traveled Economy Class (only once did I get lucky and got an upgrade to Business Class). In my opinion, flights of up to 7 hours in Economy are tolerable, but more than that and the all the fidgeting and frustration starts getting to you.

Having lived in Australia for 3 years, I dreaded the 14 hour flights to and from Dubai (30 hours if you include transfers and waiting); that’s when I realized how seemingly trivial things could drastically change the quality of your flight.

MSN just published an article listing some of these small yet significant tips, of which I think these are the most important:

Be comfortable: Wear loose, warm, long, comfortable clothes. Stick to flat shoes, preferably ones you can wear socks with. Being warm and comfortable in your clothes will change the nature of your flight. (It’s such a basic point, I don’t understand why so many people choose to make a fashion statement on board at the expense of being comfortable. Perhaps they should stop making movies that make people believe they will find “the one” mid air.)

Bring lip-balm: Even if you have never-cracking lips, on a long-haul flight darling, they will crack! I carry lip-balm everyday, everywhere I go, and always have it on a flight. Once I forgot it and my lips chapped like tree bark. (Yes, ouch). I kept going to the bathroom and putting that disgusting hand-lotion they keep in there on my lips. Didn’t work, and yuck, never again.


Trail-mix: I never thought of carrying trail-mix on a flight, and I am queen of trail-mix! I always have some on me. Muesli, raisins, walnuts, and M&M’s. Simple, energetic, healthy, and tasty — it’s a great idea to carry some on a flight.

Meal choice on board: I eat everything and am generally easy with food. But on a flight I always get the not-so-good option (or maybe it’s just that the other food looks better because I don’t have it?). So the MSN article suggests to ask the air host/hostess to pick for you. Why? Because they eat that food too so they have a good idea which meal is better. Doh!

Here are some other tips from my side that are also gold for long-haul flights:

Choose a plane with Video-On-Demand: If you can watch movies whenever you want, and can start them anytime you choose, you will not realize how quickly time flies. Video-On-Demand is becoming more and more common in-flight these days, but it’s worth double checking whether your flight has it before booking.

Don’t put the hot towel on your face: Yes, yes, I know it feels awesome, but don’t forget how your skin feels after! It gets super dry and unless you have moisturizer or very greasy skin, the towel on your face can leave your skin quite uncomfortable for a while.

Chew gum to keep your ears from blocking: Well, they will still block, but to a lesser extent if you chew gum as you take-off and when landing, so keep some handy!

Getting into Business/First Class when you have an Economy ticket: Caution — try this at your own risk. I have never done this and cannot guarantee results, but I have a friend who does it often and he often gets away with it.

Wait till the last, last, last boarding call. Then go running in pretending you are late. When you enter the flight, everyone has taken their seat and if there are empty seats in First Class or Business Class, odds are that those seats are free. That’s when you go and sit in one of them. If you are unlucky, it could be that the passenger who should be in that seat is in the bathroom before take-off, but key is to think positively and act confident. What’s the worse thing that can happen? You will be asked to go to your seat and you will suffer 5 seconds of embarrassment. No big deal.

Hope these tips help! Happy long flight!

Top 10 things you must pack first before going abroad

by Karen Walrond on

In two days, my husband, 4-year-old daughter and I are going to be leaving for a two-week trip to visit my in-laws in England. And I am panicking: not because I don’t like my in-laws (I do) or because I don’t like the cold (I don’t, but I’ll deal) …

… I’m panicking because I haven’t finished packing.

I know some of you are thinking, “Dude, you have TWO DAYS. What’s the rush?” And, in fact, you do have a point — two days should be more than enough time to pack for a two-week trip. But the thing is, with a four-year-old little girl and a 39-year-old husband, who, if “Being Forgetful” were an Olympic sport he’d handily take gold, all of the “remembering what to pack” rests on my shoulders. Luckily, (1) I’m a list-maker, and (b) I like to share. So as I make my packing list right now, as I type, I thought I’d share with you the Top 10 Things I Pack First Before Going Abroad:
10. A book/magazine/or any other type of riveting reading material. The thing about travel? There’s a lot of sitting. And waiting. And sitting while waiting. It seems like a minor thing to pack right now, but trust me: when you’ve got hours to kill on the plane or in the train, and the too-friendly greaseball sitting next to you wants to talk (and talk and talk), you’re going to want that book to tune him out. And good luck buying any reading material in your native language when you’re in a country where no one speaks it.

9. A universal plug adapter. Nothing is more annoying than arriving at your destination and realizing that you’re not going to be able to plug in your laptop, phone, or blow dryer because your plugs won’t fit into the wall sockets. I’m a big fan of this one. But also, remember — before you use this, it’s not only the plugs that might be different, the power supply might be different too. Be sure your appliance has a transformer on the power cord before you plug it in, even with the adapter. If it doesn’t, then you might be better off asking your hotel if they have a blow dryer you can borrow.

8. Medicine. Okay, if you’re on prescription medicine, hopefully I don’t have to remind you to take this with you, right? But the same is true for over-the-counter medicine: I always take at least a pain reliever and an anti-diarrheal (in case I get more adventurous with local cuisine than my stomach is ready for). Of course, you can probably get over-the-counter medicine wherever you’re going; however, often dosages in different countries differ. And don’t forget the pediatric versions if you’re traveling with a child.

7. Camera and related accessories. Okay, so I’m a photographer, and related accessories for me include my laptop with Adobe Photoshop installed (since I like to download images every day), a few camera bodies, a few lenses … but I realize that for most, this might be a bit of overkill. If you’re not like me, at least remember to take an extra memory card, if you’re not planning on downloading images while you’re on holiday. Just don’t lose it. And while we’re talking about it …

6. Chargers. There is nothing more disappointing than arriving at your destination, ready to get out there and see the sights, and realizing that your camera is dead, and you forgot your charger at home. Or you want to send a text message to your friends back home telling them what a great time you’re having, and you forgot your charger at home. Or you want to send an e-mail to your friend who is picking you up at the airport that you’ve met someone and you’ve decided to stay in Kuala Lumpur another week, but your laptop is dead, and you forgot your power cord — which charges your laptop — at home. Moral of the story: don’t forget any of your chargers at home.

5. Guidebooks/phrase books/maps. Yes, of course, you could probably pick up a mediocre map at the front desk of your hotel or at the rental car kiosk, but why, when you’ve been so excited about your trip? Do yourself a favour and grab a couple of guidebooks (or download some maps and other local information from your favourite online source), and tuck them into your carry on. I’ve found some of the best restaurants, scuba diving spots, and places to watch the sun go down in the world primarily because I’m fastidious about taking some research with me. And by the way, this goes for phrase books to help teach you a few idiomatic expressions of the local language, too — in my experience, nothing opens doors like showing an effort to learn the local tongue.

4. Travel documents, and photocopies of travel documents. If you’re going to travel overseas, you’re going to need a passport. Without exception. If you’ve never applied for a passport, be sure to give yourself plenty of time ahead of your trip to apply for one. And then once you have it, hold on to it like Grim Death: this is your way in and out of foreign lands. Also, be sure to check if you are also required to have a visa to visit your vacation destination — in some countries, such visas are mandatory. Check with your country’s state department to see what countries require a visa (often this information is available on the web).

What if, however, you lose your passport? That’s where your photocopies come in: Make copies of your passports and keep them in some back other than the one you’re keeping your passports. A friend of mine is careful about doing this, and when, one day, he was robbed, he was able to contact his local embassy and get a temporary passport issued relatively quickly, primarily because he was able to show proof of citizenship (albeit a copy).

3. Cell phone. It might seem a bit staid to carry a cellphone on vacation — after all! you’re immersing yourself in a whole new land! a whole new culture! — but even if you never plan to turn your phone on while you’re vacationing, it’s good to have it, if only to make sure your ride will be pick you up when you return, or you plan on meeting someone locally, and they need to contact you, or, God forbid, you find yourself traveling during a state of emergency (I was traveling both during the chaos during September 11, 2001 and when Hurricane Ike hit Houston a few months ago — it was good to be able to stay in touch).

2. Small travel bag. This is something that I never leave home without. I’m not talking about carry-on luggage; I’m talking about a small bag that holds nothing more than my wallet, my cell phone, my travel documents and my passport. With the number of times you have to whip one or all of these out just in the airport alone, I find a small, accessible bag is much better than trying to rummage through the bottom of my backpack looking for my wallet. And when it’s time to go through security, and I get a glowering look from a TSA officer, presto-change-o, I shove the small bag into my backpack, and I’m down to the number of carry-ons I’m permitted on the plane.

And finally, the Number 1 thing you must pack first before going abroad
:

1. An open mind. Remember, you’re traveling because you want to experience a whole new culture — and sometimes, that whole new culture doesn’t include things like a fast New-York pace, or McDonalds, or even Starbucks. Relax, and soak it all in. Plan your travel agenda with contingencies (delayed flights, unreliable rental cards, etc.), so that if things go wrong (and they just might), the result isn’t catastrophic. And when all else fails, just remember: the experiences will all make great stories in the future.

Incidentally, I asked several friends what they would add to this list, and some items were so good, I think they deserve an honourable mention:

  • Lip balm and moisturizer. It was startling how many people, men and women, said that they would die without their lip balm and hand moisturizer. “It’s the airplane air,” was the common statement. “It dries me out.”
  • Earplugs and/or MP3 player. If you’re a light sleeper, these can be invaluable. If you’re a person with an uncanny ability to sit next to boorish greaseballs (see #10, above), ditto.
  • Journals. There’s something about travel that brings out the Ernest Hemmingway in everyone. Even if you’re not much of a journal writer, go ahead and toss a small one in your bag — you never know when inspiration might hit. In fact, check out these from Moleskine — not only does it provide a place for you to capture your memories on your trip, they include maps and space for other information about your city destination, before and after your journey, rendering it a great keepsake of your trip, and resource for a return visit.