Gadlinks for Wednesday 9.30.09

by Brenda Yun on

It’s the last day of September, and I think you could say summer is now over. SAD. But autumn is here — and there’s plenty of great travel-worthy things to see and do this fall! Here are just a few reads that might inspire you to take a trip soon.

‘Til tomorrow, have a great evening!

More Gadlinks here.

Traveler’s Tool Chest: nylon stockings

by Jamie Rhein on

I have a drawer full of pantyhose I haven’t worn for years. As it turns out, there are uses for pantyhose and nylon stockings whether you’re male or female. Some are useful for traveling.

We’ve already covered duct tape and dental floss. Here’s what you can do with pantyhose. The first few tips I read in April’s issue of Outside Magazine. In most cases, you’ll cut the pantyhose to fit the use. I’ve culled from other sources plus thought some up on my own.

The possibilities for stretchy nylon are astounding. Who knew?

  • Use pantyhose to tie down items to a car rack, similar to how you would use a bungee cord or a rope.
  • If you hurt your arm, use a stocking as a sling.
  • You can also use a stocking as a tourniquet
  • Use pantyhose to carry items. Potatoes, for example.
  • Put a bar of soap in a nylon stocking to hang when camping. The stocking will keep soap from falling on the ground and getting dirty.
  • If the hood of your car won’t stay down, tie it down with pantyhose. (I was in a car once when the hood flew up. It smashed the windshield.)
  • A belt, either to keep your pants up, or
  • as a fan belt for your car in a pinch.
  • For tighter packing. After you roll your clothes, stretch the cut off legs of pantyhose over an item to create a tighter fit.
  • Tie items onto your backpack
  • Use a strip of stocking as a headband or hair tie if you’re feeling hot and bothered by hair getting in your eyes or on your neck.

Because nylons take up little space and weigh next to nothing, tucking a pair in your suitcase isn’t a bad idea. If the mood suits you, you can wear them on your head like the fellow in the photo at the Sasquatch Music Festival a couple years ago. Or not.

There are other uses for pantyhose that don’t have to do with traveling, but seem like handy hints to know. Here’s more. Gardening is a big one.

Greyhound travel: A worthy option and travel tips for the ride.

by Jamie Rhein on

When deciding how to get to New York City from Columbus at the last minute earlier this week, airfares were hefty, even for flights with connections that may or may not happen according to schedule. Fly to New York from Columbus and you’ll see what I mean. Frankly, when tossing in the realities of making my way through airport security, Greyhound was a better option. Last summer I traveled from New York to Columbus on the bus, and I’m still a fan of bus travel.

One advantage to bus travel was being able to leave at 11:25 p.m. Because it was a last minute trip, I had much to do before heading away from home for a few days. There wasn’t a flight that fit my needs.

Before embarking on a night bus, however, there are a few items to consider. Here are some tips to having a more restful, relaxing and enjoyable ride.

  1. Bring a neck pillow. Yes, I know a neck pillow looks sort of dumb, something that Mike could josh about in SkyMall Monday, but the one I brought along made a difference to how well I was able to sleep. Whether you’re in an aisle or a window seat, it works well.
  2. Bring socks if you’re wearing sandals. It feels good to slip off shoes. When my feet started getting cold I put socks on and was glad that I had them.
  3. Bring water. Unlike the airplane, you can buy water beforehand and bring it with you without a hassle.
  4. Bring something for listening to music. Sure, this might be obvious to most you Gadling readers, but I’m not a person who plugs into music. For this trip, though, I scrounged around the house for a portable CD player, bought a new pair of earplugs and grabbed some batteries along with a couple of CDs before I left the house. I only listened to a CD when I wanted to go to sleep. It helped relax me.
  5. Bring an apple or two. Apples travel well. Fresh fruit on a bus trip feels healthy.
  6. Bring a lightweight blanket–like maybe one you took from an airplane, by mistake. Or a shawl. The shawl I had was lightweight, but it helped give me a sense of comfort.
  7. Bring a few snacks. Even though you can buy snacks at rest stops, you may not find what you feel like eating and the rest stop may not have power. When we stopped in Pennsylvania, the electricity at the rest stop was out so I couldn’t get some of that yummy machine coffee I was so looking forward to.

Things to keep in mind:

  1. Keep your toothbrush and toothpaste handy in your carry-on bag. Brushing your teeth in the morning at the breakfast stop helps you feel fresh.
  2. If you do bring your toothbrush and toothpaste into the breakfast stop bathroom, don’t forget them there. Particularly if they are with your makeup bag. If you do that, be glad it wasn’t your money that you left behind. I know I’m glad.
  3. If the bus driver tells you not to get off the bus because it’s a quick stop, don’t get off the bus. One man got off in Newark, New Jersey and was left behind. People on the bus told his wife to tell him to take the Path train in order to meet up with her in Manhattan.If this happens to you, the Path train is on the second floor of the Newark terminal. At least, that’s what I heard.
  4. If you are stuck waiting for the transfer bus, like in Cleveland, Ohio at 3:00 a.m., for example, take the opportunity to people watch and be glad that there wasn’t enough room for everyone on the first bus. If you are on the 2nd bus, you might be lucky enough to sit by yourself. I was.
  5. And, best of all, enjoy the scenery as you roll by. Think about what it would be like on a wagon train. At least you have air-conditioning and a cushioned seat.It could be worse. You could be stuck in an airport wondering when your connecting flight will ever take off.
  6. One more thing. Even if you do put your bag under the bus, you can keep track of it since you are the one to transfer it from one bus to the next. After you pick it up after the luggage handler has set it next to the bus, put your suitcase in the line for the gate, chat with one of the people standing in line along with you, ask “Would you mind watching this for a second?” and then go to the bathroom. Everyone does this. At least they did in Cleveland.
  7. If there is an artist in you waiting to come out, release the muse. Look at these lovely sketches of people at the Cleveland bus terminal by Emily R. Feingold that I just came across.

I’ll be heading back to Columbus on another night bus tomorrow. Because it’s a bus ticket, as long as I’m heading from New York to Columbus, I can go on whichever bus suits my schedule.

Not a bad deal for $169 round trip, the cost for a last minute ticket. If I had purchased it a week earlier, it would have been cheaper.

Travel tips from New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof

by Aaron Hotfelder on

For my money, New York Times op-ed columnist Nicholas Kristof is one of the best in the business. His dogged reporting on the atrocities in Darfur has brough much-needed attention to that region, and his yearly “Win a trip to Africa with Nick Kristof” contest inspires young people all over the world to consider visiting a part of the world they ordinarily wouldn’t.

So I was happy to see in Kristof’s most recent column a list of travel tips for, among other things, evading bandits, surviving bus rides, and holding on to your cash. Here’s a sample of a few:

  • “Remember that the scariest people aren’t warlords, but drivers. In buses I sometimes use my pack as an airbag; after one crash I was the only passenger not hospitalized.”
  • “If you’re a woman held up in an isolated area, stick out your stomach, pat it and signal that you’re pregnant. You might also invest in a cheap wedding band, for imaginary husbands deflect unwanted suitors.”
  • “If you are held up by bandits with large guns, shake hands respectfully with each of your persecutors. It’s very important to be polite to people who might kill you. Surprisingly often, child soldiers and other bandits will reciprocate your fake friendliness and settle for some cash rather than everything you possess. I’ve even had thugs warmly exchange addresses with me, after robbing me.”
  • “[D]on’t be so cautious that you miss the magic of escaping your comfort zone and mingling with local people and staying in their homes. The risks are minimal compared with the wonders of spending time in a small village. So take a gap year, or volunteer in a village or a slum. And even if everything goes wrong and you are robbed and catch malaria, shrug it off – those are precisely the kinds of authentic interactions with local cultures that, in retrospect, enrich a journey and life itself.”

Well said! Check out the full list here. Elsewhere, I defended Kristof’s anti-anti-sweatshop stance here.

Five tips for green travel

by Tom Johansmeyer on

1. Green your flight
Offset the carbon footprint created by your share of air travel, buy some carbon credits. Several websites can yelp you calculate your carbon footprint (such as TerraPass.com and ClimateCare.org), allowing you to take action. The offsets you buy will ensure that energy from renewable sources will be sent to the grid.

2. Book an environmentally friendly tour
Intrepid Travel has introduced “carbon offset” trips, designed to be eco-friendly without, frankly, sucking. This year, 38 of Intrepid’s 400+ excursions will be eco-friendly … close to 10 percent.

3. Give back a little
RockResorts has “Give and Getaway” vacations, where you can pitch in on volunteer projects – like trail restoration with the National Forest Foundation – in trade for discounted lodging rates.

4. Watch what you drive
If possible, carpool to and from the airport. Too often, we all fight for airport parking (and emit a bit of extra carbon) for no good reason. When you get to your destination, consider renting a hybrid.

5. Stick with your new green habits
When you get home from your trip, give back to a destination by donating to an organization such as Travelers’ Philanthropy … and try to turn a small experience into a lifelong habit.