As I prepare to leave on my big trip, I've been flipping through the pages of the Lonely Planet's 'Best Ever Travel Tips' book. There are a lot of good tips in there and I'm pleased to see that some of the ones they mentioned are like second nature to me. I know to avoid suspect water, be suspicious of meat at street stalls, use hand-santizer, don't fall for the "this is closed, but I know another place nearby" scam.
Still, there were a lot of tips in this book I thought worth mentioning and extracting to put in a single location for future reference. And so, with all the credit to the Lonely Planet, except for the last 2 tips which are mine, I present my favourite travel tips...so far!
· Go to the butcher before you leave and ask them to vacuum pack one set of spare clothes for you. Show at the bottom of your rucksack and you’ll always have some nice smelling, dry clothes…just in case you ever get invited somewhere nice for tea.
· Avoid packing liquids: they are the bane of the light traveler. Liquids and gels are heavy, bulky, prone to leakage (particularly on planes) and suspicious to security. Did I mention heavy? And most of the m- from shampoo to sunblock, from mouthwash to insect repellent – come in lighter, smaller, non-liquid forms.
· When changing money, always insist on low-denomination notes. Not only are these less susceptible to forgery (if someone is going to make counterfeit currency, they usually aim high), you also avoid the ‘sorry, no change’ argument beloved of taxi drivers and other traders.
· Stick to local currency. When paying by credit or debit card abroad, you may be asked if you want to pay in your own currency rather than local money. Always opt for local funds – or you’ll be paying at the retailer’s unspecified exchange rate rather than your bank’s, which is usually better.
· Tell your bank when leaving the country so they don’t block you card. Even this won’t stop some computer systems from preventing you getting money out of an ATM, but it will help in many cases. Make sure you have the phone number of your bank on you too!
Take a pair of tights everywhere. Cut up the make for great bandages, balaclavas, head bands, mosquito-net construction tools…and even for wearing on your legs!· Keep your travel insurance details on you, including contact help lines. In the unlikely event you need treatment, this will speed up the process and make sure your insurer is informed. Also email yourself a scan of your policy certificate.· On your way out of the hotel, pick up a card with its name and address on it. You can use this to ask for directions, or to give to your taxi driver who (in many cities around the world) may not have a clue where your hotel is, but knows a man (or a Sat Nav) who does. Without one, you may end up walking the streets for hours trying to find either your hotel or someone who knows where it is.· If you’re staying in a hotel where nighttime security may be suspect, a wedge under the door will counter unwanted prowlers with duplicate keys. Some travelers carry grippy little rubber wedges specially for this purpose, but you can fashion a makeshift device from a shoe, a book, or even a newspaper (works best if damp).· Before you leave, scan your passport, driving license, and insurance papers (and any other important documents you may need while abroad, such as your PADI scuba diving certification) and upload them to a web-based email or file hosting service. You can then download them form any internet café in case you lose them or don’t have handy when you need them.· Before I go on holiday, I lay all of my gear out and take a photo of it. This means I know what I have and don’t have in the event of losing my bag…and it can also shame me into packing less!· Fake police! Sometime also the real police, they’ll demand to see your passport and find something wrong with your visa, but then suggest your troubles will all be over if you pay a fine. To them. In cash. Right now. Standing your ground and offering to accompany them to the station will usually see the error ‘excused’.· You may not be able to get a refund on that budget airline flight, but you can reclaim the tax on any portion of a journey you haven’t taken. In many cases this can amount to over half of the cost of the fare, even once you’ve paid the (often arbitrary and unfair) ‘administration’ fee.· There are lots of advantages to sitting as near to the front of the plane as possible. You get off quicker, meaning less stale-smelling air and, often, less time in immigration queues. As fewer and fewer airlines bother to use the rear doors for getting off, there’s little reason to aim for the back if you have a choice.· Don’t assume there’s a restaurant car, or that you’ll want to eat anything from it on a train. You should always buy enough snacks to keep you and your travel partners going, plus a decent bottle of wine. Bring enough to share. All over the world, trains are sociable places where local treats home-made by your fellow passengers will be offered to you.· One of the best deals in many cities is staying in private rooms in hostels. Though Spartan, these rooms are clean and functional and hostels are very good places to meet people. Bigger hostels also offer family rooms, which will be a big hit with kids.· A head-mounted light will keep you scribbling away long into even the darkest night, and is also handy if you’re strolling around a campsite at night, or a hotel in a blackout. Keep it by your bed.· Self-catering doesn’t just save you money, it gives you the chance to do some unusual sight-seeing. Cities all over the world have superb produce markets where you can put together a picnic breakfast or lunch for a fraction of the cost of eating a (possibly worse) restaurant meal. You’ll also happen across local ingredients and flavours that may otherwise have passed you by. Go early for the widest selection.· Travel lives when we say ‘yes’ to local offers – ahem, decent offers – and get a true window on how locals live. Like an invitation to join two grandparents for tea on the balcony, or an invite for tea and a walk around the lake, or to see a beekeeper’s bees and fresh honey. The museum you might forget, but the people you meet – less likely. People everywhere are pretty nice. And a few of my own: · Make sure to check that your airmiles are registered when you check in. It’s a real pain trying to retroactively claim those valuable points back.· Smell is your memory trigger: take a unique perfume/cologne or scented handcream with you on a special trip and use it all the time while there. You’ll find that even years later, a whiff of that scent can instantly transport you back on vacation!
And a few extras I collected on the way:
-When going to an ATM, keep any conversations to a minimum and at a low volume. If people can hear that you're not from there and see that you're about to make a withdrawal, you become a lot more interesting to them!
-When walking around at night in areas that may be trouble (through big crowds, dark corners, the wrong neighborhood by accident) keep your voice down and your eyes up. Again, you'll appear more interesting if it's obvious you're a foreigner by means of your accent or language. It's a common safety tip to maintain eye contact with any would-be-attacker so you could identify them in a line up and watch them carefully if you need to react.
-The insoles of your shoes can work the same way as a money belt. You can put credit cards in between your shoe and the insole quite easily. A small amount of paper cash is well kept in a snack sized ziplock prior to putting it in your shoe, just in case! Ideally you keep a larger amount of money in a wallet but you could always make a withdrawal when seated at a cafe with nice table cloths to hide what you're up to. They have the added advantage of serving coffee and pastries!
-On a road trip, fill up the gas tank when you arrive in town - even if it's only at the half full mark. It makes it easier to get up and go the next time you need the car. As I discovered in some places, there can actually be gasoline shortages so get it while you can.
-Drybags! They're great for everything. I've used them to keep my clothes dry when my bag ended up on the tarmac in a storm. I use them to separate shirts, pants, socks & undies, etc. They can be used as vacuum bags too if you kneel on them as you roll them up. I have used them as day bags for short days - they do have nice handles. They also work as pillows since they keep a bit of air in them and you can get them 'just right'.
-E-books. As much as I hate to admit it, and I'll always prefer to read paper books vs. battery operated ones, e-books are great for travelling. You can store so many books on one little device. The same device you can use for email, blogging, photo editing, etc. Why not then, really?
-"What do you do?" I heard an interesting tip for female solo travellers on how to answer this common question. Say you're a police officer. Any suspect guys may change their minds about trying to pull a fast one on you. For any follow up questions you may not 'be at libery to discuss'!
15 December: Team goodbye drinks and dinner and the unveiling of the penguin suit and Happy Feet 3 poster. I was blown away by the thoughtfulness and effort that went into my gift. What a great group! And Kees didn't think I'd actually wear it at the pub, on the tram and into the restaurant! Ha...I loved it, says the girl who went through India dressed as Daphne and drove a tuktuk painted like the Mystery Machine!!!
It's amazing how close everything here is. On the map, Vianden was a fair distance away. In reality we were there before we knew it. Many of the towns we've seen here are set up in the same way, fortress on the top of the hill where the river bends sharply around and the town gets built up. It works! It creates the most 'gezellig' little towns and Vianden made a great first impression as we drove down into the valley. 
Jocelyn parked Gigi at the castle and before going in, we went into the forest for a hike en-route to finding a geocache we never found. Still, our attempt fulfilled the purpose - going and exploring somewhere we otherwise wouldn't have. It was a gorgeous day too so I was happy just to wander.
Luxembourg City is surprisingly small. It's really nice though and a pleasant surprise. We checked in to our funky, artsy hotel and then hit the Centrum before the shops closed. We managed to do some damage at the shops in a short time and I bought a great dress for Argentina.
Stephane met us at the hotel around 5:30 and gave us quite the city tour. We learned all about the history from the 10th century until now. Lots of passing the territory backhand forth, details on the history of the Dukes - starting with Guillaume II, the somethingth king of the Netherlands was made after the battle of Waterloo in about 1815 when they revisited the powers of Europe. (sidenote: I'm not sure that info was correctly interpreted by me-I was mostly interested in snapping photos and may have misheard)
Dinner at a delicious Italian restaurant, a wander down past the abbey we could see from the Cornice walk, an excursion through some dark corners to meet up with the path along the river to a brewery that reminded me of the Barley Mill in Calgary. It was a great walk that J and I simply wouldn't have found without Stephane as our tour guide. We hit a brewery and a piano bar and interestingly enough it didn't feel so cold on the walk back to the hotel!
