VirtualTourist Member kevinismyrealtor
| Page Views: 697 | Five easy steps to eliminate crabby travel. by kevinismyrealtor - last update: Mar 21, 2004 |
| Coming back into the US through customs. |
Whoever said getting there was half the fun must have been in for a lousy trip. Between Atlanta traffic, long security checks, cancelled flights, crappy airline meals and snotty customs officials, it's a wonder I ever step foot outside my suburban home. But I do. My wife and I love to travel. We have however learned some tried and true remedies to eliminate crabby traveler syndrome. |
| Steal the business class china. They won't know. |
Bring only carry-on luggage. Avoiding the hassles of checking bags cuts crabby time by at least an hour, not to mention the time it took to pack those three suits, nine pairs of shoes and curlers. There is no worse feeling than arriving in a non-English-speaking country and gawking endlessly at that conveyor belt in baggage claim only to find your luggage is enjoying a vacation on the other side of the planet. Each person is typically allowed one carry-on plus a personal item such as a purse. One man's laptop bag is another man's suitcase. Be creative. Do however note that some European and South American airlines have different size regulations for carry-on bags than do US airlines. |
| Local wildlife enjoys Provencal outdoor cafe. |
Plan an itinerary. "What do you wanna do?" "I don't know. What do you wanna do?" It's bad enough we spend afternoons at home doing this. Does anyone really want to do it after having paid $500 for an airline ticket somewhere? Not I. Whether or not you follow the intinerary, it's a good idea to have it as a jumping off point when you arrive. At the very least plan a touristy event and where to have dinner for each day. |
| The new post-modern E-terminal at Paris airport. |
Don't waste money buying money before the trip. Gone are the days when you had to pre-order travellers checks or buy foreign currency before getting on the plane. Unless you are travelling through time, the airport you land at will be littered with ATMs. Stick in your credit card or ATM card, select the language choice and withdraw to your heart's content. Note that European ATMs often don't have letters on the keys, so if your PIN is R-I-C-H or B-R-O-K, you should take time to memorize the numerical equivalent. Also worth mentioning is that only in America do most merchants accept American Express. Yes, you can leave home without it. |
| Our rental car in Lacoste after it was broken into |
When in Rome, don't wear sweats and sneakers. I confess that as I write this I am donning a pair of size-drawstring sweat pants. Like most Americans I have also been guilty of eating in my car, wearing tennis shoes out to dinner and TALKING VOLUME TEN in public. These cultural aspects however are qualities much of our backwards neighbors overseas find alien, peculiar and even appalling. For that reason we should be mindful of cultural differences and embrace their modus vivendi when travelling. It's their sandbox, so play by their rules. |
| Euro-motorist whizzes by as we enjoy dinner. |
Relax. Vacation is a time to enjoy the scenery, the people around you and even those little glitches that life throws us. Misfortunes do not only occur at home, but that doesn't mean a vacation has to take a turn for the worst. If your flight is cancelled, you'll likely end up with a free hotel room. If you take a wrong turn, you'll find a romantic dinner venue not mentioned in any travel guide. And if you're held up at knife-point (see Paris 1990) or if your rental car is broken into (see Provence 2004), you'll come home with a great story to post on VirtualTourist.com. |
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