Travel Hints
Odd bits to help you on your travels...
Packing Tips to Save Space and Avoid Wrinkles
Regardless of whether you prefer hard-sided or soft-side luggage, Pullman cases or garment bags, wheeled cases, duffel bags or backpacks, you need a packing strategy. For starters, never pack any valuables--financial, medical, or emotional--in anything but a carry-on bag. Then consider the following tips to manage the rest of your luggage. And never overpack: luggage that's too heavy to carry to your car won't be any lighter when you're dragging it to the airport check-in line or at your destination.
1. MAKE A LIST, CHECK IT TWICE
Make a list of the items you'll need to take on your trip. Concentrate on mix-and-match clothes, shoes and accessories. Emphasize neutral shades, complimentary colors, and clothing that may be hand-washed and drip dried. Don't forget specialty items such as resort wear, bad-weather gear, and, if appropriate, formal attire. Then check the list and eliminate anything that you can't justify the second time around.
2. LAY IT OUT
Lay out all the clothes you plan to pack. Then, one more time, weed out what isn't essential. A good strategy: Eliminate what you KNIOW you can buy at good prices at your destination. For example, if you're headed to Ireland, buy jumpers (translation 'sweaters') there. Sometimes you may be travelling to both 'warm' and 'cold' places in the same trip. This situation may mean you buy a jumper or coat when you get to the colder place. Just make sure you leave room for your purchases or bring a foldable tote bag.
3. PACK BOTTOM TO TOP
Pack bags from bottom to top, heaviest items at the bottom, lightest items on top. For an extended trip, however, pack according to itinerary- clothing for the last stop at the bottom, garments for each earlier stop layered on top. Underwear and socks can be stuffed inside your shoes and around the edges of the luggage. Another way to lighten your load: wear your heaviest shoes and bulkiest clothes on the day of departure so you won't have to pack them - also helps with the weight limits for the flights!!
4. FIGHT THE WRINKLES
Items like slacks and ties can be loosely rolled to keep wrinkles away. For other garments, minimize wrinkles by wrapping them in tissue paper or plastic bags used by dry cleaners. And be sure to unpack as soon as you reach your destination. Accept the fact that some wrinkles are inevitable no matter how carefully you pack. Hotels will usually lend you an iron and an ironing board or fall back on a time-tested trick: hang wrinkled clothes on the shower rod in the bathroom, close the bathroom door and run the hot water. The steam will eliminate many wrinkles.
5. REMEMBER THE ESSENTIALS
Leave room in your bag for travel essentials: plastic bags for soiled garments, extra film and books, a small umbrella and a travel clock, a copy of your travel documents, and a foldable tote for packing the purchases you'll make during your trip. And remember three all-purpose items favoured by most experienced travelers: zip-lock bags, a Swiss Army knife, and a tube of multi purpose Glue.
6. PACK YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION
Place a piece of paper in your luggage with your name and telephone numbers where you can be reached on the road. This information can be used to contact you if your bag is lost and your external baggage tags have been removed.
Want to make an otherwise confident traveler squirm? Just ask about tipping.
"No one is comfortable with tipping," suggests Thomas Kinhaven, who has managed swanky hotels in Chicago, Dallas, New York and Hawaii. "Every traveler feels they need to know more. Everyone feels they don't know the local rules."
Although tipping has become more a world wide phenomenon, the U.S.A is still the most 'tip orientated' nation. With a fairly large number of outbound tourists their approach to tipping has been exported. Thankfully a lot of countries only expect a tip if something 'extra' happens. Not so in the U.S. where it is seems to be considered a natural 'right'.
Visitors to the U.S.A can feel quiet intimidated by tipping. I did every time I visited. You soon learn to go with the flow, but don't tip if things are not up to scratch! I have followed my own advice a few times and suffered the verbal comments from waiters who considered it their 'god given right' to receive a tip.
Here is a quick guide to tipping practices in the United States.
RESTAURANTS
The commonly accepted rule of thumb is about 20 percent on bills under $10 (and never less than a dollar on bills under $5) and 15 percent on larger bills. In cities such as New York and Los Angeles, however, consider tipping 20 percent. And the larger the dining party, the larger the tip you should leave. If you want to be remembered by the service staff on a future visit, tip big and leave it in cash. In most restaurants, tips are usually pooled, so leaving a separate gratuity for the maitre'd or sommelier is no longer required. However, if either performed a special service, tip according to how you value their contribution to your meal.
HOTELS
Bellman usually receive $1-$2 a bag. For routine requests, the concierge staff rarely expects a tip. But if you need special help--reservations at a sold-out restaurants, sporting or cultural events--tip accordingly. If you expect to call on the concierge regularly during your visit, introduce yourself when you check in, leave an appropriate tip on the spot (and at least $20 at top hotels), and thank them in advance for their help. Tip the room-service waiter only if a service charge hasn't already been added to your bill. Don't tip a doorman if his only assistance is opening or closing the door, but a gratuity of $1 is appropriate if he secures you a cab. Valet parking attendants generally receive $1-$2 when they retrieve your car.
One final thought about hotels: tip the chambermaids. They work extremely hard and often earn only the minimum wage. At smaller hotels and in small cities, $2 a day left on the pillow of your bed will go a long way. In big cities or swanky resorts consider leaving $5 a day.
AIRPORTS
A skycap (porter) at your departure gate can be your best ally, checking you in for a flight, checking your bags, and possibly even getting you a boarding pass without waiting in line. Tip at least $5, and more if you're checked several bags or if he's helped you circumvent lines during extremely busy periods. If he only checks your bag, $1 for each piece should suffice. If you use a skycap at baggage claim, $1 a bag will do.
TAXICABS
Ten to 15 percent of the fare on the meter is
standard in most of the nation. But in large, Eastern cities, where taxis are a way of
life, cabbies expect at least 15 to 20 percent.
Security in a Taxi
Although there is no foolproof method to avoid being robbed, one of our embassies has
supplied some basic tips that can prevent you being taken by surprise.
* Only use an official taxi from an airport. These are usually available from a designated, signposted counter. Do not try to save money by trying to negotiate with someone who is "unofficial".
* Do not use a taxi which is parked outside a bank or any other financial establishment.
* Do not get into a taxi immediately after withdrawing money from any financial establishment.
* Never count your money while inside a taxi.
* As soon as you get into the taxi, lock the back doors. Make sure that the backdoor can be opened from the inside.
* If you order a car by telephone, always check what type of vehicle is being sent to collect you.
* Make sure that the cards identifying the driver and the owner of the vehicle are clearly visible. If they are not, leave the taxi as soon as possible.
*Whenever possible, tell the driver the exact route you wish to take.
* Be alert if the driver goes at minimum speed for no apparent reason or takes an unusual route.
* Memorise the car number plates or the taxi license number.
Foreign Affairs & Trade
Consular Newsletter
Mobile Phone Hints
Here are a few things that can be done with your mobile phone in
times of grave emergencies.
Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for
survival. Check out the things that you can do with it:
1. The Emergency Number worldwide for **Mobile** is 112 . If you
find yourself out of coverage area of your mobile network and there is an
emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to establish
the emergency number for you, and interestingly this number 112
can be dialed even if the keypad is locked.
2 Have you locked your keys in the car? Does you car have remote
keys? This may come in handy someday. A good reason to own a cell phone: If you
lock your keys in the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home
on their cell phone from your cell phone.
Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your
home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end.
Your car will unlock. This saves someone from having to drive your keys to you.
Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away,
and if you can reach someone who has the other "remote" for your car, you can
unlock the doors (or the trunk).
3 Hidden Battery power. Imagine your cell battery is very low , you are expecting an important call and you don't have a charger. Nokia instruments come with a reserve battery. To activate, press the keys *3370# Your cell will restart with this reserve and the instrument will show a 50% increase in battery. This reserve will get charged when you charge your cell next time.
4 How to disable a stolen mobile phone? To check your Mobile
phone's serial number, key in the following digits on your phone: * # 0 6 #.
A 15-digit code will appear on the screen. This number is unique to your
handset. Write it down and keep it somewhere safe. If your phone gets stolen,
you can phone your service provider and give them this code. They will then be
able to block your handset so even if the thief changes the SIM card, your phone
will be totally useless. You probably won't get your phone back, but at least
you know that whoever stole it can't use or sell it either.