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Top 5 Travel Safety Tips

Luggage

I’m often asked what I do to stay safe while traveling, either with family or on solo trips. Here are my top 5 travel safety tips to maximize safety, comfort and fun on the road whether you’re an experienced world traveler, or just beginning your journeys:

1)   Avoid being conspicuous.

It’s easy to stand out as a tourist while traveling, but there are a few things you can do to be less obvious:

  • Carry little cash and keep your money, maps and latest tech toys out of sight. I once made the mistake of taking out my money in clear view of my cab driver on the way to my hotel. Once he saw how much I had with me, he charged me an exorbitant rate that the local hotel clerk called – you guessed it – highway robbery. So that’s where that term comes from . . .
  • Avoid making inflammatory remarks (e.g. politics, religion) and don’t take the bait if others goad you into taking a political stand. It’s one thing to enjoy a spirited discussion for the purpose of greater cultural understanding; it’s quite another to feel under siege and have to defend the actions of your government in other countries.
  • Dress appropriately. This includes clothing and accessories. On one of my flights abroad, a kind gentleman advised me to remove my large hoop earrings or else run the risk of having them ripped out of my ears while out and about in the local community. Ouch!

2)   Pay attention to your surroundings.

This is what’s known as “street smarts.” If you grew up in an urban environment, like New York City or Los Angeles, no doubt this was part of your upbringing. But if you’re from a small town like me, learning to look around your surroundings discretely is an acquired skill that’s essential to develop.

  • People – In his book, The Gift of Fear, Gavin de Becker stresses the importance of listening to your intuition when assessing a situation. Listening to and acting on your intuition is a valuable travel skill.
  • Places – Get your bearings quickly. Know where you are and learn where the exits and escape routes are located. If you’re in a tsunami zone, for example, find out where the evacuation routes are and decide on a plan of action ahead of time should a natural disaster strike.
  • Things – By now most of us are accustomed to looking out for unattended bags at airports and on public transportation. Don’t forget other public settings like museums and markets as well.

3)   Read, listen and follow the safety guidelines & procedures provided.

The safety guidelines are in put in place for travelers’ protection. Look for printed copies here:

  • hotel room
  • airline flights
  • cruise ships
  • Log onto the U.S. State Department website for current info.

4)   Stay in touch.

  • Let people know where you will be traveling and your expected arrival times. You might want to get off the beaten path to delve more deeply into the local culture. I hope you do! Just be sure to give your contacts a general sense of where you’re heading in case they need to reach you.
  • Check in from time to time at whatever intervals you decide upon with your contacts before you take off.
  • Keep your cell phones charged at all times. Need I say more?

5)   Travel light.

  • Leave your cultural baggage at home. One of the great joys of traveling is making new discoveries. By leaving your cultural baggage at home, you open yourself up to learning about new customs, cuisines, and communication styles which makes for a much more interesting journey.
  • Pack only what you can carry whenever possible. Do you really want to be lugging around more than one bag if you don’t have to? Trust me on this. You don’t.
  • Stay fit and healthy and be ready to move quickly in unexpected or threatening situations. Whatever you can do to stay fit while traveling, including exercising, will pay off in your ability to participate in as many of the local activities as you desire.

What are your favorite travel safety tips? Drop me a line and let me know.

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Healthy Choice for the Road

Healthy Choice Greek Yogurt

Every once in awhile I have the opportunity to review a product that I think would be relevant and useful for my wanderboomer readers. This is one of those times.

Disclosure: I am participating in a Vibrant Influencer Network Healthy Choice campaign. Over the next three weeks I’ll be sampling a few products provided free and with remuneration by Healthy Choice in exchange for my honest opinions about the products.

I don’t know about you, but I find it a challenge to eat healthy foods when I’m on the road. It’s so easy to go for the fast food fix at the end of a busy travel day, especially when you’d rather call room service than check out one more local eatery. For those times, I think about snacks I can stock in my hotel refrigerator for comfort and convenience,  so I was eager to try Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt.

Healthy Choice Yogurt

For the purpose of my review, I picked up a carton of blueberry and a carton of vanilla bean frozen yogurt. Only later did I learn that it also comes in Honey, Strawberry, Raspberry and Dark Fudge Swirl flavors. Dang! I really would have liked to sample the Dark Fudge Swirl. Note to my local grocer: stock more flavors . . .

For my sampling, I liked the fact that one 12-oz. pack contains three individual servings. I’d like it even better if Healthy Choice offered a variety three pack. That way I could have my pick of flavors in one container.

More important than packaging for me, however, is the taste. I definitely tasted the blueberry and vanilla bean, though I can never have too much of either flavor.I found both flavors sweet, but not too sweet. Just right in fact for an afternoon snack or after-dinner dessert. The product contains no trans fat and each serving has only 100 calories – if you count calories – so I didn’t feel like I had overeaten, but rather had just enough to satisfy my sweet tooth.

The bottom line is would I stock the Healthy Choice Greek Frozen Yogurt in my hotel refrigerator freezer? I would, but I’m a great believer in trying things out for yourself. Here’s a coupon for a $1.00 off your next purchase. Let me know what you think.

What’s your favorite travel snack, wanderboomers?

 

 

 

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Top Stress-Busters for Boomer Women Business Travelers

Business Traveler (299 x 450)

Photo courtesy of flickr – fechi fejardo

You arrive at the airport to catch an early morning flight for an important business meeting in a different city. The flight, however, is delayed, kicking your stress level up a notch. You decide to grab a bite to eat before boarding but your healthy eating options are limited. By the time you arrive at your destination, you’re a little more relaxed until you discover that your luggage didn’t make it.

Sound familiar to any of you boomer women business travelers?

Last Fall Carlson Wagonlit Travel published a report, “Stress Triggers for Business Travelers,” based on the ranking of 33 stress factors by 6,000 business travelers around the world. The results might surprise you.

Among respondents in the CWT survey, women reported on average four points of stress more than men on the top stress factors cited. Whoa!

Let’s take a look at women’s top travel tensions and consider strategies that enhance serenity, health and well-being on the road.

#1 – Lost Luggage

carry-on.bag (450 x 450)

Photo courtesy of flickr – starpause kid

On a scale of 1 – 100, women gave this category a rating of 83 – the highest of all stress categories – a full six points of stress more than men.

Action Step: The easiest option to combat the stress of lost luggage is to travel only with a carry-on bag that stays with you at all times. Travel light. Wear your heaviest shoes (typically running shoes). Pack only one other pair that you can color-coordinate with your professional attire.

#2 – Poor or No Internet Connection

Laptop (438 x 450)

Photo courtesy of flickr – tachyondecay

Women gave this category a rating of 81, seven points of stress higher than their male counterparts.

Action Step: Prepare a back-up plan before your trip. Dropbox, for instance, is a free service that allows you to access your files from any computer. Even if you can’t access the Internet from your hotel room, chances are good that the hotel business center can meet your needs.

#3 – Flying Economy on Medium/Long Haul

Interestingly enough, the business women respondents gave this category a 71, three points less than male business travelers. While the survey includes business women under age 30 to over 60 years of age, the authors came to the conclusion that the stress of traveling medium to long distances increases with age.

Action Step: If you can’t convince your company to book you in business class, ask for seat preference, whether aisle or window, front or back of the airplane, wherever you feel less stressed. Bring your favorite comfort aids like an inflatable travel pillow, travel throw, noise-cancelling headphones, favorite foods, DVDs, music or reading material to help you enjoy the flight as much as possible.

#4 – Delays

In this category, women responded with a rating of 75 compared to their male counterparts’ rating of 71.

Action Step: The same aids that give you comfort when flying economy on medium to long distances can help again when you have time to kill at the airport. But you can also use the unexpected delay to browse through gift stores, get in a little walking exercise, call family or friends, even have a neck and shoulder massage to reduce the tension of waiting for your next flight.

#5 – Inconvenient Departure/Arrival Times

Women respondents gave this category a rating of 71 compared to 68 for men. Whenever travel plans disrupt family time or require adjustments in one’s daily routine, stress typically follows.

Action Step: Sometimes the best strategy for handling stress is simply to accept the things you can’t change. You might not have control over your flight schedule but you can choose how you react to the inconvenience. Planning a fun event with family and friends for your return home gives you something to look forward to while you’re away.

What causes you the most stress when you travel for business, Wanderboomers? How do you cope?

 

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3 Smart Travel Skills for Wanderboomer Fitness

We wanderboomers know the challenges of staying fit and healthy on the road. Our normal workout routines are disrupted, hotel gym facilities leave us uninspired, while criss-crossing time zones adds jet lag and eating on the fly.

But instead of giving up, what if we wanderboomers leveraged the travel skills we already have to maintain our health and fitness wherever we go? The trick is to make it easy and convenient to set ourselves up for success. Here’s how:

Travel Skill #1 – Trip Planning

Travelers love to plan for their next adventures, i.e. deciding what attractions to see, what activities to do, places to eat, where to shop.

How to Leverage:

Plan ahead to stay fit on the road by adding these everyday essentials to your packing list:

  • Healthy snacks – Save money, time and your health by packing small baggies of dried fruits, nuts and veggies.
  • Tennis shoes – Yes, they’re a hassle to wear when going through security, but if you prefer to travel with only carry-on bags whenever possible like I do, you’ll be happy to have more space and less weight in your luggage by wearing your heaviest shoes. An extra advantage is that tennis shoes are usually your most comfortable shoes so you can zoom through the airport when you’re hurrying to catch your next flight.
  • Swimming suit – Swimming is one of the best overall forms of exercise that’s also easy on the joints.
  • Resistance bands – For exercise equipment that’s both light and portable, bring along a resistant band for both upper and lower body strengthening and stretching.
  • Fitness DVD – Since most hotel rooms have DVD players, why not bring along your favorite workout program? If you can find one that hits the big three, i.e. strength, flexibility and cardio fitness training, even better.

Travel Skill #2 – Adaptability/Flexibility

Pablo Picasso supposedly said: “When I run out of red, I use blue” in describing his painting process. Others have brandished the quote as an admonition: “When you run out of red, use blue!” The point remains that seasoned travelers know how to minimize the stress of dealing with the unexpected by staying flexible and resourceful.

How to Leverage:

Cathy Grierson is Head Guide and Fitness Director at Mountain Trek, a boutique health retreat in British Columbia where I was fortunate to spend a week last Spring. While the outdoors is her natural habitat, she looks for fitness opportunities indoors and out. A dropped towel in her kitchen gives her a reason to drop to the floor and do ten push-ups. Extreme fitness? Maybe. Or maybe it’s smart fitness to find easy ways to make health part of your daily routine.

Look for simple ways to improvise your own exercise routine when traveling. Take the stairs instead of the escalator or elevator. Use furniture to replace standard gym equipment. Pull up on a sturdy tree branch. Do a few jumping jacks while waiting at a bus stop. Practice tai chi in a local park.

Travel Skill #3 – Curiosity

The best travelers are naturally curious about other people’s lifestyles, customs and favorite foods.

How to leverage:

Go out and play! Explore your new city or neighborhood on foot. Take a brisk walk or go for a short run to get the juices flowing and discover your travel destination from a local’s perspective. Most importantly, keep on moving . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? How do you stay fit on the road? Please share your tips and strategies with us here.

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Passports with Purpose 2012 Needs You!

CleanWaterUSAID_IMAGESflickr (450 x 300)

Photo courtesy of USAID_IMAGES – flickr

A year ago I introduced wanderboomers to Passports with Purpose, a fundraising organization started by four members of the travel blogging community: Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman.

The four were motivated by a desire to bring the travel blogging community together and as Pam explains, “to make the places we’ve been better.”  Since its inception in 2008, the organization has exceeded its goals every year, raising a total of over $150,000. so far to fund such projects as two libraries in Zambia (2011), housing for 25 families in southern India (2010), a school in rural Cambodia (2009), and Heifer International (2008).

If you have ever travelled to a developing country, no doubt you, too, have wondered what you could do to help improve the lives of people who live there. The good news is that Passports with Purpose has made it easy for the rest of us by doing in-depth research on causes that help people in poverty, especially women and children.

This year, the organization is supporting Water.org with a goal of raising $100,000. to fund 5 wells for two rural communities in Haiti where half the population lack access to clean water and only 1 in 5 residents have access to a sanitary toilet.

Here’s how you can help. Donate a gift of  only $10.00 (or more, if you’d like!) between now and December 11th to give hope, health and a brighter future to the people of Haiti. Plus, each $10.00 donation gives you the chance to win a prize of your choice, ranging from clothing, electronics, gift certificates and hotel stays!

** All photos courtesy of Passports with Purpose.org.

Led by Expedia, the 2012 sponsors for this year’s fundraiser also include Tripit, TBEX, HomeAway, Travellerspoint, Hostelbookers and GoWithOh.

Please consider donating to Passports with Purpose 2012, wanderboomers. Help us spread the good word by sharing with your friends and social media communities! Many thanks!

Have you ever traveled to Haiti, wanderboomers? Please share your story with us here.

Hello fellow wanderboomers! I’m a Seattle-based travel journalist, specializing in fun travel adventures for the young at heart. My articles have been featured in Hemispheres, AAA Highroads Magazine and Northwest Travel & Life Magazine where I'm a frequent contributor. When this Wanderboomer isn’t traveling, I help global executives polish their personal and professional brand for long-term results.
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