Here are a couple of good entries about exercising while traveling.
Vacations and travel are meant to be relaxing. Letting your exercise routine fall by the wayside is actually worse for you than not exercising. Exercise is such a stress reliever that you almost have to keep up with your routine in order to let yourself relax on vacation.
Find a way to do it and share your ideas here.
The folks over at 52 Projects always give me fun ideas for craft projects, but today, they have some sound advice about traveling shoes.
These hiking sandals went all the way to Cambodia:
Normally I would have worn running shoes on a trip such as our visit to Cambodia. That’s what I have always done in the past. But when I was in South Africa last year, I saw this couple wearing hiking sandals (matching colors, to boot), and I was like, “I am getting shoes like that.” (My feet were so hot and sweaty the entire time I was in South Africa.) So two days before we left for Cambodia (such a good planner, I know), I rushed to the sporting goods store (Paragon in Union Square) and purchased the above sandals. Those are Merrells, which is a popular brand, but there are several other companies that sell this kind of shoe. They cost me about $75.
Personally, I love my Merrell hiking sandals as well. They have taken me up and down Elephant Hill twice now and all over Disneyland. If you are taking a trip where it’s hot and there is a lot of walking, invest in a good pair of hiking sandals. Your feet will thank you for it.
This is an interesting article explaining the design of casinos and covers everything from the placement of high-paying slot machines, to the rumor of pheromones in the air circulating systems.
In the end, he concludes:
Upon learning the multitude of deceitful strategies that casinos use to improve their business, it is nearly impossible not to feel as though one is being almost forced to spend money the moment one sets foot in a casino. Many would argue that casinos have gone too far, and should be regulated more strictly by the government in order to protect the consumer.
Forced to spend money? Mike and I have been going to Las Vegas for 17 years. Neither of us are big gamblers. A trip to Vegas for us is CHEAP because the hotels are excellent and incredibly affordable and the food is inexpensive. I doubt that I’m some strange human who isn’t affected by pheromones. I just know my mathematics well enough to understand that there is no way to really win in the casino, so I don’t even try. I just take advantage of the beautiful atmosphere paid for by the other gamblers.
We are not so malleable as you would like us to believe, Mr. Shanks.
Hundreddollar, a friend of mine put this message out to the group:
Here’s my quick list for people who haven’t flown in a while:
Be prepared to be treated like cattle, but appreciate that you don’t have to drive for three days straight to get to your destination. Flying is a nuisance, but it makes travel over long distances worth it. If it will take one or two days to drive it, I opt for the car every time, but if it’s going to take me three days to drive, then the hassle of flying is worth it. Plan accordingly.
Wear comfortable running shoes that can be easily removed. Sometimes flights are late and you need to RUN. You always have to take your shoes off to go through security now, so make sure they are easy to remove, but will stay on when you’re sprinting across the airport.
Check and re-check your carry-on luggage for tiny little knives (like the kind on your nail clipper) and lotion. They will run your carry-on luggage and purse through the x-ray machine just like they always do. If there is a forgotten item in your luggage that is restricted, they will ask to inspect your bag. If they find it, great, but most of the time it takes them 30 minutes or so to find the tiny metal fingernail file that you put in your purse back in 1987. Just because YOU forgot it was there doesn’t mean that you’re any less late for your flight. Make sure you check and re-check your carry-on luggage. Here is a link to the restricted items: TSA: Permitted and Prohibited Items
Arrive two hours before your flight just in case the airport security is bogged down. That feeling of panic while you’re waiting in line at security behind the person who accidentally put a pen knife in his backpack two years ago is your own fault, not security’s fault and certainly not backpack-guy’s fault. Give yourself LOTS of time to get through security. If you don’t, please don’t take it out on the people in line in around of you.
Be prepared to entertain yourself if security isn’t bogged down. It’s pretty irritating to the other travelers if you are wholly unprepared to spend two hours waiting for your flight. Once you’ve called everyone in your cell phone telling them all that you’re waiting for your flight, you will have annoyed everyone around you. Bring a book, a Nintendo DS, or a craft project to work on while you’re waiting.
Flying now is a far different experience than I had as a child. It’s even different than it was just a few years ago. Whether the flight is for work, family or fun, you’ve paid good money to get there as fast as possible. Don’t make it an unpleasant experience by not planning ahead.
Tara Hunt travels more in a month than most of us travel in a year. She has some excellent tips on how to travel and pack efficiently here:
I’m an over-packer, especially when we take the car and I know I CAN overpack. Her tips on how to pack well are invaluable to me:
PACKING #2: Speaking of the ‘JUST IN CASE’ outfits…bring them! These include a bathing suit (must), one evening outfit (must) and workout gear (optional, but really good idea). Nothing is worse than having to buy overpriced hotel bathing suits or dress shoes.
PACKING #3: If you consistently find yourself overpacking, at the end of each trip, pull all of your items out of your suitcase and lay out in “wore” and “didn’t wear” piles. Photograph them and upload them to Flickr. Refer to them everytime you go to pack.
I never thought of this for taxes:
From how to deal with jet-lag to when to leave for the airport. Tara has a huge list of helpful hints for travel.
So many times when we travel, I have a list of activities that we are going to do each day. We rush from tourist attraction to historical site to museum in a frenzy and when we get home, we’re more tired than when we left. How about a vacation that is the opposite of that? How about actually relaxing on my vacation? Hey, that’s an innovative idea. Here’s how to do it.
When I go to San Francisco, I crash on my friend’s couch. She lives in a tiny apartment in the Haight, so I sleep on the couch at night and roll up my sleeping bag every morning so we have a place to sit and eat breakfast. Wouldn’t it be great if I had a friend in every town? If I found out that I could crash on my friend’s couch no matter where I needed to go? Guess what, I do:
How can you be sure that you’re safe to crash on some stranger’s couch?
CouchSurfing has implemented several precautionary measures for the benefit of its surfers, hosts, and community. Every user is linked to the other users he or she knows in the system through a network of references and friend links. In addition to the solid network with friend link-strength indicators and testimonials, we have our vouching and verification systems. Some of these are new technologies invented by the CouchSurfing founders.
Not just anyone is a vouched for member. Members can only become vouched for by an already vouched for CouchSurfing.com member. Essentially, it’s a trust circle.
If you have always wanted to travel to Europe, but can’t seem to afford a plane ticket AND a hotel, CouchSurfing might be the answer for you!
So many people say that exercise is something that they give themselves a break from during their vacation, but how about a different idea? How about a walking vacation? Wendy Bumgardner at About.com has the story:
She gives you all the basics: how to plan a walking vacation, how to pack for one and where to go. If you are sick of coming back from vacation with five pounds of extra weight, try something different instead. Plan a vacation where you lose five pounds instead!
“Are you pinching pimples?”
“No..” I lied.
“Okay, it just got quiet in there…”
There is something about hotel room mirrors that creates a self loathing in me that devolves into pinching pimples on my face. They must use some sort of horrible lighting that makes every indication of a blemish look five times worse than the mirror in my bathroom at home.
If you have gone camping for more than three days in a row, you can understand the appeal of portable showering devices. The problem with most of them is that the water is COLD. With Hot Jugz, you can heat up the water before putting it into the device.
It’s being advertised as a great alternative to beach showers. It is supposed to keep the water warm for seven hours, so you can fill it up at home, swim, surf or snorkel to your heart’s content and then wash the salt off your body with warm water instead of the cold stuff. They’ve based the name of their product on the fact that it keeps water warm, but that’s not the best asset of it.
The best part is that you don’t have to put the thing above your head to make it work. All you have to do is pump it up (15-20 pumps) and the water will flow from the showerhead. Great idea!
Via: Popgadget: Personal Tech for Women – Hot Jugz: a portable shower
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