Getting quality photographs during my vacations is really important to me. It's my belief that as life barrels forward, the most precious thing we have in our lives, other than basic necessities and the people we love, is our memories. Photos definitely help in that aspect since our brains are not perfect at retaining … Continue reading How to spot a good photographer when you’re on vacation
How to find a cheap flight ticket
There is unfortunately no single magic website that you can go to in 2017 that will consistently allow you book a flight for a price that is significantly lower than what you can find elsewhere. Also, all the rules of thumb that you read about, including "the cheapest day to fly is Tuesday" and "buy … Continue reading How to find a cheap flight ticket
The Flexo-line: the Swiss army knife of travel accessories
One of my favorite travel gadgets is the Flexo-line. I initially reviewed it here if you're not familiar with it. In addition to its usefulness as a portable travel clothesline, it has some other versatile purposes too -- as would be expected from a strong, flexible, braided rope. Back in 2012, my friend and I went … Continue reading The Flexo-line: the Swiss army knife of travel accessories
How to use an ATM for free anywhere in the world with a Charles Schwab debit card
Most of the major national US banks charge ridiculous fees for foreign ATM usage; typically a few bucks flat fee per transaction plus a percentage of whatever amount of money you take out. I discovered this the hard way back in my youth when I returned home from a multi-week trip, checked my bank account, … Continue reading How to use an ATM for free anywhere in the world with a Charles Schwab debit card
The pain of checking a bag
Earlier this month I took a trip to New Orleans for a work-related conference and had to check a bag for the first time in many, many years. I made few mental notes about the experience from the perspective of someone who never checks luggage: 1) The process takes up a lot of time. On … Continue reading The pain of checking a bag
Why I still carry a real camera instead of relying on my iPhone for vacation photos
Earlier in the week I was looking through some old vacation photos, and as recently as 2011, I noticed that many people in my snapshots are holding small point and shoot cameras as they're out and about. How quickly things have changed. Stand alone point and shoots (abbreviated P&S for the remainder of this article) … Continue reading Why I still carry a real camera instead of relying on my iPhone for vacation photos
Travel Insurance Part 2 of 2 – How to get it
This post is a continuation of my Part 1 discussion of travel insurance. Today we'll discuss whether or not you should even bother getting a travel insurance policy, and if you do decide you want one, how to go about acquiring it without getting ripped off. Question 1: Do I even need to buy this? … Continue reading Travel Insurance Part 2 of 2 – How to get it
Photo essay: New Orleans French Quarter
I had been to New Orleans a few times in the past, but this was the first visit where I was able to check out some of the historical sights in the French Quarter as well as some of the voodoo related places. Bourbon Street is undergoing some construction and is a complete mess at … Continue reading Photo essay: New Orleans French Quarter
The one extremely rare time I actually checked a bag
I'm currently in New Orleans for a work conference. Ah... the smell. One of the most distinctive smelling places in the world. Not a good smell, but there it is. I find myself in a very rare situation on this trip: I brought a checked bag. Yeah, I'm not happy about it either, but … Continue reading The one extremely rare time I actually checked a bag
Off to New Orleans!
I'm headed to New Orleans early this morning for the next several days for a work-related conference. It's been many years since I partied on Bourbon Street, so I'm looking forward to hanging out there again. I had a very interesting luggage conundrum that came up with this trip that I'll talk about in more … Continue reading Off to New Orleans!
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