Travel Facts

Planning ahead:

One of the most important things you can do any time you plan to travel, whether it is across town or around the world, is to plan ahead. How often have you gotten to the grocery store and then could not remember the main thing you went for? Multiply that many times if you have spent say, 24 hours flying half-way around the world and then had not made some needed preparation for what you intended to do at your destination.

One of the most important things is to choose a travel agent who will be on your side and will answer the telephone regardless of the hour. Many years ago, when I was living in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, I decided to take a cruise to Freeport, Bahamas for a weekend. I had intended to arrive with only money enough to give an offering if I found a church to attend. I had made it clear to the travel agent that she should charge me for a package that included meal vouchers and some transfer vouchers as well for transportation from the ship to the hotel. I was assured that the price I paid covered all of that and off I went the almost 150 miles to the port and boarded the ship. After an enjoyable several hours at sea, the ship docked and those of us who were scheduled to have a weekend were asked to allow the people who had only a several hour tour to debark first, so I waited. Meanwhile, I asked the purser if he had voouchers for my transfer to the hotel. He didn't. Maybe the hotel had them. I got to the hotel, checked in, went to my room and started to unpack, then decided to have lunch. I went to the hotel desk and asked about my meal vouchers. None. Also no voucher for transfers and the hotel did not have a courtesy car. I tried to call the travel agency, but they had closed for the weekend. I tried to call several friends, but in each case, nobody was home. I ended up repacking and asking the hotel for a refund. The clerk understood and after clearing with his manager, refunded my only actual prepaid moneyso I could get back to the ship. The result was that I got neither the several-hour tour nor my weekend stay and only got my trip to the port of Freeport, a taxicab trip (a standard U. S. car driven on the British side of the road!!) to the hotel and return. I wrote complaints to both the travel agency and the cruise line. The cruise line gave me vouchers for a repeat trip by a specified date even though I had eaten sumptiously going both directions, but the travel agency essentially shrugged their shoulders and denied any responsibility. Clearly, that was NOT a reputable travel agency. I should have insisted on having my vouchers in hand when I left their office, rather than trusting the agent who said the ship's Purser would have them when I boarded. This is a serious factor in planning ahead. My trip could have been salvaged if I had bought Travelers Checks or had a widely accepted credit card. I had only a bank debit card which the Bahamas tourist people would not honor. Be prepared.

There is a strong tendency to look for the lowest prices for airfare, and we at Affordable World Travel & Tours appreciate that, so we make serious efforts to find the lowest discounted prices we can for you. But you should know that most heavily discounted fares are either totally nonrefundable or refundable with a serious penalty of usually at least $100.00 by the airline and another by the wholesale ticketing agency as well as a much smaller one that we charge. While probably 99 percent of discounted ticketing is used as ticketed, a change of plans can prove costly and if there is any likelihood that you may need to make changes, a higher priced refundable or fully refundable ticket may prove less expensive in the long run. The same is generally true of cruises, tours and hotel bookings, as well. We say that if something is cheap but fails to meet your needs, it is not AFFORDABLE! Planning ahead so that you can safely use the discounted fares and cruise and tour specials without having to cancel and rebook is an exercise well worth taking.

Little things like realizing that you have a tendency to be nauseus because of motion and bringing anti-nausea pills, preferably a brand prescribed by your personal physician or a pharmacist who knows your health needs may mean the difference between a nightmare airplane ride, a cruise or tour because you were sick the whole time and one you thoroughly enjoy. The same applies to things like allergies including skin irritations and foods. If you know that certain things cause you to itch or have stomach cramps or diarrhea, do a little research on the internet, at your library or ask your travel agent about possible irritants at your destination. A good travel agent will help you research possible plant, animal or food related irritants or known contaminants at your destination. The U. S. State Department has Travel Advisories and Travel Alerts which you can use to get official information on any health concerns or criminal activities against U. s. citizens.

Another area in which to plan ahead is the matter of clothing. T'bilisi is as far North as New York City or Boston, but the climate is more like Jacksonville, Florida — usually! On my second trip there, in February, I was routed from Moscow to St. Petersburg and then to T'bilisi. Since I expected to be inside the airport except for walking from the plane to the waiting and nicely warm Intourist van and back to the van from the airport terminal and up the ramp to board the plane, I wasn't worried about a lot of heavy clothing. I did have a couple of warm things packed because I planned for a day in Moscow on the return trip to hand out Gospel tracts, but otherwise, I had packed for typical T'bilisi weather. But due to the collapse of the Soviet Union just a couple of months earlier, I ended up with two unplanned for days in St. Petersburg.

To make use of the time, I folded Russian language tracts ad went out on the street to hand them out. B-r-r-r-r- it was COLD! My hands got red and hurt. St. Petersburg is close to the Arctic Circle and it does get cold in February. I wished that I had prepared a little better and packed more warm clothing. But the surprise was when I got to T'bilisi two days later than scheduled and the cold weather had followed me down. I have pictures of snow on palm trees that are not cold tolerant in T'bilisi.

So be aware that the weather may be either hotter or colder than you expected and carry at least a little variety. If your destination is a sunny south-sea beach resort, even though you don't really plan to do anything formal, at least one set of dressy clothes could come in handy. Here on Oahu, Honolulu, Hawaii, the weather seldon gets below the mid 60's F. in the winter and rarely above the high 80's F. in the peak of summertime. But if you are likely to have to wait for a bus from Kaiser Hospital Moanalua to downtown Honolulu after dark, be sure you have a warm coat with you - and I don't mean a suit coat! Normal tradewinds push up from the Windward side over the Koolau Mountains where they are cooled to near freezing temperatures and then come rushing down the Moanalua and Halawa valleys bitterly cold. A suit coat is fine for protected areas, but the bus stop can get very cold!!!

So, while you are listening to your Steps of Paul guide describe ancient Ephesus, Corinth or Jerusalem, you barely notice a bump by somebody, but the next time you reach for your purse or wallet, you find it isn't there! A pickpocket or other thief has five-finger discounted it. What will you do now? If you had all cash in the wallet or purse, you may be in very serious trouble, but if you have American Express or other reputable Travelers' Checks, you should have replacement of your money in 24 hours or less. And most tour companies and cruise lines that offer shore excursions like Steps of Paul, have ways to help expedite your loss reimbursement and provide a reasonable degree of security to assure that nothing like that happens to you. But we recommend that you carry very little cash or jewelry. While most hotels have safes and other security and such things rarely happen, it pays to plan ahead and be prepared. Keep most of your money in the form of Travelers Checks and never sign the second time until you are actually using it. Always use the smallest travelers check you can to pay a bill so that you ger a minimum of currency back and don't show how much more you have.

I Will Survive Jet Lag

The party is in full swing but you're too tired to participate or enjoy it. Sorry. You've got jet lag, a very common condition among travelers. Symptoms include exhaustion, sleeplessness, headaches, disorientation and lightheadedness. It can severely limit your enjoyment of any family visits as well as whatever tour or cruise you may have traveled a great distance to get to. Maybe it is the trip of a lifetime for you and you were so excited to be able to take it, but now you are too "beat" to enjoy it.

But don't despair! There are several ways to reduce its severity. Avoid the jetlag symptoms by adjusting your sleep time before you leave home. For several days before you leave, try getting more sleep than usual and if possible try to synchronize the times you go to sleep and wake up to as nearly as possible coincide with the time in your destination.

Jetlag will usually be much more noticeable on trips eastbound than westbound but still the difference in time zones may cause some disorientation.

When you're at the airport, walking will increase circulation and help you feel refreshed.

When you board the plane, change your watch to show your destination time zone. It is not wise to make a full change until you are on the plane because it could lead to a missed flight or unnecessary anxiety as you stand by the boarding pass desk. For that same reason, if you will have a stop enroute that will necessitate a plane change, it is wise to set your watch to the time zone of yout next plane change airport.

Drink plenty of fluids. Juice, water, tea or coffee may be helpful, but avoid alcoholic beverages as they have a dehydrating effect. Sleep on the plane if it after dark. Usually there is almost nothing to see of interest at night unless you happen to be over a large city at lower than the usual 33 to 36 thousand feet above sealevel. If is or will be nighttime in your arrival city sleeping on the plane is also helpful. For international travel, book overnight flights and sleep during the flight. Not much to see while you are above clouds and over a thousand or two miles of nothing but ocean below. Or, book your flight to arrive your destination at night so you can immediately go to bed. An eye mask may help you to sleep on the plane.

Adapt to new meal and sleep times in your new time zone as quickly as possible. What you eat affects how you feel; meals rich in protein stimulate wakefulness while high carbohydrate meals promote sleep.

Finally, rejuvenate with additional light exercise in your arrival city. As you begin a fun-filled vacation, you will know the effects of jet lag are behind you when time begins to fly by and you are able to truly enjoy your trip.

I have made four trips all the way from Honolulu, 2500 miles out in the Pacific Ocean all the way across the U. S., the Atlantic Ocean and Europe to T'bilisi in the Republic of Georgia and suffered very little effect of jet lag by adjusting my time back home slightly for a few days before leaving and then sleeping on long flights above the clouds and at night. On board movies may be tempting, but most can be seen when you get back home The time in T'bilisi is either 11 or 12 hours ahead of Hawaii time depending on whether it is Summer and daylight savings time in T'bilisi and Moscow or not. The secret is arriving at your destination already rested, properly nourished and not dehydrated, no matter how large the time difference.