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“When you first head off to places in the world that are a lot different from where you live, a number of things change. You have to learn to adapt.

I still make a lot of mistakes everywhere I go, but I try to learn from each of them. Here’s a short list of things I wish I knew before I started my routine of extensive overseas travel, especially in countries in Africa, South Asia, Eastern Europe, and Latin America that are not part of the tourist circuit.

Healthcare

1. You can legally buy safe medicine, including prescription drugs, for very little money overseas. When in Africa or Asia, I stock up on anti-malarials that cost $5 a day in Seattle. On location, it’s more like $1 for a 10-day supply.

2. The best healthcare is not in the U.S., Canada, or the U.K. The best healthcare is in places like Thailand and Costa Rica; that’s why the practice of medical tourism will continue to surge as both travel and overseas healthcare become more accessible.

Money

3. Take a lot of cash with you, and make sure the bills are new and have no writing on them. If you go to a place that accepts credit cards, then you can just redeposit the cash when you get home. It is far worse to end up short of cash with no credit card option.

4. If you do use your credit card, check the online statement at least once a week while traveling to make sure there are no fraudulent charges. Keep all your receipts, especially for large purchases such as hotel stays, and compare the amounts charged when you get back.

5. When you exchange money, hang on to the receipt you get until you’ve left the country. Once in a great while, someone at the airport will want to see proof of all your foreign exchanges.

6. The U.S. dollar is no longer the world’s currency. (In fact, some currency exchange shops will no longer accept dollars!) Travel with a stock of Euros to complement your dollars. The exceptions to this rule include some countries in Africa and Latin America that still use the dollar as their primary currency, and any country that has had a recent war.

Taxis

7. Hire a taxi outside the airport, not from the guys who approach you inside as you’re walking out. Even better, walk further outside the airport to where the taxis pull in, and you’ll get a better deal because the driver won’t have to pay the entrance fee.

Update: as a few readers mentioned below, there are exceptions to this rule, especially in places like Mexico or Columbia. If you have reason to be concerned about safety, take the official taxi.

8. Never assume that your taxi driver knows where your destination is. Double-check and get him to ask someone before you go if there’s any doubt.

9. The universal rule of taxi haggling, for both driver and passenger, is that once both sides agree on a fare before setting off, neither side can reopen negotiations once you’re en route. You should not try to get a better deal nor should you accept any increase in the fare from the driver after the journey has started.

10. If you have a dispute with a taxi driver and you think you are being taken advantage of, offer to call the police and have them settle it. Many taxi drivers are scared of the police, and often for good reason (see below). If they are being dishonest and you mention the police, they will quickly back down. On the other hand, if they continue to press their claim, they may be right and you’ll need to pay more.

Safety

11. The police are not always your friends. Sad but true—in a lot of places in the world, the services of the police are sold to the highest bidder. Therefore, if you can pay them, they may turn out to be your friends… but in other cases, they may actually be the least trustworthy people in the country. Don’t be afraid, just be aware.

12. When you feel pressured beyond your comfort level by someone who tries to follow you, be polite but increasingly firm. Don’t string anyone along out of guilt—tell them you don’t want their help, and move on. If they keep following you, tell them to stop. ” (via  chrisguillebeau.com) by Chris Guillebeau

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“PACKING TIPS:

Check with your airline before packing, to determine the current limitations on bag number size and weight. Most airlines are now restricting passengers to only one checked bag, measuring no more than 62 linear inches (total height, width and length) and weighing not more than 50 pounds.

Specific limits vary with different airlines, fare categories, and itineraries. Be prepared to pay significant fees for any excess.

Before packing any clothes make up a daily clothing plan list. Decide for each day and activity of the cruise, what you will wear, with what, and when. Then only pack those items. This helps to avoid over packing. Be sure to pack your list and stick to your plan as much as possible.

If you are staying in a hotel pre-cruise, you will want to pack all your pre-cruise clothing and needs in a separate bag or at the top of your suitcase. It took ages to pack that bag; you don’t want to unpack and repack it at the hotel, just to find your swimsuit that’s in the bottom.

For couples traveling together, do not pack “His” and “Her” bags.  Always pack your suitcase contents mixed, with both his and her clothing in each one; and making sure you pack complete outfits in each case.  That way if one of the bags doesn’t show up, you will both have something to wear.

Be sure to pack all your film in a lead lined bag in your carry-on.  The x-rays on checked bags are so strong now that they can ruin your film.

Attach brightly colored ribbons, pompoms or tape to your suitcases to help you identify them in the baggage claim areas at the airport and at debarkation.

Pack all hanging items of clothing first in dry cleaner bags, before placing in a garment bag.  This really prevents wrinkles.

Place fabric softener sheets between garments, as you pack to keep clothing smelling fresh.  And don’t toss them once you unpack.  They come in handy if you make use of the laundry facilities that are available on some ships.

Have lots of zip lock baggies available as you pack.  The list of uses for them keeps growing:

Pack all liquid and aerosol containers in zip lock baggies to prevent leaking or dispensing on your packed clothing.

Put tube-type containers (ie: toothpaste, salves, etc) additionally inside something crushproof.

Pack loose, smaller items of clothing (panties, bras, hose, etc.) in zip lock baggies to make re-packing after inspections quicker.

Entire outfits can be packed in the larger zip lock bags.  Lay out your complete outfits (like one pair shorts, one top and under clothing ) and bag them, one outfit per bag.  Keeps things totally organized.  Makes packing and unpacking quick and easy.

Be certain to compress all the air out of the bags before zipping them closed, to decrease the room they take in your bag.

Reuse those bags for the trip home.  Especially handy for repacking a damp swimsuit.

When packing your carry-on bag, don’t forget the airport security’s “3 Ounce Rule” which says that:

All liquids, gels and aerosols carried onto the plane, must be in three ounce or smaller containers.  Larger containers that are half full, or toothpaste tubes rolled up are not allowed.

All containers of liquids, gels or aerosols must be placed in a single, quart-size plastic, zip-top plastic bag.  Gallon sized bags or bags that are not zip-top, such as fold-over sandwich bags are not allowed.

Each traveler may use only one, quart sized zip-top bag each.

Each traveler must remove their zip-top bag from their carry-on and place it in the bin on the conveyor for separate x-ray screening.

Check with your airport to verify allowed exceptions for: baby formula, breast milk, and other essential liquids, gels and aerosols, including prescriptions and over the counter medicines.

If traveling outside of the country, remember that prescription medications are supposed to be in their original labeled containers. It is a good idea to include a few extra days worth of meds in case your return home is delayed. ” (via  cruise-addicts.com) by Gayle V

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“The first step to a successful trip to Burning Man is the trip itself.

1. Don’t make the trip twice – make sure you have your tickets!

2. Printed out google directions to Black Rock City (BRC) — there will be long stretches where you are out of cell service area, so don’t rely on directions from your phone.

3. A spare car key – in case one of them is lost in the Playa.

4. A hide-a-key – so that you can leave the spare and people from your group can get into the car if need be, while everyone is out running around.

5. Car charger for your phone

6. Flash light

7. Make sure your tires are in good shape and you have a spare.

8. Either bring a small gas can or be very sure to fill up often

9. Some people choose to take illegal substances out to Black Rock City. Keep in mind that you will be driving through Nevada which has some of the toughest drug laws in the country.

THINGS TO HELP PIMP OUT YOUR CAMP AND MAKE IT MORE COMFORTABLE

The Black Rock Desert is not designed to sustain human life. It is hot, flat, windy, dusty, devoid of vegetation and water and very inhospitable. The more of the following things you can bring out, the more comfortable you and your group are going to be.

1. Shade structure! Get creative…it is essential to have some escape from the sun – and something that can sustain high winds.

2. An RV — this is a big one. I take an RV out with my group each year because during the day it’s (way) too hot to sleep in tents and provided your RV has a generator, the air-con will save your life and make you lots of friends. And it can mean the difference between getting sand-blasted in a Black Rock wind storm to being inside, rolling doobies and cooking quesadillas.

Unfortunately, RVs are crazy expensive for this week because it’s Labor Day and every rental place knows about Burning Man. If you can’t afford to rent an RV the traditional way, I have had luck the past two years scanning Craigslist for RVs that are listed “for sale”, and cold calling each owner to see if he would be interested in making a quick $1200 for a one week rental before putting it right back on the market. If you can pull this off and split the cost between friends it’s well worth it.

3. Tent(s) – If you have more than one tent, I would suggest bringing two. Anything left “out in the elements” will be covered in dust within 20 minutes of arriving on the playa. It’s nice to have one tent to sleep in and one to store all your stuff in.

4. Extra-long tent stakes – As I said above, the wind is no joke in the Black Rock Desert. I have seen 60 mph gusts at Burning Man and I’ve also seen tents cartwheeling down the playa like tumble weeds.

No fun…so when setting up your tent you need to batten down the hatches and expect the worst. Sometimes for larger tents it’s a good idea to bring super skinny rebar, which can be bent and driven down deep into the playa to hold your tent in place.

5. Warm sleeping bag – yes, it is hot most of the time, but around 3am, temps plummet and it can get very cold.

6. Sleeping pad – the more the better.

7. Pillow(s)

8. A tarp – to go under your tent

9. A large piece of carpet that you are willing to sacrifice — this is a really nice element to have in your camp. It will allow you to take off your shoes and and chill, and will also cut down on the overall dust-swirls where you’ll be cooking and eating. That green AstroTurf they sell at Home Depot works great if you don’t have an old carpet.

10. Folding card table(s) – if you have more than one, bring them all. It’s really nice to have a table to eat/cook on and just sit at when drinking/playing cards.

11. Folding chairs, camping chairs…preferably with cup holders

12. Lanters, tiki torches or other sources of ‘space light’.

13. Camping stove and extra gas – the bigger the better, so if you have a Coleman that you use for car camping, better take that over a an MSR backpacking stove.

14. Christmas lights or strands of LED lights to give your camp a nice glow.”(via  matadorgoods.com) by Ross Borden

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3rd Update

“Marriott’s full court press to sell Destinations Club is on.

I suspect that lots of MVC owners realize that Marriott is pushing really hard to convince legacy owners of the merits of joing the new Destination Club (DC) points program. I get a first hand look at just how hard Marriott is pushing during a recent visit to Ocean Pointe.

In this message, I will relate conversations I have with non-owner guests and MVC owners who do a sales presentation which is strictly aimed at promoting DC. Much of my “research” occurs at the Ocean Pointe bar where I chat with folks in the evening ( I’m a very skilled “researcher”  ). Although some of the folks I speak with may have morning after amnesia about our conversation, I remain steadfast and reasonably sober enough to relate their observations and responses to the new Marriott DC product and the sales pitch tossed at them. Once again, I emphasize that I do not personally speak with any sales associates this visit.

There’s lots of folks both at Ocean Pointe & Oceana Palms on discounted previews. At Ocean Pointe, we also find a lot of owners who like us, come down for a summer interlude in the crystal clear ocean and warm waters. We receive a call prior to our visit by a guest rep who checks with us about restaurants and other useful tidbits of info, but whose main purpose is to get us to sign up for a preview. Actually for an owner, it’s called an “information seminar about DC” whilst for non-owner walk-ins it’s a “sales preview” plain and simple. As as already noted, we had the interest, but my wife lacks the time to complete a session. Hence I turn towards other guests to catch up on their take of the preview and DC.

I have nice conversations with some 6 owners and an equal number of non-owners who share their thoughts with me ( none of these owners knew about TUG, but they do now ). Above all things, the owners are confused and a bit concerned about what Marriott is up to. The sales pitch is built around an “act sooner than later” mystique which emphasizes the “lower fees”. A couple of the owners were quick enough to realize that the lower fees only serve your interest if you’re a frequent trader an not a regular who most usually occupies at their home resort. They all figure out that they are being offered less DC points for their MVC week than they would need to reserve the full 7 days. A few do take notice of the flexibility of being able to sneak in a couple of days at different Marriott resorts. The basic sales pitch to owners was to suggest trying DC as the enrollment cost is cheap and one can still elect not to use their points and go the legacy MVC route instead ( why buy and pay for something you do not intend to use?). Some sales folks suggest that a multiple week owner take one of their “lesser” weeks and enroll it in DC. I can somewhat see the logic for this if one is a multiple week owner who might be a little stretched for time and they might toss a week in to nibble on fewer days — giving up some to get less, but at some very nice resorts. But then again, lots of TUGers practice the “buy where you will occupy regularly” catechism of timeshare, so this may not apply to all owners.

So the strategy for exisiting owners is “try it, you’ll like it” and to use your less favorite weeks for DC. There remains an implicit seed that these special enrollment prices might change after years’ end ( is Marriott getting that cheesy to resort to this used car sort of dealing ? ). None of the 6 owners I speak to really knew very much of the DC program specifics. They speak of being able to reserve 13 months out or do Marriott Rewards points, but no one goes into much detail about the 3 levels of ownership and how one needs to enroll resorts for their DC points. What they do not know is that the need to enroll the equivilant of MVC weeks totaling 13K DC points to hit the top tier which is the most flexible and offers the better DC points to MR points conversions. I don’t feel that sales was being evasive as much as the sales force is urgently trying to push/convince owners to drop one week into DC. A couple of owners were going to go home and deicde whether to enroll a week or two — these appear to me to be folks who were very fearful/uncertain about DC and see it as a beheamoth that is going to slowly strangle the MVC product so they prefer to bow to Gorgon now rather than later. The other owners are also uncertain, but they remain confused and reluctant to do anything at this moment.

Preview folks ( non-owners ) are being sold DC on a different basis. Sales folks are very aware that non-owners are extremely cost conscious, so the push is on for these folks to purchase 1500 DC points ( for $13800 ). The sweetener is a one time offer of 800 additional DC points good for this year. The emphasis here is upon flexibility and the ability to get into some surpurlative Marriott resorts — not a hard idea to sell for preview folks staying at Oceana Palms with the panoramic views of the ocean and inland waterway. Sounds to me as if Marriott is searching for a way to back away from the $30K to $50K price tags of traditional MVC developer weeks and to dangle the DC Club as a less expensive alternative to get into the door.

So I throw the gist of my recent conversations out here so that TUGers can see what folks are saying about Marriott and their first impressions of the Destinations Club.” (via tugbbs.com”) By Barry from a recent thread on Timeshare Users Group.

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