Dishin’ with the Diva

Quick Tip – Eurail Passes

Your friendly neighborhood Diva was asked by a friend the other day to provide some travel assistance to another friend who was planning her first trip to Europe. Since I can’t afford to go myself, I’m more than happy to engage in a bit of vicarious living and was happy to oblige.

The so-to-be traveler had mentioned that she wanted to do a couple of train trips while on the continent. I suggested a Eurail pass; she said she was already planning to get one. Good.

On her way out, I mentioned that she may want to talk to the folks at Rail Europe before she left to get some help with hotel questions and bookings, as well as her Eurail pass – since she had to get that before she left the country anyway. Which caught her by surprise; she had assumed – incorrectly – that she could buy the pass once she got to Europe.

Eurail passes are for international visitors, not those already living on the continent. Even if you produce a passport, plane tickets, birth certificate, or any other form of documentation you can think of, you won’t be able to buy a pass once you arrive in Europe. And don’t put it off until the last minute, since you’ll need to be sent the paper ticket; to my knowledge, there isn’t any kind of electronic option available.

And by the way, I do highly recommend getting a Eurail pass for travel within Europe (with the exception of Ireland). You can get to most everywhere pretty easily (except in Ireland, unless you want to stay in Dublin and do day trips out), and you get to look at the scenery while doing so.

Quick Tip: Purchasing individual guide chapters

Lonely Planet recently started offering individual chapters from some of their guidebooks for download and sale on their web site. I’m a big fan of printed materials rather than audio or electronic books, but I like this for a few reasons:

1. If you’re only going to one specific spot in a country, you get get the info for the city or region without having to buy the entire guidebook, which can save you money to use on your trip.
2. The electronic chapters don’t take up space in or add weight to your luggage.
3. There is something to be said for immediate gratification, and you don’t have to worry if your local bookstore will have the guide you want in stock.
4. You can bring just the information you want with you on your trip without ripping up a book (a sacrilege to your friendly neighborhood Diva).

So when the time comes to plan your next getaway, you may want to see what LP offers before you start buying books.

Quick Tip: Plugging In

I have a lot of electronic gadgets that I like to travel with. While I have left my laptop at home on some trips, I’ve probably brought it with me far more often. Since I like to think I’m at least a little eco-aware, I use rechargeable batteries in my camera except when woefully unprepared. However, I don’t mess with my hair much even when I’m home, so no toting along portable hairdryers or straighteners for me.

In case you aren’t aware, different countries use different electrical plugs – and even different electrical voltages. Don’t just assume you can pop a plug adapter onto your gizmo of choice and plug it into the wall… well, not and keep said gizmo from shorting out, burning up or otherwise creating a fire hazard. Many travel appliances are designed to be dual voltage, meaning they can handle either the (American) 110 or (European, Kiwi, Australian, and other) 220 volts, but chances are your everyday curling iron in your bathroom isn’t. If you don’t want bother getting travel-specific appliances, you can pick up something like this Samsonite Converter/Adaptor Plug Kit with Pouch to use on your trip.

As far as your electronics, check your charger to see what voltages it can handle. While packing for my New Zealand trip, I had my travel power converter in the “to pack” pile for my cell phone charger. Then I actually looked at the charger; lo and behold, it’s rated for 110-220V. The transformer came out of the pile, and I saved myself about three pounds in my backpack. (Turned out my phone wouldn’t work in New Zealand anyway, but that’s a topic for another day.) You may or may not want to plug in an electronic device into one of the travel converters; there are reports that these devices aren’t really safe for DVD players, computers and other similar items. Personally, I’ve not had a problem, but my laptop’s power adapter is already rated to 220V, so it just needs a plug converter. Some hotels will have more a robust power converter available for guests to borrow, but it’s not something you should count on unless you check with your lodging beforehand. (These “real” converters weigh about 20 pounds and are a bit on the large side, so it’s not something that’s terribly practical for you to bring along yourself.)

It’s worth spending a bit of time checking your electrical situation before you leave. The last thing you want to do is fry your computer during your vacation – or worse, start a fire in your hotel room!

Quick Tip – Temporary Utility Suspension

It’s probably not worth it for the average two or three week vacation, but if you’re going away for a longer length of time (a month or more), you may want to check with your utility providers to see if they have a vacation suspension available for their services. There’s no sense spending money on something back home that you won’t be using, right?

You may not want to do this with your power company, but you may want to consider it for your phone, cable, or internet service. Not to mention your paper delivery, if you have it, or your garbage collection. It may not seem like much of a savings, but I think whatever you don’t spend on something you aren’t using is money you can use for travel expenses.

Quick Tip – Beating Jet Lag

I’m actually a fan of the long weekend overseas jaunt. Some people look at me like I’m crazy when I talk about a three or four day trip to a European city, but I think it’s better to take a short trip than no trip at all.

One of the biggest challenges about a short trip is dealing with jet lag. Conventional wisdom says that it takes about a day for every time zone you cross for your body clock to adjust to a new time. If you’re crossing six time zones for four days, you don’t have that kind of time. So what’s a Trip Diva to do?

Well, this Trip Diva has a few tricks up her sleeve. Mostly they’re little mind games, but they seem to help me make the most of the my long weekend trips.

1. As soon as I take my seat on the plane, I set my watch for the time at my destination. If it’s a connecting flight, I set my time for the connecting city, then change it again when I get on the next plane for the next stop. As often as I can, I tell myself it’s the time on my watch, not the time I know it is wherever I began the trip. This might not work so well for someone who doesn’t feel naked without their watch the way I do, but if you start adjusting your activities as much as you can in transit, it’ll help you when you get to your destination.
2. If your flight arrives in the morning, try to get some sleep on the plane, even if only a short nap. If you flight arrives in the late afternoon or evening, try to stay awake, no matter how long a day it’s been for you. If you do sleep, try to only get maybe an hour or two. It’ll help adjust your body clock to your destination time.
3. Do not take a nap on the day of your arrival if you can help it. If you must nap, again, try to keep it to an hour or two, and don’t start your nap any later than maybe 3 p.m. local time. Make sure you get up, do something and have dinner before you go to bed for the night.
4. Spend as much of your first day outside as you can. You body will take some of its cues from the daylight and from your being active. Plus, if you tire yourself out, you’ll be more likely to fall asleep at a relatively “normal” time based on where you are rather than where you were, and you’re more likely to get a good night’s sleep rather than wake up in the middle of the night (even though it may be time for you to wake up at home).
5. Try not to think about what time it is back home, unless you’re figuring out whether or not you can call someone. Yes, it’s a mind game, but I find it helps.

So, that’s how I usually tackle jet lag. If you have any little tricks or tips to share, please leave a comment.