REPOST: Planning a Trip: Guidebook Versus the Web

Are guidebooks still reliable just like the old times? This article by Seth Kugel that compares guidebooks and information from the World Wide Web is something that travelers must read.

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I recently asked my friend Doug if he still uses guidebooks to plan his trips abroad. He’s a smart guy and a veteran traveler, so I figured he would have a thoughtful reason one way or the other. He did not.

“I probably don’t use guidebooks because I’ve essentially forgotten they exist,” he said.

I’m guessing Doug is not alone. Sales of international travel guides in the United States are down 42 percent since 2006, according to the Nielsen BookScan Travel Publishing Yearbook. As online resources have expanded, I’ll bet lots of people have shifted their travel planning to the web without giving it any thought at all. And I suspect some who still use guidebooks think they’re wasting money for what they could find online free.

But are they? I decided to try an experiment: I would buy a brand-new guidebook, comb through it, then to try to replicate or improve upon what I found in the free but chaotic bounty of the World Wide Web. I bought and read most of the Lonely Planet’s Hungary guide (which I chose because Lonely Planet is popular among Frugal Traveler readers and I know nothing about Hungary) and then got to work.

My first stop was LonelyPlanet.com, where I was somewhat shocked to find most of the content I had just paid $24.99 for was free online: a section on the country’s history, practical information, specifics like airport transport in Budapest, and many more listings for hotels, restaurants and attractions than were in the book. (The site had reviews for 200 restaurants in Budapest while my book had only 48.)

Still, a few things were missing — important things. The dozens of indexed city and town and neighborhood maps were absent. Suggested itineraries were gone. There was no glossary of useful Hungarian phrases. (A spokeswoman for Lonely Planet said some guidebooks had significantly less online.) And, though the site was fine for finding something specific, it was clumsier to browse through and get a feel for the country, especially on a mobile device. The formatting also makes it difficult and time-consuming to copy, paste and print your way to a homemade guidebook.

Still, Lonely Planet’s robust web showing does not apply to all guidebook companies — Rough Guides, for example, offers limited content online. So I also tried an à la carte approach.

For lodging, the obvious first stop was TripAdvisor.com, which replaces a guidebook’s curated list of tightly written reviews with free-for-all user evaluations, only partly controllable by tools that filter and rank results by price, availability, location, type of reviewer (family, solo, people in your Facebook network) and more. Booking.com andHotels.com also depend on customer reviews. Is that a valid substitute? To many, it is. Even if you prefer curated picks, there are free sites like TheHotelGuru.com, with reviews writers contribute themselves or cull from guidebooks and articles. (Of course, as with flights, the most up-to-date information on hotel prices is online.)

For sightseeing information, there were endless options, and I only scratched the surface. I checked Hungary’s official tourist website, Gotohungary.com, which had good if limited ideas, but was lacking practical information like prices. My next stop was Wikivoyage.org, which is run by the Wikimedia Foundation and is the closest thing I found in format to an online guidebook. It had plenty of ideas for Hungary, although the length and quality of descriptions were erratic, the writing was dull and practical information was again scarce.

I also tried the user-generated reviews on Gogobot.com, which allows you to see rankings by people in “tribes” like yours: budget travelers, “trendsters,” “spiritual seekers” and the like. Not bad.

But to me, the site that came closest to replicating a guidebook experience, while still harnessing the power of the Internet, is Stay.com. Sights and activities (and hotels and restaurants) are separated by category, and there are curated guides by the site’s editors, users and local experts (“Family Fun in Budapest,” for example). Best of all, you can click to add any item to your own “city guide”; the result is a personalized itinerary, complete with customized map, that can be downloaded to your cellphone and used without piling up cellular data.

There are so many ways to find restaurants online, I don’t even know where to begin. I already had culled ideas from the sites I’ve mentioned. Next, local resources: with a simple Google search, I found a few compelling sites in English (chew.hu, Best of Budapest,Everythingbudapest.eu), as well as articles published in newspapers like this one.Chowhound’s discussion boards had what sounded like knowledgeable Budapest tips. And I haven’t mentioned the power of Facebook, Twitter, Couchsurfing and online travel forums for getting personalized advice.

It may sound like the web was blowing away my guidebook — but not so fast. Literally: It’s not so fast. Marking up the guidebook took a few hours and came to an obvious end (the last page). But I could have sifted through these sites forever. For some people, that’s fine: it’s been shown that planning a trip actually makes us happier than the trip itself. But choice can be paralyzing. For those who want the deciding done for them, a trusted guidebook brand wins, at least in planning an agenda.

The score was more or less tied in some other areas, like overviews on culture and history, collections of some useful phrases and important cultural mores like tipping. Wikivoyage alone covered most of those.

Still, I found three ways that a guidebook stomps the web almost every time:

First, those curated maps. No site I tried — Google, Michelin, Bing — could match the book’s maps, even after being customized to pinpoint hotels and restaurants and sights. If you do want to print out city or town maps and mark them up yourself, I found Bing Maps to be by far the cleanest-looking and easiest to print. (Use the full-screen feature, take a screen shot and print.)

Second, guidebooks offer information you may never think to look for online. In the Hungary book, I happened on a section about common tourist scams in Budapest, and an article on Budapest’s Jewish population — neither of which I would have thought to look up on my own.

Finally, there’s simple convenience. A guidebook means an extra pound or so in your bag. But it’s all in one place, doesn’t run out of batteries or go out of range or use international data and is unlikely to be ripped out of your hand by a thief. And for infrequent travelers, it doesn’t have a steep learning curve.

If the web is a fully stocked kitchen where an experienced chef given enough time can produce a brilliant meal, guidebooks are an energy bar, packing all the nutrients you need into a handy package that can be tossed into your bag. Of course, there’s one catch: at $25, that’s one expensive energy bar.

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This is Louis Habash. I love traveling and reading about helpful tips that I can bring when I travel. If you love these too, Follow my Facebook page for updates.

Life lessons from traveling

Image Source: updates.lifehacker.com

Travel has always been part of life. Growing up, I never thought I would be drifting from one place to another because of my love of culture, geography, and tradition.

Yet, looking back at all my adventures (and misadventures), I realized the immense power of travel not only as a way of relaxation but also for learning life’s greatest lessons.

Image Source: vacationcancun.net

After years of being on the road, these ideas hit me:

Change is for everyone. When you feel unhappy, sometimes the answer is change. Traveling around the world is about change—places, cultures, shelters, languages, food and many more. Personally, travel has revealed to me my high standards of happiness. Today, I have learned how to be happy even from the simplest things in life.

People are innately good. In different countries around the world, I have seen and met various people who did not only help me with directions, but also shaped my character down the line. Through my experiences, I have learned not to be overly guarded and judgmental. Sometimes, it just takes time and a little effort to crack the shell of strangers.

Languages are important. Once you start traveling the world, either for a job or for vacation, you will realize that speaking English is not the only passport to success in communication or survival. Having immersed in diverse cultures, I realized that not all streets are responsive to an outsider who never took the time to pick up a word or two in the local tongue.

Image Source: schwartzmsl.com

A journalism graduate of San Francisco State University, Louis Habash now works as a freelance travel writer who dabbles in travel photography and nature tripping. Know more about him by visiting his Youtube channel.

Adventures in Venice: The gondola experience

Image Source: atestogo.com

The Innocents Abroad, one of Mark Twain’s bestselling books, contains the author’s description of the Venetian Gondola as a “free and graceful” serpent. He traveled Venice a hundred years ago. He humorously chronicled Venice in the book, describing the curiosity of urban life with gondolas and gondoliers.

Being a fan of Twain, I knocked some more ambition into my travel dreams: “Louis Habash you have to explore Venice and Gondola!”

So I did, and the result? It was magical!

Although it can be quite costly, taking a gondola ride through the canals of Venice can be very romantic and interesting.

Image Source: ratestogo.com

For this particular trip, I decided on a private tour at around 4 p.m. to catch the mindblowing sunset. I was alone but a typical Gondola can seat between two and four people—perfect for just you and your special someone, or a small family.

By definition, a gondola is a flat boat fashioned out of wood. It is typically about 11-12 meters long and is hand-built in special workshops, a few of which are still around today. According to historians, the earliest recorded use of gondolas in Venice is in 1094.

Gondolas stand out for the experience they give to the travelers. As my gondolier was serenading me (yes, they sing!), the view around the canals loomed over and past me in a calm ambience of mystery.

Gondolas are easy rides, especially with gondoliers who amble along, entertaining passengers with their humorous spiels and stories.

Image Source: blog.flightcentre.co.za

Louis Habash is a freelance travel writer and photographer. To know more about his travels and adventures, follow him on Twitter.

REPOST: Top 10 Travel Mistakes and How Not to Make Them

Don't fall prey into the common travel mishaps that you'd surely encounter one way or another. Be guided by these tips from BudgetTraveler.com.

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Even the most meticulously planned trip is subject to snafus, but with a little insider know-how, you can avoid making the common mistakes that can derail a vacation. Stick to the guidelines below, and you're more likely to have a trip that's memorable not for lost luggage and rushed sightseeing, but for the thrill of discovering a new place and savoring it.

Not booking enough connection time between flights

Leaving a window of at least an hour and a half between connecting flights will significantly drop your chances of missing your flight or having your luggage lost, says Sally Watkins, travel agent at Century Travel and Cruises in Austin, Texas. Having only 45 minutes to connect between flights might seem doable—not to mention the siren call of less lag time spent hanging out at a dismal food court—but it's often not enough, especially in large airports where the gates could be far apart. Don't rely on airlines to do the math for you, either: "Flights can't be booked unless it is a legitimate change time according to that airport, and usually if it's the minimum change time and airlines let you book that, they will make it work," Watkins says. 

Not applying for your passport early enough

Routine passport processing takes about four to six weeks, so as soon as you start planning for your trip, apply for a passport if you need one, or make sure the one you already have hasn't expired. Plus, in certain countries you need at least six months' worth of validity remaining to enter, says Elizabeth Finan, spokesperson for the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs. (Go to travel.state.gov for more information.) If your trip is coming up quicker than that, you can shell out $60 to cut the processing time to two to three weeks, but if you're planning to board a plane in less than two weeks, make an appointment at your local passport agency by calling 877/487-2778. The $60 fee still applies. If you've traveled so much you've practically worn out your passport, flip through it as a precaution: "Frequent travelers should make sure that they have enough pages in their passports," says Finan. "For example, South African law requires travelers to have one fully blank visa page in the passport; without the requisite number of pages, you may be refused entry." No one wants that.

Underestimating the location of your hotel from the city center

When you're visiting a city, ponying up for a more expensive hotel that's in the middle of the action can be a better financial decision in the long run than staying out in the suburbs and spending money and time on transportation. Use time you save to explore—or just recharge in your hotel room. "Particularly if it's a European city in the month of July and it's hot… you're going to want to go back in the late afternoon and put your feet up before you go to dinner," Watkins says. "That's not easy to do if your hotel is a 30-minute bus ride away." Plus, if it's a family vacation, toting kids on unfamiliar trains or taxis with few breaks will increase the possibility that you'll have a frustrating visit. "Value is more important than what's the cheapest," Watkins says.

Trying to do too much in one trip

Allot a minimum of three days for visiting major cities like Rome, London, and Paris, and you'll end up with a richer vacation that includes time for simple pleasures like people-watching or relaxing in sidewalk cafés, says Watkins. "A lot of people say, 'I just want to do just one night in whatever and one night in so-and-so.' Slow down! By the time you either load all the bags into the car, drive, and park, or you schlep all the bags onto a train, you don't have that much of a day left," says Watkins. The same goes for multiple activities. Make time for wandering around. In Rome, for example, planning to see the Vatican Museums, the Colosseum, and the Forum in the same day is overkill, Watkins says. Really seeing the city via strolls and serendipity can be invaluable.

Not being honest about your interests, likes, and dislikes

There's no shame in wanting to leisurely sit in cafés in Paris instead of hoofing it to every monument—or preferring to check out Mayan ruins in Tulum instead of lying in a hammock. Before you plan vacation activities that others insist you'll enjoy, sit down and think hard about what you want your trip to be, then follow your own itinerary. "Many people plan the trip they think they ought to want, rather than the trip they actually want," says Edward Hasbrouck, author of The Practical Nomad: How to Travel Around the World. "If you rarely set foot in a museum, why plan a trip with museum after museum? A lack of self-awareness can lead to, among other things, relying on recommendations from people with very different tastes." Your trip, your experience.

Sticking to tourist traps rather than venturing off the beaten path

It can be tempting to sink into a chair in the first restaurant or bar you see, but a little research can net you a more authentic experience. To locate the best haunts before you go, seek out "blogs that are focused on just restaurants, or just shopping in a given city," says Parker Stanberry, founder and CEO of OasisCollections.com, which offers high-end vacation rentals and private members' clubs in South America. "And in the social media age, certainly trying to find a friend of a friend that is a local and can provide that local insight is worth the effort. There is no substitute for that local, on-the-ground perspective." Here's how to spot a "tourist trap" so you can steer clear: "With some exceptions, hotel restaurants and bars fall into that category, as well as those suggestions that you see in every generic guidebook," Stanberry says. "Also, spots right next to major tourist attractions—the main plaza, the top shopping street, major museums—tend to fall into the 'overpriced and not very local' category."

Basing your hotel choice on marketing photos

Any hotel or resort can use a fish-eye lens and carefully selected photos to make their property look desirable. Viewing unaltered third-party pictures on sites like TripAdvisor.com and Oyster.com can give you real-life insight into the look of the place—and help you avoid the rude awakening that happens when expectation collides with reality. Oyster's "Photo Fakeout" series mashes up touched-up promotional photos with what the property actually looks like, with funny and slightly depressing results. "Although there's a lot of debate regarding the authenticity of guests' testimonies on TripAdvisor, the website does allow travelers the opportunity to glance at tourist-taken photos," says travel expert Brandon Presser, author of books including the Lonely Planet guides to Iceland, New York City, and the Caribbean. "It's a good opportunity to get a sense of what 'ocean view' truly means at the resort in question. Also, nothing's stopping you from sending the hotel an email, or picking up the phone to further ask about what to expect upon arrival. Remember, hotels are part of a service industry—an industry meant to serve you, the traveler."

Not reading the entire listing when you're looking to do a short-term apartment or house rental

Establishing trust is crucial when you'd like to book a stay in someone else's home instead of a hotel, so asking the host to repeat themselves doesn't win you many brownie points. If the host feels comfortable with you, the more likely you are to score the rental you want. "If you start asking questions that are clearly stated in the profile, the host will think, 'If they aren't minding the details in the listing, are they going to be mindful in taking care of my home?'" says Emily Joffrion, director of consumer strategy at Airbnb.com. To show genuine interest, if the host mentions in the listing that she has a cat, for example, indicate in your initial message that you love cats. Reading carefully can also skyrocket you to the top of a choice apartment's rental list if they're screening out less conscientious guests. Joffrion says one of her New York-based superhosts puts tricks in the description. For example, "If you've read this, open your message by mentioning the color blue."

Choosing an outlying airport that's cheaper, but ending up spending more on transportation to your hotel

Flying into a nearby city or out-of-the-way airport to save money up front might seem smart, but, in the end, the cost could even out and also leave you with less time to spend in your destination. In New York City, for example, taxi fares run from $50 to $70 from Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey to Manhattan. Fares from LaGuardia Airport, which is closer to Manhattan, range from $29 to $37. Add those expenses up each way, and you're looking at almost $70 more spent on transportation, plus the additional transit time. Same goes for the teensy airports that surround the city you're visiting. "Flights at smaller airports tend to have weaker transportation infrastructure to your chosen destination," Presser says. "You might be faced with cost-prohibitive taxi rides upon arrival." The luggage fees at smaller airports can also be outrageous, Watkins says. Unless your airline ticket is significantly cheaper and the extra fees are low or nonexistent, you might be better off choosing one of the usual airports.

Going to a timeshare sales pitch when you're not in the market to buy

When you're staying at a resort that offers timeshare pitches, know that your time—and your sanity—is more valuable than a spa or restaurant voucher. Skip the sales brunch if you have no interest in purchasing a vacation share. "They can be a very hard sell and pursue you during the rest of your stay with calls," says Watkins. The time you save will allow you to spend more time with the people you're vacationing with and avoid constant unwanted interruption. If you have visions of free hot stone massages dancing in your head that cannot be ignored, hold firm to your bottom line, try to extricate yourself as soon as you can, and screen your hotel-room calls before picking up the phone. There is, as they say, no such thing as a free lunch. And when you're on vacation, pressure is the last thing you need.

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Do you want more travel tips? Head over to this Louis Habash blog site for more interesting posts.

REPOST: Who Should You Tip -- and How Much?

To whom should you give tip to and why? Learn the details from this Huffington Post article.

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Tipping really shouldn't be so hard. The service was good, you leave a token of your appreciation, and everyone is happy. Not so fast. This is one of the most difficult aspects of travel to navigate, since you have to take into consideration everything from how employees are paid to cultural traditions that could have you embarrassing yourself and your waiter just by leaving that 15 percent (apps like GlobeTipping -- which gives advice for tipping in restaurants, hotels, and more in 200 countries -- can help you along). We consulted experts and avid travelers for their thoughts on the scenarios that trip up travelers most and got their advice on how to avoid awkward situations.

CRUISE STAFF

In the old days, cruise lines provided an envelope and suggestions for how much to tip the crew members with whom you had direct contact during a sailing. Now it's the norm for major cruise lines to automatically add the tips to your bill (which could take you by surprise), especially in the U.S. and the Caribbean. "In the last 10 years or so there's been a trend toward automating [tips] where the cruise line said 'we'll take care of that for you if you just mark this off on the bill,'" says Spud Hilton, editor of the San Francisco Chronicle's travel section and Bad Latitude blog. While some cruise lines make it possible to adjust the included tips if you wish, on others those included tips have become mandatory and cannot be adjusted. In this case, says Hilton, "the tipping is no longer about you and the person giving you good service -- it's about service in general on the ship." And that service, he says, can even extend to things the cruise lines shouldn't expect passenger tips to cover -- including employee education. Always check with your cruise line to find out if tips are included (and whether or not they can be adjusted) before setting sail.

WAIT STAFF

We've got tipping in the U.S. down when it comes to restaurants -- leave 15 to 20 percent unless there's some outstanding circumstance. It's not so cut-and-dried abroad. A general rule for tipping in European restaurants is to leave a couple of euros if you're happy with the service, rounding a 47 euro bill up to 50 euros, for example. But in Denmark and New Zealand, no tip is expected at all. And be on the lookout for service charges that are included in the bill. In Norway, a 10 percent service charge is typically included (though you should leave 10 percent if it is not). But be aware that in some places, that service charge doesn't always cover the full tip. In Aruba, for instance, 15 percent is automatically added to the bill (this is distributed to everyone, including the kitchen staff). If you were happy with the service, leave an additional 5 to 10 percent and give it directly to your waiter. When in doubt, ask the hotel staff what the local customs are for tipping at restaurants. It's confusing when Europeans travel here as well. A couple years ago, the bar at a trendy New York restaurant started automatically adding 20 percent tips to bar tabs, since waiters were sick of being stiffed by European visitors who may not have been aware of customs on our shores.

BELL MAN

The tipping conundrum gets all the more confusing when you arrive at a big hotel with a flotilla of staff members on hand to assist you. One person grabs your bag from the car, another wheels it to reception, and yet another delivers the luggage to your room. You could get dizzy tossing around dollar bills. It's better to give one handout when you've reached your room. "The person who usually takes your bag from the car to check-in doesn't really expect to be tipped," says Peter Shankman, an entrepreneur who spends 85 percent of his time traveling, "They usually rotate their shifts (with the other porters delivering bags to rooms). The person who brings the bag to my room is the one I tip."

STAFF IN CHINA AND JAPAN

Believe it or not, tipping is considered rude in China and Japan, and is just not done. That goes for cab drivers, restaurant wait staff and workers in hotels. But there is a big exception to this rule that could take even the savviest traveler by surprise. Keep reading to find out!

SHUTTLE VAN DRIVERS

Those courtesy shuttles you take from the airport to the car rental parking lot and from your hotel into town shouldn't be viewed as a completely free ride. Whether there's a jar for tips or not, you should hand off a dollar or two to the driver as you're getting dropped off. "If I have really heavy bags, I usually give the driver a few bucks," says John DiScala ofJohnny Jet.

HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING

"Housekeeping is probably the most controversial -- and misunderstood -- tipping subject in hotels," says Charlyn Keating Chisholm, editor of About.com's hotels and resorts site, who has written several blogs on the topic. "Many people don't, but you should definitely be tipping the maid at your hotel," adds DiScala. "And if you tip every day instead of at the end of your stay you'll get the best service." A couple of dollars per day is acceptable. And when there's no official envelope for tipping, it's best to leave the money under the pillow instead of on a dresser, DiScala advises -- in the latter case, maids may think the cash is not for them, and leave it behind after they clean. Even better, he says, find your housekeeper in the hallway and pass her a few dollars while thanking her for work well done. One caveat for this is if you are staying at a small inn or B&B. It's usually the owners themselves taking care of the tidying up, so forgoing the housekeeping tip is perfectly acceptable.

CONCIERGE

You don't need to tip a hotel concierge for sketching the route to the best local sushi joint on your map or arranging an airport shuttle. But if a real effort has been made to get you tickets to a sold-out show or a table at an impossible-to-book restaurant, the concierge deserves a special thank-you for his or her efforts. Tip somewhere between $5 and $20, depending on what you've requested, says DiScala. Slide the cash to the concierge in person or have it delivered to them inside one of the hotel's envelopes with a brief message expressing your gratitude.

TOUR GUIDES

Tips for guides are rarely included in tour prices, and are expected whether you were shown around the Roman Colosseum for an hour or the Great Barrier Reef for an entire day. "Generally speaking, $3 to $4 per day (in local currency) is acceptable for guides of shorter tours and $7 to $10 per day for full-day tour guides," says Andrew Schrage, co-owner of Money Crashers Personal Finance. When in doubt, ask the tour operator what is considered an acceptable tip -- the question comes up so often that many agencies even post the information on their websites, he says. When we say this is standard worldwide we mean it -- yes, even traditionally non-tipping countries like China and Japan (see, we told you there was an exception). But making a big show of passing over a few yuan or yen is still frowned upon. "Ideally, you would not give the tip directly after someone has done a favor for you," says Greg Rodgers, who runs several Asia travel blogs, including one on About.com. "That is like paying for the service. Instead, giving the tip at a later, unexpected time would be better." Most tours in China will include transport back to your hotel or the airport, so wait until the final goodbyes, not right at the conclusion of the tour. According to Rodgers, just taking cash out of your pocket is the worst way to tip in Japan. Put the money in an envelope and seal it before passing it to your guide.

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This Louis Habash blog site offers more travel tips and ideas, which can serve as a guide for both experienced and first time world explorers. 

REPOST: Smart Traveler, Smartphone

This National Geographic article shares that smartphone applications can be useful both before you leave for your trip and while you're traveling.

Image Source: intelligenttravel.nationalgeographic.com

If you want better customer service on your next trip — and who doesn’t? — then reach for your pocket.

But don’t bother pulling out your platinum card to impress a ticket agent, or a crisp bill to tip your bellhop. Whip out your wireless device instead.

Your smartphone is likely the most effective tool for securing the treatment you deserve when you’re on the road. Today’s iPhones and Galaxys are multipurpose tools for travelers, 
allowing us to send messages, calculate a tip, find a flight, and, oh yeah, make an actual voice call. And the built-in camera is for more than just the cute faces your kid or cat makes.

“Smartphone photos have leveled the playing field when it comes to customer service,” says Carlos Miller, publisher of the blog Photography Is Not a Crime.

It isn’t the digital images alone that prod companies into upping their game, but the potential of the images to spread across social networks. Often, photos broadcasting the moldy bathroom tiles or the broken airline seat offer a shortcut to the normal grievance process, eliminating the need to write a complaint letter.

Take photos of your rental car as if it were your newborn baby.

Companies will do a lot to avoid having their reputations besmirched by photos of broken toilets, busted TV screens, and unpalatable meals. Sometimes, you don’t even have to post the incriminating images online to encourage a business to do the right thing. Just the suggestion of your finger hovering over the Instagram icon is often enough. Karen Rinehart, a writer who lives in South Bend, Indiana, routinely photographs her hotel rooms when they are unclean. “When the staff sees me snapping away, someone usually offers to get the room cleaned or give me an upgrade to a better room,” she says.

Dave Nathan, a retired firefighter from Birmingham, Alabama, was disappointed when he used his Delta frequent-flier miles to purchase a first-class seat on a flight from Berlin to Paris on Air France, one of Delta’s code-share partners.

“It turned out that this version of first class was three-across coach seating with the middle seat blocked out by a flip-down tray,” he recalls. “My knees were firmly wedged against the seat in front of me.” He sent an image to Delta, which credited him with 9,000 frequent flier miles.

The phone is also your most loyal companion when you’re on the road. Take a broken parking meter, for example. Michael Edelstein snapped a cellphone image of his busted meter in Berkeley, California, and when he received a ticket, he sent the picture to the court. Case dismissed.

Also, take photos of your rental car as if it were your newborn baby. In an effort to boost profits, some car rental companies aggressively pursue every possible damage claim, even for minor dings and dents, and even when there’s no proof you did it. Your photos may be your only defense against excessive or specious charges. Make sure you take photos before and after the rental period.

At the airport, I opt out of the TSA’s full-body scanners at the screening area, which means I automatically receive a pat-down. Lucky me. Taking photos or a video of the manual search (or having a traveling companion do it for you) is perfectly legal, as long as local ordinances don’t forbid it and you don’t interfere with the screening process. I find that it makes the screeners conduct their search by the book (lest the images end up on Facebook).

But hang on, shutterbugs. Not everything can or should be photographed. “In the United States, as a general rule, if you can observe something from a public place you have the right to take a photograph,” says Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association.

When it comes to private property like a hotel lobby or the interior of an aircraft, photography is sometimes restricted by policy. Osterreicher says the rules should be clearly posted. But there are documented cases of passengers being shown the door for taking photos of their airline seat. The scenario is even murkier overseas, where laws or customs can prohibit taking pictures even of public places.

I think it’s only a matter of time before the travel industry embraces photos as a way to help customers. It sounds far-fetched, but some industries have already done so, according to Jordy Leiser, who co-founded an independent customer service ratings and analytics company called StellaService.

One confectioner asks a customer to send a picture of a damaged box of chocolates before it authorizes a refund. The most forward-looking businesses, Leiser adds, “use photos to enhance their efficiency and better serve customers.”

With every photo you take and post online, you’re pushing the travel industry toward a day when it welcomes your photos of its products — especially the ones that illustrate your disappointment — because it’s an opportunity to improve.

If that ever happens, I may be out of a job.

Louis Habash writes articles on the places that he have visited, its people, what to explore, where to dive and much more. Visit this Facebook page for more updates.

REPOST: On a Budget in Thailand? Consider a Meditation Retreat

This Huffington Post article proves that you can still explore the world like a king and queen without spending too much.


In Thailand, on a budget, and looking to explore your spiritual side?

It's time to consider signing up for one of the ubiquitous seven-to-ten-day (generally silent) meditation retreats held all across the country. Buddhism is particularly widespread and thriving in Thailand, and many organizations offer retreats to help both Thai citizens and foreign travelers learn more about the philosophy. No meditation experience is necessary, and although the concepts are Buddhist, these retreats (usually) present the material in a very pragmatic, pluralistic way.

Think ten days of guided meditation, no distractions, with delicious food prepared for you and a peaceful environment in which to reflect about life. You will "sit" for three or more meditation sessions per day, of an hour or more, with plenty of free time in between to rest and reflect. Retreat centers are generally set in peaceful, natural locales. A staff (usually volunteers) will prepare you nutritious meals to keep you going. The best part? Since they usually operate on a donation basis, these retreats are free.

I went to one in the beginning of June, in part to dig a little deeper into my Berkeley hippie roots, and in part to stretch my budget a little further. I kept my expectations low, bracing myself for something shallow, easy, and new-agey. But I was pleasantly surprised--the retreat surpassed all my expectations. Honestly, I'm ready to call it profound.

It was a serious, challenging ten days that pushed me far out of my comfort zone and into new and unexplored mental territory. Over the course of seemingly endless meditation sessions, I began to observe myself and my motivations with more clarity than I ever had before, and was able to let go of a number of the compulsions which (I realized) had been driving me. My ability to focus and concentrate shot way up, and when I returned to my normal traveling routine, I found that I was harder to upset and frustrate.

This might sound too good to be true, but it isn't magic. Anyone can do what I did--thousands do, after all--but few seek the opportunity. Outside of a "retreat" setting it can be very difficult to find the structure and support (food, housing, guidance and reinforcement) to help you to let go of your anxieties and to reflect intensely on yourself and how you approach others and the world. This was my first time through it, and it was, apologies for the cliche, a life changing experience. I would not hesitate to recommend it to anyone.

Being a budget traveler, of course, a week-plus of free food and accommodation is the delicious icing on a very nourishing cake.

These are offered all over the country by many groups. The organization I went through has one of the biggest networks, which you can see here. Other organizations can be found here and here. Retreats can fill up far in advance, so try to book ahead.

If you go looking for a "fun" or "relaxing" vacation-from-your-vacation, you'll probably be disappointed--these retreats will push you in ways you might not be ready to handle. But if you go in with an open mind and a willingness to change and grow, it might just be the best ten days you ever spend.



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Taipei: Beyond money and appetite

When most people think of Taiwan, or its capital city, Taipei, the image that comes to mind is a bustling city of cheap electronics, mid-brow fashionable clothes, and great food. To some extent those representations are correct. Laptops and smart phones are cheaper here, and there is a plethora of cheap fashion items and delectable goodies in the night market. But a traveler’s consumerist side must make amends with the city’s other assets.

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Taipei is the gateway to Taiwan, and every island tourist has to stop by the capital city. There are plenty of decent hostels and hotels here for every budget. I stayed at the Amba, which is a modern-looking hotel in Ximending. A couple of bus rides later, I found myself looking at the Taipei 101.

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The Taipei 101 is a modern technological marvel. At 1,671 feet (509 meters), it used to be the tallest building in the world before being surpassed by the Burj Khalifa at 2,722 feet (829.8 meters) in Dubai. The tower’s first five floors are filled with designer stores, while the rest are rented out as office spaces to some of the largest international companies headquartered in Taiwan. An indoor observatory occupies the 88th and 89th floors, and an outdoor observatory the 91st floor.

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My peers know me as a history buff, so a troop to the National Palace Museum was a given in my itinerary. The museum showcases a collection of rare artifacts and artworks from the Qing Dynasty, the last imperial dynasty to rule China. Being an ardent lover all things historical, I found this place very interesting—and ended up staying for a whole day just immersing myself in the country’s rich history and culture.

I never thought that I would find Taipei interesting, but I did. I would love to come back some day.

Traveling the world is a Louis Habash kind of life. I am constantly on the prowl for the next destination. My Twitter page documents some of my travels.

REPOST: 5 Days of Mother-Daughter Bonding in New York City

Traveling might be the perfect bonding moment for you and your family. Read about a mom and daughter adventure in NYC from this Escape Travel article. 

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I hadn’t been away with my mother in a long time, and New York City seemed like the place for some family-friendly female bonding with its exciting department stores, quirky cafes and countless museums and art galleries to explore. New York had always appealed to me, with its wide avenues lined with soaring sky-scrapers and beaming lights that never dim in the ‘city that never sleeps’. I had previously read a lot about the Big Apple, not to mention watched countless television shows and films set in the city, but had never yet been. I felt that New York was the perfect city in which to spend some quality time with my mother for a city break packed with endless things to see and do.

Getting our bearings on the first day, we collected our CityPASSES at the tourist information centre on Seventh Avenue. These passes are a great way to see some of the top attractions of New York City at a lower price, from the Museum of Modern Art to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. Unfortunately, the latter was closed when we were visiting due to the effects of Hurricane Sandy but has since been reopened. There are other ways to see the iconic Statue of Liberty, however, and one of them is hopping aboard the Staten Island ferry. Departing from Lower Manhattan, this completely free of charge very gave us fantastic views of the symbol that everyone associates with New York and is a great option for those on a budget.

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Our first day also led us up to the highest point of New York City, the Empire State Building which has a fantastic observatory. Included in the CityPASS, ascending to the peak of this towering structure and peering down upon the panoramic views of New York below is a memory I will never forget and one that I am glad I shared with my mother.

As we are both Beatles fans, we took a stroll through Central Park later that sunny afternoon to stop off and pay our respects at the John Lennon memorial, Strawberry Fields, before heading to a little bistro for risotto and a chat over coffee. Soaking up the fast-paced atmosphere of New York City, we reflected on our first day in the Big Apple and were eager to see more of it.

The morning of our second day took us to the 9/11 Memorial which is a tribute to remember those killed during the terror attacks in 2001 and 1993. The memorial was truly moving and standing at the site of the twin towers, watching the water rush into the gaping holes that used to be where these towering buildings once stood, I felt an unspoken bond with my mum as we stood in silence and paid our respects to the tragedy that shook the whole world, let alone New York.

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After a spot of shopping in Century 21 for some bargains and later, Macy’s and Bloomingdales (we’re girls, it has to be done!), we made our way over to the Broadway Theatre that evening to see Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s fantastic production of Cinderella, a classic show which had previously not been seen on Broadway until now. Laura Osnes was incredible in the lead role with strong vocals in many of the brilliant songs of the show, and Santino Fontana as the Prince brought humour into this magical tale due along with Ann Harada as one of the ugly stepsisters.

With gorgeous sets of enchanting woodlands and elegant castles and incredible costume changes that sees Cinderella dress from her working rags to opulent gowns in less than a blink of the eye, it was a great show in which to take my mother to sample the delights of what a Broadway show has to offer. We were even treated to an ‘after show’ of a man proposing to his girlfriend on stage once the performance had finished. There were plenty of squeals of delight and a few shed tears all around the auditorium once his girlfriend replied with a ‘yes’!

Our third day took us out of Manhattan and into Coney Island which sits on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in the borough of Brooklyn, to get a different taste of the Big Apple. We were visiting New York during Memorial Day weekend which is the official start of the public beach season of the city – perfect timing for a beach day and only 45 minutes on the subway. With amusement parks, fairground rides, candy floss galore and of course, miles of white sandy beaches merging into the ocean, it is worlds away from the ‘concrete jungle’ of the city and I couldn’t quite believe how quick it took to get to. After a couple of hours of sampling rides from bumper cars to the Cyclone rollercoaster, we decided to explore a little bit more of Brooklyn and headed out to the Smorgasburg Flea Food Market.

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Lovers of gastronomy will adore Smorgasburg and its countless market stalls selling delicious cuisine from sources from New York City and beyond. We went on the Sunday where the market is based on the DUMBO waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park, but every Saturday it can be found on the Williamsburg waterfront at the East River State Park. Both my mum and I are big food lovers and purchasing fantastic cuisine from mini cheesecakes and marble ice cream to noodles, pizza and refreshing slushies was definitely an afternoon well spent!

On our fourth day we decided to venture into the borough of Queen’s which was easily reached by the East River ferry from Midtown Manhattan. The largest borough of New York City is extremely diverse with restaurants serving ethnic food from around the globe from the immigrants who have settled here over the years. We explored the gorgeous neighbourhood of Astoria which has a large Greek community and stores selling vintage-chic items of clothing. The Athens Square Park is lovely for a mid-afternoon stroll and after a lunch of fresh seafood, my mother and I made our way back to Manhattan to experience another Broadway show.

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The Winter Garden Theatre is home to one of the world’s most successful musicals, Mamma Mia!, and because of the theme of this feel-good show I thought it was the best way for me and my mother to spend our last evening together in New York City. Telling the story of a 20 years-young bride-to-be and her search for her father, Mamma Mia! uses the songs from popular Swedish group ABBA in this fantastic musical.

Felicia Finley played the role of Tanya with wonderful humour and the right amount of sexy vulgarity as she stole the show, but both Judy McLane as Donna and Laurie Veldheer as Sophie were excellent in their mother-daughter roles of the performance. Having seen the West End production of the same show in London, I can say that both were equally filled with the same volume of vigour and life that a show such as Mamma Mia! needs, and we left the theatre feeling happy to have experienced the musical together. ‘Does my mother know’ I love ABBA – she sure does now!

After four days of exploration, discovery, relaxation and soaking up the history and culture of New York City and some of its boroughs, we decided to spend our last day visiting a couple of places we hadn’t had the chance to see. We started off the day with a tour of the magnificent Grand Central Station and then made our way over to the neighbourhood of Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan. After a quick (okay, long!) stop in Bettie Page Vintage and Retro Clothing, we had a lovely stroll through Washington Square Park and then embarked back to the hotel and to our journey onwards from New York.

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New York City is truly one of the greatest metropolises in the world, and exploring it for the first time with my mother, soaking up the history, shopping, architecture, food and fun of the Big Apple was a trip I could easily (and probably will!) repeat.

Louis Habash is currently a freelance travel writer based in Los Angeles, California. Log on to this Facebook page for more updates.