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Travel tips -
From past Earth Routes newsletters:
Anti-Jet-Lag Diet
(This diet procedure works so well for me that I'm reprinting it from a 1997
newsletter.)
Developed at the US Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory, the
Argonne Anti-Jet-Lag Diet helps travelers quickly adjust their bodies'
internal clocks to new time zones. It requires some planning ahead, but it
can reduce that spaced-out feeling after a flight across time zones.
1.Determine breakfast time at destination on day of arrival.
2.Feast-Fast-Feast-Fast on home time. Start three days before departure day.
On day one, feast: eat heartily with high-protein breakfast and lunch and a
high-carbohydrate dinner; no coffee except between 3 and 5 pm. On day two,
fast: eat light meals of salads, light soups, fruits and juices; again, no
caffeine except between 3 and 5 pm. On day three, feast again. On day four,
departure day, fast; if you drink caffeinated beverages, take them in the
morning when traveling west, or between 6 and 11 pm when traveling east.
Going west, you may fast only half a day.
3.Break final fast at destination breakfast time; no alcohol on the plane. If
the flight is long enough, sleep until normal breakfast time at destination,
but no later. Wake up and feast on high-protein breakfast. Stay awake and
active; continue the day's meals according to meal times at destination.
Note: Feast on high-protein breakfasts and lunches to stimulate the body's
active cycle. Suitable meals include meat, eggs, high-protein cereals, beans.
Feast on high-carbohydrate suppers to stimulate sleep. Suitable meals include
pastas (without meat), potatoes, other starchy vegetables, and sweet
desserts.
Fast days help deplete the liver's store of carbohydrates and prepare the
body's clock for resetting. Suitable foods include fruit, light soups,
broths, light salads, unbuttered toast, half pieces of bread. Keep calories
and carbohydrates to a minimum.
Use a virtual mailbox
If you have an email account that
you can check from an Internet café or hotel computer while you're traveling,
you can provide yourself with an information storage system that you don't
have to pack. Simply email yourself, just before you leave home or after you
have downloaded your incoming mail for the last time, with a list of
addresses, phone numbers, passport numbers, or whatever else you might need
if you lost your paper copy of this information. The message will be in your
"virtual mailbox" and ready for you to open and read whenever you
have access to the Internet.
Climb slowly
If the symptoms of headache,
nausea, and fatigue seem to you, as they did to me, to be just a case of too
much traveling or a reaction to unfamiliar food, you could be right. But you
might be missing another ailment with a fairly simple remedy. I did not
consider altitude sickness when I traveled to a relatively small mountain and
spent the first night at about 5,000 feet. It's not a significant altitude
for most people, but for someone who lives near sea level, as I do, it's
apparently too much of an increase. The ailment was mild altitude sickness
and the remedy (which can also confirm the diagnosis) was to go to a lower
place. Finding relief when I went to the nearby town in a valley gave me the
clue. Acclimatizing for a day or so is what's recommended, and drinking green
tea can also help.
Check with someone who's been there!
Descriptions of hotel rooms and
destinations can sound enticing, but to find out if the real situation
measures up to the prose, I look for reports from people who have been there.
A handy way to do that is to look on the website www.tripadvisor.com,
where consumers voluntarily write reviews, both positive and negative. These
reports and ratings can also steer travelers headed for unfamiliar places to
lodgings that fit their needs. Travel agents rely on this input, too!
Drive somebody else's car
You should do this legally, of
course, and you can do it easily through a drive-away service, a match-making
business that connects drivers looking for transportation between two points
in North America and vehicle owners needing their vehicle transported between
the same two points. The service fee is charged to the vehicle owner, so as
the driver you would pay only for fuel and your own road-trip expenses. It's
a great opportunity to take that cross-country trip, visit national parks, or
seek a warmer climate for a while. You might be able to find a drive-away
deal in both directions, or you might make more than one arrangement to
complete a circular route, if taking a flight back home doesn't work into
your plans. Check out the possibilities at www.autodriveaway.com
Check car rental details
It's well worth the time spent to
look up insurance coverage information before you make your car rental
reservation. There's a lot of fine print on that car rental policy, and you
probably don't want to be digesting it at the counter when you pick up the
car. Rental company agents will offer you a standard package of insurance
coverage options on the vehicle, and you could end up paying extra money
needlessly.
In most cases, the coverage you
have on your own vehicle applies when you rent a car. Many credit card
companies also provide insurance coverage when you use their card to pay for
the rental, but they may require that your own policy and its deductible be
applied first. If you own an older car, you may have dropped comprehensive
and collision coverage, and you could be liable for a huge bill if the rental
car is damaged or stolen and you have not purchased additional coverage. If
you are renting a vehicle for more than three weeks, different rules may
apply.
In addition to insurance charges,
there are fees and surcharges to be considered, many of which are mandatory,
that can add a significant amount to the basic rental charge. Also, take note
of the extra hour and extra day charges, as you may want to return the car
before the extra time is charged. Ask for details when you make your
reservation; most companies will readily give you an estimated total price
including fees. Check with Earth Routes for comparison
pricing.
Photograph your baggage
It’s easy enough to tie a recognizable
ribbon to the handle of your suitcase, so you’ll see it coming on the airport
baggage carousel, but how easily could you recall what’s inside the bag if it
were lost and you had to file a claim? Take a photo of your bag and its
contents while you’re packing, and you’ll have a quick reference. Of course,
it’s not a good idea to put anything very valuable or irreplaceable in your
checked luggage. For more details on dealing with lost luggage (or avoiding
the problem!) visit http://thetravelinsider.info/travelaccessories/lostbaggagerights.htm/
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