Use Your GPS When Driving Abroad

Friends love to rent a car and drive around, often off the more-beaten paths, when they go to Europe.  Now they take their portable Garmin GPS with them!  Yes, it needs a new chip for Europe - North America and Europe have different requirements.

They get their directions in English, in the same familiar "voice" they hear in the US.  With European chip inserted, this equipment works exactly the same as in US and Canada.  They put the "US chip" back in when they return to US and Canada, and save the Euro-chip for their next trip.

The only problem they have encountered?  The system uses a phonetic pronunciation, and that does not always square with the alphabet/spelling system.  Slavic languages, for example, when they drove in Poland and Czech Republic, "took some getting used to," they tell me.  But they encountered no problem with street signs in Italy, Germany, France.

I imagine Greek and Cyrillic alphabets might be a bit more complicated than the Slavic language family!  If driving in Greece or Russia, etc, get a good map and study it.  Familiarize yourself with their orthography (spelling symbols!) beforehand to improve the system's utility.  Back it up by studying your map first, use the GPS to help you remember your path and stay on it.

Using your GPS in multiple countries is a great idea!  Especially for the Road Warrioress.  It's hard to read your map while you are driving.  You're multi-tasking as driver, navigator, trip planner, spotter simultaneously - and in unfamiliar territory.

These friends say the Garmin is much better for international/multi-national use than other brands, and with their extensive travel experience, I'll take their word for it and stick with Garmin versus other GPS brands myself.  Having reliable, practical, multi-purpose, easy-to-tote equipment makes life on the road so much simpler!  Here's to less-stress travel.

May your road rise to meet you,
Ann

China Tightens Visa Requirements

China recently announced more strict conditions for applying for tourist visas (L visa).  Applicants for visitor/tourist visas must present an invitation letter from an “authorized tourism unit,” person or company along with their visa application.  And they must provide copies of their round-trip tickets and hotel reservations.

This flies in the face of typical travel advice: Never buy your plane tickets until you have your visa!  Consider buying only fully refundable tickets if you have any concerns about getting the visa, timing (will you get the visa before your flight?!), or you could be seriously out-of-pocket on such expenses.  Make sure your hotel reservations can be cancelled with a full refund if there's any visa hassle.

China – like so many other countries – is cracking down on illegal immigration, visa abuses and violations.  With over 7 billion people on the planet, many seem to think “the grass is greener on the other side of the border.”  And some of these have more greed than sense, more disdain for laws than respect for others.

Here’s the official Chinese website of their US embassy: http://www.china-embassy.org/eng/visas/adr/.  Official Chinese embassy websites for Japan, New Zealand, Thailand, etc, have also been updated with these new requirements.  Check out their website for complete details.

Know before you go – check official government websites of the country/ies you are headed toward.  Visa requirements are undergoing a lot of changes in a lot of countries now, and you need to stay current.  For example, these requirements have been instituted at some point since the first of August.  No sign of prior announcements, either!

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

Told You the Best, and Now the WORST!

When I lived in Singapore, I promptly patronized the very first US pizza chain to open its doors.  Every expat and PT needs a taste of home from time to time.  It bore little relation to products of the parent.  So I had a little chat with the manager.  “But we put cheese on it,” he protested.  “We know you westerners like cheese.”

“But there’s no sauce!”  Minor cultural glitch there.  You find out one thing about a country and culture, and miss something equally important (or more!).

They were literally using a paintbrush to stain the crust pink.  I explained.  The manager insisted I return for a freebie in a few days, while they mastered pizza-making.  It turned out quite acceptable - good-not-great category.

Already covered the fabulous pizza I experienced at Mike’s Stone-Baked Pizza in Tallahassee.  Alas, I have just learned he has sold the pizzeria, although he continues working there at present.  One can only hope the new owners continue Mike’s extraordinary quality.  Let me know when you stop by!

In fairness, I now announce the absolute worst pizza I’ve ever had in any country in my entire life.  Fat Cat Pie Company – in NYC and the Metro area, including Norwalk, CT.  I’m not the biggest fan of an ultra-thin crust pizza – prefer a little substance, a little chew, to a thin crust.  But a crust as crisp as a bland unsalted cracker – and thinner! – and so tough in the center you cannot chew it but must rip it is simply totally unacceptable.  So is a cheese pizza with nearly invisible, definitely untastable, cheese.  Where’s the sauce?  Their paintbrush must be missing half its bristles.  Singapore’s first pink-pizza had more sauce and more flavor.

You’d better believe I Yelped this one.  Yelp forces you to click on stars when you write a review, but this pizza did not even deserve the one star I had to click.  Even if you are a fan of cracker-crust pizza I would avoid this one – no substance, no flavor, no merit whatsoever.

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

Road-Warrioress Life Not for Wimps

I was talking recently with an acquaintance about her 20-something daughter, a young woman who needs minders.  We’ll call her Mel: Phi Beta Kappa, jobhunting MBA grad, deemed exceptionally “bright” and “promising.”  Except she cannot make her way through Grand Central Terminal even when Mom puts her on the right Metro North train to Manhattan.

Granted, GCT is a bit of a zoo, but signs are clearly posted everywhere.  But to someone who mastered the maze of Moscow underground armed only with a map printed in Cyrillic, knowing not a symbol of it, it’s inexplicable that a brilliant woman cannot make it a mere 25 miles from home to get to a job interview on time!

Mel will never survive if she has to travel for a job.  She cannot drive herself to a doctor’s office in the small exurban town where she grew up without getting lost.

What does it take to wander the world on your own?  A good sense of direction certainly helps!  Spatial Intelligence, the ability to orient oneself in space, to read a map, is an underrated skill.  But it has proven vital countless times and places.  I've never met a Perpetual Traveler who could remain on-the-road without this skill - without it, they give up and go home.

What other attributes make a difference between disaster and survival, even enjoyment, of long-haul travel?  Independence, self-reliance, curiosity, a sense of adventure: these I regard highly.  Flexibility and adaptability help you surmount cultural differences and difficulties, and a sometimes weird array of challenges.

Fearlessness is irrelevant, even counterproductive.  Fear is a useful signal of danger, and alertness, even wariness, can protect you from various dangers.  Courage – the ability to go out and “get it done” despite fear – matters.

The Road Warrioress life is too challenging for the hopelessly helpless Mels in this world.  There’s no room for wimps on the road. 

What traits do you find essential to success as a Road Warrioress?  Share, share!

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann

Useful Reference Guides for the Road Warrioress

The more you know before you go, the more likely your success – whatever your purpose for your travels.  Culture Smart! The Essential Guides to Customs and Culture – from Kuperard, a UK publishing house – www.culturesmart.co.uk – avail as e-books

Understanding a country’s culture and customs makes a huge difference between a successful trip or relocation, whether it’s for business or pleasure.  Attitudes, beliefs, behaviors underlie every interaction, and challenges are routine in every cross-cultural interaction.  Body language – the Silent Language – can be particularly baffling for the uninitiated.

These are practical guides written by expats who have successfully relocated to the particular country.  Basic manners, common courtesies – the etiquette of everything from dining to conducting a business meeting – are the meat of each portion.

Countries include: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brazil, Britain, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Libya, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, UAE, USA, Vietnam.

Got many of these on your travel agenda?  Your wish list?  Start your engines - with a little boning up on the country.

May your road rise to meet you!

Ann