Electricity in other countries is not like electricity in the United States. The currents are 220 volts (the same as a clothes dryer or electric stove in the U.S.) and the plugs may be small round holes, large round holes, or slits slanted toward each other. The plugs in England are huge, just like your dryer plug at home. The only appliance that I have had any luck with overseas is the battery charger to my Sony digital camera, which works on both 110 and 220 volts. However, I did have to have the correct plug to fit into the wall. All of this makes me think twice before taking anything electrical overseas.
Laptops are a no-no. I have taken mine on a plane to places in the United States and to Honduras on a mission trip, but they can be a pain in the neck. You have to take it out of its bag going through security and you can't use it for internet in most airports without paying for it. Cities overseas have numerous internet cafes which allow you to check your messages for a very cheap price. Yes, some of the keyboards very from ours, but there is usually a helpful assistant in the internet cafe who can help you. Some hotels have computers where you can check internet free or for a very low price. Cruise ships have internet cafes and, although they are not cheap, they are very convenient and you can buy a package that gives you a certain number of minutes. Don't take a chance ruining your laptop. Even electronics store personnel don't always know the correct plug/adapter combination to use overseas.
I have a new hair dryer that works on both voltages if I can get the screw to turn from 110 to 220. However, most hotels overseas have hairdryers, even if they don't put out the heat that mine does at home. I guess I'll just go around with frizzy hair since the wind will get it anyway. Cruise ships don't really want you to use powerful hair dryers since they tax the electrical capacity that the ship has to generate. I almost burned up a hair dryer in Australia trying to use it with the converter.
For a while, I had to use a nebulizer. I couldn't use it for two days in Beijing since I didn't have the converter or plug for it and couldn't wait on the last day to get to the ship so I could plug it up. Beijing is very polluted which played havoc with my asthma.
So it is better to leave your converter at home and use the appliances provided by hotels and computers that are manufactured for the foreign currents. After all, you will probably never see the people you meet again so don't worry about your hair. And all of this electrical stuff does take up room and add weight to your suitcase.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Monday, November 3, 2008
Tour Guides
You come into contact with numerous tour guides when you travel as much as we do. Even if you are traveling independently instead of with an organized tour from start to finish, taking a local tour is the best way to see some of the sites unless you want to rent a car and drive there yourself (and I don't recommend renting a car because the traffic is horrendous in some of the countries we have visited). I would rather put my trust in someone who knows the area and is familiar with the streets and traffic patterns.
Tour guides come in many shapes and sizes and with different personalities. One of my favorites was a young Chinese man in Dalian, China, just starting out in the tourism business. He had a delightful personality and everyone loved him. He gave me his email address and I am still corresponding with him; he calls me his American mama. The tour guide in Beijing, China, had retired from the Chinese tourist association but still guided tours when he was needed. He was very knowledgeable about Chinese history and customs, and was very good at keeping us away from beggars and pickpockets during a crowded tourist season. The tour guide that took us to Nazareth and Galilee was a Jewish man, but whose knowledge of Jesus and his ministry was fantastic. The guide that we had in Aruba was great and even sympathized with us when we told her we were from Birmingham, the same area where Natalee Holloway was from.
Some tour guides can be very annoying. For example, the one we had in Taiwan had a habit of repeating the last sentence that he said. After a few hours, we were tired of this. The tour guide that took us to Stonehenge filled in the time when he was not giving us facts with trivia, when all we wanted to do was rest or sleep. He also had a habit of rolling his r's to show off to make us think he was a typical upper-crust Englishman. The guide in Split, Croatia, spoke in a monotone that sounded like a child in school memorizing a piece of poetry. She also used "uh" in about every other sentence and had no interaction with the people on her tour. The Russian tour guide was very cold and would not let us stop to use the restroom in the airport - her answer was "use the one on the plane." You can imagine the poor flight attendants trying to work around the line in the aisle.
I have some advice for tour guides. You are, in fact, a teacher and you are teaching visitors about the country that you are so very proud of. Be aware that you have a captive audience on a bus full of people who are usually jet lagged, have had too much to eat, or who have not slept well in strange beds. Let them know that they are welcome and give them a reason to want to hear what you have to say. After all, your tips reflect on how well you pleased your passengers.
Tour guides come in many shapes and sizes and with different personalities. One of my favorites was a young Chinese man in Dalian, China, just starting out in the tourism business. He had a delightful personality and everyone loved him. He gave me his email address and I am still corresponding with him; he calls me his American mama. The tour guide in Beijing, China, had retired from the Chinese tourist association but still guided tours when he was needed. He was very knowledgeable about Chinese history and customs, and was very good at keeping us away from beggars and pickpockets during a crowded tourist season. The tour guide that took us to Nazareth and Galilee was a Jewish man, but whose knowledge of Jesus and his ministry was fantastic. The guide that we had in Aruba was great and even sympathized with us when we told her we were from Birmingham, the same area where Natalee Holloway was from.
Some tour guides can be very annoying. For example, the one we had in Taiwan had a habit of repeating the last sentence that he said. After a few hours, we were tired of this. The tour guide that took us to Stonehenge filled in the time when he was not giving us facts with trivia, when all we wanted to do was rest or sleep. He also had a habit of rolling his r's to show off to make us think he was a typical upper-crust Englishman. The guide in Split, Croatia, spoke in a monotone that sounded like a child in school memorizing a piece of poetry. She also used "uh" in about every other sentence and had no interaction with the people on her tour. The Russian tour guide was very cold and would not let us stop to use the restroom in the airport - her answer was "use the one on the plane." You can imagine the poor flight attendants trying to work around the line in the aisle.
I have some advice for tour guides. You are, in fact, a teacher and you are teaching visitors about the country that you are so very proud of. Be aware that you have a captive audience on a bus full of people who are usually jet lagged, have had too much to eat, or who have not slept well in strange beds. Let them know that they are welcome and give them a reason to want to hear what you have to say. After all, your tips reflect on how well you pleased your passengers.
When Are We Going to Stop? I Need to .....
No, this is not something inappropriate, but using the restroom in other countries can be a great adventure. One of the most favorite pictures of the students in my China video is a picture of the "squatty potty" or toilet on the floor. I explain to them that China has so many people that it is easier to clean the floor toilets by mopping rather than having to clean our familiar Western toilets individually. At least the ones that we encountered in China, Japan, and other Far Eastern countries flushed like ours, only you had to squat (both men and women) rather than sit.
In Moscow, we found the restroom (called "toilet" in Europe and Australia) down in the basement of Gum Department Store, which is now a large mall filled with high-end stores that ordinary Russians cannot begin to afford. We knew that there would be a "babushka", or grandmother-like lady wanting to take money for the privilege and we had one-dollar bills to give her. However, this lady chewed us out in Russian for even thinking of giving her foreign money and tried to tell us where the money changing booth was and of course we couldn't understand a word she said. Knowing we were running out of time since we had to get on our bus, we went and found our guide. She gave us the correct amount in very small change saying that the ladies did not like to give out change. We got chewed out again becuse we had such small change, but she did allow us to go in. When we got in, we discovered that the "toilet" was a hole in the floor, with two metal strips for our feet. Of course, there was no way to flush it and everything ran down into a trench. No paper either, so we got out our handy Kleenex.
In Europe, you always pay for the privilege in a public restroom and a man might encounter a cleaning lady or lady taking up money. In Egypt, you are given one square of toilet paper as you go into the fairly clean restroom and you have to pay as you leave. In Dalian, China, I was trying to help my friend who uses crutches (fortunately this was an American fixture) open a stuck door and the entire door came off the hinges! I have taken a lot of teasing for this. At the original Olympic stadium in Athens, the restrooms were marble!
In some countries, the plumbing is so primitive that you are asked to throw your used paper into a trash can next to the toilet. Most of the time, I forgot since I was in the habit of throwing it in the toilet at home. How would you like to clean these bathrooms?
The one complaint I have about restrooms in all countries is that why do tour companies plan their stops at places with the least number of ladies' toilets and the maximum number of buses and tourists. I hate spending all of my stop waiting in line to use the facilities.
In Moscow, we found the restroom (called "toilet" in Europe and Australia) down in the basement of Gum Department Store, which is now a large mall filled with high-end stores that ordinary Russians cannot begin to afford. We knew that there would be a "babushka", or grandmother-like lady wanting to take money for the privilege and we had one-dollar bills to give her. However, this lady chewed us out in Russian for even thinking of giving her foreign money and tried to tell us where the money changing booth was and of course we couldn't understand a word she said. Knowing we were running out of time since we had to get on our bus, we went and found our guide. She gave us the correct amount in very small change saying that the ladies did not like to give out change. We got chewed out again becuse we had such small change, but she did allow us to go in. When we got in, we discovered that the "toilet" was a hole in the floor, with two metal strips for our feet. Of course, there was no way to flush it and everything ran down into a trench. No paper either, so we got out our handy Kleenex.
In Europe, you always pay for the privilege in a public restroom and a man might encounter a cleaning lady or lady taking up money. In Egypt, you are given one square of toilet paper as you go into the fairly clean restroom and you have to pay as you leave. In Dalian, China, I was trying to help my friend who uses crutches (fortunately this was an American fixture) open a stuck door and the entire door came off the hinges! I have taken a lot of teasing for this. At the original Olympic stadium in Athens, the restrooms were marble!
In some countries, the plumbing is so primitive that you are asked to throw your used paper into a trash can next to the toilet. Most of the time, I forgot since I was in the habit of throwing it in the toilet at home. How would you like to clean these bathrooms?
The one complaint I have about restrooms in all countries is that why do tour companies plan their stops at places with the least number of ladies' toilets and the maximum number of buses and tourists. I hate spending all of my stop waiting in line to use the facilities.
A Shouting Match in Shanghai
One of the stops on our modern Shanghai tour was riding the maglev train, a train which runs 268 miles per hour. Our tour guide told us that we would ride from a station in the city to the airport, get out long enough to take pictures, and get back on the train for the ride back. It was very interesting to see how much faster we were going than the cars on the adjacent highway while riding the train.
When we got to the airport and got off the train, our group was met by a lady who works for the airport station. She told the guide that we could not just get back on the train but would have to go to the entrance, go through the turnstile, and then board. The guide and the station lady got into an extremely loud shouting match in Chinese and eventually a policeman had to come and separate them. We were able to get back on the train without going back to the entrance.
After we got on the bus, the guide explained to us that this happened all the time and she couldn't understand why there were problems getting back on the train. We had round-trip tickets, purchased with the tour, and she always showed the station personnel those documents. She said the tour didn't allow time for going all the way to the entrance and back up because we would surely miss that train and have to wait for another.
A Taxi Experience in Beijing
As I mentioned earlier, I collect Hard Rock Cafe bears. So while in Beijing, I wanted to go to the Hard Rock Cafe to get a bear. One of the men on our pre-cruise group in Beijing collects Hard Rock pins so he, my husband, and I decided to take a taxi to the Hard Rock Cafe, purchase our collectibles, and eat there since we knew the food was familiar. The concierge at the hotel gave us a card with the name and the address of the hotel written in Chinese so we wouldn't have any problems getting a taxi back.
We had no problem at all getting to the Hard Rock Cafe where our friend paid the taxi fare. We noted now much it was. When we got ready to go back to the hotel, we got into a taxi that was waiting in front of the cafe and our friend showed him the card given to us by the hotel. My husband and I noticed that the way back didn't look like the way to the cafe and it seemed as if we were going a long way out of the way. When the taxi driver stopped at a strange apartment-looking building that looked nothing like our hotel, we showed him the card again and he reluctantly took us a very long distance back to the correct hotel. The fare was considerably more than the fair going to the restaurant.
As we got out of the taxi, the doorman, a large man with a turban on his head, went to the taxi driver and asked him where we had come from. We explained to him that the driver had taken us to the wrong hotel and then way out of the way. The doorman and the taxi driver got into a very loud shouting match and the result was that we were refunded some of our money. Apparently, the doorman knew of this taxi driver and this is why the taxi driver didn't want to go to our hotel. I'm sure the driver was reported to his company by the doorman, who thankfully looked out for his guests. Anyway, I did get the panda Hard Rock Cafe bear, which sits in a place of honor in my computer room.
We had no problem at all getting to the Hard Rock Cafe where our friend paid the taxi fare. We noted now much it was. When we got ready to go back to the hotel, we got into a taxi that was waiting in front of the cafe and our friend showed him the card given to us by the hotel. My husband and I noticed that the way back didn't look like the way to the cafe and it seemed as if we were going a long way out of the way. When the taxi driver stopped at a strange apartment-looking building that looked nothing like our hotel, we showed him the card again and he reluctantly took us a very long distance back to the correct hotel. The fare was considerably more than the fair going to the restaurant.
As we got out of the taxi, the doorman, a large man with a turban on his head, went to the taxi driver and asked him where we had come from. We explained to him that the driver had taken us to the wrong hotel and then way out of the way. The doorman and the taxi driver got into a very loud shouting match and the result was that we were refunded some of our money. Apparently, the doorman knew of this taxi driver and this is why the taxi driver didn't want to go to our hotel. I'm sure the driver was reported to his company by the doorman, who thankfully looked out for his guests. Anyway, I did get the panda Hard Rock Cafe bear, which sits in a place of honor in my computer room.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Eating While Traveling
Eating while traveling to other countries can be a confusing experience. There are several parts of the world where you don't feel comfortable eating the native foods and others where it is an enjoyable experience. One important fact to remember is that in most countries, don't drink the water from the tap unless you are told that it is safe to do so. Instead, buy bottled water and have plenty of it on hand.
It depends on what country we visit whether or not we eat the food. In China, when we went on our day tour
s, we never knew what we would be served. We had tables for 8 people with a turntable in the middle. At each place setting was a saucer-size plate, a soup bowl with weird shaped spoon, a glass, a fork, and a set of chopsticks. The servers would bring the food out and put it on the turntable. Many times we did not know what it was but we learned that Chinese food in China is not like Chinese food in the United States. We could not even recognize some of the food. We would try to take a sample of each food, but I was glad that white rice and watermelon were served at the meals because I knew what they were. At one stop we were served chicken feet, which nobody ate. I was told later by a Vietnamese person at home that chicken feet are a delicacy in China and we were being honored.
In Venice, we had delicious lasagna in one of the restaurants there. In Egypt and Israel, the food that we ate on our tours were just like American food with meats and vegetables. In Russia, we had Chicken Kiev and some of the people were afraid to eat the salad because they didn't know if the vegetables had been washed with fresh water. In Honduras, we ate only the food at the hotel and snacked during the day. In Australia, we were introduced to "dim sum", food with a dumpling coating and we also tried squid and kangaroo meat. In New Zealand, we had a traditional English Christmas dinner at a farmhouse with the three meats (one was turkey but no dressing) and all of the other English trimmings, including Christmas cake (which we call fruitcake).
Many sandwiches in Europe are served with a fried egg on top. Raw beef is listed on a menu at nice restaurants in France. At the McDonald's in Venice, we were surprised to see that pigeons were encouraged to come into the restaurant to eat food that had fallen on the floor; however, it was unnerving to be eating and have pigeons flying around your head. Yuk!!!! If someone closed the door, another person would open it and let the birds in. The gelato in Venice, however, was delicious.
These are just some of the ethnic experiences that I have had. However, I would rather stick to the familiar, since I don't want to spoil a once-in-a-lifetime experience by getting sick.
It depends on what country we visit whether or not we eat the food. In China, when we went on our day tour
s, we never knew what we would be served. We had tables for 8 people with a turntable in the middle. At each place setting was a saucer-size plate, a soup bowl with weird shaped spoon, a glass, a fork, and a set of chopsticks. The servers would bring the food out and put it on the turntable. Many times we did not know what it was but we learned that Chinese food in China is not like Chinese food in the United States. We could not even recognize some of the food. We would try to take a sample of each food, but I was glad that white rice and watermelon were served at the meals because I knew what they were. At one stop we were served chicken feet, which nobody ate. I was told later by a Vietnamese person at home that chicken feet are a delicacy in China and we were being honored.In Venice, we had delicious lasagna in one of the restaurants there. In Egypt and Israel, the food that we ate on our tours were just like American food with meats and vegetables. In Russia, we had Chicken Kiev and some of the people were afraid to eat the salad because they didn't know if the vegetables had been washed with fresh water. In Honduras, we ate only the food at the hotel and snacked during the day. In Australia, we were introduced to "dim sum", food with a dumpling coating and we also tried squid and kangaroo meat. In New Zealand, we had a traditional English Christmas dinner at a farmhouse with the three meats (one was turkey but no dressing) and all of the other English trimmings, including Christmas cake (which we call fruitcake).
Many sandwiches in Europe are served with a fried egg on top. Raw beef is listed on a menu at nice restaurants in France. At the McDonald's in Venice, we were surprised to see that pigeons were encouraged to come into the restaurant to eat food that had fallen on the floor; however, it was unnerving to be eating and have pigeons flying around your head. Yuk!!!! If someone closed the door, another person would open it and let the birds in. The gelato in Venice, however, was delicious.
These are just some of the ethnic experiences that I have had. However, I would rather stick to the familiar, since I don't want to spoil a once-in-a-lifetime experience by getting sick.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Hard Rock Cafe Bears
I am a collector of Hard Rock Cafe bears. Right now I have around 30 of them with the latest being from Gatlinburg, Tennessee, where we visited on our tour of fall leaves. Most of them are the standard Herrington bears but depending upon the country, there are different types. In Beijing, China, the bear is a stuffed panda bear and in Sydney, Australia, the bear is a koala bear. I have bears from places as Reykjavik, Iceland; Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Niagara Falls, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, and Stockholm. They are displayed all around my computer room and I am running quickly running out of space to display them.
Whenever we are in a place with a Hard Rock Cafe and are able to get to it, we go purchase a bear. In Stockholm, we walked many blocks to get to the Hard Rock Cafe. In Athens, we were disappointed that they didn't have the large bear for sale, so we had to get a smaller keyring bear. In Destin, we visited the smallest Hard Rock Cafe in the world to get that bear. In Reykjavik, we found the Hard Rock Cafe by accident when we went into a mall there. In Beijing, we went by taxi with another fellow traveler who collects Hard Rock pins and were taken way out of our way by our taxi driver on the return trip. The concierge at our hotel recognized the driver and made him refund some of our fare because it was considerably more than the price we paid to go to the cafe.
Fortunately the bears take being squashed in a suitcase quite well.
We don't always eat at the Hard Rock Cafes when we go to buy bears but I like collecting them because they do show the places we have been. I plan to buy bears whenever I can on our future trips wherever I can find a Hard Rock Cafe.
Whenever we are in a place with a Hard Rock Cafe and are able to get to it, we go purchase a bear. In Stockholm, we walked many blocks to get to the Hard Rock Cafe. In Athens, we were disappointed that they didn't have the large bear for sale, so we had to get a smaller keyring bear. In Destin, we visited the smallest Hard Rock Cafe in the world to get that bear. In Reykjavik, we found the Hard Rock Cafe by accident when we went into a mall there. In Beijing, we went by taxi with another fellow traveler who collects Hard Rock pins and were taken way out of our way by our taxi driver on the return trip. The concierge at our hotel recognized the driver and made him refund some of our fare because it was considerably more than the price we paid to go to the cafe.
Fortunately the bears take being squashed in a suitcase quite well.
We don't always eat at the Hard Rock Cafes when we go to buy bears but I like collecting them because they do show the places we have been. I plan to buy bears whenever I can on our future trips wherever I can find a Hard Rock Cafe.
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