A Cure For Jet Lag?

Anyone that flies over several time zones as I am known to do, can, on occasion, suffer from jet lag. And every one who has suffered more than once has come up with his or her own way to cure the problem. (Sometimes I think there are as many cures to jet lag as there are travelers.)

Now, a psychologist from Australia has come up with a computer program that is supposed to help you “prevent” jet lag. It’s called Jet Lag Rooster.

It’s simple to use. Go to the website, plug in a few bits of information, and it gives you a detailed plan on what to do in terms of sleep and light.

Does it work? I don’t know. I’m writing this at 3:30 in the morning. Of course, I haven’t really tried the program, either.

The website is free and an iphone app is in development.

What do you go to prevent, or cure, jet lag?

True Road Warrior

There is a new PBS TV series titled, “America Revealed,” that looks at numerous aspects of how this nation operates.

Last night’s episode was about transportation and they produced a small piece on Dean Burri, an international insurance salesman who is the definition of “road warrior.” Notice he travels without wheels. (BTW, I believe the bag is a discontinued Tumi model.)

Here’s another article on the guy with some excellent tips (Be aware, the article is 5 1/2 years old.)

Road Warrior

Watch Frequent Flyer on PBS. See more from America Revealed

Actual survival kit

“Survival kit” is often (over)used figuratively to denote a set of essential items for a given activity or interest. Let’s talk about a bare minimum, actual set of (life) survival items that even a light traveler could carry. A couple of disposable breathing masks, iodide tablets, antibiotics? I don’t wish to go overboard or become a survivalist per se, but surely many of us have been thinking about this in recent days.

And while I’m at it - this moderated blog/board/live update page from Reuters is the single best Japan disaster news source I’ve seen.

(Brad)

Update on March 17, 2011 by Frank@OBOW

FRANK II’s Pick

Favorite travel apps

Nothing saves more weight that ditching that laptop in favor of a handheld device. Here are a few of my favorite travel apps for iPhone/Touch/iPad — good ways to put those iTunes gift cards to work.

The first two are all about a good night’s sleep. Some light travelers are also light in the wallet and, as such, may not be able to afford the quietest of accommodations. Naturespace and White Noise are apps that provide soothing background noise that make getting to sleep and staying there easier. You can use earbuds for best effect, but if comfort or safety concerns cause you to shun earbuds in bed, both apps play at a high volume on the iPhone or Touch’s built-in speaker with surprising, three-dimensional audio. Sleep timers mean they don’t have to play all night. The free/lite version of either is terrific; upgrades are available. Naturespace seems to be Apple-only. White Noise has a version for nearly every mobile platform.

My other fave is London Tube Deluxe. It’s hard to imagine more value for 99 cents if you’re headed to the town on the Thames. Great for Touch, even better for the iPhone.

Other obvious picks are Skype and a variety of guidebook and language apps. What are your most apptastic essentials?

(Brad)

Update on November 23, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

The noise apps are also helpful when you’re trying to sleep on a plane…

Have beans, will travel

DRIP, DRIP, DRIPIf you REALLY like good coffee GSI Outdoors offers a number of backpacker-intended items that will allow you to travel with the coffee of your choice without adding too much weight. In my younger days I once plugged in my 4-cup maker and a grinder on a four-hour ferry ride. I’ve moderated since then. It was the best coffee I’ve ever had on a boat though. (HT: CoolTools)

OBOW in the Post

Palm Beach Post, that is. Your editor and Doug Dyment are quoted in this nice little story about packing light. I said:

“You’ll never pack light if you try to cover every possible situation or crisis you might encounter. Of course it might be colder or hotter than you expect, you might have time to do some hiking, you might need dressier clothing,” he says, “but if you pack to prepare for every last eventuality, you’ll always be overloaded.”

And, many travelers also take too much, says Doug Dyment, author of OneBag.com, because “they make all their packing decisions at the worst possible time: just prior to leaving.”

A better approach, Dyment says, is to learn – well in advance of your trip – how to leave things behind. “It’s difficult to imagine anything that will have a similarly profound effect on one’s travel experiences,” he says.

Both Dyment’s and Isbell’s websites are crammed with helpful advice on lightening your load. But for a crash course – no pun intended – we asked them, and some frequent travelers, for a few road-tested tips. - read more

Update on June 24, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

I might add that the most important thing that OBOW is “crammed full of” is reader-generated content and comments - useful, quaint, quirky, and creative. 

(Not so) light food

Yet another article from Fodor’s - this one about eating cheap in Europe. I know, maybe a little late for all the OBOWers that have recently been to the Continent. To this list I would have to add my favorite $5(equivalent) lunch in Britain: the delightful Cornish pasty (rhymes with fastly, not hasty) which are widely available. They are by far the cheapest lunch in Covent Garden. They’re basically a portable pot pie with no utensils required.

Update on June 3, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Covent Garden is served by this chain which is actually quite good. The takeaway prices are much cheaper than dine-in. Less appetizing are the cold pasties you can pick up in some bakeries or butcher shops. Best had hot. And do be sure to drink some porter (if you can find it) at Covent Garden where, as legend has it, the ale was invented. It was said to be a favorite of the many porters who served the market there when fruit and vegetable wholesalers predominated.

Might need, might not

Here’s an entertaining article from Fodor’s (gleaned from their forums) on unconventional items that seasoned travelers pack. You won’t need them all but a few have merit, even for the ultralight crowd. A sampling:

• Inflatable ice bucket
• Duct tape wrapped around a pen ( I use s small plastic bottle from which the top and bottom have been cut off - crushable but not so tight as a pen)
• Collapsible flower vase(!?!)
• Ziploc washing machine (we get that)

Sporkulous

If there’s demand for a travel plunger, why not a travel spork (spoon/fork/knife, actually). This indestructible plastic wonder from Scandinavia is practically weightless and is popular with backpackers. Great if your travel is not only light but also cheap. For in-room food prep, stirring a beverage, or when that takeout place leaves out the cutlery (arghhh!) — Spork to the rescue! I keep one in my desk, but I’ll be taking it along on trips, too.

LIGHTMYFIRE corporate site - lots of cool stuff

Update on March 25, 2010 by Frank@OBOW

Paper vs. touch screen

anglotopia.netIn the analog vs. digital debate, another test case: Paul Croughton of the Times of London pitted an app-rich iPhone against a lowly guidebook. A sneak preview of his conclusions:

In fact, none of the London guides on the iPhone beats having a guidebook with you. Yes, phones are smaller and lighter, and using them means that you don’t instantly look like a tourist (although you might still be a target for pickpockets if you’re waving an iPhone about). But the apps can be fiddly and time-consuming, and they drain your phone’s battery something rotten. Which means you’re then stuck in a new city with no guide and no phone. And not even Apple can save you then.

Some of the more specific apps, however, are worth having, especially those that use GPS technology to personalise the information you receive. So, next time I travel, I’ll pack a guidebook, but I’ll browse the iTunes store to see if there’s a nifty little app that tells me where the nearest cab rank is, which platform I need to find on the subway and how to ask “Can I recharge my phone in your restaurant, please?” in Cantonese.

Read the full account of his test here. And what have your experiences been?

Update on August 25, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

A list of 19 London iPhone apps from Anglotopia.

NO OBOW APP…YET

Remember analog?

Implicit Simplicity’s analog PDA:

The basics of the system are the same. Printouts from Google Calendar and Google Tasks gives me a “wear and tear” couple of A4-sheets which fold nicely into my back pocket. Extremely portable, nobody will steal it and it doesn’t matter if I lose them or I get caught in a downpour.

I do a similar thing to save weight, printing out double-sided small-print sheets instead of taking guidebooks and big maps. But still - if you have good eyes and nimble fingers - there’s nothing like an iPhone or a Kindle to replace the most stuff and save the most weight.

Update on August 24, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

An analog tip from OBOW reader Maria - be sure to mix this technique with a dose of graciousness or it could go quite wrong:

Print a copy of the TSA (or equivalent depending on country) government official website listing what is allowed in a carry on bag. Every once in a while you will get a TSA agent that likes to have their own version of the rules. Here is an example of how it helped to have a copy / print out from the official website:

A friend was stopped for bringing her knitting needles in her carry-on bag. She then showed her printed pages indicating that knitting needles were allowed - and was then able to bring them instead of having them confiscated and thrown out.

Jacket folding video from Till

Here’s our first exclusive OBOW video - thanks to Till. It’s a demo of a jacket folding technique he found here. Try it out and let us know what you think. Enjoy.

(Video has no sound)

Update on August 14, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Look for more OBOW video content soon. I established a YouTube account long ago but did nothing with it. Thanks to Till for spurring me into action.

You need GoToob

Here’s the vaunted GoToob line mentioned by by Till in a Forum post. They’re squeezable and 3-1-1 compliant.

Update on July 8, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

And Humangear’s capCap is pretty cool too.

Worldwide weather

Packing light means packing right. Here’s a nifty world weather site so you’ll know what’s right - clothing-wise -  for any time of year at nearly any destination. You can find average temperatures, rainfall totals, and number of rainy days for most travel destinations.

Little luggage, lower rates

Carrying less can help you pay less for your next hotel room. Check the online rates, then compare them against the walk-up rates in, say, London for non-peak seasons. You may pay less by walking in early in the day - provided you’re unhurried and not obviously desperate - and asking for their best rate. If you stumble in, bedraggled, pulling a wagon train of luggage and weary traveling companions, expect to pay more. The rates are often variable, they are market-driven, they are based on supply and demand. It needs to appear that you need them less than they need you. A light shoulder bag conveys ease and sends the message that you’ll gladly walk on down the street in search of a better deal - one more reason to go light. Of course there is an element of risk. What if all the rooms in a given area are full? This is rarely the case, but if it is the light traveler can hop off to another area. Understand the risk, but expect to reap the reward.

Quick trip notes

1. Nothing is free in France, including WiFi, toilets with seats (or toilet access at all). Spending $20 bucks at a cafe is the best way to find a nice toilet.
2. The French can be exceedingly nice. I went through security for my Paris departure with my wife’s boarding pass while unknowingly holding mine in my bag. She was back at the ticket counter getting our large group through. This could have become a monumental hassle and security red alert. It was handled rationally, politely, and reasonably by the French airport authority staff. TSA they are not. Vive la France. I take back 49% of all the nasty things I’ve ever said about them.
3. Heathrow Terminal 5 is OK - neither as good or as bad as you might have heard. It’s a great spot if you want to spend $600 on perfume or see an Italian supercar spinning on a turntable. Finding a bottle of water is a bit harder.
4. No review any time soon on the Rick Steves bag. My creature-of-habit brother-in-law couldn’t let go of his eBags Weekender Convertible.
5. A rarely-mentioned reason to go light/one-bag is the paucity of elevators in most of the world outside the US. A 40-pound rolling bag up five flights of stairs is miserable and many are destroyed as their owners thunk-thunk-thunk them down. A cheap rolling bag is always one curb or staircase from destruction.NC10 ON THE TGV
6. The high-speed TGV is cool and comfortable, but boarding one with a lot of luggage is not. A small carryon is also a must if you want to keep your bag nearby since the overhead rack on the TGV is not too spacious. And the TGV is double decked - another reason not to have a large or heavy bag.
7. I wouldn’t want a larger computer than the 10-inch netbook for plane or train. The tray tables in coach are just too small for anything else unless you like using your screen at less than 90 degrees (see photo).

Duct tape hack

(This is a re-post of a tape trick that has stood the test of time and use)

Duct tape can save your bag or your trip. This is no original idea, but still - don’t leave home without it. I do have a better variety of tape for you though. Scotch Heavy Duty All-Weather Duct Tape is amazing stuff. You can find it at hardware stores or home centers. It really is waterproof and will stick outdoors to nearly anything through any weather - for months. It can probably handle your ripped suitcase or broken pull-handle. I re-wrap about six feet of it around an empty plastic bottle, then cut the ends out of the bottle to make a flexible, flattenable, smashable core. One cool thing - it’s a darker gray than regular duct tape so it doesn’t look quite so much like, well, duct tape.

Blade-free plane pal

Gleaned from a recent OBOW forum discussion, this may be one of the best mult-tool options that you can actually carry on a commerical aircraft - the Wenger Clipper AT:

You may well consider this more of a personal grooming accessory than a pocket knife/Leatherman tool replacement. Features include:

• Ergonomic handles
• 1.75-in pen blade
• Exclusive nail clipper
• Micro screwdriver
• 1.8-in springless scissors with serrated, self-sharpening design
• Nail file
• Nail cleaner
• Toothpick
• Tweezers
• Key ring
• Weight: 1.3 oz
• Actual Size: 2.5 in

Check out the thread for more possibilities. If the TSA abides by their own rules this tool should present no problems at checkpoints.

Update on April 24, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

I don’t believe you’ll be able to sneak this Wenger product through:

Sinking feeling

Here’s a helpful thread from the Rick Steves forum concerning sink laundry techniques. I’m in the market for a microfiber packtowel since hotels are not always willing to supply extra towels and my wife doesn’t like it when I dampen all the towels before she can use them.

The Compleat Travel Shaver

Updated on March 28, 2009 by Frank@OBOW

Thanks to Till for this take on shaving

Ever the gadget freak and quite the saving aficionado and travel enthusiast the issue of SWT (Shaving While Traveling) is a welcome challenge. In this thread I’d like to introduce a couple of ideas and hear from others how they have dealt with the SWT issue.

There are a number of considerations at hand, that I can think of. Do you see any others?

1. The shave should be a very good, close shave.
2. It should be easy on the skin for when we travel for business we cannot afford to have a day in between two shaves to let the skin rest.
3. The equipment needed should be as lightweight and as few pieces as possible.
4. If we can do get our gels and liquids in 311 friendly sizes, just the better.
5. It would be nice if our efforts don’t cost and arm and a leg.
6. If the shave is quick, that is a significant bonus but not a requirement.

So, recently I bought two new wet shavers (the Schick Quattro Titanium with Trimmer and the Azor by King of Shaves) and also a new electric razor (the new Philips top model).

In addition, I ordered the Alpha Oil by King of Shaves, introduced elsewhere on this forum. The version I got is specified as being for sensitive skin (always better) and anti-bacterial. It contains Triclosan, the same stuff found in anti-bacterial hand soaps. This is particularly welcome since the plan is not to use an aftershave.

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