Meet Mobal Manager, Stephen Clough...

How To Solve Jet Lag?

You’ll remember last month I was asking you for your biggest travel problems. Well, there was method in my madness.

Each month I’m going to publish one lucky Mobal Members problem in the hope that you may be able to help them (and you’ll look like a really knowledgeable traveler too – double whammy!)

This first travel problem is from Debra Chesnut:

“Hi Michael,

Your travel tips newsletter has been very helpful and I enjoy it a great deal. I have a question for you and your travel people. I live in Alaska and travel quite a bit and the jet lag is a terrible problem.

I tend to ask every frequent traveler I meet what they do about jet lag and have been surprised by how many didn't think it was a problem. I finally realized that the time zone differences is why others don't seem to be having as much as a problem as I (going East is much worse than going West), however, I know that some of your frequent travelers must cross the same number of time zones as I do and would be interested in ANY suggestions whatsoever about overcoming jet lag.

Over the years I have learned a lot of little tips that have helped but none have worked excellently. I am leaving for Bernaul, Russia and the jet lag will be horrendous.

Any help for me?

Debra Chesnut”

If you have a jet lag cure, email it to me at michael@mobalphone.com and I'll publish it next month

Why You Can Never Be Prepared For The Unexpected When Traveling

Now, I’m not one to be smug (yeah right!) but I do like to occasionally hear when the experts get caught out*, and this months Mobal Member story is one of those occasions…

*Everything works out in the end, so I don’t feel like I’m being too mean

Karen Kanar is a travel agent, so used to booking travel, but on her recent tour in Rome she was hit by not one, but 4 unexpected events where she had to rely on her Mobal World Phone to save the day.

"Hi Michael,

I got a Mobal World Phone just before guiding a tour that involved a 12-day cruise to Italy, Greece & Turkey ...and was it ever useful!

Unplanned Event #1

My Mobal World Phone first proved itself when I was standing outside Terminal B at the Rome international airport trying to connect with the taxi service carrying the 5 other people I was to meet. I used the Mobal World Phone to call the taxi service when I got nervous thinking I'd missed everyone.

Unplanned Event #2

My Mobal World Phone next was valuable when I called the car rental agency to tell them to pick us up at the cruise terminal at 9:00 AM, instead of 11:00 AM as had been arranged with Reservation Desk, only to be told there was no courtesy shuttle! We quickly made new arrangements instead of waiting endlessly and missing the cruise.

Unplanned Event #3

The 3rd "Saved By my Mobal World Phone" was being fetched by the hotel desk clerk. After making several passes through the town trying to follow the directions sent by the hotel, I gave up, dug out my Mobal World Phone and called the hotel. The desk clerk CAME AND LEAD US TO THE HOTEL!!! And, if he hadn't, we'd still be looking for that hotel now!


It wasn’t all emergencies though. I constantly used my Mobal World Phone to book tour reservations; check train schedules; notify hotels we were running late (usually because we'd taken a couple of "detours" through the gorgeous yet distracting countryside); and kept in contact with home.

Unplanned Event #4

The last “saved by my Mobal World Phone” was when I left a beautiful jacket on the water taxi in Venice before going to the train station to go to Rome. As soon as I realized it was left behind I called the hotel who contacted the water taxi; my jacket was returned to the hotel & sent to me. I know if I'd waited until getting to Rome to make those calls I probably would never have seen the jacket again.

So, thank you Mobal for all your help on this trip... you will definitely being going on every overseas trip I take from now on. I sent Mobal World Phone information to every friend I have that travels. I am a travel agent and I recommend it to anyone going outside the USA…

…Who wants to be hunting for a public phone that takes a pre-paid card when you have an emergency, flat tire, or need information NOW!!! Get the Mobal World Phone, I tell them.

Karen Kanar, Born To Travel"

Help Your Friends Travel Safely Too!
If you'd like to know your friends are traveling safely too, tell them about the Mobal World Phone, and get 10% off your calls for life for each friend who orders
www.mobal.com/referafriend

Like A Trip To Italy?
Check out the latest deals at Expedia...
www.expedia.com

How To Get Cheap Flights — Maybe it’s because I’m only a size 8 shoe, but when I heard that I also had a Carbon Footprint, I was determined to make mine as big as possible (Napoleon Complex anyone?). To help me in my quest I’ve found this website that tells you how to get cheap flights…

Learn about cheap flights here: http://www.artoftravel.com/04cheapflights.htm

Get Your Computer To Tell You Where To Go On Holiday — They say computers are getting cleverer, well mine’s just told me where I should go on holiday (it suggested London, which is lucky as I’m actually going to be there next weekend). Ok, say my computer didn’t really tell me, it’s just a website where you tell it how important things like nightlife, attractions and dinning are to you on a sliding scale, and it’ll suggest where you should go.

See where you should travel next here: http://www.tripbase.com

How To Fold Your Clothes For Maximum Efficiency — There is something about people who are really exact about their packing that makes me think that they’re the same type of people that label their drawers at home, and possibly iron their underwear too. If you’re such a person then you’re going to love this pictorial guide to packing a small bag.

Check out this packing technique here: http://www.onebag.com/popups/bundle.html

How To Turn Your Vacation Pics Into A Smart Looking Website To Impress Your Friends — No matter how good your Vacation was, and no matter how great your pictures are, you’re friends are going to be bored to tears when you try and show them (even thought they probably asked to see them, they were only being polite and didn’t really mean it!). In an attempt to make them more exciting, you could try using this website that lets you like your photos to interactive maps and description.

Check out how you can make your vacation snaps more exciting at: http://www.schmapplets.com/

Mobal Member Ann Moos sent this (terrifying, brilliant, hilarious) tip

1. What To Do If You Flush Your Trousers Out Of The Plane

"I always carry extra change of clothes and underware in my carry on.

My friend flew to Norway one day and during the flight became ill. (Ate some potato salad at airport.) She asked her girl friend to go with her. While in the bath room she was ill on her pants/slacks. There was no water in the sink so she tried to clean them in the toilet. But when she went to flush the toilet to get the water, the suction flushed the pants down the toilet...

She opened the door slightly and asked her friend to get her carry on bag. Saved the day.

Ever since she told us that story, I never travel without a change of
clothes.

TRUE STORY.

Best regards, Ann Moos"

Check out lightweigh, wrinkle free clothes at Pro Travel Gear

Here’s one from my web-developing colleague, Ben Jesson

2. How To Ensure You Never Over Pack Again

"Everytime you come back home and start to unpack. Make a list of the things you never used and leave it in your bag. That way the next time you come to pack you'll have a list of extra things you don't need to take."

If you need to smarten up your luggage, get discount at LuggageOnline

Mobal Member Paul Thibodeau sent me these 2 tips:

3. How To Create A Dummy Wallet To Outsmart Would Be Muggers

"Don't cut up expired credit cards! Save them. I always carry a hidden wallet with: Expired Credit Cards and some cash. I haven't tested this yet (knock on wood), but the idea is that you hand them a hidden wallet with money and credit cards, they will go on their way thinking you gave them your real wallet. "

Check out cheap wallets at Amazon

4. How To Ensure You’re Never Without Your Travel Document Details

"I have made copies of my insurance cards, Passport, drivers license,PADI certificate, emergency contact info, my contact info and important phone numbers (like the number to call if I lose my credit card) all on an sheet of paper. I then put a copy in EVERY bag I own. Now I never have to worry about forgetting this information or not having access to it in an emergency."

Mobal Member Elizabeth Lee sent me this tip:

5. How To Organize Your Drugs (Medical, Not Recreational!)

"Dear Michael,

I always get plenty of medications to take with me on our travels after once getting very sick overseas. My medicine bag used to take up a large part of my carry-on luggage, as it was loaded with many plastic vials or boxes of pills.

Now, I go to the office supply store and purchase small zip lock plastic baggies (they come in several sizes). I load each of my medicines separately into a tiny bag and use the peel and stick extra label that my pharmacy prints on the medicine information sheet. I then have small labeled bags of medicines with the rescription name, dosage, pharmacy phone number and prescription number right on the front.

Best of all, all my medicines fit into a quart or gallon sized zip lock bag and take up virtually no room at all in my carry on! My husband thought up this great idea and I'm grateful every time I pack for a trip.

Regards,
Elisabeth Lee"

Check out ZipLoc bags on Amazon (is there anything they don't sell?)

Bob Christofk sent me this tip:

6. How To Create A Portable Laundry

"We always take along a 10-12 ft length of cord with some miniture clothes pins. Helps to hang things up to dry either from rain or washing. Also a handful of different sizes of plastic bags for "leaky" containers or damp clothes.

Regards from Tucson, Arizona
Bob Christofk"

Wow, Amazon even sell washing lines!, check them out here

Mobal Member Dorothy Faller sent me this tip:

7. How To Keep Your Clothes Wrinkle Free When Packing

"Pack the clothes you want to keep from being wrinkled in the plastic cleaner bags on hangers. They can be hung up right away and will have no wrinkles."

Mobal Member “Anonymous” sent me this tip:

8. The Little Accessory That Has Endless Use

"Travel Suggestion: Never travel without duct tape. Just roll several yards on a pencil. The uses are endless."

Yep, check out Amazon for all your duct tape needs!

1. How To Stop Fumbling For Your Documents When Traveling

"Tired of fumbling for my Passport and other travel documents at security check points, I bought two adjustable holders that hang around the neck..one very light made of mylon for wearing underneath my clothes in which I carry money and credit cards...the other a more durable one for hanging outside when needing to produce my Passport, Visa , boarding pass or other ID..It also has a slot for a pen and business cards...Very handy. "

You can get these at ProTravelGear


M. Frances Manning
Hackensack,N.J.

2. How To Organize Your Packing For Maximum Convenience

"Just returned from a grueling inspection trip in Turkey. Wonderful country.
However, I was in a different hotel each night for 15 days. I was not
flustered because I packed clothes by catagory in the zip lock bags on
uses for storage. Cold day.....unzip sweater bag. Hot day......unzip
lightweight bag. By the end of the trip my suitcase was still organized
because I brought an extra bag for dirty clothes!!! Everything had
it's place."

R. McKenna

You can find a whole choice of Ziploc bags at Amazon

3. Why Travel Adapters Are So Important

"I recently spent 8 months traveling through South America and frequently found myself in a budget hotel room with no plug ins. This is either due to the high cost of electricity, lack of electrical codes, or both. This caused a problem when I needed to charge my camera battery or cell phone. I looked all over the markets and stores for one of those light socket to two prong adapters that I had used at home long ago, but I couldn't find one anywhere. Next trip I make to a third world country I will be sure to bring one along. You just need to remember that the voltage from the light socket will be either 220 or 110, the same as the wall. If you're using an auto switching adapter like many cell phone and camera chargers, they work from 100V to 240V anyway."

Darren Anspach

4. How To Increase Your Chances Of Getting A Good Seat On The Plane

No need to ride in a middle seat especially if you have some status with an airline. 72 hours before a flight and again 24 hours before a flight (usually at midnight eastern time 3 days departure). All the high status people waiting for upgrades to first class get bumped up-front freeing up some of the best seats in coach. So check the web site during those times for great seat improvements."

Terry Provonsha

5. How To Make Your Hotel Room As Dark As Possible To Sleep

"Hey Michael,
When I travel across time zones it is sometimes necessary to catch some
sleep during daylight hours and in some hotels the outdoor lights are very
intense at night. Rather than struggle trying to get curtains closed
completely a trick is to use the pants hangers from the closet. Use the
clips to hold the curtains firmly closed preventing light to come in."

6. How To Cover Up A Bad Smells In Your Hotel Room

"Also, once in a while you get that musty smell from the room air
conditioner. I spray some cologne on a Kleenex and drape or hang that on
the air intake grate, as it evaporates it spreads a nicer (hopefully)
fragrance in the room."

Best Regards. Tom