VERY OT International traveling???

Deep breaths Leslie. You can do it! Can you reveal where you are going? The easiest thing to do is go to a good hairdresser who can give you a cut that needs no hairspray or curling iron! There are pump hairsprays, but don't forget to keep it under 3oz. if you are going to carry it on. I bet Bronnie can give you the best packing advice! I'll just tell you to stay calm but enjoy the anticipation. People are really nice and will help you with transportation.

I don't know yet where we are going. I can choose the destination and we'll be meeting there, so I will be traveling alone. The first few times it will be closer to me and English speaking- I *know* that for sure! LOL My overly bleached long blonde hair absolutely *must* be dried and ironed- no way around that, I'm afraid. No really good hairdressers that I've found in my small, small town and I don't want to cut it off any way. Sheesh- I am going to lose my mind with all the little details- and I have nooooo idea what most of the little details are! I ordered a 'dummies' book for travel info. I hope that will help me, but with airline regs changing so often, who knows how up-to-date the book will be.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.

Howdy!

Relax, have a good time. Enjoy the new & unusual, the way "they" do things. Best advice I ever received: "Be a temporary local." (also from RickSteves) Enjoy. Or stay home. ;-P

R/Sandy - the library carries Rick Steves' books; I bought a couple, read all the way thru', then took along just the parts I needed, as he suggests

wow, are you gonna have a blast, Leslie. seems everything has been covered. just a note or two....

if you think you might use the ATMs overseas, be aware of what the fees from your bank or credit card company will add on. also check the fee for the exchange rate on currency added by bank and cc comps.

a 'cash advance' on a credit card has a bigger annual % rate on it than just charging the cost of something, as a rule. as for debit cards, i dont know if that can be used outside usa, pays to check. you might be able to put money into your credit card acct in advance and avoid extra fees if you do need to use it for a cash advance anywhere overseas. then if you dont use it, they send you a cheque for the remainder the following month. check with them how it works, each card company is probably different. pays to read thru all the stuff online at the bank and credit card companys. then call and double check so you've got it from the horses mouth. i hate when they change policy and the info doesnt reach the customer. hey, it happens, argh.

check with your cellphone company if you can use your phone overseas and the cost. it is called global wandering, iirc, or something similar. easier than getting used to a new phone, depends on the cost and how much you think you'll use it of course.

eat the local dishes in restuarants if you can cope with them. usually the best meals you'll get. its been decades since i was in europe but for lunch we'd do a local deli, grab bread, cheese, some local deli meats, a piece of fruit and a bottle drink...eating outside in the sunshine, just like a local might do. :) and learning the basic please, thank you, your welcome in the language will give you a better reception from the locals too. we all appreciate anyone who trys, even with a bad accent it'll give everyone a good laugh, always a good thing, eh.

some bigger hotels have free online access for their guests. i used the one in the Sheraton across the road from where i stayed, just wandered in, sat in front of the lobby tv for a while, then wandered over and used the computer. i used google groups for rctq posts. the hotel didnt even check on me. thot i was a guest. with so many guests you can often get away with it. worked for me a few times. :)

i guess thats all i can think of right now. have funnnnnn, take pix, have funnnnn, take more pix, have more funnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! woooooohoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! j. < dont forget you can always 'wear home' whatever is outside your luggage weight allowance :)) >

Tia Mary, how was Fiji? Marriott is opening up a new spa/resort in Fiji next year in December so DH and I are saving up his Marriott points to go there. We want to stay in one of the overwater bungalows. It doesn't seem like there is really much to do though unless you're into scuba diving or snorkeling, which we're not.

Hugs, Mika

You've been getting great info from everyone. Regarding the cell phone, check, double-check & triple-check about either bringing one from home, with an int'l chip in it or picking one up overseas. A lady I was talking to the other day had a daughter travelling in Europe with a couple of girlfriends. One of the friend's father's got her a cell phone so she could call home in emergencies. Seems it was an emergency to call her boyfriend every chance she got. Anyway, the bill, after 6 weeks was over $10,000.00. The dad said the cell phone store told him she had free minutes or some crazy story. (He's fighting with the cell phone company to get the bill reduced.)

One thing that DH & I found when we were in Germany a few years ago was that most places accepted MasterCard & not Visa. We found this to be true with the ATM machines as well, so that's one thing to ask about when you decide where you are going. We also found that in some parts (if not all) of Germany, if you have a car, you must pick up a cardboard clock (from newsstands, pharmacies, etc.). When you park you are on the honor system & you set your cardboard clock to the time you parked. We got a parking ticket, before we figured this out.

Someone suggested Rick Steves - yes, yes, yes, yes!!!! We have travelled to Europe with Rick's books as our guidebooks several times - he breaks it down & makes it pretty simple.

When we went to Hungary a hundred years ago, I was the only woman wearing shorts! That may have changed by now, but something else to look into. DH always says - whatever you need you can buy there. (Not always true if you are a 6' woman!)

Wherever you decide to go - have a wonderful time. (Oh yes, I've never found public restrooms to be difficult to find - they aren't always as clean as I would like, but usually can be found, wherever you are.)

There are dual-voltage hairdryers, so I imagine they make curling irons as well. Buy an adaptor plug too. Lots depends on where you go and what your accommodations are. Staying with friends? Hotel? Most hotels have hairdryers, and most of my friends would lend me their curling irons.

You can get a lot into a suitcase, but less is more! Again, we need to know your destination. Beach? City? Europe? (Come visit me!) I usually travel with enough underwear for the trip, but I'm lazy and a good packer. If you are in one place for a while, you can take just a few sets and hand wash. I bring 2 pairs of lightweight wool trousers, several knit tops, a nice jacket or 2, and usually a coordinating skirt or dress. 2 pairs of shoes. Bearing in mind that if I really need anything, I can shop! Obviously, some of this stuff will be worn on the journey. I prefer to check my bag, and fly with just a handbag and a small tote for my books, much more elegant. Once we know where you're going, we can do public transportation. Roberta in D "Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Maybe my intestines are less sensitive, but I have never had trouble with drinking local tap water anywhere north of the Alps. Bottled water is somebody else's tap water, carried a great distance and therefore expensive. Just bring along your favorite tummy pills, and nothing bad will happen. Roberta in D

"Leslie & The Furbabies in MO." schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Not true anywhere in Europe I've been in the last 25 years.

Don't bother with American Express, though - the only places that will take it are big hotel chains and very posh restaurants.

BUT be warned that American cards (no matter what provider) will often be refused on technological grounds - they don't usually have a chip, and increasingly shops and banks don't have machinery to handle the old magnetic-stripe-only cards any more. It's worth seeing if you can get a card with a chip, it will make life quite a bit easier.

==== j a c k at c a m p i n . m e . u k === ==== Jack Campin, 11 Third St, Newtongrange EH22 4PU, Scotland == mob 07800 739 557 CD-ROMs and free stuff: Scottish music, food intolerance, and Mac logic fonts

Mika wrote:

DH and I went to Fiji ten years ago (1998) and were there for the celebration (sort of) of our 25th anniversary. We stayed on Matangi, one of the privately owned outer islands. It was a truly idyllic place and there wasn't much to do except scuba and snorkel and just laze around. I will have to say that the diving was truly spectacular and I even have a few of the underwater photos I took up at Webshots along with photos of the island. The best part of staying somewhere that remote is that there are NO PHONES so you can't phone anyone, even if you wanted to. Well, there is a main phone at the hotel desk but that's it. If you want a newspaper, you go to the hotel sitting area where they had the daily Fiji paper delivered and also the USA Today and that's it. No telly either except for one in the sitting area One day DH and I went on a picnic to the other side of the island. There is a lovely little bay there and it is only accessible by water. The chef packed a wonder cold picnic lunch with lots of goodies and beverages and we spent about four hours there. We did have a group day trip (there were 4 of us -- LOL) to Taveuni Island and drove all over the island, stopping for a few hours at a swimming hole under a waterfall and visiting one of the villages where we met all of the people and got to lava-lavas and drink kava with the village chieftain. If you are staying on the main island, there is golf and I'm sure a Marriott will also offer tennis. The main island, Viti Levu (where the Nandi airport and Savu the capital are), offered shopping and a bit of sightseeing when we were there. I'm sure a Marriott will have made sure that there are things for non scuba folks to do. We didn't make it to Vanua Levu, the other large island. Except for the unfortunate aspect of being away from home, family & friends for my 25th anniversary, our trip was wonderful. CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

Pauline wrote: > ..........

My problem was not being able to find a public restroom *when* I needed one -- LOLOL! Like Leslie, I suffer from that middle-aged woman "thing" and when I need a rest room I need it NOW and I don't have a lot of time to look for one. Ergo, the reason I told Leslile not to drink a lot when she was out and about. If you have a 15 year old bladder (I wish), then it's no problem but my post-menapausal 60+ year old bladder just ain't up to snuff anymore -- LOLOL! The worst part of this was having to wait to get my Starbuck's chai tea latte until we were ready to return to the hotel. I knew that I would soon be back in close proximity to a toilet so I could drink to my hearts content :-). CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I guess I am being a bit overly protective in my recommendations for Leslie but I would much rather she be aware of the possibilities and be careful. I also think that those who live in Europe or travel there frequently will be better adjusted to the water there. While I am sure the water is safe, it can still give a person not used to the different mineral levels a real problem. I did drink the water when in Ireland but I was very careful the first few days. And a good thing too -- LOL! We were there for 10 days and it took until the 3rd day that I could comfortably *not* worry about finding a public restroom!!! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

PAX, Tia Mary >^;;^< (RCTQ Queen of Kitties) Angels can't show their wings on earth but nothing was ever said about their whiskers! Visit my Photo albums at

I find this info about 'minerals' in the water to be very interesting. I always thought it was e. coli and nasties along those lines that made people have 'troubles' when traveling. hmmmmm..... And with fresh fruit and veggies- if you wash them off, can't they get contaminated with the water used for washing them, as well???

Leslie & The Furbabies >

Trouble is, ordering bottled water very often results in something with more minerals than normal! Roberta in D

"Tia Mary" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.>

When DSis went to China (walked part of the Great Wall), she almost had a disaster with a Curling Iron. She was in the bathroom doing her hair and her DH was in the bedroom. He smelled smoke--ran into the bath to grab DS and saw her hair SMOKING! Grabbed a towel and covered her head. Fortunately she did not get burned but her hair was singed very close to her skin.

So do be CAREFUL. Their Tour Guide couldn't tell them if it was something in the water (she had just washed her hair, blow dried it, and started to curl it) or if it was a reaction to her hair having been dyed just before the trip. She did have shorter hair than our Miz Leslie does.

Butterfly (She was the 'talk' of the entire school when she got back.)

Howdy!

Rick Steves rocks! He's our travel guru. We've adopted many of his suggestions for travel in the U.S., too.

Whichever credit card you're taking (and do you really need more than one?), call your card company and tell them your expected dates to be out of the country. Security policies from some card issuers may decide to immediately shut down your card when they detect something "odd" about your account. "She's from Mo. and her card is racking up sales in Barcelona? Red Flag Alert! Warning, Will Robinson: Shut that sucker DOWN!"

We realized we could go just about anywhere withOUT having to have a mobile phone; other countries have internet connections, too , & we agreed to use that route (often for free) except for emergencies (which surprisingly didn't happen).

With your research you'll get all this info under control and in perspective; you'll find that traveling isn't that difficult; people do it all the time. Because of the 'net, esp. RCTQ, knowing people "all over the place" makes traveling there seem much less threatening/frightening, and you can stop & meet your friends along the way. (Miss you, Roberta!)

The cell phone concern is because we will each be traveling alone and meeting up. If he had a last minute emergency and couldn't meet me and I'd already left home- well, I'd be spending the week all alone. I'd feel better if we could be in contact until we both get there.... wherever that may be. I do not have a laptop and am not going to spend the $$$ to buy one nor do I want the burden of carrying one around- in luggage or carry-on- if he could even get online to send a message.

Leslie & The Furbabies in MO.