Practical Cleanliness
In this age of high volume travel and rapidly spreading germs, consider taking some disinfectant wipes along when you travel. Several companies produce large containers of their wipes for home use; remove a few and put them in zip lock bags to keep them from drying out. When you arrive at your destination (hotel, cruise ship, etc), wipe down items you will touch and that others have likely touched: door knobs, light switches, remotes, faucets, phones, etc. Not only does it give you piece of mind, but also it could prevent you from catching colds or other unpleasant things that could ruin your trip! (Note: Read instructions carefully - some wipes contain bleach and should not be used on certain surfaces or on things like dishes and utensils).
Appropriate Documentation
When traveling with minor children to a foreign country, especially if you are someone other than the children’s parents, or the only parent traveling, make sure that you have a signed and notarized letter from the parent or parents who are not traveling, stating that permission is given, by name, to the accompanying adult to take the child out of the country. If one of the parents is deceased, you will also need a death certificate for that parent. Make sure also that the accompanying parent or guardian has the necessary medical release forms for the children, in the event medical care is necessary. This is especially important when traveling to Mexico.
Dry Hotel Air?
To combat dry air in the hotel room, fill the bathtub with hot water and keep the bathroom door open - this will allow moisture to escape to the whole hotel suite
Using Your Laptop on the Internet While Traveling
Connecting to the Internet while traveling can be a challenge and very costly, and while many big hotels have Internet connections, the vast majority do not. Consider Global Roaming System [GRS] software – it downloads onto your laptop, and automatically configures it to dial into the Internet via a local ISP. All you need do is select the city from which you wish to dial into the Internet and the rest is taken care of for you. You get a guaranteed local call rate connection every time, and most also have an SMTP server on-board that will enable you to both send and receive your home based POP3 email. Enter “global roaming software” in your browser to research the systems available.
