Taking your 'shot' at traveling

It's interesting how sometimes things in your life that don't seem like they have anything to do with each other tend to overlap. I work as a copy editor on a magazine about the retail drug industry ... not really anything that is related to travel. And yet, the other day, I read a story by one of our writers about a Seattle-based regional drug store chain — Bartell Drugs — that has opened up travel clinics. ::Lightbulb:: That would make for a great post on a travel blog ...

Travel vaccinations are an important part of any preparatory international travel routine, especially if you're traveling to areas with high risks for contracting certain diseases (e.g., parts of Africa, India and/or eastern Asia, among others). Before I went to India, I visited a travel clinic in New York to get vaccinated against hepatitis A and B and tetanus, and procured a prescription for malaria pills to take throughout my time in India. True, it's very likely that you may never even come in contact with the diseases, but what if you somehow do? It's definitely much better to be safe than sorry.

But other than preemptive vaccinations, you also should prepare medications to take with you. If you take prescription medications, make sure you have enough with you before leaving to last the duration of your trip. Also see if your doctor can write you an extra prescription just in case you lose your meds or run out on your trip. Whether or not that is possible, make sure you have the generic name of your medication written in a safe place on you at all times (and it's also probably a good bet to leave a list with someone staying at home, just in case). The reason you should make sure you specifically have the generic name is because brands vary by country, and even somewhere as nearby as Canada could have a very different name for a medication.

The same also applies to over-the-counter medications, including such common ones that we take for granted as Tylenol and DayQuil. You should take common medicines with you (pill forms are better, especially if your luggage is carry-on) but also make sure you know the main generic ingredient in the medication, because it's highly unlikely you'll find Tylenol in Egypt, but you'll most likely find another medication with acetaminophen, the main pain-relieving ingredient in our popular branded drug.

When I went to Egypt, I had a mini medicine cabinet with me, thanks to my always-be-prepared mother. I ended up not only having medicine that I needed, but I was the supplier for many on my trip. When our tour leader's head hurt, I had the Excedrin; when other people in our group got sunburned, I had the aloe. Everyone loved me ;-). When I went to India, there was no convincing necessary. I had Tylenol, Immodium, DayQuil, Dramamine and more medications that I can't fully recall now with me. True, this time I didn't use most of them, but I certainly was glad to have them on me.

So before you travel, especially internationally, make sure you see what vaccinations are necessary and get vaccinated; have enough of your prescription medication to last the trip; have a list of your prescriptions by generic names on hand; and take any OTC medications you might need with you in pill form, along with a list of the main ingredients in those medications. Trust me, you'll be much happier and better off for it.

Did I miss anything when it comes to medication-related travel advice?

It’s in the can ...

My friends often gaze at me and ask one, simple question: “How do you find the time and money to travel as much as you do?”

That simple question has a very simple answer — it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to ...

... tuna fish.

That’s right, tuna fish; you have to really, REALLY, REALLY like tuna fish, because that’s all you’ll be eating for several weeks to make up for the money you’ve spent on that latest plane ticket.

But, alas, such is the plight of someone bitten by the travel bug. I would forsake food for travel. Luckily, I LOVE tuna fish ;-).

In all seriousness, it takes a certain finesse to be able to milk every last minute of vacation time you have out of your company so that you can jet off to London for a long weekend, or craft a 10-day vacation out of just 3 days off of work.

Planning around holidays is the first trick. True, ticket prices and hotel stays might be more expensive, but that’s not always the case. If you have a Friday and Monday off for, say Labor Day, try taking two days at the start and two days at the end, so you end up flying out and in during the middle of the week, rather than on the holiday, which usually is much cheaper. If that’s not an option, try searching for destinations that simply are cheaper to get to. Or, for example, do what I did a few years ago and fly OUT of the country on Thanksgiving, when most others are flying IN. True, I missed Thanksgiving dinner, but while my aunt’s turkey is phenomenal, Thanksgiving is not such a big holiday in my family, so it wasn’t all that much of a problem.

Yummy pastries at Portobello market

Street sausage in Prague

The money thing is a bit trickier and I certainly have incurred some credit card debt in my vast attempts at scratching that nagging travel itch. But looking for deals on any site you know of, combined with making friends in a plethora of countries, combined with traveling at odd times throughout the year helps to patch up that hole that’s burning in my wallet. Staying with friends certainly saves a lot of money, and you have to be willing to survive at least a few meals on international street grub, which can be quite tasty.

On the first-class overnight train
to Aswan, Egypt

Also, for certain countries, it makes a lot of sense to book a tour through a travel company. You pay one flat fee at the start and don’t have to worry about booking transportation or accommodations. There are varying levels of trips, ranging from budget to luxury. I opt for the budget trips, though not the very budget trips, and have yet to be disappointed or disgusted with any accommodations or transportation I’ve encountered. I actually would say that I was pleasantly surprised by many of the places I stayed in, in Egypt, India and Nepal. Also, be sure to see if there are any discounts you can take advantage of, such as student discounts or youth discounts — most European railways offer a youth ticket for those under 25 at a significant discount.

In the end, if you’ve truly been bitten, like I have, by the travel bug, you’ll find a way to book that next trip. Whether it means surviving on tuna fish and Wonder bread for a few weeks, calling out “sick” for a couple of days around a weekend or thoroughly planning out each vacation day before the year has even started, you’ll be on that plane going to that exciting, new destination, no matter what — because you can’t imagine life any other way.

Why I travel

The New York Times is asking readers to show "Why We Travel" by submitting their favorite photos to the site. Below is a sampling of why I travel.

1. The people ... both the locals and those you share the adventures with.

My TopDeck group in Egypt

Egyptian schoolgirls who were very eager to pose for pics.

An Indian family that agreed to pose for a picture in Orcha.

Old and new friends in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Edam cheese in the Netherlands (above)


Paella in Barcelona (below)

2. The food. I find one of the best (and yummiest) ways to truly experience another culture is through the food.

Food market in Barcelona

Interesting chocolate in Brugge, Belgium

Pasta and wine in Florence, Italy

3. And, of course, the sights! I don't care what kind of a traveler it makes me, but when I go to Egypt, I expect to see the pyramids. When I'm in Paris, you better believe I'm going to gander at the Eiffel Tower. And I'm sure as hell seeing the Taj Mahal if I've taken the 17-hour flight from New York to India. I'm all for seeing things "off the beaten path," but I don't think there's anything wrong with seeing a country's, city's or town's famous landscapes. Besides, that's all other people want to hear about when they ask you about what you saw and where you've been. If anything, those sights are great conversation starters to then open up people's perceptions to everything else a place might have to offer that you were fortunate enough to experience as well.

A street in Prague, Czech Republic

Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain

A liquor shop in Denmark 

The Tart with a Cart, Dublin

Sunrise over the Sahara, Egypt

Sugarcane trucks in Egypt

Fancy gardening, Brighton, England

Punts in Cambridge, England

Leeds Castle in England

View from the river in Orcha, India

A pretty park in fall, Minsk, Belarus

Up close with a Nepalese elephant

The Magic Garden in Philly

People bathing in Ganghes

Iconic London

Collosseum in Rome, Italy

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

Realto Bridge in Venice, Italy

      And those are the reasons why I travel!
      Why do you travel?

Roaming perceptions

I find that I’m always taken aback by people’s perceptions of travel. When I told my family a few years ago that I was planning a trip to Egypt, my aunts gasped and started trying to talk me out of it. “It’s so dangerous ... Why do you want to go THERE? ... Why can’t you just go somewhere else, the world’s so big?”

Our fabulous group overlooking the pyramids of Giza

First of all, I never felt safer riding in the first-class seating train from Cairo to Luxor with our tour guide who could have been a bouncer and our “bus driver,” who was armed at all times. The tour companies aren’t stupid ... they don’t want anything to happen to you and take every precaution to make that the reality. Trouble is bad for business. Secondly, I hate that objection to a destination: “It’s dangerous.” Where in the world ISN’T dangerous nowadays? Walking in Times Square is dangerous!

Why did I want to go there? Oh, I don’t know, thousands of years of history, maybe? Actually seeing the place, culture and mythology that I’m obsessed with learning about (ever since I can remember, one of the first rooms I visit in any museum is the Egyptian room)? Seeing with my own eyes, and not through a book, the pyramids of Giza, the Sphinx and Valley of the Kings? Perhaps just one of those?

A group of Egyptian girls in Luxor
who were very excited to practice
their English and be photographed.

And yes, the world is big — and I want to see as much of it as I possibly can. My aunts continued to prompt me to go to Israel instead.
A) Yes, Israel is clearly safer ... pause ... NOT!
B) I want to go to Israel, as well, but why do I have to choose? I can do both and be a better person for it.

A delicious traditional Nubian meal.

Anyway, my trip to Egypt was one of the greatest I’ve taken. I often describe my experience of first seeing the pyramids as, you know when you see something in books so much and it’s amazing and then when you see it in person and it’s really not all that magnificent? This was the exact opposite. Those triangular structures are awe-inspiring and they are just grazing the surface of what I experienced in Egypt.

When I said I wanted to go to India, it was like déjà vu all over again ;-). Many also warned me about the poverty and how, especially in Nepal, I should prepare to be shocked. Mind you, these are people that have never stepped foot in India or Nepal, or anywhere near them. Yes, there is poverty — India houses the world’s richest and poorest people — and it’s heart breaking to have to turn your back on a child begging on the street, but, honestly, that’s part of the experience. It opens your eyes to the world. Sure, it’s easy to sit at home and tsk-tsk at the impoverished people living an ocean away, and it’s even easier to pretend that they don’t exist — I’m not one to do either.

This Nepalese man was very excited to show off his family
when we passed by on the way to our accommodations.

Where we stayed in Nepal certainly was a culture shock, but not in the way everyone had warned me about. In Nepal I saw people who were poor by Western standards. True, they didn’t have many tangible assets, their houses had roofs made out of hay, but they seemed happy. They lived with their entire families; they had their chickens and goats so they didn’t go hungry; some had elephants that were used to chauffeur tourists around the national park, so they made a living, be it modest or not. Maybe they were poor from a monetary standpoint, but they seemed much happier than a lot of the people I know working 60-plus hour weeks to make the big bucks so they can buy another expensive suit or car or home.

Pinky took us on a wonderful safari ride through
Chitwan National Park.

Sure, traveling is a culture shock, but that’s the point isn’t it? Sure, traveling can be dangerous, but so is crossing the street. Just be smart about it — I figured being a young, American white woman in Egypt or India by myself wouldn’t have been the safest bet, so I booked through a tour company, which actually allows you to see more of the country than you probably would on your own and allows you actually to enjoy the experience instead of worrying about how to book your train ticket to the next destination in a language you can’t understand on any level. And sure, there’s always someplace else you can go instead ... but drop the “instead” and you’ll broaden your horizons even more, and perhaps be surprised by what you find.