More links to bolster your travel smarts...

Just because I'm stuck behind a desk until April doesn't mean I can't be a tourist...albeit a travel blog tourist...  I jest of course; there is much to be learned from fellow travel bloggers as you can see from my recent posts.  I'm happy to bring you another compilation of informative articles this week:

The Travel Belles' tagline is "The Travel Magazine for Women Who Know Getting Out of Town is a Beautiful Thing"  Quite right ladies!  However we all know the travel bug isn't exclusive to women, and so do they by providing a number of articles with universal appeal.  Some of these topics I have covered in my own blogs, but a second opinion is always valuable.  My favourites were: 

10 Things to Do Now to Prepare for International Travel
Under the "Become Familiar with, not fluent in the Language" section, I would add 'I don't know', 'I don't understand', 'toilet' and perhaps 'I'm lost' to the list of key phrases to know.  Having interacted with a number of ESL folk in my life, I can tell you that arming someone with simply yes and no as their only vocabulary can be a dangerous thing.  As for "Cut back on electronic gadgetry. Or at least get ready to charge it."... get a tablet.  Trust me on this one.

How to Pack Like a Travel Belle Pro
I haven't mastered the "discard half of each pile" step just yet, but I'm pretty confident my methods are also reasonably efficient.  They include a tip about buying travel size toiletries, suggesting that "If you run out of body lotion on your trip, buy the smallest bottle possible, refill yours and give the remains to somebody who will use it, like the woman who cleans your room."  Points for generosity and kindness, but if you want to be super thrifty, walk into the nearest department store cosmetics/beauty section and inquire for free samples.  This is an easy way to score quality products in travel-size portions.

Not going to lie, I found www.thetravelerszone.com to be so-so.  However there were a couple articles of note:

The Coolest Travel Essentials
This articles starts off with a cool solar powered backpack that I'd want to use at home and abroad!  The main problem with this article is that is provides no links to a site where we can actually purchase these items.  The first aid kit suggestion also seems a little comprehensive unless you're camping.  I may be frugal, but given my travel insurance coverage, I would go running to a doctor long before I have to bust out a roll of gauze!

Tips For Making That Long International Flight Travel Somewhat Bearable 
I know the pains for long international flights well!  I've been flying to Hong Kong since I was 15 MONTHS old and only in recent years have they gotten the flight times DOWN to 15 hours!  I actually have a number of suggestions not covered here, I do believe I've now found the topic of my next blog...stay tuned!

Other stumble-upons include some good specific tips from TravelingMom.com about What to Do When Your Flight is Delayed

And from Vagabonish:  The Culinary Essentials Every Budget Traveler Should Know
I'll be the first to admit I won't eat half the stuff listed in this article, but the ideas present here still make a great launching pad for coming up with your own cheap food alternatives.  Cooking/baking is one of my few UN-blogged about passions, to say I have a fixation with food is an understatement.  Ideas and thoughts I've gotten from this article will also be expanded on in a separate blog.