Tips For Travellers To The Tropics
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Source: articledashboard.com
I went on my first holiday to the tropics recently. I was afraid of catching a disease, so I did a bit of research, and took some precautions. Here are some tips I found useful.
1. Get your shots.
I spent a short time in areas relatively free of mosquito-borne disease. The key word is ‘relatively’. A two week holiday in an urban area is probably alright. If you’re staying for months, or in an area flagged as dangerous, get your shots well in advance. Don’t leave it until the last minute, as by then it’ll be too late! The drugs need some time to ‘kick in’, and your doctor may have to order them in advance.
2. Get an insect repellent.
I made one for mosquitoes by mixing citronella with olive oil. Citronella is an essential oil (an essence). I rubbed the mixture on all exposed areas morning and night, and after washing. Seemed to do the trick. I put too much oil in, I think, so it smelled a bit. Better that, than being bitten, I say!
3. Wear long sleeved shirts and trousers.
I also wore socks in bed. Give pests no purchase! Mosquitoes are just doing what comes naturally; they need your blood to live. It’s just unfortunate that they can pass on parasites when they bite. Deny them a meal, and the only things you’ll bring back from your holiday are a silly hat and some souvenir photos. To wear long sleeved garments in bed, you’ll need a room with a fan and air conditioning. No need to set them to freezing; just cool, with a slight breeze.
4. Air conditioning.
Air conditioning and fans are supposed to deflect mosquitoes, which is good. Avoid ‘going native’, and thinking you’re as hardy as the locals. They get malaria and dengue as well, be sure of that.
5. Use mosquito nets.
Do what you can to keep them at bay. Paranoia is good!
6. Avoid ice and salads
Ice can have faecal coliforms. It depends on what water it’s been made from. Salads can be prepared by low-paid workers who’ve forgotten to wash their hands. In Muslim countries, they often don’t use toilet paper, just a hose, so if the staff haven’t been scrupulous about their personal hygiene …
You may feel self-conscious about refusing. Would you like your holiday to be spoiled by a spell in hospital, in a Third-world country, just for the sake of avoiding embarrassment? People like people who are forthright, so stick to your guns.
7. Don’t drink the water.
A country can have a veneer of modernity, but what separates the men from the boys is the sewage system. The tap water may not be filtered properly. Drink bottled water, or water you’ve boiled yourself. Get a kettle, and boil it up every day, then put the water in your water bottle in the morning. Easy.
8. Drink plenty of water.
A few sips every so often, rather than a litre in one go. You’ll save on trips to the lavatory!
9. Stay out of the sun.
There’s a reason the locals are laid back; it’s too hot to run around like you do at home. Sun tanning is actually skin damage. Due to ozone layer depletion, you may be getting more than a golden tan. Who cares if you don’t come back home bronzed? Ladies especially will appreciate this in later years, when their sisters have leathery skin from roasting on the beach. Nothing less ‘cool’ than a white man with sunstroke, either.
When travelling in the tropics, it’s best to be paranoid. I hope you can still enjoy your holiday!
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Travel Gadgets: Handy Gizmos for Stress-Free Travelling
Author: Anna Clarebr
Source: articlerich.combr
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There are so many things about travelling that can cause stress, that sometimes we wonder why we bother leaving the house at all.
For one thing, theres the packing. Stressing about whether or not theres room in your suitcase for everything you need on your trip can be a real headache – and if you go over your baggage weight limit, youll either have to pay the airline an excess baggage fee, or leave a few things behind.
But we say: Stress not! There are some excellent travel gadgets and accessories that can significantly reduce the stress of going on a trip, and weve selected a few of our favourites that can help you have a happier holiday.
Trace Me Luggage Tag
One of the things most likely to spoil your holiday is losing your luggage. Spending your entire trip wearing just the clothes you arrived in is painful enough, but knowing youll never see your precious suitcase contents again is deeply distressing.
With the Trace Me Luggage Tag you can greatly reduce the chances of losing your luggage forever. The Trace Me Luggage Tag is strong and durable, and contains an individual serial number and 2D bar code, linked for life to your registration details on a secure data storage system used by law enforcement agencies, airport baggage handling organisations and lost property services worldwide.
If your luggage goes astray, a simple scan of the Trace Me Luggage Tag will identify it as your property. Registering your Trace Me Luggage Tag is quick and easy to do online, and there are no recurring fees or subscription charges.
Travel Charger Adaptor
If you rely on mobile phones and other gadgets to stay in touch while travelling, the Travel Charger Adaptor is probably the most useful travel gadget you will ever own.
The Travel Charger Adaptor combines adaptors suitable for use throughout Europe, North America, Africa, Australasia and the Far East, as well as featuring a handy USB power socket for charging MP3 players and other gadgets that you would normally charge through your computer.
Digital Portable Luggage Scale
Airline baggage weight limits can be very confusing – they differ from one airline to another, and when you check your bags in at the airport theres always that little nagging worry that youve exceeded the limit and will have to leave something behind or pay an excess baggage fee.
With the Digital Portable Luggage Scale, youll never have this worry again. This handy travel gadget can handle up to 50kg – before you leave home, simply attach it to your case, wait for the beep, and read the weight. If youre over your baggage weight limit you can remove a few things and leave them at home, or pack them into your hand luggage instead.
The Digital Portable Luggage Scale can then be carried in your hand luggage so that you can check your bag weight again on the way home – which is very handy if youve stocked up on souvenirs and duty free goods during your holiday.
Paper Toiletries
Camping and backpacking holidays are lots of fun, but without a car to carry all the equipment in, you need to be quite strict about what goes in your luggage. Bottled toiletries can be heavy; even travel-sized bottles, if you carry enough of them, will weigh you down and make walking uncomfortable.
The best solution to this problem that weve seen is a fantastic range of paper toiletries that are ideal for travelling light. The range includes paper shampoo, paper shaving foam and paper anti-bacterial soap – simply remove a sheet from the small, lightweight pack, add water, and lather up.
Paper toiletries are also ideal for carrying in your hand luggage on flights; theyre not liquid, so they wont break any no-liquid regulations when you go through security checks at the airport.
Portable Solar Charger
The Portable Solar Charger is another travel gadget thats ideal for camping trips, when access to an electricity supply might be restricted.
The Portable Solar Charger contains a Li-Ion battery which is charged by the sun during the day. Once charged, the Portable Solar Charger can charge your mobile phone with enough power to talk for two hours, or load your MP3 player with power equivalent to six hours of listening time.
The Portable Solar Charger comes complete with cables and a selection of adaptors, making it suitable for a huge range of mobile phones as well as many iPod models.
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iAnna Clare is Website Manager at ShinyShack.com, one of the UKs leading sources of unusual a href=http://www.shinyshack.com rel=nofollowgift ideas/a and suppliers of a href=http://www.shinyshack.com/category.php?catid=78cn=Travel-Gadgets rel=nofollowtravel gadgets/a./ibr
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