Ever stumbled upon the perfect café, sequestered deep in the quietest corner of a buzzing city, and just had to share the secret? Ever wanted to be part of that secret? Travelistas Lynn Lau and Abby Bender combine their journalism and travel experiences to bring readers Notes From A Café: Travel stories from the deep end, a refreshing cure to the usual stodgy travel resources. Notes From A Café revolves around the love of travel, with articles covering countries from Belgium to Norway to Malaysia, along with tips and resources to fellow travelers interested in the non-touristy side of exploring the world.
Celebrating the joie de vivre of traipsing the globe, Lynn and Abby feature their stories and secrets under headings such as "Voyage Vignettes" (focusing on the thick and thin of personal travel accounts), "Foreign Foibles" (cultural gaffes and taboos), "Travel Tips" (a grab-bag of information and suggestions for travelers), and "Roaming Reviews" (frank guides on true must-see's and definite stay-away-from's).
A random selection of our articles:
Most people, when they go overseas, tally the fantastic things they have accomplished during their stay. Such as how many chateaux they have visited, how much fondue they’ve eaten, or how many tchochkies they’ve purchased for Aunt Bessie.
Me, I tally pickpockets. Specifically, how many pickpockets I’ve beaten up. Don’t let my pretty face fool you—to date, I’ve come in contact with five pickpockets and beaten up all of them.
Actually, I’ve only beaten up two pickpockets. Well, really, I’ve only “beaten up” one. And I didn’t really do the “beating” part, because my black-belted beauty-queen friend was the one who threw the punch. But when my dad was mobbed by a gang of three pickpockets on the Paris metro, I stepped on one’s foot and hit him with an umbrella. Which half-counts.
Pickpockets happen. They happen whether you’re in Paris, London, Madrid, and anyplace in between. And, while every traveler has been warned at least five times to “keep your passport close!” and “split up your money in case your purse gets snatched!”, a lot of us come from nice neighborhoods in a country where the public pickpocket population is pretty … petite.
Yes, it is smart to have a money belt, passport pack, and all those other lovely contraptions that you can staple and glue to your skin to keep your valuables as close as possible. And always be sure to have copies of your passport stored in separate places—and distribute your credit cards, travelers checks, and cash into different pockets or bags to “diversify” your wealth and lessen the risk of losing everything.
But have you noticed that the native citizens of these countries don’t wear money belts? How do they keep from getting robbed blind every five minutes?
» Read the rest of How to Not Get Your Pocket Picked (and what to do if it happens) ...
There are multiple comic book conventions that take place throughout the year, from MoCCA in the East Coast to APE in the West, but any true-blue comic book fan knows that when it comes to the con, you’re talking about unmistakably one: Comic-Con. Whether going by the name SDCC (San Diego Comic Con), CCI (Comic Con International), or just plain Comic-Con, this is the place to be.
Having grown from just being about comic books to featuring kid cartoons, hit TV series, and blockbuster movie previews, the con receives attendees from all over the world and reaches across demographics. And how. According to its website, last year saw a turn-out over 104,000 people crowd into the San Diego Convention Center over the course of four days: artists, actors, directors, exhibitors, and regulars alike. Comics will always be at Comic-Con’s very base and foundation, but really, if all you need is pure entertainment, head on down to the convention center every July for Comic-Con weekend.
Mind you, hotels fill up fast around these parts, and rooms don’t come cheap. When you consider that over 100,000 people attend the event, and that the organizers only hold at most a few hundred area hotel rooms at a discounted rate (with free shuttles to the con), you’re in for a fight if you attempt to look for a room close by a month before the con. Book months ahead of time where possible, and split the cost with friends. Whatever money you end up saving, spend it at the con—hey, you know it’s inevitable.
Don’t be afraid of looking for accommodations outside the main downtown area for a good rate—the trolley will be your good friend. Just make sure the place you choose is at least decent and reputable; safety comes first. You can find out more about the hotel in question through reviews from TripAdvisor and Expedia.
Speaking of transportation, where possible, use the city’s public transit system or walk. San Diego being a popular destination, most locations are usually within good reach of one another. If you happen to stay at a participating hotel, or within walking distance of one, you can get a free shuttle ride to the con just by wearing your Comic-Con badge. Avoid the stress of driving—even if parking fees don’t wind up gnawing insistently at your ankles, the traffic getting to the con center can be horrendous. Saturday is the peak day for such. I remember taking a shuttle regularly to the con last year — on Thursday, it was an easy 15-minute ride. On Saturday, it turned into a 45-minute wait due to the sheer volume of vehicles on the street.
This Thursday through Sunday is when hoardes of fans, artists, costumed folk, and the general public invade San Diego for this year’s ritual event. Whether this is their first time at Comic-Con or their seventh year straight, most have a rough checklist of what they want to see or get. A fresh Flight anthology, perhaps, or sitting in on a Stargate Q&A panel, or catching a sneak preview of an upcoming movie (viva le Stardust!).
If you’re going to Comic-Con, don’t forget this other checklist as well.
» Read the rest of It's Cool To Be Geek: Surviving Comic-Con ...
This week, we feature an article by guest writer Emily Ding, who traveled to Stromboli, Italy. Emily notes of Stromboli: “‘Bigger than my body,’ John Mayer sang. Indeed. It was an exhilarating feeling, like standing on top of the world. Originally written on June 12, 2006 and edited for clarity upon return.”
I’m currently lazing around on Stromboli island, which is one of the islands of the Aeolian group above the Sicilian mainland. My two travelmates (Jo + CH) and I, we’ve been trying to kill time the whole day, pretty unsuccessfully. We’ve been in Stromboli since yesterday and we’ve basically seen most of everything we needed to see, but because the cheapest option to Naples is a 10 pm ferry tonight (which will get us there in the morning) we have to spend a whole day here, doing just about nothing. It’s rather painstaking, to be honest. It’s such a small town that we’ve walked the same route at least three times, and seen the same people over and over, even gone to the same café twice.
I bet all of the residents are gossiping about “those three Japanese kids.” Though of course we’re not Japanese, but everyone thinks we are.
» Read the rest of Scaling Stromboli, by Emily Ding ...
It had been a blast visiting my friend Tonje, but now it looked like my trip was going to round off in a sticky situation.
My return flight was through Vigra airport. However, Tonje and I were miles away in Volda, and though Norway might be a good ol’ pocket-sized country, the keyword here is “pocket-sized.” It doesn’t have airports in just any which city. The main method of transportation is by bus. We’d have to take a bus from Volda to Moa, and then transfer onto a second bus that would shuttle me the rest of the way to Vigra. Collectively, a five-or-six-hour journey.
Hey, we decided, no problem. All the more fun and countryside to see before parting.
The problem was, when Tonje checked the bus schedule, there weren’t any buses between Volda and Moa on the day I was supposed to leave.
Mental note: Never choose Sunday as a departure day again.
» Read the rest of A Detour to Ålesund ...
I’ll be going to Malaysia in March, though I honestly hadn’t intended the trip to coincide with the Visit Malaysia 2007 tourism campaign. Let’s just say it’s been interesting keeping up with news reports on the country’s efforts to welcome tourists. Taxi drivers especially are getting the business end of things; one day they’re warned by ministers against scamming or overcharging riders, the next day they’re to be given special courses in order to ably answer any questions posed by new visitors.
There are currently special vacation offers partnering with the campaign, so if you’ve always wanted to visit a tropical country, this is a good time to shop for deals. Fly directly into Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), or, if it aids your wallet any, land in Singapore’s Changi Airport, then cross the Straits of Johor into Malaysia via train. Warning: only do the latter if you’re fairly familiar with the area. Otherwise it is just too much hurdle-jumping, and you really don’t want to start your trip on a stressful note.
In the past, I’d always flown into Singapore, as it was easier for my family to cross the border and pick me up rather than to drive four hours to KLIA (they lived in Johor, the southern-most state of Malaysia). However, now that they’re in the process of moving to the big city, KLIA is where I’ll be landing this time.
In the meantime, there are a lot of preparations to make for this next journey. With all the ongoing upheaval in the travel domain, a lot of tried-and-true advice simply don’t apply anymore. Gone are the days when one can hie off to the other end of the world bearing only carry-on luggage! Not only that, double-checking the TSA’s list of permitted and prohibited items must now become a regular venture, as one never knows when so much as a stick of gum may be thrown out at any minute.
One of my favorite quotes on the subject comes from bestselling author Neil Gaiman, who last year expressed his incredulity at the TSA’s allowing personal lubricant onboard but not toothpaste: “For a moment there, I really planned to drive up to a drug store, buy a 4 oz container of personal lubricant, empty it out, wash it and refill it with toothpaste.”
I know the feeling!
So I’ll keep you abreast of my endeavors, including Travel Tips that have certainly saved my neck. Stay tuned, dear readers. The game’s afoot!