Travel Advice

Dealing with a foreign language abroad can be quite daunting, regardless of what your native language is. Of course, it's great to speak English as it is very widely spoken everywhere and is the most international language in the World. If a Greek meets someone from China, they'd speak Engish.

Being the lingua franca around the globe, we'll look at it through the perspective of an English speaker. English may be your mother tongue but to be a real traveller, learn a few words of that foreign language. Try starting with "hello, goodbye, please and thankyou". It'll help on your travels and people will see that you're trying to make an effort. In some places, they might even be more inclined to help you or give you better service.

Another good phrase to learn in that foreign language is, "Do you speak English?". Again, they will appreciate the effort and often either try to speak to you in English or find someone else who does. Of course, there is body language and hand signals that can get oh so frustrating.

You know the drill, you get to the airport, check in and start queuing at those security lines. Just about every airport in the World has them and you can't avoid them, but to get through them expertly like the frequent flyer you are (or want to be), here are a few tips to make speed up your time in the security and fasttrack you through. Think about this ahead, so you're prepared before you get to the head of the line.

Firstly, make sure that you've emptied your pockets of loose change. You'll need one of those little bins or trays that they provide to put your Wallet and cell phone into. Remember your bling, like heavy watches, bracelets, and even belt buckles can set off the alarm, so to be sure take those off, and put them into your carry-on bag before you're at the front holding everyone else up while you're doing it in front of their glares.

Put books and snacks together so that you don't have as many things to gather back up once you've completed the security screening.

To prevent shoebombers in the United States, you have to take your shoes off. If you have them, slip-on shoes will come off and go on faster. Zippers and laces will slow you down and remember to have your shoes ready, untied or unzipped. Take care that you don't trip over before you've put them back on. That could be very embarrassing.

Having celebrated a whopping success last year by raising over a quarter of a million dollars for the charity Dreams2Live4, the Dry July boys are back to make this years July drier than ever!

The challenge is simple; don't drink for an entire month, and get people to sponsor you for the feat. You don't get to raise money for charity very often by NOT doing something, and so after witnessing the pain and suffering of others last year, I decided that this year I'd jump in with both feet and was one of the first to sign up.

Having a car on vacation can make all the difference between getting around or being stranded. With the number of car rental places around now, you never know what you're gonna get.. especially at the budget shops. Most of the time, the staff assisting you to rent that car to get you through your vacation, don't have your best interests in mind, and you end up paying a truckload of money for a cesspit of frustrations. Here are a few tips to help you get it right.

1. Seek out package deals like fly, drive & stay, or just fly & drive (ie. not just drive). Most of these types of packages can get you great discounts for car rentals because they have more margin in all three things you're buying from them. However, don't do it with an airline as they tend to be higher than those of outside firms.

2. Try to use the Internet to reserve a rental car. Online car rentals usually offer higher discounted rates than if you call or walk-in. Aside from the discount on the rental, you can also easily get upgrades and inclusions.