Travel Scams of 2014

From my travels around the world, I've always been warned from various sources of different scams to look out for, especially traveling outside the country. Some of the scams i thought were ridiculous and I couldn't believe that they actually happened. Then I went to Europe and personally witnessed a handful of people get pick pocketed and almost fell for some scams myself. One of my favorites was when I was in Venice at St. Mark's Square and some guy came up to one of the young ladies we were traveling with and handed her a rose. Then he turned to me demanding I give him three Euros. I immediately grabbed the rose and gave it back to him. Thieves will do anything to distract you from your possessions. They will use elaborate schemes and accomplices to carry out their vile deeds. My advice, be educated before you travel anywhere, even if its to a location you think is hospitable.

I recently came across this article on mashable.com that uses an info graphic that basically covers all the different schemes you should be looking out for while traveling abroad. Please give this a look and be aware while you travel.

http://mashable.com/2014/07/22/common-tourist-scams/

The info graphic is brought to you by justtheflight.co.uk

Airlines Make $3.35 Billion In Baggage Fees? Pass the Barf Bag

Long lost are the times when the airline companies were more concerned about pleasing their customers than making money. I miss the times when I could comfortably fit into a coach class seat, snacks and drinks were free of charge, and there were no baggage fees.

If you board a flight today, all you see are people lugging 100 lbs behemoth bags on board as carry-ons. The most entertaining thing is to watch them, with the help of the stewardess, punch, smash, and edge that duffel bag into the overhead bins. Its a surprise those bins stay closed during the flight. Its even more surprising that they stay closed during high turbulence or a bad storm.

Baggage fees bulged on the scene a few years back and it is sad how it has become the norm now. People have become accustomed to paying that gaudy fee or tag teaming their luggage into the overhead. At first, I remember the airlines saying that it was to help cover costs. Well, at $3.35 billion, the costs are covered and its time to come back down to earth.

Its not enough that airline food makes people sick, coach seat leg room is so small you have to sit in a yoga position in order not to pull something, and airline tickets cost more than my college tuition, but they keep adding fees to poor travelers in the form of baggage. The least they could do is give you an antacid for the airline hot pocket they just served you.

I just wonder when, or if, enough will be enough and airlines will start catering to their passengers and not to their bank accounts. Until then, I'm sure we will continue to pay the fee and wait to be charged for how many times we use the bathroom during a flight.

Below is a link to the Time Magazine article that explains more about these baggage fees and when enough is enough.

http://time.com/89509/more-travelers-are-fighting-back-to-avoid-airline-baggage-fees/

Camping Season is Around the Corner: Got your dutch ovens ready?

Warm weather is around the corner, which means travel season, which also means camping season, which also means Dutch Oven season.

Being a travel enthusiast and living in midst of the Rocky Mountains means for myself that camping is just a short drive away. I live in Utah. I can find camping spots as close as a few miles away and I can escape to the mountains in a half hour. When I camp, if I can, I love to try out my dutch oven skills. For me, there is nothing like kicking back by the fire with good food and good people. Sure, you can always break out the hot dogs or create a meal by stuffing your face with marshmellows, but nothing enhances the experience like dutch oven cooking.

I love dutch oven food, but I'll admit, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to the art of cooking. But, just like travel, I am always up for trying new things, new foods, and new experiences. From the glories of YouTube and many wonderful, and professional, dutch oveners on the Internet, I have been able to develop a love for learning how to do it.

If you've ever began dutch ovening before, you find out that there is alot more to it than just pouring some ingredients into a pot. Learning about cooking times, the behavior of charcoal brickets, and proper cleaning techniques are just as important as preparing the food.

There are tons of food sites out there with different recipes depending on what you are looking to cook. Below I share with the masses a recipe that I recently tried out that I found was a success. If you like stews, I highly recommend this. It is from a site called "bobsuruncle.itgo.com". The site has many recipes to choose from. The one I tried is called "Chuckwagon Stew".


http://bobsuruncle.itgo.com/recipe/stew.html


Also, If you are a person like me and want to begin learning how to dutch oven or just about dutch ovens in general, I have include a youtube link that I found useful for begining your dutch oven experience. The guys from CampCookingtv youtube channel have a show called "Lipsmaking Camping" where they teach about the finer dutch oven intricacies.


With the smells of dutch oven wafting in the air, you will soon be wanting to dutch oven at every outdoor experience and your friends and family will love you even more for your talent.

If you have a dutch oven recipe that you find was a success, please share in the comments section for others to enjoy. Happy Dutch Ovening!

Finally, A Travel Pillow That Promotes Sleep

Its the seventh hour of your 14 hour international flight, your coach seat is not treating your 6 ft. 2 in. body frame very well. Exhausted, you contort your body into several positions just hoping that one of them will let you catch a few winks before your have to give a presentation to the company's international management team. For several minutes, you try resting your head on your propped up arm, then you flip down the food tray to try your luck. No Dice. With resolve, you determine that you have to get some sleep so you become one of those people you detest that lean their seat back all the way, but with dismay, this puts a terrible strain on your neck neck. Searching for relief you remember, "I have an Ostrich". Soon your are off to La La land getting much needed rest before your important meeting.

This travel pillow is like none I have seen before. Not only does it give you perfect cushion on all sides of your cranium, but it blocks out sound and light as well. While covering these three key elements to travel snoozing, it's also not bulky like most around-the-neck travel pillows thus letting you sleep comfortably without space concerns in your pack or on the plane.

Finally someone designed a travel pillow with the traveler in mind. Here is a link to this pillow below so you can see that I'm not just making this up. Can't wait to get one for my next adventure. +Gizmag .

http://www.gizmag.com/ostrich-pillow-light/29390/
and on kickstarter here:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ostrich-pillow/ostrich-pillow-light/

My Hotel Room is Clean Right?

As a new year of travel begins its invitation and as we start our new adventures, we look forward to our experiences being filled with excitement, relaxation, and excessive self pampering.

Over the years, we've seen and read the stories about unclean hotel beds, bed bugs, and moldy interiors. I recently ran across a video that was recently done by a news station about unclean hotels which helped to serve, yet again, as a reminder that we should be careful in thinking that our hotel rooms, cheap or luxurious, can't all fall victim to uncleanliness and disrepair.

Here is the video:

Whenever I see these articles and videos i'm always reminded of David Paymer's character on Ocean's 13, (the V.U.P., the Very Unimportant Person) when the group sabatoges the poor guys hotel room.

Let us remember, as we begin or continue our travels this year that not all hotels are clean and that we should always have a bit of caution when visiting our locations. Lets avoid being the V.U.P.