Travel Hacks/Tips

[mel1]

- I have a label stuck on the back of our passports with passport number, issue date and expiry date so we don't have open them at all when filling in landing cards.
- Also use the power board - just discovered the cube one which we are taking on next trip soon... Don't like the USB only ports with no cord as still many places only have power points close to the floor etc. I like to have a cord so everything can sit on the desk.
- Someone told me about sharing suitcases, i.e.: put half my stuff in husband's back and half his stuff in mine in case one gets lost. Thinking of doing that this trip if he'll agree!
- Spare specs. I always put a spare old pair of sunnies and optical glasses in my suitcase.

 

[Bali Belly]

Make a cheat sheet the size of a credit card and laminate onto a business card or something
list your passport details | hotel address | days overseas etc..

I really dislike going through my carry-on/personal items while on a flight. - so whipping this out when I need to fill in one of those silly arrival cards is easier.

Excellent idea

 

[TheRealTMA]

- I have a label stuck on the back of our passports with passport number, issue date and expiry date so we don't have open them at all when filling in landing cards.

We use StoCard on iPhone to hold all this stuff.

 

[NFF]

1. Hiking clothes are lighter and more packable.
2. Pure merino wool is an odour resistant fabric.

 

[Bali Belly]

Also the shower cap wrapped around the remote works well

 

[Pushka]

Also the shower cap wrapped around the remote works well

To do what exactly?

 

[Bali Belly]

No need to touch any buttons on either the TV remote or air conditioner simply wrap around the device

 

[JohnK]

Limit number of devices that require charging to one, maximum of two, per trip. Most hotels in SE AsiA now have the multi plug charging sockets.

Gosh I don't wipe any of these items and don't get sick either.

There's obsessive and there's obsessive. If I worried about touching anything during my trips I wouldn't leave home. Wash my hands when I get back to hotel room. That's about it.

 

[Pushka]

No need to touch any buttons on either the TV remote or air conditioner simply wrap around the device

I am with JohnK here. Sometimes a little exposure is a good thing. I might be more concerned with bathroom surfaces but even then I haven't in the past. And travel very well.

 

[Buzzard]

Shifter, shower head and thread tape.

 

[TheRealTMA]

No need to touch any buttons on either the TV remote or air conditioner simply wrap around the device

One wonders how the human race has survived so long with such perils! Just try to resist licking them and you'll probably survive the hotel rooms.

 

[NFF]

Jeans are more grope resistance when being patted down.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

There's obsessive and there's obsessive.

There sure is - I have even heard of people locking their tooth brushes in safe before leaving their rooms - how rediculous is that?

 

[pagingjoan]

Shifter, shower head and thread tape.

Shower head, Buzz?

 

[Pushka]

Kitchen sink?

 

[kaktusdigital]

for a truly great hotel visit. turn your iphone flash into a black light! reveal all those nasties... :shock:

1. stick a small piece of sticky tape on the flash
2. find a blue marker and colour in the tape
3. stick another piece of tape over the blue one
4. colour in tape with a purple marker.
5. camera on, flash on, good times!

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Kitchen sink?

Ron tells me I am the only one that takes that !

 

[Ausbt]

There sure is - I have even heard of people locking their tooth brushes in safe before leaving their rooms - how rediculous is that?

I wouldn't say I'm a clean freak, but there is no way I'll leave a toothbrush sitting atop a vanity or even in a glass. My toothbrush goes back in my 'bathroom bag' (I dislike the words toilet bag) and zipped up. Without maligning housekeepers, what if they are unhappy with the tip I leave ($0.00, BTW) and spit on it? I guess they could open the bag and do the same.

Honestly, I don't even leave my toothbrush sitting out at home. Yep, you guessed it - I don't tip my housemates either !

 

[Deleted member 29185]

I've read a whole flurry of posts and heard (with my eyes ) a whole flurry of advice, some close to the mark, some utterly incorrect, about the legality of the universal multi-plugtop adapters one can buy. The reality is that they can be sold legally, provided they have been tested as required by legislation (in all Australian States and Territories, as well as New Zealand). The thing is though, testing is costly and many potential importers of these devices will likely not see enough profit in them to justify the cost, so the easy answer is "we can't legally sell them".....which is true, they cannot unless they pay for them to be tested (and of course that they pass the tests)!

The legislation is not protectionism (Mr Hancock ) but in place to ensure Australians are offered a level of electrical protection that most of us have come to accept, if not demand. The reality is, Australia has expensive but fairly effective electrical safety laws, which has resulted in us being both an international laughing stock (often called a "nanny state") but also very much respected with our relatively low incident of electrocution and electrical fire related death. In Australia, an importer cannot just offer any dangerous rubbish to an unsuspecting public however, the public are free to decide they do not want to avail themselves of that protection and buy from China (or anywhere OS for that matter) and provided the product purchased is for private use, they can legally do that as well (provided they do not offer that device for sale....even as a second hand product in some instances).

So if an Australian retailer sells them.......buy them (you can, BTW check that the product has been certified). If they tell you that they can't legally sell them, the chances are that's code for "we don't want to spend the money because we won't sell enough to make it back again". If you see one overseas you'd like for yourself, buy it (provided you're comfortable that the product is safe for you and your family to use).

Quick disclaimer. I have absolutely nothing to do with making, regulating or enforcing these laws. I am but a simple traveller (with a little bit of electrical knowledge).

Should anyone wish to read further on these particular devices, here's the link.

 

[esseeeayeenn]

- I have a label stuck on the back of our passports with passport number, issue date and expiry date so we don't have open them at all when filling in landing cards.

You haven't memorised these?