Boldly Go Solo

In an opinion piece in the New York Times, writer Nicholas D. Kristof offered 15 tips for traveling to "even the roughest countries." These are serious suggestions for staying safe and holding on to your money, but they're amusing all the same.

Some of my faves: 

– If you're a woman held up in an isolated area, stick out your stomach, rub it and say you're pregnant.
– If you're held up by bandits carrying large guns, shake hands "respectfully" with all of them. (Do you ask them to put the guns down first?)
– If terrorists "finger" you, start singing, "O Canada." (How do you know the terrorists don't hate Canadians? Or is this just a distraction technique anyway? If you like this tip, here's where you can memorize the tune and lyrics "…O Canada we stand on guard for thee…")

In any case, remind me not to travel with Kristof. Where does he GO, anyway?

In this story on Fox News, it's all about how to "snag the best seats" on an airplane. Sweet talk and kindness are some of the skills needed. Brush up.

The story also advises on how to snag a free upgrade to first class. Interesting advice I hadn't ever heard, about offering to give up your economy seat for a standby passenger, in exchange for a first class seat. And why that might actually work!

And finally, in a National Public Radio podcast called, "Summer Travel Outlook: Sunny, Chance of Bargains," Scott McCarthy, who writes the Wall Street Journal column, The Middle Seat, gave tips for traveling better and more cheaply this summer.

One of the coolest tips he gave Terry Gross, host of Fresh Air, was about the Web site Flightstats, which can inform you of gate changes and delays before the pilot even knows. Why is this so important?

Well, if your flight is canceled and you're stuck in a city overnight, you want to be the first on the phone to make plans for a morning flight or for a room at a local hotel before everything's booked and you're bedding down upright in an airport seat.

To that end, he suggests taking along the numbers of airport hotels in the cities you're flying from/to so you're ready with your dialing finger. I dunno. That's a little more trip preparation than I might be able to handle.

But there you have it. If you're going to travel solo, you might as well have your wits about you and make it as enjoyable and comfortable as possible. After all, you don't have a shoulder to cry on!