Travel Tip: LaCie Rugged Thunderbolt hard drive review

The Physical

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If you  travel frequently, you know how important it is to carry an external hard drive. This is useful for on the road backup but also to carry your data (considering most modern high end laptops are still based on 250GB SSD drives.) But your typical made for home hard drive will have a difficult time putting up with the rigors of travel.

Enter the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt hard drive (also has a USB 3.0 port). At first glance, it looks like its older Rugged USB 3.0 brother but it has 2 important improvements:

  • a built in thunderbolt cable
  • a removable cap to hold the thunderbolt cable and protect the USB 3.0 port.

With the protective cap attached, the device is rated to IP54. What is IP54?

“The first number signifies the solids protection and the second the liquids. The first number (5) means “Ingress of dust is not entirely prevented, but it must not enter in sufficient quantity to interfere with the satisfactory operation of the equipment”. the second number (4) means “Water splashing against the enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effect.”” 
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You can insert the cap while using the Thunderbolt cable in case you are working in a dusty or potentially wet environment. Lacie is known for premium designs and this product is no exception. Everything just feels well designed and manufactured. The case includes a mini magnet to hold the Thunderbolt cable in place when not in use. The length of the cable is just right (enough to comfortably use it with most laptops but not too much where it get's tangled.)

Nothing creeks or cracks. Everything is solidly built and you know this will be a faithful servant for years to come. 

The drive is Bus powered on both USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt which means you won't have to carry another power brick. The fact that they built it with both a USB 3.0 and Thunderbolt means they really thought about their customers (since most non Apple computers still don't have Thunderbolt ports). There is only 1 Thunderbolt port so you will have to place it at the end of your daisy chain (since you won't be able to hook up another thunderbolt product to it).

The device is designed to take a 2 meter drop and continue working as if nothing happened. We drop tested it in the office (cement floor) from a height of 2 meters and it worked perfectly. We slowly dropped it from higher up (up to 4 meters) and in our tests, it still worked great. To be clear we raised it and opened our hand, we didn't power pitch it towards the floor.

we then closed all of the ports (double checked that we closed it properly) then misted it with a salt water solution. We sprayed it until the drive was completely wet and left it overnight. We then checked it our in the morning and the drive worked as expected. 

We threw the drive in a freezer bag and froze it overnight. Then we let it thaw out for 12 hours and it worked flawlessly (I don't recommend freezing your drive).

It's what's inside that counts

So the Lacie Rugged Thunderbolt comes in both a traditional mechanical hard drive configuration (1TB or 2TB) and a super-fast super-resistant SSD configuration (250GB or 500GB).

The SSD version of course is much more drop resistant than the mechanical hard drive since there are no moving parts. This is the version I tested and performance was amazing. The 500GB SSD model performed as fast as any other premium external drive I have tested. It was a joy to use. 

I tested it on my Macbook Pro retina and both interfaces performed at about the same speed. 

Ultimately you pay a little more for Lacie products but you get a solid reliable product in return. Definitely a great buy if you need a more rugged hard drive.

You can pickup the

  • 500GB SSD version for $499 (link)
  • 250GB SSD version for $299 (link)
  • 1 TB mechanical hard drive for $199 (link)
  • 2 TB mechanical hard drive for $279 (link)

 

IOS 8 means Apple can't unlock your device for law enforcement

The slow and consistent Snowden leaks about how everything we do is monitored, recorded and analysed is freaking some people out. And this extra customer push may be what was needed to finally improve on-device security for our most personal devices (aka smartphones).

Apple announced (link) that IOS 8 is a big move for IOS device security because it is now "technologically impossible" to access data stored on a passcode or TouchID locked device. Apple says they can no longer bypass device security. It is important to note that this only applies for on device information (contact, pictures, recordings, etc), anything stored in the cloud is fair game and can be handed over to authorities with a warrant or NSL.

Obviously law enforcement isn't too thrilled about this new hurdle because it (they claim) makes it easier for criminals to perform their nefarious activities and hide.

Why did Apple do this? Because if they can't technically provide the information, then they can  no longer be compelled to do so by a court. It reduces workload for them and improves customer perception. 

Now for the bad news. Renown security analyst Jonathan Zdziarski discussed these new measures on his blog (link) but threw in an important caveat :

“ What’s left are services that iTunes (and Xcode) talk to in order to exchange information with third party applications, or access your media folder. Apple wants you to be able access your photos and other information from your desktop while the phone is locked – for ease of use. This, unfortunately, also opens up the capability for law enforcement to also use this mechanism to dump:

- Your camera reel, videos, and recordings
- Podcasts, Books, and other iTunes media
- All third party application data

Existing commercial forensics tools can still acquire these artifacts from your device, even running iOS 8. I have tested with my own private forensics tools, as well, and confirmed this. I dumped all of my third party application data (including caches, databases, screenshots, etc), as well as my camera reel and other media… all within a few minutes and from my locked iPhone running iOS 8 GM.

There is one big caveat though, but it’s not a big problem for law enforcement. This technique requires access to a trusted pairing record on a desktop / laptop machine that is paired with your phone, and as of iOS 8 requires physical access to the phone. What does this mean? This means that if your’e arrested, the police will seize both your iPhone and all desktop / laptop machines you own, and use files on the desktop to dump and access all of the above data on your iPhone. This can also be done at an airport, if you are detained.”
— Jonathan Zdziaski

I don't want to undersell what Apple has done. Apple has helped make IOS users much safer by fixing many of the security issues present in IOS7. The above note by Jonathan is something to keep in mind. If you want to maintain the highest level of security protection, never connect your iPhone to a PC. 

Travel Tip: Essential iPhone apps every traveller should have

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by  Andrew Butitta  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Andrew Butitta  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

I love my smartphone because it simplifies or amplifies so many aspects of my life. The smartphone has become an indispensable travel tool. It make every part of travel easier from reserving your airline seats, to buying show tickets to getting around a foreign city. 

There are thousands upon thousands of travel apps available. I will try to share some of the more useful ones with you. If I forgot something, add it in the comments. Many of these apps also have Android versions.

SeatGuru

I have written about SeatGuru in the past (link) and absolutely love it. The app brings the wealth airline seat quality knowledge to the palm of your hand (700 flights with over 100 different airlines). It will help you choose the best seats on any flight in any class. Does your seat recline? Do you have a power socket?

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Download Seatguru from the Apple itunes appstore here (link)

Packing Pro

Having spent the last 20 years travelling to all 4 corners of the globe, I have now pack very quickly with minimal fuss. There are travellers that seem to forget something on every trip or spend most of the trip worrying about what they might have forgotten. This is where Packing Pro comes in. A well designed app that costs just $2.99 will help you build a packing list simply and easily. Its database contains hundreds of the most commonly used items conveniently pre-organized in various categories (clothes, medical, kids, pets, etc).

This is just a simple well designed app that pays for itself during your first trip.

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Download Packing Pro from the Apple itunes appstore here (link)

TripAdvisor

I love trip advisor and wrote about its web service in an article entitles Travel Tip : Read Review Sites last week (link). You should read that article because it explains why I love TripAdvisor so much and how it can help you avoid a "trip from hell".

Nothing makes reading its millions of user generating reviews easier than its iPhone app. The app brings all of TripAdvisor's rich travel information to the tip of your finger anywhere in the world.

And of course the app is free.

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Download TripAdvisor from the Apple itunes appstore here (link)

GateGuru

GateGuru is another TripAdvisor website and mobile app that helps to make travelling just a little bit easier. You input your travel information into the app and it will provide all kinds of very useful airport information such as restaurants, lounges, ATMs and almost anything else you need to get around in almost any airport around the world.

The app has these built in functionalities:

  • Check-in airport terminal 
  • Airport weather 
  • Terminal and gate arrival and departure information 
  • Real time flight status with push notifications for changes and updates 
  • Estimated TSA security wait times for your checkpoints 
  • Airport food and amenity information (with over 35,000 ratings and reviews), customized to your arrival and departure terminal 
  • Airport maps and tips to help you navigate an unfamiliar airport 
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This app is a must. Download GateGuru from the Apple itunes appstore here (link)

AutoStitch

I have to admit I am addicted to photography apps for my iPhone. I have over a dozen apps installed now and over 30 purchased since my first iPhone. I consider these essential travel apps because they allow you to quickly and easily capture a special moment so you can relive that travel memory over and over. Apple has made the iPhone's Photo.App a fantastic little app to capture that moment even adding a panorama feature. BUT.... and this is a big but... there are apps in iTunes that will allow you to capture better photos than the default built in app (this will be even more true with IOS 8 that will expose many photography settings hidden from these app until now).

Whether you are camping in the wilderness or visiting a Chinese temple, there are times when only a large expansive panorama will do. For this instances, I love AutoStitch. AutoStich will allow you to take a series of pictures (providing guide on when and how to snap each picture) and then stitch them all together on your phone into an 18 megapixel work of art.

What really sets AutoStich apart is the fact that you can take pictures horizontally, vertically or even a mix of both and the app will stitch them together without issues. The resulting panoramas are heads and shoulders above what Apple does by default. This $1.99 app is a bargain considering how often I use it.

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Download AutoStitch from the Apple itunes appstore here (link)

Camera+

AutoStitch is great for Panoramas but what about "normal" pictures? This is where I talk about my most used iPhone app Camera+. Camera plus is a photo app that cleanly implements all of the basic photographic features you expect and then layers on incredible editing power.

I shouldn't even have to continue writing anything. Just go buy it. $1.99 is a bargain for this app. And unlike other developers, TapTapTap has made huge improvements without nickle and diming its customers.

Ultimately the best feature in v5 for landscape or city photography is a feature called Clarity Pro. It makes every landscape or cityscape picture incredibly clear, vibrant, sharp and visually very appealing. 

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Download Camera+ from the Apple itunes appstore here (link). The developers have promised some incredible new "unannounced" features with the IOS8 version. 

Bittorrent Sync

One of the tenets of security is availability and  anytime I take vacation or travel pictures, I must make sure a card failure won't cause me to lose all my memories. I use the Eyefi Mobi SD Card which allows me (using their iPhone app) to copy pictures from my SD Card to my iPhone (2nd copy). Where WIFI is available, I want a 3rd copy on my home computer (which itself is backed up by Backblaze). How do I get my pictures from my smartphone back to my PC securely without using a cloud service? Bittorrent sync.

BitTorrent Sync uses the very popular Bittorrent peer to peer protocol to synchronize the files from my smartphone back to my home PC. By using this approach, my pictures are never sitting on a 3rd party cloud service which means I'm not worried about hacking of a cloud service, misuse of my personal data or getting screwed by horrible terms of service.

Bittorrent sync does require that all clients synchronizing data between them be available and online at the same time which means you will have to leave your home computer online or buy a Bittorrent Sync compatible NAS device (Netgear ReadyNAS, Seagate NAS OS, QNAP).

Creating the link between their IOS (or Android) app and the client on your home computer is super simple and takes 2 minutes. A side benefit is that you can then share these pictures with anyone else using Bittorrent Sync regardless of where they live, without having to create an account on any service and regardless of its size.

I have been using Bittorrent Sync from its very early start in beta and have been using it ever since, I also use it to sync files between computers, for backups and even archiving. This is a great way to keep your travel pictures safe. I typically copy them over to my iPhone (from the camera) real-time as I am taking pictures. Then sync them back to my home computer when I get back within range of the hotel's unlimited WIFI network or any other trustworthy WIFI network I find along the way.

You can read more about Bittorrent Sync here (link)

Travel Tip : The best foldable portable travel bottle

I wrote about the Vapur bottle in April (link) . Go read that article but for anyone that travel (even casually for vacations), goes hiking or camping, this the bottle for you. Easy to to use, easy to clean, super lightweight and packs away super small when empty.

Did I mention you should do read my previous article linked above? LOL

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Travel Tip: Check your hotel room for bedbugs

I started doing this 15 years ago when I first started to travel to Asia and have done it for every hotel stay since. The minute I walk into a room I drop my luggage in the washroom, remove the bedding and check for bedbugs.  

Why the washroom? Bedbugs typically hate all tile hotel washrooms and there are very few places for them to hide in there. This make the washroom the safest place to store your luggage until you finish with your bed bug check.

How do I check for bedbugs? remove the bedding on the mattress and inspect the seams of the mattress (all around on both sides). You are looking for blood stains, small black dots (like pepper) or actual bedbugs. Look for the same signs under the mattress (between the mattress and the bed).

Next look immediately around the bed. Behind picture frames, mirrors, headboard, under telephones and alarm clocks. Check couches and chairs. Last but not least, check the hotel room's closet. 

BedBug Registry (link)  is an interesting website that allows people to report seeing bed bugs. Check it before you leave. 

What should I do with my luggage and clothes? Never put your luggage on the mattress. If there are bedbugs, they may hitch a ride and infest your house. always store and open your bag on something unupholstered like a desk, nightstand or a purpose built luggage holder. Never leave it on the floor. Try to keep your clothes inside your luggage at all times. 

What else? There have been cases of bed bugs being found in airlines, taxis and trains. Companies (Like BugZip LINK) make zippered bags to store your luggage to protect from these infections and from infection in the hotel room. Personally I have never used these but I know people who do. Another cheap solution is a simple garbage bag you can tie and untie.

Look for white powder around/under the bed, in closets, dressers or anywhere else in the room. This could be insecticide which may indicate the room was infected. Insecticide isn't good for your health and I wouldn't stay in a room that may have been infected (regardless of what the hotel staff says). If you see a white powder in the hotel, ask the hotel staff about and switch rooms. And when you move rooms, make sure it it at least 2 floors away from the "infected" one since bed bugs can move between walls and through electrical sockets.

If you find something or even suspect something, speak up. Let hotel staff know and ask for an immediate room change. Be as verbose as necessary to make sure they take care of you properly. Remember bed bugs can transmit germs from customer to customers even antibiotic resistant ones. 

What can I do to avoid bedbugs in hotels? Before starting your trip, call up the hotels you will be staying in and ask about their bed bug prevention program. Most reputable chains have a program of constant inspection and a deal with a local pest control company. 

What to do when I get home? When I get home, everything get's put into the garage and all clothes get washed in warm water and detergent (regardless of having worn something or not). Bed bugs die in the hot water. Anything you can't wash at home should be taken to the dry cleaner immediately.  I then use my air compressor to blow air in every nook and cranny of my luggage (outside my garage). Then the last step is to vacuum the luggage before bringing it into my house for storage. 

Groundskeeper Willie from the Simpsons and Scottish independence

The ever popular Simpson's character groundskeeper Willie presenting his "unbiased" opinion about the upcoming Scottish independence vote.

Travel Tip : Snap a picture of your luggage

I have worked in the Air Transportation industry for many years and know airlines take the PAWOB (Passengers without bags) statistic very seriously. Having flown over 1 million miles so far, my bags have been irrecoverably lost only once. 

Every Time you are about to check in a bag, take a picture of the bag and then another one of the airline bag tag. In the event is is lost, you can show a picture of it to the airline attendant (instead of spending 10 minutes trying to describe what it looks like) and the picture of the bag tag is to show that the routing code was correct when you handed it off. 

The smartphone makes this tip super easy to implement so get snapping.

Travel Tip : Where to shop for airline tickets

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“800”] Image by  Julia P  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Julia P  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

After hundreds of thousands of air miles (hundreds of trips for business and pleasure), I can safely say the best value tickets are rarely found by searching on travel booking sites (Expedia, Orbitz, Travelocity, etc).

The best way to find a great deal on your next flight is to use a meta search service. This is a service that doesn't directly book flights but rather that searches dozens of them to show you the best deals.

The best known sites for this type of meta search service are HipMunk (link) and Kayak (link). Each service has strengths so I recommend you check both. I ran a quick test for a flight YUL to LAX leaving Sep 12 and returning Sep 14 (for 1 adult).

Hipmunk offers this easy to read chart of prices vs. time of travel. I also like the Agony sorting on Hipmunk. Agony is a combination of price, duration and the number of stops.

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Whereas Kayak uses its search algorithms to recommend whether you should buy a trip now or wait.

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There are also some less known sites that may be worth Checking out. MoMondo (link) claims it searches over 650 different sites to find you the best deal. I ran my above query against it and voila. It actually found a cheaper flight than Kayak or Hipmunk.

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MoMondo also has a handy graph that charts travel prices before and after your requested date. If your dates are flexible, you may end up saving a little but more. 

My recommendation is to use all of the above and find the best deal for you (combination of date, # of stops and price).

Travel Tip : Bring Your Own

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1296”] Image by  Angelo DeSantis  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Angelo DeSantis  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

For the best travel experience, BRING YOUR OWN STUFF. Everything you think you may want or need on the plane should be brought with you. Why? Because things you buy on a plane are expensive, bad quality and generally not that good.

If you want a pillow, bring a small inflatable travel pillow. If you get cold, bring your own sweater. If you are travelling during breakfast, lunch or supper, buy something in the airport and bring it with you. Airplane food is expensive, overly salty and usually tasteless (like soggy pizza).

Don't use the cheap $0,99 headphones airlines provide, buy a decent set of noise cancelling / isolating headphones and bring them with you.

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Most long haul flights now include some level of in-flight entertainment but often times the selection is limited and you may have seen the shows made available. It is better to bring your smartphone and tablet loaded with you own personal content (music, movies and games).

I have given up on paper magazines and now use NextIssue (a all you can eat magazine buffet loaded on my tablet).

Remember that most airlines allow one carry-on and one-personal item. Make sure you use the maximum allowable size and weight for each. I usually travel wearing a Scottevest brand travel jacket that has a bunch of pockets (most have around 21). I use this to lighten my carry-on which allows me to bring more stuff onboard.

Related Article:

Check if your accounts have been hacked

Another day, another hack. It seems there is another media story every week talking about a site getting hacked and thousands (or millions) of account being compromised.  Companies have Information Security teams that track these breaches to protect their users, but how does an average user protect himself?

As an average user, you are on your own but there are sites that can help. One of these sites is called haveibeenpwned.com (link)

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You enter your address and the site will check if it was included in any of the breach leaks they track. I used 1 known clean email and 1 email that was part of the Adobe brach and the site identified each properly. When an email is found in their database, they tell you when it was breach and what breach it was part of.

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Pwndlist (link) is another site that offers a free similar service but provides almost no additional information. 

I built an IFTTT script that emails me once a month to remind me to check my credentials against these services.

Travel Tip : travel as light as possible

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“600”] Image by  Reg Natarajan  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Reg Natarajan  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

Related Articles:

Airlines are trying to nickle and dime you every chance they have. In addition to paying top dollar for tickets, Air Canada (as an example) charges a fee for every piece of checked luggage and is making carry-on allowances smaller and lighter.

Your only option is plan and plan and plan. Start planning your trip as soon as possible and determine what you will be doing and where you will be going. Based on your plan, create a list of what you need to bring with you (and don't start this list the night before). 

The goal is to travel as light as possible with the least amount of luggage. Try to minimize your the amount of clothes you bring by ensuring you can mix and match everything. Bring items that are weather appropriate but as light and small as possible (it may not be a good time to pack that thick and heavy sweater that weight 12 lb). 

Try to limit the number of inflexible space consuming items like shoes. Years past, I use to carry my toiletries in a thick, resistant leather toiletry bag but it just weights too much. I now carry my toiletries in 1L Ziplock style freezer bags (freezer bags are thicker and more spill resistant that cheaper "normal" plastic bags). 

When possible, I encourage to travel "carry-on only" (OneBag) and my favorite luggage is RedOxx brand (lifetime warranty, light and super durable).

Travel Tip : Reserve that airplane seat

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1200”] Image by  Angelo DeSantis  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Angelo DeSantis  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

Always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always, always. always, always book your seat in advance.

The minute you can reserve your seat (24 hours before flight or at booking) do it. Many travel agents can do it for free (no surcharge). If you carry a status level with the airlines, call your status helpdesk and they may do it for free. If you can visit the airport check in counter (anytime before your flight day), the agents can often do it (for free). 

The longer the flight, the more important it is to reserve your seat. How do I pick the best airline /airplane seat you ask? Check out SeatGuru.com (link) or SeatExpert.com (link)

   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="505"]<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/3ca47ad751.jpg" alt=" SeatExpert map for AC 797 flying YUL to LAX on Sep 12 ">  SeatExpert map for AC 797 flying YUL to LAX on Sep 12 [/caption]

SeatGuru and SeatExpert shows you the amenities on each flight and the best seats (green ones in this map). I prefer SeatGuru's look and feel better. 

   [caption id="" align="alignnone" width="505"]<img src="https://ekiledjian2.micro.blog/uploads/2025/0be7f9d311.jpg" alt="  SeatGuru map for AC 797 flying YUL to LAX on Sep 12  ">   SeatGuru map for AC 797 flying YUL to LAX on Sep 12  [/caption]

 

Sometimes the world is against you and all the good seats may already be taken. Book a seat anyway. Then repeatedly (until travel day) keep checking the airline's site to see if something has freed up. On a recent family trip back to Montreal (from LAX), I was able to reserve Economy Plus seating for free 24 hours before the flight.

If you are a status member of the airline, ask their helpdesk if they can change the seat for you (sometimes they may swap you with someone else). 

Exit row seating means you won't have any kids next to you and you will have much more legroom. You can't book these seats online (on most airlines) and so you will have to show up to the airport early and request these seats from an agent. 

Many airlines now offer some sort of Economy Plus seating which is an economy size seat with more legroom and better seat incline. On longer flights, it may be worth it to pay a bit more to reserve one of these seats. Often times the prices for this upgrade (as well as to  business class) are fixed when done on the airlines website but can be substantially cheaper if done in person at the airport during check in so make sure you ask. On a recent Air Canada flight, it was $550CAD to upgrade from economy to business class but the check in agent was able to do it for less than $300. Whether the difference is worth it depends on the length of the trip and the benefits of the upgrade, so you'll have to make that decision.

Travel Tip : Keep shopping even after you book

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2500”] Image by  Franck BLAIS  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Franck BLAIS  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

When possible, continue shopping for deals even after you book your trip. I understand that packaged sun vacations are typically non cancellable but in most other situations, you can cancel your reservation up to 48 hours before.

This means that you should keep shopping for better deals until the very last minute. Hotels, car rental agencies, tourist attractions will sometimes run last minute deals to fill up their spot at greatly reduced rates and you shouldn't miss these. 

Sometimes hotels will offer upgraded accommodations for the same (or very close) price. I once managed to get the presidential suite at the Sheraton downtown toronto for $250 a night. The same type of opportunity can be had for car rentals (in less busy locations).

So never shop shopping.

Travel Tip : Beating Jet Lag

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“2079”] Image by  Frank O'Dwyer  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Frank O’Dwyer  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

Every trip you take makes the next one a little easier. You learn how to do things better, faster and more efficiently (packing, booking, getting through customs, etc). The one challenge that never gets easier is Jet Lag. 

Jet Lag is the impact of switching multiple time zones in a very short period of time. Your body thinks its time to sleep but your new time zone says its only lunch time. Jet Lag typically gets worse the more time zones you fly through.

Over the years I have picked up little tips and tricks that help me deal with the Jet Lag better which means my first day on the ground isn't lost to groggy tired Edward. To be clear, I haven't found a magic elixir that completely negates Jet Lag but you can minimize its impact.

1 - Rest and be extra healthy - Many people go in a crazy hectic panic mode a day before their flight (packing, chores, planning, etc). The longer the flight, the earlier I try to finish all my pre-flight prep. I typically want to keep the last 48-72 hours before a flight as personal rest and relaxation time. This means all my planning, packing, and travel related activities are all completed at least 48 hours before my flight day. I spend the next 2-3 pre-flight days resting as much as I can and being extra healthy. Resting means sleeping early, doing exercise and meditating. Being healthy means I go out of my way to make sure I take extra special care of myself. I drink extra water. I make sure my skin is extra hydrated (planes are very dry). I eat super healthy by drinking lots of green juices, avoid overly fatty, starchy or carbohydrate laden foods. I make sure I take all my vitamins and typically start my probiotic regimen (which I do until a week after I return). All of this is done to ensure you body is in peak shape to handle the stresses of travelling which minimizes Jet Lag and risk you'll get a travel cold.

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2 - Use your travel time to rest -  I know the in-flight entertainment system and the fact you're trapped in a flying tube for hours on end seems like an invitation to binge watch TV but don't. There is nothing wrong with watching "some" entertainment while you eat but consider travel time as a rare gift where you are completely isolated from the world. Read a book, listen to an audiobook or sleep. 

3 - Switch Time Zones - Whenever possible, and especially if I am flying to Asia where the time difference can be as much as 12 hours, I try to start living in that time zone a day or 2 before the flight. I then continue with my destination schedule on the flight. Most flight attendants will gladly hold a meal for you and serve it later when it is more convenient if you ask nicely. 

4 - Live like the locals - A long trip and the extra dry airplane take a toll on your body and often times you want nothing more than to fall asleep as soon as you check-in to the hotel... BUT DON'T! If you have a free day, get outside and walk around. Fresh air, light exercise and sunlight all help to fight Jet Lag. Live according to the destination time zone regardless of how tired you think you are. Plus you gain a day of sightseeing.

5 - Early wakeup - Even with everything I have mentioned above, you will likely wake up early (compared to the local timezone) as your body transitions to its new schedule. Instead of mopping in bed, get up, have a healthy breakfast and use this time to get fresh air, light exercise and sunlight. Foreign cities are wonderful in the morning as the city wakes up.  

6 - Jet Lag remedies - Some travellers recommend pharmaceutical sleep aids (like Ambien) to help get a full nights sleep immediately using the local schedule. I tend to shy away from taking prescription meds anytime I can.  I have used a combination of over the counter melatonin and a homeopathic product called No JetLag which seems to have worked for me. The melatonin is a hormone that purported to help reset your biological clock. Make sure you check the regulations of your destination country. Some over the counter products are classified as illegal in some european or asian countries so check first.

There is no magic cure for Jet Lag. Over the years I have used the above tips to deal with it better and have found them efficient. Happy travels.


 


 

 

 

Travel Tip : Buy Travel Insurance

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“1772”] Image by  Alan Cleaver  used under Creative Commons License Image by  Alan Cleaver  used under Creative Commons License [/caption]

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. Travel insurance is an interesting product that I can debate for hours. Some are sold and never travel without it, while others think its a waste of your hard earned money.

For anything more than an affordable sun holiday, I recommend you buy comprehensive travel insurance. Most comprehensive plans will not only cover emergency medical costs (which could be in the thousands) but they also provide baggage loss/delay coverage and more importantly trip cancellation coverage. 

There are dozens of reasons why you may have to cancel a trip or cut a trip short (family emergency, travel operator goes bankrupt, layoff, etc). 

Never buy your insurance from the broker, agent, company or website selling you the trip. Typically you can find better deals from larger third party agencies like American Express, BlueCross/ BlueShield, CAA/AAA, your bank, etc.

Shop around for the best price/coverage and read the fine print. Not all insurance is created equal. Some accept trip cancellation due to a layoff while others do not. Some provide a partial reimbursement for trips cut short due to family emergencies while others do not. Whatever you buy, make sure it has comprehensive health coverage with a dedicated 24x7 internationally accessible medical support line.

Travel Tip : Use Social Media to plan a better trip

Social Media sites are useful for more than watching cat videos. The truth is your social contacts can provide insightful information that can help you plan a better vacation or trip. Post a status update requesting tips for a specific location or for a good vacation spot. Engage with respondents about what they liked and what they would do differently. Find hidden gems or that extra special restaurant. These are your contacts so their recommendations should be better aligned with your likes and dislikes.

Security Warning: I have to add a note about being careful about how much info you share on these social networks. It's a great idea to ask for tips, tricks and recommendations but don't post messages about when you will be gone, unless you want your house broken into. Thieves are often looking for status messages indicating travel. Also make sure your posts about travel are only shown to a limited group of people (in Facebook make sure it is only available to friends or a specific user list).

Travel Tip : Join a travel forum

A friend of mine is an airmile magician. He knows the travel reward systems so well he manages to pull off some incredible and amazing can't believe it's possible trips. when I asked him how he learns and keeps up to date, he mentioned the FlyerTalk forums. 

As a traveller, after reading review sites (link), your next step is to sign up for and use the various travel discussion forums. On them you can learn tips and tricks (for travel clubs, hidden menu items at restaurants, little known activities to do while travelling, etc). 

There are already millions of questions answered but just in case, you will also likely find someone who can answer your specific questions. There are dozens of sites but your time is best spent on the bigger ones. Make sure you join a site aligned with you (Fodors is for the older more affluent crowd while Lonely Planet is for the young backpacking student).

Forums I recommend you consider are:

Travel Tips : Some General recommendations

[caption id="" align=“alignnone” width=“745”] Image by  Sean MacEntee  used Under Creative Commons License Image by  Sean MacEntee  used Under Creative Commons License [/caption]

Travel Tip : Read Review Sites

I remember the pre-Internet days when your only source of reliable information was a library or friend. The Internet has radically shifted many of our life processes and travel is one of them.
Travel review sites are a fantastic way to evaluate hotels, resorts, airlines, attractions and almost every other aspect of travel. 

The one site I always check (the 800lb gorilla) is TripAdvisor (link). With millions of reviews, you are almost guaranteed to find what you are looking for. There are of course many others like CitySearch (link)

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Don't forget the traditional review sites like Yelp, OpenTable, etc. Using these types of sites we have almost always gone to great vacation resorts. Before booking, we know the cleanliness of the resort, quality of restaurants, level of service, etc. 

As you read these sites, it is important to keep certain elements in mind:

  • think about the mindset of the reviewer. One resort we visited had very positive reviews except one of them gave it a 1/5 stars. When we read the review, we realized the reviewer was a baboon because he gave the resort a bad review because one of the restaurants had dared to give him non matching cutlery. Let's just say that's not something that would bother me.
  • give more importance to recent reviews. We were evaluating a resort in Cuba which had a fantastic overall rating but as we read the more recent reviews, we realized the resort had started to be neglected (but the reviews dating 6 months or more were glowing).
  • search for pictures. I always look for pictures and generally do a Google Image search to find pictures of the location posted to the internet from travellers. A picture is worth a thousand words.

 

 

Apple to livestream Sep 9 iPhone announcement

Every major Apple event is a thrilling adventure for technology enthusiasts. Will the announcement be a simple evolution or will we see the start of a revolutionary new product category?

Apple has finally confirmed that they will livestream the event on their website (link) for everyone (with the appropriate config) to watch.

Everyone agrees that this will be the unveiling of the iPhone 6 and possibly the iWatch, iHat, ipatch (whatever format their new wearable takes). Everyone's favorite (mostly) accurate analyst, Ming Chi Kuo, also believes we may see an updates iPad Air (but I think this last one is much less likely).

“Live streaming video requires Safari 5.1.10 or later on OS X v10.6.8 or later; Safari on iOS 6.0 or later. Streaming via Apple TV requires second- or third-generation Apple TV with software 6.2 or later.”

Interestingly no reference to Windows users being able to watch the stream... Is this a simple error or a jab at Windows users?