1. When You Shouldn’t Use Ziploc Bags For Medication

I always enjoy reading the Mobal newsletter and have incorporated many useful suggestions into my travel. However, as I read this poster’s advice on using Ziploc bags to carry prescription meds, I had to respond.

Every travel/airline website I have ever read states clearly that prescriptions should travel “in their original containers.” I do have some meds that the pharmacist always puts in larger than needed containers, but I figure the small amount of room they take up would be far less of a pain that to answer detailed questions about individual pills, some of which I know I would be unable to answer.

When I travel by car and no inspection of luggage is expected, then of course, I combine meds into small bags for convenience, but not so much to save space.

Just my thoughts on this.

I enjoy having the Mobal telephone for our trips outside the US. This year – Italy!

Paige Deal

2. How To Keep Smaller Items Of Clothing From Creasing In Your Luggage

I enjoy wearing scarves, but don’t like to see them get creased. I’ve discovered that if you save the cardboard tube from a used-up roll of paper towels or wrapping paper, you can use it to roll up your scarf and pack it along the side of a suitcase. (You can cut the tube down to size if necessary.) Once you’ve rolled the scarf around the tube, you can add a bit of protection by then rolling it in the kind of thin paper that comes with new clothing. This was really helpful on a recent trip. Don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner.

Betty Sheldon
Glenview, IL

3. Why You Should Never Need To Over pack

Hi Michael,
I’ve worked in Denmark, the Caribbean, and many ports on the East Coast. I’ve had a lot of packing experience for trips ranging from one week to three months. One thing that plagued me the first few times was over-packing. Remember, when going to Europe or the UK, they have everything we have, and it is so much easier to buy at the local “Wal-Mart” than pack everything you think you will need. Buy things like “T” shirts and shampoo, and it’s fun too!

Paul Wolters, Fredericksburg, Texas

4. How To Use Your Trip To Refresh Your Wardrobe

Pack your travel bag with old socks, underwear, etc. clothing that I wear on the airplane will be discarded 100% when I arrive at my hotel. Winter coat and sweaters for northern countries are also discarded prior to arriving for a visit south. Yes, the socks & Underwear with 50% to 70% of the other items picked, never make it home. However, the space is taken up with new purchases for gifts and personal items from wonderful venders and shops found during my visit.

When I return home I find new slacks, shirts, socks & underwear. Life is great.

John, Sun City Center, FL

5. Use Your Mobal World Phone As A Temporary Torch

I used my Mobal World Phone in London as a flashlight to find the keyhole to the front door of our house we rented. So then promptly used it to find the keys buried in my purse!

Renee Gauthier

OK, it’s time to daydream a little.

Let’s say you have no responsibilities and you have a whole year free to go live anywhere in the world you wanted…

…Where would you pick and why?

Enter your replies in the comments box below…

1. Pictures of Beautiful Beaches

Now we’re heading into Autumn, I thought you might like reminding what a beautiful beach looks like…

…next summer suddenly seems a long way away.

Check out the pictures of beautiful beaches here >>

2. 5 Insanely Small Inhabited Islands

Apparently “no man is an island”, but if you owned one of these you might proove the exception to the rule…

Check out the 5 Insanely Small Inhabited Islands here >>

3. 10 Interestingly Abandoned Places

If you’re looking for a cheap holiday, why not buy the flights but then stay for free in one of these abandoned places. What they lack in comfort they certainly make up for in… well, weirdness I suppose.

And if Scooby Doo is to be believed, you might find the odd fake ghost wandering around…

Check out the 10 interesting abandoned places here >>

4. Packing List Generator

Take all the effort out of thinking what to pack, and let your computer do it for you. Just enter all the details of your next trip and get a list of what you need to take.

Check out the packing list generator here >>

Come and see us at the NBTA Convention in LA – the premier event in the travel industry! We’re exhibiting from July 27th – July 30th.

Call in at Stand 1060 and meet Jane and Georgia in person. Enter our competition, claim your free gifts or just come along and have a chat. We’d love to meet you!

For more information on the convention, visit www.nbtaconvention.org

Travel is unpredictable, and sometimes the worst does happen.

Send me your travel horror stories when something’s gone wrong…

For me I think it was being held at machine gun point by Mexican police as they went through my stuff looking for what they could take (luckily I only had about $11 dollars on me so they didn’t get too much!).

I had visions of me spending the rest of my days in a Mexican jail cell.

Reply with your horror stories to michael@mobalphone.com or leave a comment below

1. How To Take 200 Books On Vacation With None Of The Weight

If you love to read on vacation, but hate all the extra weight carrying books adds to your luggage, then you need the Amazon Kindle.

It is a new handheld computer that can store 200 books, and has a screen specially designed for reading from.

Check out the Amazon Kindle here >>

2. 25 Places To Visit In America For Free

Why spend money on things when you can get them for free? Here are 25 attractions where you can go and abuse the facilities and not have to pay a penny (unless of course you happen to live on the otherside of the country and need a flight and hotel!).

Check out the 25 places to visit in America for free here >>

3. The World’s Sexiest Beaches

I’m not quite sure what makes people think beaches are sexy — sounds like a dubious perversion to me — but they do, and they’ve listed them for you.

If the idea of a beach gets you hot under the collar too, you should check them out.

Check out world’s sexiest beaches here >>

4. 8 Healthy Travel Tips

Sun, sea and sand can all be great, but only if you don’t over indulge. Follow these tips to make sure you stay healthy on vacation

Check out 8 healthy travel tips here >>

1. The sneaky way to hide your passport

Since we often stay in places with no safe, we hid our passport in the bottom of a kleenex box – in plain sight!

Rebecca Rose

2. How to get a back-up copy of your passport

Always bring a color copy of your passport with you when traveling abroad. Keep it separate from your original passport so that if you lose one, you will always have the other.

The copy is easy to keep with your carry on things so you can use it as Wendy suggests…to fill out immigration forms for the country you are visiting. If you lose your original passport, some places will accept a color copy until you can get a replacement.

And having a copy of the original will ease the pain of getting a replacement because all the necessary information is on your copy.

Robin Smith

3. A safer way than email to store your passport copy

It’s probably not a good idea to send yourself an e-mail copy of these important numbers and documents. E-mail isn’t very secure… this information could easily be compromised and intercepted.

I always carry one of those little USB flash drives that can be password protected, and for an added layer of security the information can be encrypted. The idea is the same. Go to an internet café etc and pop in the USB flash drive.

By the way, I use one of the U3 USB flash drives that enables me to access my own browser with all my familiar bookmarks/favorites etc. It’s like signing on to my home computer and makes my use of time in an internet café far more efficient.

Thanks,

Bud Shuler

4. Why you need to be careful when you see “luggage sale”

Beware of luggage sales. Many luggage vendors are looking to unload heavy luggage as people are opting for much lighter luggage due to the new weight restrictions on almost all airlines.

Ask “how much does it weigh” before you lay out the cash.

Remember, US flights have a maximum weight for checked bags of 50 lbs. Anything over will cost you.

Shelly

5. Why you should check in as early as possible

Checkin on line if you can & choose a seat as close to the front of the plane as possible.

This means that you’ll be one of the first off at the other end. Once off the plane, walk fast to immigration.

Hopefully, you’ll get there near the front of the queue, saving ages of waiting time.

Al Scott

Here are Mobal World Phone customers’ suggestions of the 15 cheapest countries to travel in…

1. Argentina

“Argentina. Good restaurants and cheap prices!

Have fun”

MM

2. Cambodia

“My sisters and I just returned from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Food, lodging, transportation, and wonderful Cambodian-made products were all inexpensive. The Cambodians use the U.S. dollar, so there’s the added benefit of not having to mentally convert to and from a foreign currency.”

Becky

3. China

“We just got back from China and found things really cheap there. Examples:

- An hour ride to the airport – $21
- A three-star hotel room with two bedrooms and a kitchenette – <$100
- Dinner for four at a good restaurant, including beer – $25-30
- A van, a driver and a private tour guide for all day for four of us – $140 in Beijing; $100 in other cities.

Also the bargaining on the streets for all sorts of items makes them really cheap. But you have to learn how. The exchange rate is really in the US favor right now. And there’s no tipping.

How nice”

“No question about it, CHINA.

Last November I visited Beijing, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou and all were really inexpensive. In addition to being a cheap place to travel you virtually do all your business with a credit card or American dollars.

No need to exchange for Chinese Yuan.”

4. Czech Republic

“On a trip to the Czech Republic we were pleased to see the “old Europe” prices still exist there.

Reasonable hotels (nice), cheap food (good), and public transportation.

Thanks!”

Bruce Baker

5. Egypt

“Egypt – friendly, fascinating and cheap.”

6. France

“We were in Paris last November and even though the exchange rate was 1:1.5 we were able to do it inexpensively by staying in a small boutique hotel and eating in local eateries especially on the left bank.”

7. Latin America

“Stick to the “unpopular” South and Central American Countries.

They always have a good exchange rate. You have to go native to get the real deals. The plane ticket to Turkey would be expensive from the U S. Spirit airlines has cheap flights to South, Central and Islands of the Caribbean.

You could backpack anywhere in the world and travel on a budget.”

8. Mexico

“So far Mexico seem to be the cheapest countries to travel to.”

9. Montenegro

“In Europe, Montenegro is VERY inexpensive. One example: my husband had a double espresso and I had a cappuccino (with the best foam I had during our three week trip, most of which was in Italy).

The drinks came with little individually wrapped biscuits and several kinds of sugar and sweeteners. It cost 1,80 euros. Amazing!”

Michelle Giger

10. Poland

“Hi—as of last Sept, Poland was the cheapest.

Such a relief to come from Spain (euro equals well over a dollar) to a place where the zloty was 3 to the dollar. A $48 zloty dinner in fact cost about $14.

A wonderful city to visit—Kracow.”

Virginia Kamke

“My husband and I spent a few very enjoyable days in Krakow, Poland during our two weeks in eastern Europe in October 2006.

We ate one lunch at a government subsidized “milk bar” -we each had a plate of pierogies, kielbasa soup and a coke “light” and it all came to about $6 US.

We also took a mini-bus out to the Auschwitz museum (about 1&1/2 hrs from Krakow) and it cost the equivalent of $7 US dollars each.”

11. Portugal

“Both the cheapest and friendliest = Portugal.

Most expensive = Paris, France, where the metro was twice the cost of that in Lisbon and Barcelona last month!!”

Jean Martinelli

“Just returned from Portugal. Although they use the Euro, prices for hotel and meals are very reasonable, and I will return to this country before the rush of American tourists.”

12. Slovenia

“We haven’t been out of the country since fall 06, and of course things have skyrocketed.

However, as I’ve been looking for possible places to go this fall, it comes back to my favorite, Slovenia. Hotels in Lju still very high, but lots of other reasonable alternatives, from apartments to B&Bs. Also, it’s easy to find reasonably priced food if you stick with the locals.

And you can drive from the beach (Piran) to the Mountains (Julian Alps) on a tank of gas! The friendliest, kindest, most down-to-earth folks, too. ”

Carol

13. South East Asia

“Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand remain reasonable travel bargains.

However, travel expenses are up about 20% over last year. Good hotel
rooms are still affordable, and the net work of discount airlines,
mainly AirAsia, are still a bargain.

Great food is still very inexpensive. Its my favorite place to travel anyway.”

Jerry Boughton,
Louisiana

14. Turkey

“The Turkish Lira is the weakest in the world. A clean room for about $2.00. Buffet lunch about the same. But not in Istanbul. Try Ismir or Pammukele.”

15. USA

“Riding my 21 speed on all the great biking trails of the US. Wonderful.”

Johanna Hocker

Do you have a suggestion of a cheap country to travel in? Leave a comment below…

My text appeal score is 20 Beat my cell phone text appeal score now!

Of course I scored 20 There’s my badge to prove it!

This is our all new cell phone text appeal test to see how well you know the texting lingo. Take the test and comment back here with your score.

Take the Cell Phone Text Appeal Test Now! >>

1. Funny Signs In English From Around The World

We shouldn’t laugh when foreigners try to write in English, but sometimes you just can’t help it. Here’s a collection of amusingly translated signs from around the world.

Check out the funny signs in English here >>

2. The World’s Most Expensive Foods

They say you have to pay for quality, so how does a $13,400 pizza sound to you? Check out this and other amazingly expensive foods below.

Check out the world’s most expensive foods here >>

3. 10 Ways To Get The Best Airline Seat

You can’t always choose who you sit next to, but if you’re going to get stuck next to the world’s most boring man, you may as well try and make sure your get most comfortable seat on the plan.

Check out the 10 ways to get the best airline seat here >>

4. 11 Bizarre Hotels That Will Knock Your Socks Off

For that occasion when the Holiday Inn Express just won’t do…
Check out the 11 bizarre hotels that will knock your socks off here >>

Seen an interesting website? Post it in the comments box below or email it to me at michael@mobalphone.com