Please enable javascript, or click here to visit my ecommerce web site powered by Shopify.

Browsing posts from Q&A with Paul...

Buying Bottles Overseas & Their Safe Return

Q&A with Paul | Trevor | Jul 27, 2012

 

      Q: I’m hoping to purchase a fine bottle of Scotch whisky at the Duty Free shop in Glasgow on my way home from Scotland. My flight has me transferring airplanes in both Heathrow and Toronto before returning home to London, Ontario.  I’ve been told I need to have a “security tamper evident bag”  when travelling by air. What is that?Buying 

      A:  It is a clear plastic bag designed to stow liquids, aerosols and gels (LAGS) purchased by airline passengers at duty free shops in selected airports. Time was, before 9/11, when one could travel without having to pass through security let alone having to have all your bags screened. After 9/11, one needed to pass through some form of security screening but could purchase duty free liquids (alcohol, perfumes etc) outside of the screening areas and bring them on board. That is until a failed attempt by terrorists to blow up aircraft using a combination of liquid chemicals. As a result liquids, including bottled water, were no longer allowed on board. Duty free shoppes around the world lost enormous business. Responding to complaints by airport tenants who operated these shops, the duty free stores were relocated to being inside the security area. That left one problem. If you were transferring between aircraft at different airports and needed to go through security screening areas again, your duty free purchase would be confiscated. That problem too was solved with the advent of these clear plastic bags that could be sealed by the retailer with a telltale sign of having been tampered with or opened. Security screening agents then could check for these telltale signs and allow them through if seen to be untampered with.
       Since you will have need to go through security screening once again at Heathrow and again after clearing customs in Toronto, and if as you suggest intend on purchasing your fine Scotch whisky in Glasgow, you will have need for these bags. Since June 1 2011, duty-free purchases from any EU nation packaged in a security tamper evident bag have been accepted for screening at all major Canadian airports. These tamper evident bags relate only to duty-free purchases.  You are still able to pack regulation size (100 millilitres/3ounces) LAGs in any unsealed clear plastic bag and put it in your carry-on for easy check point navigation.
       It’s a good thing your flight routing back to London, Ontario doesn’t have you flying through the United States. If your return flight from an EU nation involves a stop in the U.S., the tamper evident bag will not be accepted at screening check points in the U.S.  You would be well advised to put your duty free purchases in your checked bag after clearing customs in the U.S. Otherwise, you will likely have them confiscated.
       If that were the case, and you had to pack them into your checked baggage, that would then bring to mind your next problem. How to securely pack your fine Scotch whisky or bottle of fine wine in your luggage so that the bottle won’t break. Check out a product called the Vinnibag. VinniBag is a reusable travel bag with inflatable air chambers that protect and insulate wine bottles, other liquids, and fragile items. It’s designed to provide remarkable protection against impact and leakage, it’s easy to use, and it stores flat, rolled or folded when not in use. Travelling with wine, olive oil or just regular toiletries can be worrisome at any time,  awkward at best and disastrous at worst. But whether it’s in your checked suitcase or carry on luggage,  a checked  backpack or even a duffel bag, your Scotch whisky will arrive in good order, without worry inside the protective walls of the Vinnibag.

 

Cultural vs. Recreatonal Tourism

Q&A with Paul | Paul | May 28, 2012

Q.
Can you tell me how cultural tourism differs from recreational tourism?  I am looking at tours to specific areas and some bill themselves as cultural while other as recreational.

A.
Cultural tourism is probably  best as travel to destinations with the intention of gathering new information and experiences about that areas culture concerned with a country and specifically the lifestyle of the people in those geographical areas, the history of those people, their art, architecture, religion(s), and other elements that
helped shape their way of life. It may  include tourism in urban areas, particularly historic or large cities and their cultural facilities such as museums and theatres or it can also include tourism in rural areas showcasing the traditions of indigenous cultural communities (i.e. festivals, rituals), and their values and lifestyle.  This form of tourism is becoming generally more popular throughout the world.

Recreational tourism is travel to a destination to participate in an activity of leisure and often done for enjoyment, amusement, or pleasure. Recreational activity, like hiking, canoeing, participating in sporting activities, reading a book while sunning on a beach, travelling to a chess or bridge tournament, the list is somewhat
somewhat endless. Not all recreational activity can be considered wise, healthy, socially acceptable or useful—examples of which may be gambling, drinking, or deliquent activity which while may be entertaining for some but are not necessarily wise.

One of the easiest ways to differentiate between the two is to think of the Hula dance.  If you travelled to Hawaii to learn about the history and the significance of the hula to the people of Hawaii this would be considered cultural tourism.  If on the other hand you travelled to Hawaii to lean to hula dance you may be considered a recreational tourist.

This is not a case of  “east is east and west is west and never the twain shall meet” because one can see that while learning about the place of the hula in the history of the Hawaiian people one might just want to give it a try. So there is in fact a meeting of these two kinds of tourism and that happens when the learning about some type of
cultural activity becomes experiential.

Another example of “east meets west” is Haida Gawii. A trip to Haida Gawii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia) could involve hiking, kayaking, fishing and other activities considered to be  recreational as well as immersion into the culture of the Haida. The Haida Heritage Centre, ruins of ancient villages and weathered
totem poles as well as local artists and tour guides all give witness to a culture and a people who have called these islands home for centuries.  This is a wonderful mixing of recreation and culture.

Local festivals often reflect the culture of an area.  The fall fairs that still thrive in some parts of this country offer home baking, preserves and the handiwork of the local residents.  In the local markets of many cities and towns around the world you’ll hear area musicians playing traditional tunes and artisans selling items created using age old techniques past down from one generation to the next.

Many large cities of the world house ethnic neighbourhoods rich in the cultural heritage they bring with them from their home land.  The music, art, and food offered in these neighbourhoods are as authentic as that experienced in their country of origin.

One may travel to Austria to hike the Alps in summer or to ski their slopes in winter but never visit Vienna, the City of Music.  People travel for different reasons, some just for recreation, some just for culture and some for a little of both.

Museums give witness to the evolution of culture and art galleries and libraries document it movement.  Culture progresses or regresses with the ebb and flow of time.  Recreation is a more immediate experience, one savoured in chunks of time to give relief from the everyday.

It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words . If you were to google images of the two terms,  cultural and recreational tourism,  visual images of the difference between the two will be quite clear.

A part of the series:

Travel Points

Q&A with Paul | Trevor | May 22, 2012

I’m planning to attend my niece’s wedding taking place at a Hilton resort on a Caribbean Island. I had hoped that the couple getting married would have chosen a Marriott Brand hotel as I have ample frequent stay points for that chain of hotels, but since there are no Marriott Hotels on the island they have chosen, I am SOL. I know that there are ways of converting my points from my Marriott hotel frequent stay program to an airline program. Is there a way to convert points between two competitive hotel brands?

 To your question, there is a way you could end up at the Hilton where the Carribean Island Resort wedding is taking place and much like you wonder, you can do so  by converting one frequent stay program to another through an uncompetitive frequent flyer program.  That is if  you are willing to do a little work, as in horsetrading. And while what I am about to demonstrate is not quite horsetrading, it is similar. When what you need are 3 black stallions, it’s then like saying “I will give you two brown stallions  for three  white mares  plus a little extra cash just for good measure and then trading the 3 white mares for one black stallion plus some more cash, again for good measure.”  It really isn’t as confusing and complex as it sounds. Substitute  horses for points and you now have the picture.  Points will not likely transfer dollar for dollar or point for point , just as 3 stallions don’t trade quite equally for an equal number of mares. I’ve done an analysis for you and much like the horse trade example above, you may be surprised with my final recommendation. Read on.

Every hotel offers you a room and most hotel chains have rewards programs much like airlines do, but that is where the similarity ends. It’s  much like comparing an apple and an orange, both are fruits but indeed are very different. The difference is in how the points are calculated. Hotels attribute points on dollars spent, airlines calculate on miles flown.

There are websites that assist you in doing the trading of points between and among  frequent flyer and frequent stay programs. A few of these websites, ones like  www.points.com will charge a fee for making these trades, others like www.webflyer.com will provide you guidance in doing it by yourself. Do understand though that there likely is a fee charged by your frequent stay or flyer program, the cost of doing so is usually in the form of points or miles being deducted from your account. Knowing just how many points for doing so is important. Other sites like webflyer.com are www.insideflyer.com and www.mileagemanager.com . Some like points.com and mileagemanager also help in keeping track of your points in the various programs you are enrolled.

Webflyer.com  can guide you through the process of converting  your Hilton points to Marriott points but to warn you, it can get complicated. Some conversions may require up to five separate steps because direct conversion between two programs may not be available.

Each step involves joining other programs, transferring your points from one to the next until you reach the final conversion. And with each step, the receiving program  is taking off a chunk of your points, as in charging you points  in exchange for the service or points being deleted, hidden within the exchange itself.

Weblyer.com provides for a number of options, dependent upon your frequent fly and stay programs you currently have points in. The process may look something like the following:

Marriott Rewards converts to Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles and HawaiianMiles convert to Hilton HHonors.Or another example would be: Marriott Rewards converts to Aeroplan Rewards and Aeroplan points converts to Hilton HHonors.

 You may pay a nominal fee to join each program as you progress along the conversion highway and those fees along with the ratio at which your Marriott points are finally converted to Hilton Honors points all factor in to inform you if the conversion is worth your time, your points or your money.

  So I did the work for you and assuming you needed 200,000 Hilton points to stay 5 nights at the Hilton Carribean Resort,  (40,000 points per night). Ive assumed thats the amount of points you have currently in your Marriott account. For the record, $1 spent at a Marriott hotel is worth 10 points. Hence 200,000 points means you will have spent $20,000.  Well, not quite true because Marriott frequently offers bonus points for various promotions. Nevertheless, you would have had to spend a large amount of dollars to accumulate 200,000 points. You may say that the conversion costs are not quite worth it after all is said and done.

 Nevertheless, heres the routing.

 Webflyer.com would suggest you first convert your Marriott points to the Hawaiin Air Rewards Program. That is your best conversion option providing you with the most amount of points for your transaction as it is at a ratio of 15000:6029 (almost 2.5 -1). So 200,000 Marriott Rewards points will convert to  160, 000 Hilton points trading through Hawaiin Air’s frequent flyer program. That’s enough for a four day stay at the Hilton Resort. But that would work only if  you already have some points in the Hawaiian program. So one would think to join the Hawaiian rewards Program (it is easy and you can do so without cost on line) and transfer the Marriott Points into the Hawaiian program. That is a good idea  but there is a caveat.  The  fine print on the Hawaiian Rewards program website suggests the following. “Points/Miles transferred into a HawaiianMiles Account from another program may not be transferred to a third party loyalty program.” That means that  to convert HawaiianMiles into HiltonHonors points, miles have to be earned through Hawaiian Airlines exclusively; that is you cannot transfer say American Express Membership Rewards points into HawaiianMiles and then transfer to Hilton HHonors. So that option is out.

 The next best option, maximizing the number of   Hilton points you can receive is to convert the Marriott points to the American Airlines Advantage program and then into Hilton Honors. That works because there is no such limiting caveat in the AmericanAdvantage program.  So 200,000 Marriott  points converts to 80,000 Hilton points. Enough for a two day stay at the Hilton Carribbean resort.  And you can join the  AmericanAdvatage and transfer the points without charges.

 The third option is through Aeroplan. Aeroplan’s conversion is at a rate of 10 to 1.  But there is a “bonus opportunity”  (available through June 18th) wherein Aeroplan is offering as much  as  25% in bonus points for transferring your Marriott Rewards points into Aeroplan points. Thus  your 200,000  Marriott points will convert to 50,000 Aeroplan Points instead of 40,000 points.  And your 50,000 Aeroplan points will convert to 40000 Hilton points (*equivalent to one nights stay). Remember, points in Marriott are based on dollars spent. A one night stay at a Hilton Carribean resort hotel is worth 40,000 Hilton Honors points, which is equivalent to $400.

 So after all that, the final analysis would suggest your best deal is through the American Advantage program But my calculations would suggest your not getting the best value for your Marriott points as your Marriott points would buy as much as 10 nights at a Carribbean Resort. Thats at a rate of 30000 Marriott points per night with the fifth night free. Nice to ponder about but  as the conversions keep deflating the value of your points with each trade, it’s hardly worth it.

How clean is my hotel room?

Q&A with Paul | Trevor | Apr 22, 2012

How clean is my hotel room and is there a way to insure a clean room?

 Travel like life itself has its incredible intrinsic worth as well as hazards to be avoided and like life, travel is not to be avoided because things are not just the way we like them. I’m not sure to what standard you are expecting to have a “clean” hotel room but I suspect that in many cases hotel rooms are cleaner than some peoples’ bedrooms and bathrooms, as hotel rooms are cleaned, dusted, vacuumed and parts are even sanitized daily. However, this is not to say that one won’t encounter a hotel room that does not live up to your own anticipation of what a clean hotel room ought to look and feel like.

 Since there are no international standards for hotel cleanliness it is best to do a little research before you book a room.  Websites like TripAdvisor, Travelocity, Hotels.com and Orbitz offer peer reviews rating thousands of hotels around the world. Included in these reviews is a cleanliness category.

 As you might suspect, these websites sometimes become an avenue for individuals to vent their upsetedness, anger or even frustration at a particular hotel or hotel chain thus negating the accuracy of some reviews. If one or two such reviews occur in a myriad of say one hundred other positive reviews,  then one should likely discount those views. If the questionable cleanliness of a specific hotel is more frequently cited, then you ought to rely upon those as it certainly would indicate a hotel to be avoided.

 Best Western International recently announced a new approach to cleaning their hotel rooms. Best Western housekeepers will be armed with ultraviolet sterilization wands to use on areas that receive high traffic, i.e. telephones, remote controls, light switches and bathroom fixtures.  UV black lights will be used during cleaning inspections to detect smears and stains of questionable origin. I’ve made mention of these handy hand held devices in the past and I’m pleased to learn that some hotels are starting to use them. I suspect that most major brand hotels will follow suit if they are not already so doing. Best Western rooms will also be outfitted with easy to wipe down remote controls and pillows, blankets and towels will be wrapped to indicate they have been freshly laundered.  

 You can choose to pack your  own personal ultraviolet sterilization wand in your luggage. Again, travel stores and outfitters are a good source for these devices.

 If packing another item in your luggage is something you choose to avoid and checking websites is not always possible then here are a few tips.

  •  Remove the bedspread since most hotels do not wash them after each guest.  Call down to the desk and ask for an additional “clean” blanket if the temperature in your room warrants more covers.
  • Many of us now carry hand sanitizer spray with us when we travel.  This can be sprayed on frequently touched surfaces making life a whole lot cleaner.
  • Glassware may not always be cleaned outside the hotel room. A quick splash under the bathroom tip and brusque wipe with a cloth may be all they get.  Run the glass or cup under the hot water for a minute or two before using.

 Bed bugs have become a nuisance to travellers but not one that is dangerous as their bite does not transmit disease unlike the bites of ticks and fleas.

 Avoiding bed bugs is a bit of a gamble since a hotel’s cleanliness or lack there of makes no difference to these pests. They can hitch a ride in anyone’s luggage from one infested hotel room to one that before their arrival was bed bug free. Since these bugs do not discriminate between two and five star hotels nor do they care about cleanliness, that’s why, no matter where I am staying,  I always pack in such a way as to use my luggage instead of or in place of the hotel room dresser drawer . I keep my suitcase zipped at all times other then when I’m accessing some item so as to ensure that those dastardly little critters don’t find a new home. There is also a convenient bed bug spray that will keep these critters away called “Bed Bug Patrol” that you can spray on your hotel room mattress or chair.

 If you are travelling to a place outside of Canada and you have fear of the relative cleanliness of your hotel, hostel or other accommodation where you are likely to encounter little pests of one kind or another, you might want to wrap yourself in a silk sheet or permethrin impregnated sheet. A single strand of silk is actually stronger than an equivalent strand of steel. Thus a silk bedsheet or sleeping bag sack will keep the bed bugs from biting through. And if  you are heading to a tropical climate, you may want to cover your bed with a permethrin impregnated mosquito net. Not only will it keep bed bugs away, Permithrin has also been widely used as an anti malarialinsecticide. It is a common synthetic chemical, widely used as an insecticide and insect repellent but not in Canada. That’s because Health Canada has not fully determined its toxicity.  Travel outfitters and travel clinics can sell these items to you but you must declare that you are using it out of country. Out of country, you can find it available in impregnated clothing as a personal protective measure  used primarily for US military uniforms and mosquito nets and in pet flea or tick preventative collars or treatment.

Novack's Blog

Latest Tweets...