I got 3 vaccines: Typhoid, Yellow Fever and a Tetnus Booster. Total price, more than $400. That pricetag hurt more than any of the shots!
When we got to Korea, we priced some vaccines and found them about half the price of the same ones in the U.S.
Better still, we waited until we got to the Kingdom of Low Prices – India. While waiting for our flight out of Delhi, we stopped by a clinic and priced vaccines again… and found a winner. I got 7 vaccines, (Lifetime Hep. A, Hep B, Meningitis, Rabies, Typhoid, Polio and TB) all for a total of $115. Griffin had several shots as well and we both drank lots of fluids and rested for a few days.
We had to get second and third doses of Hep. B and Rabies, for which we had to do some searching in other parts of the world. We found Hep. B for $15 in Indonesia (As long as you’re away from the touristy areas in or around Bali) and the 3rd dose of Hep B. in Spain for 5 Euros.
Unfortunately, we never priced a 2nd dose of Rabies for less than $100, which didn’t seem worth it after the $7 initial dose, so we just called that one off.
The bottom line is, if your home country is over-pricing their travel vaccines, a little research could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars. If you don’t get your travel vaccines at home, it’s more than okay to leave home without them, as long as your DO get them.
I have rested my head on everything from plush amazingness, to a couch cushion, to nothing at all. A couple of months in, I was a little worried about the possible future pillows I might encounter, but I wasn’t thrilled at the thought of lugging around a giant pillow or fighting to stuff it into my bag every morning. So, I did some research on what other travelers suggest for the best travel pillow.
This is not ideal.
This is really not ideal.
It didn’t take long to figure out that a down pillow is the way to go. Firstly, I love down stuff. If I could surround myself in down cushiness all the time, I totally would. It’s comfortable, it has a nice cooling affect and it’s lightweight. Additionally, a travel size feather pillow can fit almost anywhere. Believe me, if there is an inch of open space in my bag, I can force my travel pillow into it!
The best travel pillow I came across was from GooseFeet Gear, a one-man company that makes custom down gear including everything from down socks to pants to pretty much anything you want.
I got in touch with Ben, the main man over at GooseFeet to ask about his options for a travel pillow and he quickly gave me some great advice. This guy really knows his trade. He asked me all kinds of questions about how I sleep and what I like in terms of firmness and loft in pillows, etc. By the time he was putting my pillow together, (and Griffin’s, who had to have one as well), I was getting pretty excited about it. Ben actually makes all his products by hand and to order. You can’t beat that!
Optimal.
The pillow was perfect! I chose a black color so as not to show much dirt and Ben chose a rip-stop material to make sure it was durable. The first thing I did was spend some time squishing the pillow down and checking to see how long it took to regain its shape. Then I practiced stuffing it into the smallest spaces I could find and then taking it out and shaking it back to its original form. The pillow passed every test I could throw at it, so I thought it was time for the ultimate test, sleeping. Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, my hostel-provided pillow granted me a great opportunity as it was basically a rock with a pillowcase. I whipped out my down travel pillow and was ready to go. I woke up the next morning and decided Ben had done me a huge favor. The thing slept great and I woke up feeling refreshed, without the sore neck I knew would await me with the cotton rock I would have been sleeping on.
From that point on, the pillow has stayed with me on planes, trains, buses, cars, etc. I just shove it into my day pack and I’m ready to dream. It adds no weight to my bag, which is ideal, it’s withstood everything I can throw at it, and grants me the ability to sleep on those rocky overnight trains.
If you’re a traveler looking for lightweight, durable, stuffable pillow, GooseFeet Gear is the place to shop. If you’re like me and your idea of heaven has down clouds, just drop Ben a line and he can hook you up with pretty much anything you want! Don’t sleep on this advice… just get the pillow.
While traveling in New Zealand, we definitely wanted to take a stop in Rotorua, New Zealand’s hotspot for geothermal activity. A short stroll around town can take you past countless hot pools and bubbling mud pits being heated directly by the Earth’s core.
The absolute best way to see everything Rotorua has to offer in one place is with a morning visit to Wai-O-Tapu.
While Wai-O-Tapu is great to visit at any time of day, I recommend visiting in the morning; at 10:15 to be exact. That’s the time the Lady Knox Geyser erupts each day and you definitely don’t want to miss it. Griffin and I were surprised by how much we learned about geysers in the brief speech given by a park guide shortly before the spout gave us a show. It was still going when we finished our photos and headed to the main park area to check out the rest of the “geothermal wonderland.” Of course, don’t show up at 10:15 exactly. You’ll need to get there early to get tickets and make your way to the viewing area, which is a little past the main entrance to Wai-O-Tapu.
After the geyser, head back to the main entrance to continue your tour. There are three routes around the park, a short, middle and long, depending on how much time you have. The long route takes about 1-1 ½ and I highly recommend doing this one. Honestly speaking, I can’t think of any of the sites you would want to miss by taking a shorter trek. Not to worry, all three routes are easy walking and self-guided, so you can go at your own pace. You’ll find the place well marked and the routes easy to follow with a handy map, which you can find in several languages.
The thing we kept asking ourselves was “How on earth did this many geothermals end up in one relatively small area?” It’s amazing.
Highlights of the walk include the Sinter Terrace Formations, Champagne Pool, Crater Lakes, Hydrothermal areas, and an amazing range of colorful pools and volcanic areas. You’ll need to remember your camera for sure.
Nearby the park itself is another famous site, the Mud Pools, which was entertaining enough to make us stop and stare through more time than we noticed.
The geyser, park and mud pools all combined to give us a fantastic morning adventure that you will absolutely not want to miss. I promise this place is definitely worth the visit.
Tips:
Wai-O-Tapu opens at 8:30am and closes at 5:00pm, with the last admission at 3:45. If you arrive early in the morning, make sure you time it so you can leave to see Lady Knox erupt at 10:15am.
Get to the geyser area early as the viewing area fills up. If you’re planning to take photos or video, you may want to check which way the wind in traveling before choosing your seat as mist from the geyser can wet your equipment pretty thoroughly.
There is a lovely cafe if you need refreshment as well as a visitor center on site.
The staff is extremely friendly and they will go out of their way to answer any questions for you and help you find your way around.
Make sure you follow the guide map closely so you don’t miss any of the hotspots. They are each numbered, so they are easy to follow, but some of the turns can confuse you if you’re not checking the map closely.
For more information, visit the Wai-O-Tapu website here.
]]>
There’s really only one reason to visit Agra. I’m not saying that there’s only one thing to see there, but everything else really just pales in comparison.
You know what I’m talking about, the Taj Mahal; truly one of man’s most beautiful creations. After you’ve seen the Taj, is there really anything else to visit in the city?
Actually, there is. Though none quite as breathtaking, Agra touts several sites of interest to those visiting.
Agra Fort is a very beautiful mix of architectural design and building materials. Trading the red sandstone for white marble within the fort, Shah Jahan, gave instructions for the interior of the fort, which his grandfather had begun with the sandstone on the outside. From the Eastern outer wall, a fantastic view of the Taj can be seen, which was important to Shah Jahan, as he had built the Taj for his deceased wife.
The Tomb of Akbar is another great site to visit. It is believed to have been the inspiration for the Taj Mahal and houses the tomb of Emperor Akbar the Great, which he helped design and commenced himself.
We had the pleasure of hanging out with “Khan,” our auto-rickshaw driver for the day. Though depressed about the recent split with his girlfriend, he was quite knowledgeable about the city.
Khan took us to a great spot for a view of the back of the Taj along the opposite side of the Yamuna River. You can walk down a road for free and see the view, a little off center, or you can pay 100 Rupees to enter the Moonlight Garden area for a better view. Inside the garden is the ruin area of the mythical “Black Taj” which some believe Shah Jahan had in mind to build across from its counter part, but didn’t get the chance. The black “foundation” can be seen inside the garden. Griffin took a look, but I took a pass.
Now, let’s back up a bit and get to the real reason anyone visits Agra. We were both pretty excited to see this beautiful, timeless symbol, the Taj Mahal.
We started out early and met up with Khan outside our guesthouse at 5:30am. He dropped us off within walking distance as no polluting vehicles are allowed within 500 meters of the gate. When we arrived, the lines were already long. Griffin went to get the tickets and I went to stand in line. As it turned out, the line for tickets was more time consuming than we thought. Entry is expensive at 750 rupees per person, or about $15 U.S.. Indian entry is less than $1! As part of your ticket, you’re given a bottle of water and shoe covers for walking around the museum area of the Taj. Nice.
We finally were allowed inside after a very thorough pat down in gender segregated areas. My Clif bar was confiscated and Griffin was forced to go to an off-site locker location for tripod contraband… twice.
By the time we got inside, the sun was already pretty high in the sky, but the crowds had not yet turned up. We took our picture on the iconic bench alongside Princess Diana, and spent a lot of time admiring the intricate marble designs and gazing at the beauty of the structure itself. We walked around the tombs of Shah Jahan and Mumtez Mahal and remembered how special and important love is.
We were lucky to be there around the time of a full moon, which meant the Taj was open for a night viewing. The cost is the same as a daytime viewing, but you’re only allowed to visit for 30 minutes. To be honest, we were kind of disappointed by the night viewing. For some reason, it was only open until 9:30 instead of the 12:30 time slot we were hoping for. The moon was not very high in the sky therefore not really casting any light on the Taj. We were surprised that there are no lights illuminating the Taj! Gates block off the entry and you can only go as far as the red sandstone gate. Photos were next to impossible because of the low light and the fact that no tripods are allowed. It was still beautiful and now we can say we’ve seen the Taj Mahal at night, but it’s not really worth the time and expense.
While India may be “intense” to say the least, the Taj Mahal makes it all worth it. I highly encourage anyone to visit Agra and be reminded of love both past and present.
Travel Points:
Hotel: We had the privilege of staying at a great hostel in Agra called Friends Paying Guesthouse. This is a family run place where the kids lend a hand in serving the guests with a sweet smile. The rooms were spacious and clean and they really went out of their way to make everyone feel welcome. The price was right at $4.50 per person per night. All the guests were treated to a wonderful meal of Mutton Biryani in celebration of a religious festival while we were there. Griffin witnessed the “mutton” being transformed from a goat, if you know what I’m saying.
Transportation: Transportation around Agra is cheap, as in all of India. Khan was with us for the entire day of touring for a total of 650 rupees or about $14 U.S. We took a train from New Delhi to Agra and continued on to Jodphur. For more information about train travel in India, check out seat61.com.
Daily Budget: As always in India, the daily budget it pretty low. The total, for two people, including train to Agra, transportation within the city, hotel and all meals was $23.97 U.S. for 4 nights and 5 days.
Tips: Tripods ARE allowed at the daytime viewing of the Taj Mahal, but only with previously obtained permission from the Archeological Survey of India. Otherwise, leave them at your hotel because they WILL find them. Tripods are NOT allowed for any reason at the night viewing. Neither are video cameras. Food is not allowed and the guards ate my blueberry Clif Bar.
Your tickets to the Taj serve as discount coupons for other area sites. In other words, they will charge you more without the Taj Tickets. The actual price is printed on each entry ticket, but they will jack it up if you don’t present your “coupon.” So, keep it and keep it with you. They are only valid on the day of use at the Taj.
]]>Things got off to a rough start for us with some trouble getting to our hotel, but after we got that sorted out, we were off to check out the sites.
New Delhi is the capital city of India and has so much to see, we could hardly wait to get started.
We started out at the Red Fort, which used to be the main residence of the royal family. The fort is huge and full of history.
This was the first time we noticed a strange habit with soldiers here that most of the western world is unfamiliar with. As we rounded a corner of the fort, we both looked back to check out the gate we’d just come through, when we saw it… a shot gun pointed directly at our heads from behind a guard post. No, we weren’t in trouble and the guy wasn’t intentionally pointing the gun at us, it’s just where how he chose to rest his rifle. As more time passed for us in India, we grew accustomed to seeing guns pointed at us, and, even more strangely, the guards often point their guns at themselves or other guards. I think gun safety is glossed over a little here. So, please don’t be alarmed if you visit India and notice the same.
We were fortunate enough to hang out all day with the same auto-rickshaw driver, Muhammed, and he told us about the cool sites to see.
He drove us over to the government and military buildings in the area, which were pretty impressive. Here, offices of the Ministries of Defense, Finance, Home Affairs and External Affairs are housed as well as the office of India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
Next we went over to the Indira Ghandi Memorial Museum. Indira Ghandi was a four-term Prime Minister of India, who was assassinated in 1984 by her own body guards. The memorial is impressive and beautiful and made me want to learn more about Indira herself.
Finally, as sunset was approaching, we headed over to The Bahá’í House of Worship, also known as the Lotus Temple. The building is shaped like a giant Lotus flower and is one of the coolest designs either of us has ever seen. It has 27 petals and 9 pools outside, which contribute to the cooling system for the main sanctuary. As Christians, we’re not into searching out other religions, but we can always appreciate good architecture! (Plus, it was free!)
After that it was back to our hotel for a good night’s sleep.
We checked out a good part of the Main Bazaar area where we were staying as well. Griffin got his camera bag fixed by a local taylor for about $1 (U.S.) and we frequented a great restaurant with killer Indian Thali. Yum!
From here, it was back on the train to Agra, home of the Taj!
Travel Points:
Hotel: While in New Delhi, we stayed at Hotel Payal, which we actually do not recommend. The rooms were fairly clean, had air conditioning, and wifi, but it was the service and staff attitude that really put us off. Being tourists in India, especially when one of us has blonde hair, means we elicit a LOT of attention from just about everyone. Touts LOVE to see us coming. For this reason, we try to get our hotels to come to the train station to pick us up, thus keeping us from being ripped off by people who think we don’t know any better. When I asked for a pick up from Hotel Payal, the guy told me to “ask someone” when we arrived at the train station. This basically invites every con artist around to make up wild stories about our Hotel having burned down in the night, being full because of a festival, or that it’s only for prostitutes and druggies. It took us more than an hour to find the place, which is only about 10 minutes away from the train station. When we arrived, we were not even acknowledged at the front desk until the guy behind the counter finished cleaning and dusting back there. Forget the fact that it’s 6:30 in the morning and we’re still carrying our giant backpacks… Let’s DUST everything. We were asked for our passports, but the guy told us he wouldn’t be able to check us in yet as his scanner was broken and he would need to go down the street to copy our passports. When I expressed some concern about that, he became impatient with me and starting yelling at me, demanding our passports. I reluctantly gave in and gave him my passport, which he tossed on the counter and walked away to show us to our room. The door was wide open to the outside and guests were coming and going. I took the passport and placed it on the chair behind the counter so it wouldn’t get stolen. Our room wasn’t ready yet, so we were given a room to wait in for the next 4 hours until it was. We were asked to pay for the wifi, despite it being advertised as free on the booking site. We refused and were given the password for free. Finally, at around Noon, they said our room still wasn’t ready, but we could stay in the one we had been waiting in… for a higher price. Again, I refused this and told him we would just wait until our room was ready. He gave in and gave us the upgrade for free… the only highlight of that place. Please do yourself a favor and do not stay here.
Transportation: Train trips can be booked online at cleartrip.com. Be warned, the trains fill up weeks in advanced and should be booked accordingly. For more information about the trains, including types of cars and train routes, check out seat61.com and click on India under the Asia category on the left.
Daily Budget: $45.00 for both of us including lodging, food, transport and activities.
]]>The trouble started in Atlanta. After checking our two bags each and getting our tickets when we noticed that the tickets we had booked together and requested, even having chosen our seats, had now changed entirely for Valerie.
THE FLIGHT WE BOOKED AND GRIFFIN’S TICKET
Atlanta, Georgia –> Seattle, Washington –> Narita, Japan –> Busan, South Korea
(These were the cheapest tickets we could find if you could’t tell;-)
Valerie’s flight on the other hand had been totally changed and she was booked as follows(commentary by Griffin’s thoughts)
VALERIE’S SURPRISE ITINERARY DELTA MADE UP FOR HER
Atlanta, Georgia (So far so good. At least they got the departure city correct)
Detroit, Michigan (What?! Who wants to go to Detroit in the first place and secondly, why has my wife been re-booked without our knowledge or consent on an entirely different flight?)(No offense if you are from Detroit;-))
Narita, Japan (Back on track now, but on a different flight here as well)
Busan, South Korea (Again, I guess we should give Delta credit for getting the destination city correct as well. Two out of four is probably better than normal for them)
We went to the desk to see what happened and they had no idea. The lady that helped at the desk was apologetic and confused herself as to why this would happen. When she asked the mysterious person on the phone who was re-booking our flight for us she said that is may have happened due to a schedule change. So if there is a schedule change in your flight they may book you and your traveling partner/wife on an entirely different itinerary. That makes no sense still. Long story short, we were able to get back on our original itinerary, but without exit row seating, and sitting nowhere near each other despite asking to be placed together. We were also informed that Valerie’s bags were on their way to the fair city of Detroit and would meet us at our final destination in Busan, South Korea. We now had to run for the gate because of all the time taken to rebook Valerie’s flight. When we arrived at the gate we asked again and two people had not shown up, so they moved us to be next to each other. We gate checked Valerie’s Guitar and got on the plane just in time for departure.
When we arrived in Seattle we waited at the gate for Valerie’s guitar which did not show up. After about 10 minutes of waiting someone was sent to check on it and we were told to go to our next flight because the gate was about to close. We rushed over to the connecting flight and requested to be next to each other as we had booked and they basically told us we were on our own and to check with another passenger. This was really frustrating as they were not taking any ownership for the problem they had caused and could obviously care less about the trouble we had been through. As we approached the plane door, a breathless man came to show us Valerie’s Guitar had been found and to tell us it would be on this flight. We were relieved to know it had not been lost so soon which was more than could be said about the rest of our luggage, as we found out later. We asked a man sitting alone in a two seat section and he was kind enough to move for us, so we sat together, but again not in exit row and Griffin’s legs became sore and uncomfortable about 3 hours into the 8 hour flight.
Upon arriving in Narita, Japan we were once again a little worried to find that Valerie’s Guitar had not made it to meet us at the gate. We waited around for about 20 minutes and asked some people about it, but no body had any idea, so we headed to our next flight which was scheduled to leave in about 20 minutes. After going through a security check and arriving at the gate and strangely seeing no other passengers waiting, we asked the attendant about our flight and she said it had been postponed until the following morning due to bad weather in Nagoya, Japan and our plane being grounded there. We then went back through security, filled out customs and embarkation cards and then went to baggage claim to find it empty as well. We went to the help desk to ask about our luggage and were relieved to see Valerie’s Guitar sitting there in unclaimed luggage. The attendant was very helpful and friendly and told us that our luggage would be checked through to Busan and we could claim it there upon arrival. We re-booked our seats to be next to each other and were able to get exit row as well. The baggage attendant also let us know that there was someone waiting at the exit to show us to our hotel.
We were sent to a nice hotel and provided with a free Chinese dinner, which we thought was a little strange since we were in Japan, but it was good. We had been awake for 48 hours at this point, so we gladly ate and went to bed.
We woke up at 4AM the next day due to jet lag and then got on the 5:30AM bus for our flight a little while later. We were the first people at the airport along with the other passengers and the quick breakfast we had hoped to grab had to be postponed due to no stores being open yet. At the gate they told us there would be breakfast on board and, forgetting what breakfast was in Asia, we were excitedly looking foreword to delicious eggs and toast and maybe even some bacon, or, worst case some cereal or yogurt. We were glad to receive a $100 voucher for our delay along with the rest of the customers on that flight. We carried Valerie’s Guitar onto the plane this time to avoid further confusion and loss and prepared for breakfast which we were starving for. A little while after takeoff breakfast came and we were more than a little disappointed to see that it consisted of sea weed, fish eggs, rice and some fish;-( Normally we would have just waited but we were starving and ate as much as we could of this meal we would normally eat as a lunch or dinner.
We arrived in Busan, South Korea 3 days after departing from Atlanta tired and in good humor from all the mishap as the only other option would be to have an emotional breakdown and start crying like a couple of babies. We got through immigration and security without any issues and arrived to gather our luggage and head home. We waited until everyone else had claimed their luggage and left and then went to over to the desk to ask about our three missing bags (one did arrive with us). They told us that Valerie’s bags had been delayed in Detroit and would arrive that night and my other bag was, for some strange reason, still in Seattle, but should arrive at the same time and they would bring them to our house.
Immediately upon arriving in Ulsan, we moved apartments as we had planned earlier. We had not planned for the flight delay so we started the move at 1pm instead of 10am and finished moving everything over around 3pm. We then worked the rest of the day to try and get things organized and settled and then went to bed at 11 and were promptly woken up at midnight to meet the guy with our luggage. We were also informed that they had only found Valerie’s two suitcases, and mine was still missing, so we now had two out of three out of four bags. It was nice to have them delivered instead of having to lug them from the airport upon arrival, but it was a little nerve-racking not knowing where they were or if we would see them again in the mean time.
The following day – five days after departing Atlanta, we received a call that our last piece of luggage had been found and would arrive around 6PM that night(Monday). We received the last of our luggage and five days after beginning our journey were finally all back in one place along with our possessions. It was quite a trip.
UPDATE: We sent this post to Delta before posting and they were kind enough to award us 7,500 bonus miles for our experience and trouble. Thanks Delta;-)
NOTE: As terrible as this trip was, we are still so thankful to be fortunate enough to even go on a trip like this and see the places God has blessed us to see. We just wish the that customer service was more of a priority than an afterthought in the airline industry. We did notice on this round trip flight that most of the older, mad-at-the-world flight attendants we can normally count on Delta to employ were missing and were pleasantly surprised to find older and younger helpful and cheerful flight attendants in their places. One even made a joke about how they were out of paid lunches on our flight from Seattle to Atlanta, but she was sure she could find something for Delta to charge us for if we wished;-)
FUN Extra Reading Real-Time Extra Reading via Twitter: http://twitter.com/#search?q=%23deltasucks
]]>We recently had the most terrible experience in our combined history of travel. We have traveled to over 30 countries between the two of us and this is by far the worst experience we have ever had booking a flight. We highly recommend never dealing with China Southern if you can avoid it! Here is the saga we have gone through:
- Found the best price on Kayak.com for our somewhat complicated multi-destination, open jaw trip to China
- Clicked to book the trip and were told that We would have to re-input the travel dates and location as China Southern’s website did not allow information transfer with Kayak. OK, not the most convenient, but not a big deal.
- Re-input travel dates and times and came up with a different price by about =$400! Not cool!
- Searched around and called and asked if they could match the kayak quote. They said no.
- Finally, after lots of searching and calling, found the same price after trying five other websites including two different China Southern sites. They have a Chinese website for only people in China, and and international website for only people outside China.
- Put in all the information again, went through the whole booking process only to find in the end there was some kind of error with our card, but no indication what the problem was. The screen very helpfully said “Credit Card Error” and that was all.
- Called our bank to check on holds etc. and they said there were no issues.
- Called China Southern to ask what to do and how to pay for our flight and they gave us the number for the Mandarin-only speaking internet company they use for charging. This would be like if you called up Delta because there was an error charging your card and they gave you PayPal‘s service number. Who does that!?
- Talked to charging company to no avail. Tried our other cards on both websites, also to no avail. Finally Valerie found a site that she was able to book through for about $60 more and our original card worked without any issues.
This whole process took about 8 hours of phone calls via Skype and hours of trying to book and re-book. It was a terrible experience and we both feel it should not be so hard to pay a company for a service they are trying to sell you that you want to buy!
We have not even seen a China Southern Plane or representative in person yet and we are already not excited at all about traveling with this company. We are hoping we will be pleasantly surprised for our trip, but our expectations are lower than the sea floor at the moment.
UPDATE: We returned from a very enjoyable trip to China about a week ago. We had a blast and will be posting some pictures and video sometime in the future for your enjoyment. As for our experience with China Southern, it was better than we expected, but still left some things to be desired. (Air conditioned planes for one.) Despite the travel anomalies, we had a great trip and recommend visiting China if you ever get the opportunity.
]]>