Gettin’ Carried Away

It never fails that I fall ill before a trip. For instance, take this post I wrote earlier this year. I was headed to New Orleans, but before I traded the Windy City for the Big Easy, my hometown gave me a lovely parting gift: a horrible cold.

I had always been told by fellow travelers and by friends in the medical field that a sick person (especially one with a head cold) should really try to avoid flying. I already had a lot of pressure constricting my sinuses, so a drastic chance in the air pressure outside my body could really do some damage. I once flew over nine hours from France to Germany to the United States while nursing the sniffles, so I thought I’d take my chances with the measly two-and-a-half-hour plane ride from Illinois to Louisiana.

On BOTH occasions, I stepped off the plane with an immediate ear infection. The pain was… immense. I couldn’t yawn or swallow without an excruciating, stabbing pain bursting in my ear. The ache slowly faded as the days wore on, and when I returned home, I bought some Earplanes to help with any future discomfort. They worked! However, my most recent sickness before my latest trip was a little different from the common cold, and I ended up having to change my flight and cancel a night at the hotel. And, aside from some extra fees, making the necessary changes was… smooth sailing.

I’ve been under the weather for a little while. Two weeks ago, I started noticing a little tickle in my throat. I just kept drinking water and it eventually went away. As the week went on, I found it increasingly difficult to sleep, and I woke up every single day with a dry, scratchy throat. It’s happened to me before when the weather starts changing from warm to cold to warm and back again in Chicago, so I didn’t read too much into it. When I started coughing a little bit about nine days ago, I shrugged it off and kept on truckin’.

My sickness eventually evolved into a sore throat, body aches and wavering fever. I thought it might be the flu, so I kept up with the fluids, took some meds every four hours and alternated hot and cold drinks for my sore throat. Nothing helped. I had to call off work twice, and I eventually made my way to the ER because the pain was just too unbearable. Turns out, I was a little dehydrated and had contracted rapid strep throat. My throat was almost completely closed up… pretty gross, I know. I was supposed to leave for New York that night, but I was in no condition to travel.

First, I logged onto Southwest.com to try and change my flight. It was actually really easy to do, since I booked in online. If you book a flight over the phone, you’ll have to change the reservation over the phone, as well, if needed. Anyway, I chose a flight for Friday morning. All I had to pay was the difference in price. Obviously, a flight is going to be a little pricey if you purchase it the day before it leaves, but I was happy that Southwest didn’t slap me with any additional fees. Now, onto the hotel.

I booked through Priceline.com, because the site had an amazing deal. However, Priceline has this ‘No Cancelation’ policy, so I couldn’t just cancel the first night of my stay. I could, however, call the hotel and tell them I would not be coming until the next day, and my room would still be waiting for me whenever I did arrive that following day. So, while I still had to pay for a night on which I didn’t even sleep at the hotel, I didn’t have to fork over any extra fees.

In the end, my advice is to make sure you read through the cancellation/changes policies enforced by a given airline, hotel or agency. While you may lose out on money, you can still avoid paying hefty fees.

First, I’d like to say… HAPPY OCTOBER! My favorite month of the year has finally arrived. And while some people in Chicago don’t appreciate the windy weather or the dark, rainy days, I’m more than happy to embrace the crisp chill in the air and break out my collection of fleece jackets and blankets.

I know I’ve been MIA again for a short time, but it’s only because I’ve been working long hours and saving up lots of money for a future Eurotrip. But just because I’ve been away from the blogosphere, it doesn’t mean I haven’t been thinking about you and the  rest of the travel world. If anything, spending so much time at work got me thinking about how I could stretch my travel dollar. And now that I finally have some time to get back to the blog world, I’d love to share my thoughts with you.

Here are some of my best tips for stretching your travel dollar:

Try to book your travel dates for weekdays. Leave on a Thursday and come back Monday. Booking for mid-week travel is even better sometimes. Naturally, people are more likely to fly on the weekend to avoid taking vacation time away from work. I have found that Wednesday happens to be one of the least busiest days at the airport, especially in the morning.

Play with the search options. I’ll fly any airline that gives me the best deal. For a long time, that was American Airlines. I’ve flown AA to London several times now. After you plug in your destination and dates, the “Schedule” option has automatically been chosen for you. However, each time I search for a flight, I always choose the “Price & Schedule” option. This way, you’ll see all the prices for each flight that leaves (and returns) on the day you want. And sometimes, that Economy Super Saver price is amazingly low!

Forget the five-star rated. Luxury hotels and restaurants? Forget them! Staying in a hostel is certainly cheaper. Even if you’re not that adventurous, most hostels offer private rooms, too. Plus, there’s nothing like meeting fellow travelers and swapping stories and recommendations. Sometimes, I think that you may be paying more for the service when you’re dining and bedding at the regal, ritzy places.

Make every penny count. It’s fine to spend a little bit of extra cash while you’re on vacation. But only open your wallet for things you really enjoy. Love the sights? Hit all of the free attractions and only some of the ones that require paid admission. Some places ask for a small donation. Make sure to give something (nothing less than a dollar/euro/pound/etc). If you’re a total foodie, skip the shopping. If you’re a shopper, don’t buy anything you can’t fit in your bags. You do not want to pay to ship something home.

I know the title of this post might seem kind of contradictory. Why the heck would you want to be thinking about home when you’re traveling? Honestly, I’m not looking for the comforts of home when I’m on a trip (unless it really sucks). Things just happen, and I’m reminded of home.

Take the first time I tried sushi, for example. I went out to dinner with some coworkers, and some of us were kind of apprehensive about eating raw fish, seaweed and wasabi. We ordered a bunch of different “rolls,” and I sampled a few of them. I thought most of the sushi tasted kind of bland, and I was too scared to try the spicy wasabi, so I was glad I had ordered pot stickers as my standby. Now fast forward to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. After eating traditional Mexican cuisine all day… for four days… I needed something to cleanse my palate. And when I ventured into a Japanese restaurant, I knew right away that I wouldn’t be devouring any of the sushi that my travel mates had ordered.

In this same restaurant, we were seated hibachi-style, which means that we plopped down at tables surrounding a chef and his gas-heated hotplate. As soon as I saw the seating arrangement, I was reminded of a friend’s birthday dinner at a Japanese steakhouse near my home in Chicago suburbia. And boy was that a tasty dinner! Before anyone handed me a menu, I knew right away that I wanted teppen-yaki with chicken and steak. And before the chef even started cooking my meal, my mouth watered as I thought about diving into a plate of juicy meats, hearty veggies and fluffy fried rice.

A friend recently told me that she ate at McDonald’s every day that she was in a foreign city, because she wasn’t familiar with the area. This is something I do not advise people to do if they really need a bit of home when they are abroad. Instead, how about purusing the sandiwch menu at a small cafe in Paris, buying fresh fruit at an outdoor market in Barcelona or ordering spaghetti (like momma made) practically anywhere in Rome? Forget McDonald’s, Subway and Pizza Hut!

Whether you’re unknowingly reminded of home or you’re in desparate need of some comfort food, you will find something significant without going commercial.