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Posts tagged travel light
A Recap of My Beijing Adventure
Jun 22nd
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Me with my BlackBerry Running AT&T Navigator, Global Edition
As some of you may recall from my last blog post, I recently took a trip to Asia to visit a friend and experience the rich culture. Well, I’m back from my Asian adventure and must say that I had a blast!
I’ll start off by saying that Beijing is such a beautiful city, steeped in ancient history. It is incredible to see buildings that were literally built centuries before the first minutes of history were ever recorded here in North America. It’s an awe-inspiring feeling to see, touch and walk in places that are older than anything I’ve ever seen before. It’s also hard to express in words how enormous everything is. In all my travels, I have never walked so many steps to look at each site, whether it was a palace or ancient temple. I think I climbed more stairs in one week than I’ve climbed in my entire life! If I wasn’t physically fit before my trip to Beijing, I certainly was by the time I finished it.
The entire experience was one that I’ll certainly treasure for a lifetime. From hiking on the Great Wall of China, to wandering through the Temple of Heaven, to eating some of the best food of my life in a nearby local village, each day was filled with a great spirit and sense of adventure.
As I mentioned in my earlier post, I was looking forward to using AT&T Navigator, Global Edition (powered by TeleNav) on my trip. I’m happy to say that it actually saved the day at one point during my vacation. My dad and I had been able to quickly learn the amazingly efficient Beijing subway system while visiting the city. One evening on our way back to our hotel, we emerged from the subway to find that it had started raining while we were on the train. Rain is actually an understatement; downpour is more like it. We were getting drenched fast and there was simply no winning in the competition to find a taxi outside of the crowded subway station. So, I pulled out my AT&T Navigator and used the pedestrian mode to guide us through the wet streets from the subway station to our hotel. If only my BlackBerry had a pop-out umbrella feature!
My Dad and I After Being Caught in the Rain
If you are thinking about planning a trip to Asia, I highly recommend making a stop in Beijing while you’re there. It is a great place to spend some time. Also, I would highly recommend taking AT&T Navigator, Global Edition along with you if you can. I quickly found that the rumors I heard were true - taxi drivers really don’t speak much English. But, that doesn’t have to stop you from finding your way if you have an easy tool to help guide you.
We’d love to hear if anyone else has interesting stories of how AT&T Navigator or any other TeleNav powered products such as Sprint Navigation or TeleNav GPS Navigator saved you while traveling.
10 Tips for Packing Light
Jun 30th
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Author—Sal Dhanani – Co-Founder and Sr. Director of Marketing
I travel constantly for work and am always looking for better and more efficient ways to pack – whether it’s for the week or just an overnighter. Now that airlines are charging for extra bags, it’s even more important to make sure you keep your load light if you can.
Here are a few tips I’ve come up with during my years of frequent travel.
- Don’t bring your own toiletries – It’s probably easier for guys to follow this rule but it’s pretty standard now for hotels to have shampoo and some of the basics. You don’t even need to bring travel size anymore. It might be worth even calling ahead to find out if they have emergency packs of things like toothbrushes, toothpaste and razors. Many do this now in case you forget yours.
- Check the weather where you’re headed – It’s not worth bringing a sweater and a jacket if it’s going to be mostly warm. You will only need one, if you need any.
- Choose shoes that will go with everything – Don’t bring brown shoes and black shoes and running shoes, etc. Just choose one pair that will work with everything. Find a pair that are comfortable for long-term wear and can be used with business or casual attire. Think you may have some down time? Choose some flexible flip-flops that take up minimal space.
- Invest in portable technology – If you haven’t already, find a smartphone that allows you to travel on short trips without bringing your laptop. Choose one that has a built-in camera, mp3 player and GPS navigation and you have your "all-in-one" device.
- Wear your "bulky" clothes and shoes on the plane – This will save room in your suitcase.
- Pick the right bag – Now is a good time to take a look at the bag you’ve been using for years and determine if it’s still your best friend. Pick a bag that’s lightweight, can carry all of your things and won’t break your back. Rollers are good if you are prone to larger bags. Be sure to check your airline’s rules for dimensions as they are monitoring checked bag size now more than ever.
- Buy reading material at the airport or borrow from a travel companion – Don’t bring magazines, papers, books from home (especially hard cover books). Just plan on picking something up at the airport. It’s pretty easy to find a newspaper left behind by an earlier passenger. If you do bring a book, bring one you don’t mind donating or leaving behind. That’s one less thing you have to worry about on the way home.
- Roll your clothes instead of folding them – This way of packing will create more room for other things.
- Use hotel dry cleaning for long trips – That way you only have to pack for half the time. Some companies even provide this as a perk for frequent business travelers – check with your boss to see if yours will. If you are adventurous and have time, you could also look for a nearby laundromat.
- Send stuff home ahead of you – This is also great for long trips. It may only cost you a few bucks to mail home clothes, books, gifts for your kids, etc. before you get on the plane to come home. This will be much cheaper than paying for an extra or overweight bag.
What other tips have helped you minimize your travel load?
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