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25 Travel Tips That Can Save Your Life!

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travel tips

By John Gentry Travel Channel to travel the world

Travel Tips that could save your life is an ongoing project that will grow over time, and we hope everyone is able to enjoy themselves better while traveling since they will be better prepared. Enjoy these simple but easy-to-understand tips and make your next trip an adventure of a lifetime.

1. Never pass up a good toilet because the next one may be a squat only.


2. Always get cash after customs at your destination airport. Euros and USD may be an exception. Don’t risk breaking local customs regulations.

3. Always carry diarrhea medicine.

Mysterious Chinese herbs in the traditional medicine shops of Hong Kong

4. Always look up three words before you travel; thank you, yes, and no.

5. Always have tissue packages on hand for the bathroom and eating use.

6. Certain medicine needs to be considered. Tylenol, Panadol, and any needed prescription drugs.

7. Learn and study body language. Most expressions are international.

8. Use modern technology like Twitter to keep you updated on certain travel areas. US Department of State and the CDC have an alert service.

9. Water usage should be increased to offset times when good clean water is not available.

10. Learn some basics in English, German, Mandarin, and Russian, these languages can sometimes be used in emergencies.



11. Study the basic history of a region before going there.

12. Learn the taboos of the area you are traveling to. Remember it is their country, not yours.

13. Don’t assume the water is clean to drink just because locals drink it. They have built up immunities you don’t have.


Travel Tips International Travel


14. Traveling causes the body to lose sleep. This will lower your immune system so make sure to schedule recovery time.

15. Make sure to schedule a time to re-stock your travel pharmacy on the road.

16. Ziplock bags can solve a lot of problems so take several.

17. Understand and get certified in basic life-saving first aid.



18. Use large backpacks to travel that way you can never have to check in your bag. This will ensure you always have what you need when you need it.



19. Don’t take basic hygiene for granted ensure you have it planned for and have what you need to stay healthy.

20. When traveling in crowded unorganized cities try to memorize key locations or landmarks. These can be used to find your way later when needed.

21. Always look and find locals who have language skills that you can use to help gather the information that is key to your trip. Young people know some English and older people could know other languages. People and questions are your best resource for information.

22. Don’t assume your cellphone will work. Print out what you need ahead of time.

23. Carry old fashion maps.



24. Get a cellphone app that can translate languages. Make sure it can work without wifi or cellphone service.

25. Buy digital offline mapping software for your mobile phone or other devices.

26. Consider GPS

27. You are only as good as your weakest link. So consider others in your travel party and ensure they stay healthy or you could pay the price later on. We hope you enjoyed these 25 Travel Tips That Can Save Your Life! Happy Travels, ExploreTraveler.com

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Taiwan Travel Tips

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Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan Adventure Tour Review

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Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan Adventure Tour Review will be a look at details of our actual trip. We have added raw some promotional and raw video for your enjoyment as well. It is our intention to show you a detailed adventure from our records, and for three generations of people. Nothing is going to go 100% perfect, but if planned out well with background support even when things go wrong it will only add to your adventure.

Over the years my family, and I have taken many trips, and had many experiences. Out of every trip the resources and people who have helped over the years have been very different. Since we tell stories about places we have been too, and take photographs, and video during the trips. It is very important that we have very good quality support behind the scenes from talking about our trips to starting and finishing each segment along the way. Our last trip to Israel, the Palestinian Territories, and Jordan was by far the best trip we have ever taken. The content we are still creating today and will be able to continue over many years will always be relevant.

Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan Adventure Tour Review

Our tour guide operator was Noah Tours, and they ensured I had every detail done correctly from the start. The team working here from the management on down ensured everything from Passport control to Airport Pickup was scheduled in a specific manner that allowed us to enjoy every single stage of this trip. Here is their contact information below for your review.

This was our first Noah Tours!

Guide in Israel

Ms Elinoar Nitzani

Noah Tours staff / driver / Guide in the West Bank  

Mr. Yossef Barakat

Mrs Silvia Barakat

 

Jordan guide

Ahmad Hussein

Noah Tours  office team

 Ms. Rachel Powers

Ms. Ira Rodionova

Guy Timberg

Sales Department
Noah Tours Ltd.
Communication Centre Neve Ilan,
Harey Yehuda 90850, Israel

Office:  +972-2-6339956
USA:     +1 646 8639666
Fax:      +972-2-6339959
Mobile:+972-54-5304562

guy@noahtours.com

http:www.noahtours.com

This is a copy of our itinerary for everyone’s review and can be used for your own adventure as well.

Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan Adventure Tour Review

ITINERARY: Israel & Jordan Private Tour 13 Days 12 Nights, July 8–20 2015 

  

 

 

Market House Hotel

Day 1: Wed, July 8 2015. Arrival–Tel Aviv 

  • Arrival Tel Aviv, meeting & assistance
  • Transfer to your hotel in Tel Aviv
  • Free afternoon on your own: Old Jaffa, Tel Aviv promenade and the beach   Overnight at hotel in Tel Aviv

  

Day 2: Thu, July 9 2015. Mediterranean Coast tour

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Caesarea
  • Haifa
  • Akko
  • Overnight in Tiberias

  

Day 3: Fri, July 10 2015. Galilee and Golan 

  • Breakfast at hotel
  • Jordan River rafting
  • Zfat Kabbala center/ or Banias national park instead
  • Golan Heights
  • Optional: Druze hospitality (traditional dinner)
  • Overnight in Tiberias

  

Day 4: Sat, July 11 2015. Beait Shean – Jericho – Jerusalem 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Beit Shean
  • Qasr El Yahud  baptismal site on Jordan river
  • Visit Jericho
  • Transfer to Jerusalem
  • Mt. Olives
  • Overnight in Jerusalem

 

Day 5: Sun, July 12 2015. Old City Jerusalem 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Old City walking tour:
  • Western Wall
  • Via Dolorosa
  • Holy Sepulcher
  • Mahane Yehuda Market
  • Overnight in Jerusalem

 

Church of the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem

Day 6: Mon, July 13, 2015. New City Jerusalem 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • New City Jerusalem tour:
  • Israel Museum – Shrine of the Book
  • Holocaust Museum
  • Overnight in Jerusalem

Day 7: Tue, July 14, 2015. Bethlehem  

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Half-Day
    tour:
  • Nativity Church
  • Shepherds’ Fields
  • Transfer back to Jerusalem for a free afternoon: explore on our own   Overnight in Jerusalem

Church Of The Nativity Bethlehem 

Church Of The Nativity Bethlehem 

Day 8: Wed, July 15, 2015. Masada – the Dead Sea – Aqaba 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Via Judean desert
  • Pass by Qumran
  • Visit Masada: ascend/descend by cable car
  • floating experience
  • Transfer to Taba border
  • Drive to Aqaba hotel for overnight

Dead Sea

Oasis Of The River Jordan

Dead Sea

Day 9: Thu, July 16, 2015. – The Red Sea – Petra 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Half-day free: enjoy the Red Sea beach
  • Wadi Rum 4×4 jeep tour (approx. 2 hours)
  • Transfer to Petra
  • Overnight in Petra

 

View of The Red Sea

New Aqaba Housing Development

Relaxing at the Red Sea Intercontinental Aqaba hotel

 

Day 10: Fri, July 17, 2015. Petra – Amman 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Petra full-day tour:
  • The Siq
  • Al-Khazneh or the Treasury and the other
  • Transfer to Amman for overnight

Our Explorations Deep Into Petra Via Camels

The Walk Into Petra

Sunset Over Petra

Day 11: Sat, July 18, 2015. Amman – Madaba – Mt. Nebo– Tel Aviv 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Madaba
  • Mt. Nebo
  • Jerash
  • Beit Shean border cross
  • Transfer to Tel Aviv for overnight

Jerash Ancient Roman City

Day 12: Sun, July 19 2015. West bank tour 

  • Breakfast at hotel  West Bank tour:
  • Ramallah
  • Nablus
  • Overnight in Tel Aviv.

Eating with friends in the West Bank

West Bank Church

Nablus

Day 13: Mon, July 20, 2015. Departure  

 

  • Breakfast at the hotel
  • Transfer to the airport for your departure flight home

 

Israel, Palestinian Territories, Jordan Adventure Tour Review

This post is also posted @ Steemit ExploreTraveler

Here is a playlist of videos from the trip for your review.

“Helping bring the world together one friend at a time. So travel and discover that the world is full of wonderful people.” – ExploreTraveler @exploretraveler

We have a travel tip audio book that will help you that you can purchase at Audible –> Here

Happy Travels,

ExploreTraveler Team

Taiwan Travel Tips

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Bicycle Trekking in Taipei…What a fun day

Taiwan Travel Tips ]

Travel tips to help you enjoy your Taiwan trip.

Taiwan is a unique, and wonderful place to explore, and with these simple Taiwan Travel Tips you will be well on your way to having a great adventure. With so much to see, and do we had a real hard time selecting just a few points. So it has been decided that this piece to be edited over time, and more information will be added to improve the usefulness of this small Taiwan Travel Guide. If you take the Taiwan high speed rail system from Taipei the following areas can be visited very easily. We will concentrate on these section in our introduction for now.

First of all you have to break Taiwan into several pieces from a environment standpoint or adventure standpoint. The northern area is more Chinese in nature, and speaks mandarin fluently. The food is multi-ethnic since Taipei is an international city with visitors from around the world. The north has wonderful hot springs, and a cool northern coast for some island exploration with great seafood.

The more north central areas of Hsinchu county are more windy but have influences of north Taiwan Chinese, Hakka Chinese, and aboriginal peoples who are traditionally from the area. There are great mountains with peaks that are accessible via automobile, and hiking trails. Locals and visitors alike bike along the small roads in the countryside, and enjoy the agricultural views along the way.

Steps to a perfect view over looking Haishengping Bay, Green Island
  1. Taiwan is a not a tropical island per say, and is more of a sub tropic location. So you must be prepared for the wind, cold mountains, and tropic heat in the south. Make sure to have a wind jacket if in the winter, and loose cool clothing if in the south.

    “Taiwan’s Famous Stinky Tofu” Love or hate it, just gotta have it!

  2. The food in Taiwan is great, and has a tremendous amount of unique delicacies. Stinky tofu has a really bad smell, but the taste is pretty good. So consider trying it at one of Taiwan’s famous night markets. As you travel around Taiwan please consider that the type of food will change from very traditional Chinese styles to Hakka in the Hsinchu area, and even some curry fish dishes in the south area of Tainan or Kaohsiung.

    Collecting Algae along the Green Island Taiwan coastline.

  3. Consider going out to one of Taiwan’s islands. We really enjoyed “Green Island” with all of its great photography, nature, site seeing, and scuba diving. The traditional life still carries on there, and everyone local who lives there is super friendly. We went in winter, and had the whole island to ourselves, and then went back again in the summer, and it was very crowed but still fun. There is a rare hot spring there that is one of the very few salt water hot springs in the world.

  4. Xinwu Mazu Temple overlooking the Sea in Xinwu Township Taiwan

  5. Taiwan temples, and learning the local culture can be a very enriching experience. No matter what your religion is we still recommend that you visit a few in Taipei or another location. To truly understand who the Taiwanese are and how to interact with them knowing their culture, and religious traditions can help you on your quest for adventure. You will find the religious, and temple culture unique, and very interesting.

    Grand hotel Grand Garden restaurant

5. The Grand Hotel in Taipei is very original, and a great opportunity to take some wonderful photographs,and while enjoying some of the best food in Taiwan. The hotel has several restaurants, and the buffett has rare delicacies from all over asia.

6. In the mountains just outside of HsinChu city Taiwan; there is a community of people from some of the aboriginal, Hakka, and others of Chinese decent. This area of HsinChu county is very rural, and has some unusual photography, market, and foodie travel opportunities. You can go here for the day or spend the night for an even better experience. We did eat in the market area, and on the hill. The food was really good, and lower cost due to the lack of tourism, and traffic.

Seediq 賽德克族 Taiwan’s Aboriginal Tribesmen

7. Visit the aboriginal cultural centers in the south of Taiwan. These places will give you a great overview, and understanding of Taiwan’s aboriginal past. Some of these centers house multiple museums, and interaction with people who represent each tribe present in Taiwan today.

Exploretraveler.com Team with new friends Dario and Joy, in the rich culture of the Paiwan and Rukai Tribes at Sandiman Village in Southern Taiwan

We hope you enjoy these Taiwan Travel Tips and we will continue to add to this over time.

 

Happy Travels,

ExploreTraveler

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Are You A Tourist Or A Traveler

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“Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all of one’s lifetime.” – Mark Twain

Are you a tourist or a traveler?

When traveling we need to understand the differences between being a tourist and being a traveler. Their intentions, expectations and experiences are very different.

Here are some observations identifying a tourist.

Tourism is the more expensive form of travel, it involves staying in nicer hotels, where you can get western amenities newspapers, western breakfast, and a concierge helping to lead you safely away from danger and sometimes your adventure. This type of holiday, although very relaxing and tremendously enjoyable, will disconnect you from where you are. You are provided with so many luxuries and home comforts, that you become completely oblivious to your location, you forget to soak in the feel, the smell and the grit of where you are. You could go as far as to say that tourists will never absorb the true feel of a country the way a traveler would.

Now the traveler has more unique characteristics that one should know about in order to mimic when necessary. Since one can go too far in any direction and leave the security of safety far behind if not careful.

Here are a few perceptions distinguishing an Traveler.

– Dirty Clothes, vest, shirt, and no obvious clothing standard. They regularly wash materials in the shower, and resemble a bum or wanderer.

– Flip flop shoes or exceptionally worn shoes/sandals.

– A rucksack with patches, and such demonstrating their ability to travel with less.

– A travelers camera, laptop are seldom seen. Absence of assets, helps to prevent others from stealing from them.

– A travelers hair is frequently unkempt, tangled, non brushed hair or dreadlocks are utilized.

– No adornments, or whatever else that local people can get their hands on to offer to you

– Travelers have a decent propensity for failing to spend any cash by any stretch of the imagination. They will stay at a shoddy as-all-damnation explorers inn, free breakfast being an enormous offering point. They eat regularly one dinner brunch+dinner.

– They have a tendency to be separated from everyone else. travelers live single, migrant lives outside the explorers lodge

– Ages are between the ages of 18 and 32 overall, and are seldom married.

– They often also have no comprehension of the local tongue, but they will damn-well try. The use of phrases such as ‘chicken please’, ‘I want lighter’ and ‘thank you’.

They often get it right since we think travel is to search for adventure, a traveler wants to be PART of the country he/she is visiting. You gain a special understanding and the most enjoyable experience from diving head first into a foreign country. One needs to consider what they want to accomplish, and what type of adventurer they want to be.

We recommend being a little bit of both worlds, and by doing this you really bring a piece of the place with you will feel richer and more fulfilled. You will be able to authentically describe the country, its people, its food and its landscapes with far more intricacy and passion. To be a tourist is to go on holiday, to be a traveler is to go on a journey, and to be an adventurer is to experience life in all aspects of the trip within the financial means you have to offer.

 

Happy Travels,

ExploreTraveler

Persimmon Farms of Hsinchu Taiwan

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By ExploreTraveler.com
Persimmon Farms of Hsinchu Taiwan
With all of the excitement we have had traveling around Taiwan sometimes we miss what is in front of us. Thankfully we received an email from a colleague that gave us a heads up about the Persimmon harvest, and preparation here in Hsinchu county.

Post by Exploretraveler.com.

The trip there was very UN-eventful, and started just outside of Jubei Taiwan. From there just outside of town nestled in the hills of the countryside. When we arrived one of the first things we saw was persimmon’s drying outside in the sun in front of the old building within the farm compound. Locals are most the tourists here, and it was very interesting that the farm employees really enjoyed, and encouraged photographs from the beginning. Very seldom in western culture do you see this kind of symbiotic behavior; farms in the USA are mostly off limits and very private.

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Persimmon’s drying in the sun! http://explore1.wpengine.com

View on Instagram

The atmosphere was remarkable for it openness, and interaction with the local staff. One older women would stop and pose every time she rotated persimmon’s drying in racks out in the sun. She would then go to the front of a large stack of these drying racks to take photographs the local tourists. This cycle would repeat about every hour, and every employee would rotate around within the public offering drinks, ice cream, and local persimmon goods for sale.

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Persimmon’s drying in large racks #HsinChu County. http://explore1.wpengine.com View on Instagram


Grounds around the farm were also open for everyone to wonder within the trees, flowers, and other local vegetation. One other important item noted was that other small vendors before, after and during our walk was mixed in along the way. This allowed us to buy persimmon’s fresh, and peeled along the way. Since this was a working farm, animals were also wondering around on the outside the the orchards.

All in all this was a great short trip and highly recommended to anyone who is in the area living, working or just passing through.

ExploreTraveler.com

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Tacloban City Philippines Part II “The Rebuilding”

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People building around the ships at the new Yolanda Village.

As most of our readers know Tacloban was hit by the largest Typhoon to have ever to be recorded,and The Rebuilding of Tacloban City Philippines will take time. The damage was significant and widespread with numerous buildings destroyed by the very large and surprising storm surge. As with most large disasters people need time to grieve and to become adjusted to the new norm. Tacloban, and the surrounding towns is no different; but the life and the heart of the city is now showing signs of re-birth. While driving around you can now see a return to everyday life. Buildings downtown are opening for business, and one can now even get an espresso in the one and only coffee cafe available. Chicken restaurant chains have opened every location that was repairable, and the Robinson’s mall is operating. Now this does not mean that these businesses are operating at full steam and capacity, but they are open for business.

Peddle Cab

The driving force of this city has always been small business, and strong signals of a rebound are under way. The building sector, and transportation are in full recovery mode with road side stands popping everywhere. Small grocery stores are opening as well, and banks are open and opening accounts. I suspect that an economic boom is under way since there was nowhere to go but up. Local Filipino businesses should reconise what is happening soon, and a recovery with real financial backbone should rise to the surface. With death and large destruction so wide spread; the emotional impact upon ones psychological health needs to be fully understood. My family and I where glad we could help bring some additional joy, and the understanding that hope is real, and tangimable within the reach of everyone involved. As time marches on we expect the city to continue it’s economic rebound until it reaches the maximum one would expect in this region of the world.

ExploreTraveler.com

Tacloban City Philippines

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Tacloban City Philippines

My family and I decided that I should visit Tacloban on December 26th, and visit people we know and to bring some relief , and medical supplies if possible. Getting there right now is still very challenging since it is a disaster zone. Living conditions are still very low; although there is limited hotel service available if they are not booked solid.

With limited time I took off from Taipei and traveled to Manila, and transferred to Cebu arriving around 5:00 PM. Upon arrival I was a little dismayed to find out my large backpack full of medical supplies was not there, and was told it would arrive by 9:00 PM that evening. I was able to find a room across the street from the Cebu airport at a very decent hotel. My flight being at early at 5:00 AM so I didn’t want to be to far away.

After arriving back at the airport I was able to find food and coffee while becoming aware that the flight time was not 5:00 AM, but really sun rise, due to the fact that Tacloban airport is really only working in daylight hours. Fog had rolled in over Tacloban and there was concern we would not make it on the flight. Since we were able to board and flew to the city, frustration set in since the pilot informed us that he was canceling the landing due to fog and would fly back.

Now having been returned to Cebu with no flight for the day, and only having flight options for late into the very next day. I started asking questions that led me to the option of taking a ferry over to Leyte via Ormac, and then hiring a driver over to Tacloban. So that is exactly what I did, and rushed over to the port ASAP to book a ticket since they were going fast. I secured a 1:30 PM, and was on standby for the 11:30 AM ferry. Having secured the 11:30 AM ticket due to a no show I boarded the ferry for the one and one half hour ride. The trip was comfortable, and they provided coffee, water, and snacks.

Upon leaving the ferry station there in Ormac, I had several drivers to choose from. It was only a matter of choosing someone I felt comfortable with, and then negotiating the price of the trip. While driving through Ormac it was obvious that they had been hit by a serious storm, but the damage was not as serious as I had expected. Now driving north it became apparent that the storm hit everyone in an unequal manner, and spread the destruction into areas that were not protected by hills or in valley’s.

As the trip continued through remote villages you could see that rebuilding had begun; new walls from freshly weaved palm leafs were use to fix the side of huts, and metal roofing was already being put into place. However there was several items I had expected. First there was not a single chicken in site, and not a single foreign worker to be seen. It was obvious so far that even though the world was talking about support on the ground the people had left sometime before Christmas. As I arrived much closer to the main city the destruction was made clear with whole villages wiped out or spared, but only because of the geography. The meaning of survival was determined by what you knew about the areas geography in relationship the the oncoming storm. Once I entered the suburban city of Palo, the debris field was most flat with partial structures standing like a wall here and there.

The sun was now going down, and I had already met up with my intended contacts for the evening, so I switched vehicles, and headed into Tacloban to get situated for the night.

Now December 28th, and with little time remaining I headed through the city to see for myself what had transpired there during and after the storm. The downtown was completely gone along the bay where the storm came in. The area from there going out did improve slightly as the elevation and terrain allowed.

Now international support was nowhere to be seen, and I know there was still a few organisations still in town. The one who left did leave behind tents, tarps, and food but organisations were now gone. Now what I did see was a tremendous amount of Filipino people within organisations out of Manila there helping out such as the the local Red Cross.

Later in the afternoon I met up with Boyet

Palma Mijares of Manila, and we went over to an event he organised with a group of business leaders in the Philippines. It will take significant time for this city to recover, but with a helping hand this historic city will recover from the destruction.

Tacloban City Part II the Rebuilding

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