Don’t Let Jet Lag Ruin Your Vacation
If you’ve ever traveled across time zones for a business meeting or vacation, you might know firsthand how jet lag can affect you for days after the trip. Inability to sleep, being overtired, lethargy, headaches and loss of concentration can really put a damper on your trip. Luckily there are a few things you can do to try to minimize the effects of jet lag.
Usually, jet lag happens as a result of crossing time zones. This can affect your internal body clock where you lose or gain several hours and your body becomes disoriented as to what time it actually is.
How severe the symptoms of jet lag are usually depends on the direction you are traveling in and is found to be worse if you are traveling eastward. This is because the body rhythm is extended up to 27 hours when a person flies westward thus, the body is able to catch up with it’s environmental changes. Additionally, the “circadian rhythm” is more than 24 hours when a person travels westward due to the time of the day being lengthened which gives the body more time to adjust.
Unfortunately, there is no magic pill that will “cure” jet lag, but there are some things you can do to lessen the symptoms.
1. Natural light tends to help the body adjust, so staying outdoors during the day as much as possible in your new surroundings can help you cope with jet lag. This is because your body clock will be able to adjust at a faster rate once it becomes accustomed to the new surroundings.
2. If you are traveling to an important event, try to arrive well before the event is held. This is to give your body more time to adjust and get accustomed to the area. If you are on vacation, try adding a couple of days on to allow you to adjust so you won’t have to spend your precious vacation days recovering from jet lag.
3. If there will be a big time difference in your actual bedtime, try adjusting it before you leave on your trip - going to bed earlier or later to match the time zone you will be in as closely as possible.
4. It’s best to start right off doing your daily activities to your new time zone instead of trying to hold on to your old time zone. Wake up in the early morning of the new time zone and eat your meals at the new time zone;s time.
Jet lag doesn’t have to be a huge problem if you don’t let it. Just give yourself a couple of days to adjust and you’ll be in sync with your new surroundings in no time .
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn more about air travel and how to get the best deals on airfare.
Seven Ways To Get Travel Discounts
Do you love to travel but don’t have the money to take all the trips you want? What if you could cut your travel costs? You might be able to take more vacations or finally visit that special destination you’ve been dreaming of.
Finding travel discounts does take a bit of legwork, but in this age of computers you can do a lot of the legwork right in the comfort of your own home. You can find discounts on airfare, hotels and car rentals at major airline and travel web sites if you want to invest a little bit of time in surfing the web.
But getting discounts on your airfare and hotels aren’t the only way to save on vacations. Here’s seven things that might help you cut costs the next time you take a trip.
1. Shop around for the cheapest flight online either at the airlines website or the big travel sites. Airlines offer discount tickets periodically so you should check their sites often. The big travel sites have specials as well and it can really save some time if you register to receive an email when a discount to your destination comes up. Don’t forget to check these sites often since you never know when a good deal might pop up.
2. Look for web-only discounts offered by hotels and airlines for people who don’t mind making reservations online. You must commit to your reservation but sometimes you can save half the cost with one of these specials.
3. Check on detour flights other than the straight one you’ll most likely get when you inquire. Your total flight prices can be cheaper when you take two flights instead of one. Some people save thousands booking their flights this way.
4. Check out package deals for your dream vacation as you can usually save a bundle and it’s a bit more convenient for you too. Packages that combine airfare and hotel can be had at a steep discount compared to what they cost when paid for separately. Even better, try to get a trio package that combines airfare, hotel and car rental for a really great travel.
5. If you’ll be staying in the same hotel for more than 7 days, call ahead and ask if they have any week long stay discounts. Sometimes you can get a free day or a bit off your overall price.
6. Travel to great vacation places that have a low cost of living - the prices there will tend to be a bit less than other vacation spots. Malaysia and the Philippines are good examples where both have great scenery and tourist spots but prices are reasonable. Make sure there is plenty of English speaking people there unless you enjoy the challenge of communicating with people who do not speak your language.
7. Once you’ve gotten all your travel discounts on hotels and airfare, you can still save some money on your vacation by buying food at the grocery and cooking it yourself instead of eating out for every meal. Restaurants tend to have cheap food that might not be the healthiest so do your wallet and your health a favor by eating in. Of course, you’ll want to make sure to get a hotel room that has refrigeration and allows for cooking too.
Lee Dobbins writes for Airfare 1st where you can find more articles on air travel - visit http://airfare1st.com/ways-to-get-the-best-airfare.html for more tips on how to save on airfare.
A Look At Aviator Watches
Aviator watches or Pilot Watches are very similar to dive watches in that they are often worn by people who have no connection whatsoever to flying or being a pilot. Most of these watches are sold to people who simply like the way they look. While I have no problem with this, actually I love it since it earns me money; this article is geared more on what to look for in a functional aviator watch.
There are several different types of pilot watches so let’s take a look at some of them. The first are those issued or designed to be issued to actual pilots and their crews mainly from WWII through the Vietnam War. Some of these watchmakers include IWC, Benrus, and Longines. Most of these pilot watches were just basic 12/24 military timekeepers and did not feature the chronograph function. These watches are really not true pilot watches as a chronographic feature is really a necessity especially when flying a plane with only basic instrumentation.
Some of the current aviator watches on the market today such as those made by Blancpain, Breuget, Breitling, Longines and others do have an actual aviation heritage and utilize some basic design components in the dial, movement, or case that go back to the watches made specifically for aviators. Most still fall into the designer watch category and do not really function well as true pilot watches.
Now that we have covered a little of the history of aviator watches and talked about the pilot watches that are really not suitable for flying, let’s take a look at some of the watches that are actually chosen and used by pilots and others in the aviation industry.
Among these we will list vintage aviator watches and then current aviator watches.
Among the pilot watches considered to be vintage are the Longines Lindberg Hour Angle, named for Charles Lindberg, the Breitling Navitimer, Breitling Cosmonaute, and the Rolex GMT. The current versions of the Cosmonaute and the Rolex GMT are essentially the same as the vintage models. Some of the better makers of true aviation watches include Torgoen, Breitling, Omega, Citizen, and Seiko. Seiko is one of the most prolific of these watchmakers with a huge range of different models available.
Modern technology and increased instrumentation in aircraft has all but eliminated the need for a pilot to wear a watch but any good aviator will always have a good pilot’s watch as a backup.
Gregg Hall is a business consultant and author for many online and offline businesses and lives in Navarre Florida. Get fine watches at http://www.designerwatchsuperstore.com
Tips For The Airsick Flyer
Motion sickness affects many people when they ride in cars and on boats but perhaps the most inconvenient place to experience it is on a plane. Referred to as airsickness, it can be terribly inconvenient to be trapped on an airplane unable to get up from your seat when you are feeling nauseous.
Airsickness is nothing to be embarrassed about, in fact almost 29% of all pilots even experience it! This is a normal body response to an unusual stimulus. Your eyes are seeing that you are sitting in one place but your ears or “vestibular organs” can feel that you are moving up and down. The result can be dizziness, loss of appetite, nausea, burping and increased salivation.
Since airsickness is a problem for millions of travelers as well as pilots, there have been many studies done to determine how to avoid the affects of this problem. Below are some tips that have been learned through the studies, perhaps they can help you avoid airsickness on your next flight.
1. Don’t fly when you are stressed out. According to these studies the two most common causes of airsickness are anxieties and stress. If you are already stressed out before you even board the plane, your chances of experiencing airsickness are increased because your body already has too much to deal with and will have a hard time adjusting to the sudden change of environment. But who isn’t stressed out these days? Since stress may be hard to avoid, you might try learning some stress reduction techniques or change things in your life that are stressful. These can help you in everyday life but also will help to make your flight more enjoyable.
2. Don’t overeat before flying. OK, so if you know you get airsick you probably already feel queasy just thinking about getting on the plane so overeating probably isn’t going to be a problem for you. However, some folks might want to eat up before they get on the plane and it’s thought that large meals, especially ones loaded with salt, might trigger airsickness.
3. Don’t move around too much in flight. Well, it stands to reason that if you have motion sickness, adding more motion into the mix will make you feel worse so if you are already feeling the affects of airsickness just stay put in your seat.
4. Don’t worry, be happy. If you get airsick, there really isn’t a lot you can do about it but if you let the anticipation of being airsick get you into a frenzy then your experience will probably be much worse. The best thing to do is just accept the fact that you might feel a little motion sick and let your body and mind become accustomed to the environment. If you approach it with a relaxed attitude, you may even start to enjoy yourself after a few hours into the flight.
Airsickness is not a huge problem and shouldn’t get in the way of you flying off for an exotic vacation. You just need to relax and learn to adjust the body’s condition so as to avoid conflict of senses.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can find more articles about air travel and how to get great discounts on airfare.
Packing For Your Flight
Everyone knows that suitcase space is at a premium when you are flying to your destination but there are certain things you must have when going on a trip. Getting to your vacation destination and finding out you forgot something important can really start your vacation off on the wrong foot and especially if it’s something you just can’t go out and buy another one of.
But you don’t want to lug around 10 suitcases, so you really need to weed out what is important and what isn’t. Also, make some of your clothing do double duty and wearing extra on the plane can help cut down on what you have to put into the suitcase leaving you more room for other things.
One thing to carefully consider is your clothing. What will the weather be at your destination? While you should always plan for unexpected weather changes, it is not necessary to bring 5 sweaters if you are going to a tropical climate where the medium temperature is 90 degrees. Be sensible about what you bring and remember you are only going for 1 or 2 weeks so the chances of getting to wear 10 different evening gowns is probably slim. Bring your favorite and leave the rest. You can always wear things more than once and chances are you’ll probably wear the same outfit all the time anyway!
In order to conserve space in your suitcase, wear as much as you can on the plane. This means wearing your bulkiest clothes and dressing in layers. Wear your bulkiest shoes too - if you will be bringing sneakers these are probably best worn on the flight as your sandals will take up less room in the suitcase.
In the event that your luggage gets lost, you might want to pack the essentials in a carry on. These include your makeup, hair accessories, toiletries, some extra socks and underwear, medications, lotions, toothbrush and toothpaste and anything you must have each and every day.
Some accessories you might want to pack in your suitcase include:
- Dress clothing
- Shoes
- Swimwear
- Hairdryer (check with your hotel and if they provide one leave yours at home)
- Travel alarm
- Camera
- Binoculars
- Ipod
- Umbrella
- Flashlight
- First Aid Kit
Certain expensive items like jewelry and perhaps your camera or ipod you might consider keeping in your carry on in case your luggage decides to go on a vacation an you never see it again.
Generally if you pack sparingly and bring just what is necessary, you’ll be able to enjoy your vacation without breaking your back lifting too many heavy suitcases.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn more about air travel and getting the best deal on your airfare.
The Challenges of Air Travel With Children
Everyone loves a family vacation but traveling with children can be challenging, especially if air travel is involved in getting to your vacation destination. Lugging all the extra “stuff” that children need can be a drag and even on short flights any child is bound to get bored so you will need to think up ways to entertain and relax them. As with anything else, it’s best to be organized and prepared in order to make your flight a pleasant one.
A decision to undertake air travel with children should not be made without an understanding of the challenges involved in such an undertaking. Making a trip with children in tow can lead a parent to confront many unforeseen problems. Before, you make those vacation plans, it’s a good idea to sit down and assess just what might be needed for such an undertaking.
Even if things go smoothly, air travel with children means dealing with added extra paraphernalia. The parent has to carry all of their gear, while constantly keeping an eye on a group of very small, and usually very active, travelers. Even if things go smoothly, the challenges thrown at the traveling parent with child can be almost overwhelming.
If things do not go smoothly, then air travel with children can generate an even greater number of challenges. Parents are likely to be very distracted because they must keep an eye on their children around hundreds of unknown strangers. It is so easy for a young child to venture off in such a busy environment.
Fortunately, air travel with children gives the parent access to many interesting experiences. If parents can, they should allow any children to enjoy those happenings and to forget their complaints. If you travel with more than one adult in tow, you can often get through traveling with children with no apparent problems at all.
In addition, the sooner you start traveling with your children, the sooner you can expect them to behave well when traveling. If you wait until the children are over the age of 5, you might have your hands full. However, when parents start taking their children on air crafts or other trips when they are small infants or toddlers, they will understand the process and behave well throughout their lives. The more they are exposed to the circumstances, the better they will act for the parents and the more parents will enjoy their traveling experience.
Taking your children on a plane doesn’t have to be something you dread. You just need to be prepared and try to look at things from your child’s perspective - this might give you some insight as to how to make the flight more fun for them as well as for yourself.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com/ where you can learn more about air travel and how to get discount airfare.
Politics and Airport Parking
Airport parking can be a real hassle. Finding a place to park where you don’t have to drag your luggage for a mile and that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg can be quite a challenge. Today, with the added security measures and the longer time it takes to pass through them, searching for a parking spot can take valuable time.
The whole scope of airport parking was changed forever on September 11, 2001. Now there are security issues to be considered as well as traffic and parking issues for any airport. But if you think that airport parking is just a pain for airline passengers, you’re wrong - it affects airport personnel, people living near airports and even politicians. Here’s an example of how airport parking and politics and interrelate.
In early 2001 James Hahn was running for Mayor of Los Angeles. He decided to make airport parking one of his campaign issues. He proposed an elaborate scheme for improving the parking at LAX. His plan would have called for major changes in the Westchester neighborhood around the airport.
James Hahn won that election. In August he initiated a campaign to put a new biomedical research facility adjacent to the USC medical facility. He also began work on his plan to improve airport parking. Neither of Hahn’s plans came to fruition. The block to the biomedical facility would take to long to explain in this short piece. The block to parking was very simple; it made its appearance on September 11, 2001.
Hahn had planned airport parking for an airport where security concerns would not be a first priority. He had not provided for the extensive check in process that passengers would be required to use. As a result, Hahn’s plan had quickly become outdated. The Los Angeles Airport needed a very different sort of plan for its airport parking.
When Hahn ran for re-election his plan for airport parking proved to be a real liability. The residents of Westchester, the neighbors of the Los Angeles Airport, wanted a mayor who seemed to have an ear to their concerns. After listening to all of the candidates, the people of Westchester helped to elect Antonio Villaragosa.
Now Mayor Villaragosa must develop a new plan for correcting the present problems with airport parking at LAX. He faces quite a challenge. He will have to deal with the representatives from all of the surrounding cities.
Smaller cities, like Culver City, CA, could weld a strong influence on the decisions made by the men and women of the airport planning committee. They could help to determine the direction taken by the architects of future airport parking at LAX.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn more about airports, air travel and getting discounts on airfare.
The News on Airline Travel
Airline travel is an accepted mode of transportation used by millions today. It’s hard to believe that airplanes and airports haven’t really been around for that long. In this fast paced day and age traveling by plane is the only way to get business and pleasure accomplished in a short period of time, but did you ever think about what it might be like if air travel wasn’t around?
Airline travel has been in the news for quite some time. At first, newspapers would report only about airplane trips taken by daring single pilots over long distances. Lindberg’s flight was one example. The tragic flight of Amelia Earhart was another such example. This mode of transportation was more of a lark back then, no one could imagine that traveling by plane would become commonplace in our society.
Before World War II only a few wealthy people enjoyed airline travel. Wealthy businessmen, such as Howard Hughes, looked for ways to make money from airline travel. Hughes’ exploits led to the building of many airplane lockers on the fields west of Los Angeles. Today, in Culver City, CA, one can view what remains of those lockers by taking a short bus ride from the Los Angeles International Airport.
The efforts of Hughes and other businessmen created an environment that encouraged airline travel. Such travel became more affordable, so that larger numbers of people could fly. In the 1950s the public enjoyed the arrival of the jet, an airplane that could cross the American continent on a single flight.
One morning in the mid 1950s radio announcers mentioned the first flight across country by the TWA jet. It had left Los Angeles, bound for the eastern seaboard. It was a little intriguing and very frightening for many people around the world. In fact, it was such a new innovation, many people on the ground were afraid airplanes might leap from the sky.
Soon air travel became more and more common. This mode of transportation enabled everyday people to visit place that were unreachable for them before. Vacations would take on a whole new meaning as you were no longer limited to where you could travel to by car or train. Air flight became a popular mode of getting from one place to another and still is today.
It was an era of airline travel that continues today, although with a different perspective. The events of September 11, 2001 placed airline travel in a new and different light. The public found that it did not find satisfaction in all of the news about airline travel. Today however, there are few plane crashes and most air travel is very safe. In fact, the news on airline travel is typically non-existent or good news at that.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn how to find the best airfare to your favorite destinations.
Airplane Safety Competes with Airplane Comfort
Everyone wants to have a more comfortable flight but did you ever think about how this desire competes with the airlines ability to provide you with the utmost in safety?
The public desire for larger and faster aircraft sometimes comes head to head with the need for greater airplane safety. This fact was magnified soon after the world had welcomed the arrival of the year of 2000. One of the supersonic jets then carrying passengers across the Atlantic gave the public an eye-opening experience.
A piece of scrap left on the runway caught on one tire of a departing supersonic jet. The resulting crash led to a re-evaluation of the requirements for airplane safety. Eventually, the airlines decided to discontinue the use of those two jets. Now passengers are no longer able to get a super-speedy flight from London or Paris to a U.S airport.
For a time after that accident, airplane safety had the attention of the public. Of course, the public, as always, quickly forgot about the accident that had so recently appeared on the TV and computer screens.
Airplane designers could sense the dying concern for airplane safety, and the increased desire for a way to ease airport congestion.
Airplane designers introduced the idea of a larger jet, one that would carry almost twice as many passengers. They designed a jet with two different levels. An airline based in Southeast Asia expressed a desire to purchase such a jet.
There were a token number of test flights for the newly-designed and larger aircraft. No one seemed to question whether or not a measure of airplane safety could be properly made from just those few token test flights. The public needed a larger plane, a plane that could help to ease the congestion on the runways.
Therefore plans were made to initiate use of the larger jet plane. Once again the public desire for larger and faster aircraft had trumped the need for airplane safety. Once again, only time would reveal the wisdom of relying on this new and larger plane.
Sometimes we put our “want to haves” in front of our “must haves”, it’s only human nature to want the best of the best, but when the public clamors for more comfort the airlines must react by giving it to them. At times this can take priority over giving more safety. So next time you want a more comfortable seat or larger planes you might want to think about how this impacts the safety of air flight and your safety in general.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://www.airfare1st.com where you can learn more about air flight as well as how to get great deals on flights to exotic destinations foudn here:
http://www.airfare1st.com/cheap-airfare-to-hawaii.html
What Not To Bring Through Airport Check In
Before the increased security at the airport check in points, passengers on flights out of the U.S. were told to arrive 2 hours before their flight. Now, however, they are told to come 3 hours before their scheduled flight departs. This change is due to the longer and more thorough check-in used with passengers about to board an international flight.
While this may seem like an inconvenience to you, it is really for the safety of all passengers and a small price to pay in order to land safely. When proceeding through check in, remember that the security folks are just doing their jobs to protect you and all passengers.
The security personnel, who must conduct the check in for outbound international flights, need to watch for two different things. They look for evidence that a passenger might be boarding with some sort of weapon, and they also check for signs that the passenger might be carrying contraband.
What sort of items would be classed as “contraband?”
What sort of items would it be illegal to take out of the U.S.?
A contraband item would be something that had been obtained through illegitimate means, such as stolen property, or a disc with confidential information. Those would be the sorts of things that the men and women at an airport check in would be watching for.
Sometimes the older immigrants, who fly out of the U.S. in order to return to the land of their birth, carry with them a great deal of luggage. They can pose a real challenge to the men and women at an airport check in. Their bags are not only large; they are also stuffed with all sorts of food and clothing. The men and women at the airport check in must sort through all of the items in those heavy suitcases.
Sometimes they might suspect an item of being contraband, when in fact it is not. For example, one woman who had packed some dried vegetables was called aside and accused of carrying marijuana. Fortunately, her son identified the dried material, and the woman then passed safely through the airport check in.
If you are flying anyhwhere these days, it makes sense to make all aspects of the flight, including the check in as convenient and comfortable as possible. Therefore, you should look at everything you are bringing with you with a careful eye to be sure that you are not taking anything that violates the rules.
Remember, strict airport rules are a necessity in this day and age and are there for your protection.
Lee Dobbins writes for http://airfare1st.com/ where you can learn more about how to get great airfare when flying for business as well as pleasure.
