Call me old fashioned…Books belong on shelves (even when traveling!)

So bookshelves don’t tend to be something you think about when you’re hitting the road.

I never do. That’s said from a person who can’t stand NOT reading a book! If I don’t have my nose in a novel then something is wrong (or I’m insanely busy as I have been for the last few months).

And if anyone has been following this blog then you know what my reading list often consists of – randoms (remember: Eight Travel Books and not one is Eat, Pray, Love?)

But what got me thinking about this blog post today is multi-pronged. One is listening to CBC (the Canadian online radio) about a Canadian (of course) artist who decided to get rid of all of her books! Sacrelege as as far as I’m concerned.

I get why people want to deconstruct their lives, but if there is one thing I will never (ok almost never, which is why I write this blog) are my books!

Which brings me to point two about this post: I have been researching an article about travel items available in Bermuda. I know, I know, not always easy!

So I debated…..do I try and find the Kindle? Do I include the iPad? Everyone seems to be all about reading words on a computer these days. And, really, who am I to complain? I do have a blog by the way.

But the point is books don’t translate. Call me old fashioned! When I read a book I want to be able to scroll through the pages. I want to be able to bend the pages.

And the best part? No matter how tatty or wet they might get….the words will not go. Now tell that to someone who soaks their iPad in the rain!

What has this got to do with travel? I thought you’d never ask. It’s got everything to do with travel because the

more books

Kindle, in particular, was introduced as a compact way to carry around all the reading material you might need on the road.

BAH! Is what I say. The beauty of the road is the loving way that people read their books and then sell them to the tiny second hand shops that spring-up in every backpacker haunt or on the shelves of hostels around the world (yes, from South America to Europe and Asia). In fact many will even give you a book for a book (or two). It’s exchange and commerce!

Even better? Well nothing could be better than having the chance to wander around a book store taking in the titles and deciding what type of adventure you want next. Do you want to go through someone’s life? Perhaps visit your next trip to Thailand?

It’s old school – exchanging books, but it’s more than a chance to recycle books. It’s also a convenient way to expand your own literary adventures.

Do you know how many times I’ve need to lighten my backpack only to be faced with the prospect of titles I have never heard of before? Lots of times. But that’s when you pick-up a book like River of Time written by journalist Jon Swain who lived in Cambodia between 1970 and 1975. The book is his account of these tumultuous years at the beginning of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. It was one I could not put down.

Not only do the old-school manners of exchanging books expand your own personal library it also means that you’re not another backpacker with a cool electronic gadget.

Look I’ll be the first to admit that I travel with an iPod, but when I see the amount of gadgets that some people pull out (i.e. a place tracker for photos) and I look at the poverty that surrounds them (i.e. anywhere in South East Asia) a good, old book is better for the soul!

And because you can exchange them you never have to keep them in your backpack. Well I will admit this, as I finish this post….I couldn’t part with The White Tiger! I just couldn’t do it….so I gave it to my dad when I saw him during my trip around the world.

Does this make me sentimental? I don’t think so. I will never be the Canadian artist able to sell all of her books. Even on the road when I was breaking my back and an exchange loomed ahead I found it hard to part with my papers filled with escapes.

Does that make me a bad traveler? Does that make me too sentimental? Who knows. It does mean when I walk into my room and I’m looking for inspiration, now, I have a library of adventures to choose from.

Hell it’s cheaper than jewelry!

Insure your travels

Surfers in Bali - I could only look-on and wish.....

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” – John Steinbeck

All I wanted for my 30th birthday was to surf and to surf in Bali. Sounds like a plan, no? Yeah I thought so. I mean if you’re going to have to face the feared why not do it in a magical place with friends? Well I had the friends – a travel buddy and a friend from a TEFL (Teaching English as a Second Language) course. I had the place – I arrived in Bali two days before ‘D’ day.

I even had the food.

Bali was full of gluten-free food and I found pancake mix for my troubled tummy. Banana pancakes for my birthday breakfast were a sure thing.

What wasn’t was the nausea. I was on the back of my TEFL friend’s bike heading for my first surfing lesson. He had to pull over. It couldn’t have been something I ate. I had been very careful since arriving Bali. It couldn’t have been the sun. I was used to that. I had been traveling through South East Asia for three months before Bali.

All I wanted to do was pick-up a board, but I could barely pick myself off the sand. This was not fair. This was not what I had planned. I pouted.

“Robyn come on you need to go to the hospital. Get an IV you’ll feel great!”

“No way I hate needles. I am NOT getting an IV. And I have no idea if I’m even sick. Maybe I’m just tired.”

I can be stubborn.

“Have you got insurance, Robyn?”

“Yes.”

“Ok then stop moaning and get on the back of the bike. We’re going to figure out what is wrong with you.”

Bali might also be a very cheap country to visit. A steak dinner will cost you $5 and a full tank of gas $2. For more on my Bali travels check out My Postcards. For my Bali Photos visit where else? My Photos. You get the gist of this Monday Rock Fever Column featured in The Royal Gazette.

Beautiful Bali Beach

Their medical care? Let’s say I was happy I had insurance. My bill in Bali? Almost $150. I had to pay upfront, but I kept my paperwork. When I returned to Bermuda six months later I was reimbursed. That helped the finances!

Which is why I spoke to Andrew Hanwell, the Assistant Vice-President of Personal Insurance at BF&M insurance for the expert advice on insuring travel. His advice: “Buy the policy before you need it.”

Q: But Mr. Hanwell, I was away all of last year and I needed to buy health insurance while I was not on the island. What should I have done?

A: “The internet. That’s where we sell a lot of our policies. When we launched our website that was the big seller at first. The upshot is if you forget to call your insurance company before you go you can buy the insurance online and a lot of people do that.

“It’s totally tailor-made for yourself. You don’t have to take out medical if you don’t want too and it’s very inexpensive. It’s not going to to cost a lot of money but if you need the coverage you will be happy you have it.”

Q: What if I go away all the time? What are my options?

A: “There are two different policies. There is a short-term and we cover you once for particular days you are away. You have to have a minimum of $30 of coverage.

“Then there’s the annual travel insurance, which is helpful if you travel more than two or three times a year. For annual you might pay $45 for a full year of coverage. It might make it cheaper overall.

“We also have student travel insurance. It’s an annual policy and it’s for parents sending their kids away for school. Any of the belongings they have in their dorm rooms and all the items they own overseas, we will take care of that. And any trips back and forth from school for holidays.”

Q: Ok Mr. Hanwell you said most people buy the Baggage and Personal effects insurance. How does it work?

A: “First (if you lose a bag in transit) you need to see what you can get from the Airline and if they say nothing then you need to come back to see us. It also covers loss from a locked hotel room.”

However he added: “If you have a cell phones and other electronics we would want you to insure them on home insurance. Travel insurance is for personal belongings but not valuables.”

Q: What should I buy if I worry about getting sick before a big trip?

A: “Cancellation insurance. The main reason people get this is they have booked a $10,000 cruise. If you get sick a couple of days before most of that is non-refundable. You would get that back with the insurance. Also if you, someone you are traveling with or someone in your immediate family dies we will pay any non-refundable deposits.

“It also works if you need to extend the trip. i.e. you’re away and you get sick. They will cover the $150 change fee, for example.”

Q: How do I get my money back?

A: “Like with baggage we say go to the cruise line and see if you can et a refund and then we will pay back the rest.”

Make sure you're insured before you leave Bermuda.

Q: But let’s say Hurricane Fiona came this week and I can’t get off the island. Would you cover that?

A: “We do not cover if, for example, the hurricane comes on Saturday and you cannot leave on Saturday. So natural disasters, missed flights, or missed connections.

“If we started extending it it would become a lot more expensive. At the moment it is sickness and death. There’s an upper age limit too. Once you turn 76 they have to get a doctors not that they are fit to travel. Then we would extend the coverage to them.”

Q: What if you do not have major medical insurance and you’re worried about…getting sick in Bali, for example?

A: “The medical expenses travel insurance is a very small amount. We cover up to $5,000. It’s for emergencies. It’s really for people who have HIP insurance.

“Major medical will cover treatment abroad and HIP will not. Ninety percent of Bermuda doesn’t need this. If you have major medical you don’t need this. If you just have HIP, you can give yourself medical coverage overseas with this.”

Q: What else can I insure while I’m away?

A: “Accidental Death. We sell this in units of $10,000. If you were overseas and had a car accident and die we would pay your beneficiary up to the limit of the policy. For temporary disablement we will pay up to 104 weeks.

“It’s life insurance while you are overseas. If people have a life insurance policy maybe they don’t need this, but they will still take a unit out to cover funeral costs which are not covered under life insurance policies.”

Q: And how, most importantly, do I make sure I get my money back?

“Keep receipts from what you purchase. A lot of times we can get that stuff if we need to, but the things they can keep will make the claim easier.

“For the airlines you will have to file the claim through the airline and get back a no (and keep this denial letter). If there was a break-in you need a police report.”

And finally make sure you report back here next Monday for my Rock Fever Column about a company that gives its employees up to two months off to do…..whatever they want! And they get paid! Of course before then check back for daily updates.

Walking into trouble

Walking through rice paddies in Laos

I was with my California travel buddy; the one I met over a cooking course in Thailand. We decided over spring rolls that we would conquer Laos together. It turned-out to be a successful coupling.

Especially when we had to contend with knife-wielding youths.

Yes. A knife. We were innocently trying to walk from our B&B to some caves in Vang Vieng, Laos. This town is known for its drunken, tubing experience (i.e. bars along the river banks which are accessed via inflatable tubes), but it is also known for spectacular scenery as well as caves lodged in rice paddies.

Me and the California travel buddy decided after one day of tubing we were going to work-off the various buckets (a bucket filled with rum, cokes and red bulls) with a wander. We found ourselves lost and a six-year-old sitting in a tree yelling at us.

“You must pay. You want to go to the cave? You have to pay. Hey. You have to pay.”

We had been told to ignore the kids waiting by the caves. Why? Because they were running a scheme. So we did. We continued walking, found a dead-end and had to turn back.

Our heckler had found a knife by the time that we returned.

“You find the cave?”

We kept walking, which became speed-walking as I noticed him slapping his hand with a knife. We picked-up the pace and made it back to the main road and to our B&B.

We never did find caves, but that is not to say we didn’t find a way to exercise while abroad. Which leads me to my Rock Fever Column in The Royal Gazette today: Exercising Anywhere.

I offered some of my own advice, knife’s excluded, but I also conferred with Bermuda-based, personal fitness trainer, Jenille Devenson-Smith for back-up. With her own business, Heart Core, she regularly trains people without the use of gyms. In the National Stadium, the botanical gardens or other “free” spaces are her work-out stations.

Getting away from the mirrors offers her clients the chance to focus on themselves as well as offering exercises for those who may need to do them in imperfect positions – travelers.

What does she have to say? Here’s a quick Q&A from the expert herself:

1. For someone who travels often, do you have any tips for maintaining their exercise routine? Exercise and diet are a marriage. So when you travel and want to exercise don’t forget that in order to see the benefits of your exercise you need to eat properly. This does not mean “no cake” I am an advocate of cake, especially coconut cake with vanilla icing… But I am also and advocate of moderation. Allow yourself to indulge, but don’t allow yourself to fail. There is a difference. On vacation a lot of people just give up on eating right. Diet is a life long challenge. You are in control, even when you are not. So don’t forget, you are what you eat.

When you travel there are simple weightless exercises you can do. Squats, lunges, jumping jacks, push-ups, crunches and sit ups. I prefer to travel with a jump-rope as well. Jumping rope is a complete body workout that can burns a lot of calories. If you don’t have time do 10 min here , 10 min there, til you reach 30 min of cardio. Use the stairs in your hotel. Most people don’t use them, so you will find you have them all to yourself. A lot of hotels these days are also equipped with gyms, so you may jus commit  to a few gym visits while you are on vacation, and of course, walk, walk, walk.

2. Is there an easy and quick “maintenance” work-out that someone could do in their hotel room/hostel room? When you travel there are simple weightless exercises you can do. Squats, lunges, jumping jacks, push ups, crunches and sit ups. I prefer to travel with a jump-rope as well.

Eating on the road

3. I know that diet is also an important consideration when it comes to exercise. Do you have suggestions for those on the road to how to eat healthy?

Try to eat protein, while on vacation I try to eat clean, but I still indulge. Sometimes the fish I order may be breaded, or have a wonderful sauce on it. For me this is a luxury I allow those luxuries but pair it with a nice clean vegetable. Try to limit your carbohydrates to your daytime meals, ie breakfast and lunch. Then for your remaining meals chose protein and vegetables. Try not to go to sleep with a belly full of pasta or baked potato. Eat fresh, go to the grocery store, buy fresh fruits, veg and nuts to snack on. Keep them in the fridge in your hotel room. Just because you are on vacation does not mean you are not in control. Don’t forget to drink water. So many empty calories are consumed in beverages. Save the calories for something you really want to eat.

Don’t be afraid to customize your meal. If you are dining out, and you see something you want don’t be afraid to add and take away ingredients or dressings to make the meal acceptable. You are in control or your results.

4. What should we do at home? And why is it important to eat healthy for travel and other activities? Try a class when you are away. Sometimes it helps to be anonymous when u exercise.  It is a good way to meet people and gain confidence.

5. How would you encourage someone who, perhaps, has not been very active and wants to start working-out? Working out can be a little overwhelming for someone who has never done it before, or who is self-conscious. Gyms tend to be intimidating to a lot of people. Everyone in the gym seems to be advanced, experienced or even fearless. Intimidation can offset the average person and prevent them from achieving their goals. If you are not comfortable in a gym, go outside, away from the mirrors and away from the on-lookers and get fit. You don’t have to start at a high level, the main thing is just to begin. You must walk before you can run, so by all means, walk. Take long walks, short walks, fast walks, slow walks, walk upstairs, downstairs, up hill and down hill. Alternate, one day power walk, one day distance… Have fun with it. When you are comfortable jog a little, then jog a little more. Fitness and exercise should be a life long journey and in life you grow so be patient with yourself and allow yourself to grow. You can not run a marathon in a day. There are things you can do in everyday life to enhance your fitness level as well. For example, take the stairs instead of the elevator, ride a pedal bike to work, or walk to work avoid short cuts…

If you are entering the gym for the first time, it is so important that you know what you are doing or you could lose the battle before you begin. If you have never set foot in a gym before I highly recommend you hire a personal trainer for your fist few sessions. Just to make sure you do all the exercises properly and that you make the best use of your time. If you hire a trainer, don’t be afraid to speak up. You know your body better than anyone and you know how far you can push. Your relationship with your trainer will not work if you do not have open communication. It Is a team effort.

Workout DVDs are also a great start for those who wish to start working out. You can learn in the privacy of your own home. I would advise watching it all the way through before attempting. A good workout DVD will let you know the proper posture and position for each exercise to ensure that you do not injure yourself. Be sure to listen carefully to all instruction.

Running through the Valley of the Kings

6. Finally, why should exercise be part of our everyday activities? Exercise is like maintaining your car, you body is an amazing machine that requires daily maintenance. It does not have to be intense or grueling you just have to keep your body in motion. You know the saying if you don’t use it you lose it, well through simple excercise, and diet regularity you can keep your body healthy and humming. Eating well and staying fit helps fight diseases diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and as we age these are all things we must think about.

For your own training session don’t contact me. I’m no trainer. Try Jenille at heartcorefitness@gmail.com or 504-336 and get fit anywhere!

Travel with…..Baseball cards?

It’s Monday and time for another Rock Fever Column. Let me know what you think. Any of your own observations on fellow travelers?

With fellow travel buddies Oliver and Alexis in Singapore...a couple of friends who kept me sane.

“Not all those who wander are lost.” – JRR Tolkien

When the rooster begins crowing at 4 a.m., and the dogs outside your window start picking on each other and you haven’t gone to sleep until 2 a.m. because the electricity went out and you couldn’t breathe … you start to wonder … why am I here?

At least I did, multiple times, while travelling through 24 countries in 12 months. Did I regret my decision to do it? Never. But did I get tired? Yes. What did I do on nights like the one above? My iPod became my best friend. In Thailand/Laos/Cambodia or Vietnam – Enya was the only thing that kept my sanity. In the morning I would find myself alive and twisted in my headphone cords with no recollection of actually falling asleep. Ahhh Southeast Asia.

The other way I would keep my sanity? Travel buddies. These came in all varieties and for various lengths of the trip. Some were better friends than others and more often than not, encounters were brief. What I noticed after a while was that fellow backpackers became like baseball cards (sorry for the American reference, but until cricket and dare I say football get these cards … baseball it is).

First you get the stats. “So where are you from?”

“Bermuda.”

“No way. Like the Triangle. Is that real?”

“No. And the shorts. Yes we are little and no we are not in the Caribbean. We are closer to New York.”

“No way.”

“Yes, way.”

Finally it’s time to move on: “How long have you been in: Vietnam/ Cambodia/ Thailand, Laos?

Obviously the answer varied on the country asked about.

“Where are you going next? What do you do? How long are you travelling for?”

Funnily, unlike baseball cards, the least important thing was their names. I have been on a slow boat between Thailand and Laos for two days chatting with people whose names I only found out after sharing a hotel room with them.

If these stats worked and the answers were right the travellers joined my card collection.

Other travellers never made it into my hand. Why? Sometimes they were just not on the same page. Like the backpackers in Europe. These guys are newbies. They are Americans taking time after/during college to break away from home. Dressed in collared shirts and jeans, roughing it requires making your own dinner in the communal kitchen.

These disappear by the Middle East. No great surprise there. Backpackers here are lost souls trying to ensure the countries of media-created nightmares are not so. Their clothes start becoming more tattered. The caravan tourists? You know what I mean? The middle-aged-escaping-from-their-cubicles-to-tell-everyone-they-made-it-to-Jordan tourists. These have covered themselves in khaki and their heads enshrined in Indiana Jones’ hats. They have yet to find the Lost Ark. On the flight East, hair grows, it gets matted or completely shaved off and suddenly clothes don’t fit. In India backpackers swim in their pants or wear barely any at all. Their attempts to understand poverty this way is lost on those who actually do not have the money for clothes. As you get to Thailand the tank-tops fall off tattooed shoulders, or the dresses barely cover the pale British bum. The dreadlocks sit in the corner chatting to the locals and giving the evil eye to the drunk, barely clothed gap year students. Neither can be bothered to just enjoy the experience of each other and the new culture they find themselves in.

Travel they might be doing, but sometimes it’s middle school again with cliques in their corners. By South America it’s filled with the adventurous side of Americans who have raided their local Patagonia store before actually heading to Patagonia. The other travellers – from South American countries. What a change from Asia. Here the economies are strong enough for internal travel. Brazilians seem to do the most and will enjoy taunting you over coffee in the morning as to why you chose Chile rather than their country. Hint: There is no good answer just say you’re on your way!

Finally … Africa … I haven’t been. Well besides Egypt, but even Egyptians would argue they’re not “Africa”. That’s the next stop … maybe. I will let you know when I go. Have you been? Tell me about it in 500 words and photos! I’m looking for the next Bermuda Abroad story. Do you have to be Bermudian? NO! Do you have to travel? Yes! I want to hear your take on a country – it will inevitably have some Bermudian reference just by virtue of you having spent time in Bermuda.

So check out my website: www.robynswanderings.com for more travel tips and tales.

E-mail me at robynswanderings@gmail.com with your own.

Until next week when we: Battle Boston: 24 hours in this gritty town that manages to throw punches and peace for a weekend.