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Wednesday, April 12, 2006The Top 12 The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan and Bertram van Munster who along who co-produces the show with his wife Elise Doganieri share some words of wisdom on globe trotting. These two travel savvy men who have travelled the globe over many times have some travel tips, advice, warnings and much more in their top 12 travel tips. Everything from what type of backpack you should have slung over your backpack, to when it's okay to get mad when transportation isn't arriving on time, and when you just should just relax. These tips though I don't fully agree with all of them or the global outlook on Americans are well worth your time reading. The parts I especially enjoy is the solid advice on appreciating the world and melding with their culture. In the case of this article they are saying there is so much more to the world than the U.S. but for me it's Canada or you your country. Not to be afraid for foreign traveling you are fine as long as you carry common sense in your pocket and don't land in the most dangerous of countries. The host Phil Keoghan has spent time in over a hundred countries and Bertram van Munster countless as well. Him and his wife Elise Doganieri travel the race twice and sometimes thrice over to set everything up for the contestants. Safe travels!
 12 Travel Tips From The Amazing Race By Phil Keoghan 1. Face your fear. At 19, Keoghan nearly died when he was trapped inside a shipwreck off the coast of New Zealand during a deepwater dive. Once rescued, he wrote out a "life list" of adventures he wanted to have before he really did cross over and then got paid to do many of them as the go-anywhere, try-anything host of TV magazines Phil Keoghan's Adventure Crazy and Keoghan's Heroes (Keoghan rhymes with Hogan). "A recurring theme when people make their lists," he says, "is that they almost always put down things they've been afraid to try." Keoghan encourages everyone to make these a priority. "I can't tell you the number of times someone has done something they feared and then found themselves able to make other major life decisions," he says. It's corny, he admits, but it works. (For the record, Keoghan is claustrophobic, but he adds, "I've managed to push the fear back. It doesn't inhibit me." His therapy? Diving to one of the world's longest known underwater tunnels, Nohoch Nah Chich, under the Yucatan jungle.) 2. Don't panic. "When you're trying something you've never done before, most people find themselves really hyper about being in a situation that's out of control," says Joyce, who watched the show prior to appearing on it. "We learned not to get so excited about everything because there are going to be a lot of new things coming at you all the time." 3. Pack for one week. "Whether I'm going out for a week or several months, I only ever pack for a week," says Keoghan. "Because you don't want to be weighed down, and you can always wash up." 4. Have a plan before you clear customs. If you aren't sure where you're going, ask for information in the airport before you pass through security into the public waiting areas. And get the map. 5. Stick to backpacks, not messenger bags. "If you're going for anything longer than a weekend, make sure your bag has two shoulder straps," says Keoghan. "I find the [single-strap] shoulder bags just bugger your back." 6. Avoid checking bags. Or, if you can't get yourself down to one carry-on, keep your total number of bags to an absolute minimum. The more items you have, the more you have to keep track of, and the more you stand to lose. "It''s in the belly of the plane that things can start to go bad," van Munster warns. 7. Never share a taxi with a stranger (especially at the airport). In all his travels, van Munster has only been abducted once, in Calcutta, India, when, against his own better judgment, he got in a cab with a driver and "the owner" of the cab, who refused to surrender the backseat when asked. Turns out, "the owner" had told the driver that he was with van Munster''s crew and moments later hijacked the ride. Fortunately, a journalist friend had been looking out the back of his taxi, which was ahead of van Munster''s, and he noticed when the trailing cab disappeared. Van Munster was found by his team in a Calcutta slum two hours later, stripped to his briefs, but otherwise fine. (Corollary to #7: Don't have someone meet you at the airport with a sign bearing your name, van Munster says. You''ll be a target for hustlers.) 8. There is no simple, over-the-counter solution for jet lag. 9. Never wear shorts. At least, not if you're male and not if you leave the grounds of a resort, the trail, or the beach. "I recommend lightweight long pants," says van Munster. "They're protection against mosquitoes, fleas, dog bites, snakebites.... Many people take malaria drugs, but I don't. I just keep covered, and I blend in, because in most places adult men wear long pants." Also, avoid matching outfits. This verily screams "tourist." 10. Schedules are subject to interpretation."Go with the flow. In Zermatt, Switzerland, your train will depart at exactly 8:42 a.m. as noted, but in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, an 8 a.m. bus might, or might not, leave anytime before dinner. Adjust your outlook accordingly. 11. If you must, panhandle from fellow travelers. "Being far from home, [other travelers] can commiserate," says Joyce, who, along with Uchenna, was stranded without a dollar in Montego Bay, Jamaica, as a consequence of losing a leg of the race. The departures terminal or lounge may be your best bet: "If they\'re coming in to the country," Uchenna says, "they'll have a little more money, but they're more apt to hold on because it's got to last their whole trip. If they're on their way home, chances are they'll be a bit looser with it because they know they're not going to need it as much." 12. Always act the guest. If you're respectful of your foreign hosts and try to see things through their eyes, you'll most likely find that you'll be treated hospitably. "People may not like our foreign policy, but people everywhere like Americans," says van Munster. "There really is something of an American spirit, and people are drawn to it. You've got to have confidence in that, and, above all, know that the world is really a very safe place." Teague Neal blogged on 11:04 AM
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Teague Neal |
