Travel places And Tour Tips
Image: Susie B / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Just as you’d give your car a good checkup before a long journey, it’s smart to meet with your doctor before your trip. Get a general checkup and ask for advice on
maintaining your health on the road. Obtain recommended immunizations and discuss proper care for any preexisting medical conditions while traveling. Bring along a letter
from your doctor describing any special health problems and a copy of any pertinent prescriptions. If you have any heart concerns, pack a copy of a recent EKG.
Travel-medicine specialists: While I consider Europe as safe as the US, those traveling to more exotic destinations should consult a travel-medicine physician. Only these
specialists keep entirely up-to-date on health conditions for travelers around the world. Tell the doctor about every place you plan to visit and anyplace you may go. Then you
can have the flexibility to take that impulsive swing through Turkey or Morocco knowing that you’re prepared medically and have the required shots.
Ask the doctor about Havrix (a vaccine that protects against hepatitis A), Twinrix (protects against both hepatitis A and B), antidiarrheal medicines,
and any extra precautions. The Centers for Disease Control offers updated information on every country.
Use good judgment. Avoid unhealthy-looking restaurants. Meat should be well cooked and, in some places, avoided altogether. Have “well done” written on a piece of paper
in the local language and use it when ordering. Pre-prepared foods gather germs (a common cause of diarrhea). Outside of Europe, be especially cautious. When in serious
doubt, eat only thick-skinned fruit…peeled.
Keep clean. Wash your hands often (or use a hand sanitizer, such as Purell), keep your nails clean, and avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Practice safe sex. Sexually transmitted diseases are widespread. Obviously, the best way to prevent acquiring an STD is to avoid exposure.
Condoms (readily available at pharmacies and from rest-room vending machines) are fairly effective in preventing transmission. AIDS is also a risk,
especially among prostitutes.
Exercise. Physically, travel is great living — healthy food, lots of activity, fresh air, and all those stairs! If you’re a couch potato, try to get in shape
before your trip by taking long walks. To keep in shape, you may want to work out during your trip. Jogging, while not as widespread
in Europe as it is in the US, is not considered weird. Traveling joggers can enjoy Europe from a special perspective — at dawn. Swimmers will find that
Europe has plenty of good, inexpensive public swimming pools. Whatever your racket, if you want to badly enough, you’ll find ways to keep in practice
as you travel. Most big-city private tennis and swim clubs welcome foreign guests for a small fee, which is a good way to make friends as well as stay fit.
Get enough sleep. Know how much sleep you need to stay healthy (generally 7–8 hours per night).
If I go more than two nights with fewer than six hours’ sleep, I make it a priority to catch up — no matter how busy I am. Otherwise, I’m virtually guaranteed to get the sniffles.
Cable Beach Picture
Photographer: Alexis
Cable Beach in Broome, WA.
Image: Alexis / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
How to Enjoy a Bus Tour
Keep your guide happy. Independent-type tourists tend to threaten guides. Maintain your independence without alienating your guide. Don’t insist on individual
attention when the guide is hounded by countless others. Wait for a quiet moment to ask for advice or offer feedback. If a guide wants to, he can give his entire
group a lot of extras — but when he pouts, everyone loses. Your objective, which requires some artistry, is to keep the guide on your side without letting him take
advantage of you.
Spend time with locals who never deal with tourists. The only locals most tour groups encounter are hardened business people who know how to make money
off of tour groups. Going through Tuscany in a flock of 50 Americans following your tour guide’s umbrella, you’ll meet all the wrong Italians. Break away.
One summer night in Regensburg, I skipped out. While my tour was still piling off the bus, I enjoyed a beer — while overlooking the Danube and under
shooting stars — with the great-great-great-grandson of the astronomer Johannes Kepler
By Rick Steves
You can buy virtually anything you need in Europe. (You might not find “Sudafed”…but you can get the European equivalent.) But if you’re accustomed to a very
specific, name-brand medication, it’s easier to bring it from home.
It’s also handy to bring along the following:
Band-Aids
soap or alcohol preps (antiseptic Handi-Wipes or Purell-type hand sanitizer)
antibiotic cream (in Europe, you may need a prescription to buy skin ointments with antibiotics)
moleskin
tweezers
thermometer in a hard case
non-aspirin pain reliever
medication for colds and diarrhea
prescriptions and medications (in labeled, original containers)
Particularly if you’ll be hiking in isolated areas, bring a first-aid booklet, Ace bandage, space blanket, and tape and bandages.
Famous Indian Temple
Chamunda Mandir (Himachal)
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