1. Don’t Fight for Your Rights.

If you are overseas, you have no rights. It doesn’t matter what the overall laws are in a country, it all comes down to Valkimir and what he feels like doing. He can make up some random law and fine you for something totally bogus if he wants to. Sure you can complain about it, but have you ever tried explaining a legal issue in the government office of a foreign nation?

Let’s put it this way. What is your favorite sports team, or America’s Got Talent act? You love them right? If you saw them at a restaurant you would half-secretly take pictures and live tweet them drinking soup through their eyeballs; or throwing footballs or something less interesting. N

ow imagine the competition, who you loath, comes to you and says they are cheaters and the soup isn’t even real, nor are their eyes. Even if they said it with sincere tears and begged you to listen, your immediate reaction would be to punch that person straight in the throat, right? Why? Because they aren’t one of your people, they are the enemy. It’s the same in the corruption scene. A government official is going to defend Valkimir if only to enjoy the fact that they finally have the power over the imperialist dog who is forced to interact with them.

2. Get Their Name, and Smile

Getting and officer’s name is an extremely powerful tool for a couple of reasons. One, when you speak to them using their name, it makes you more human to them. Officers of the law may wear a uniform but they are still human beings. It is a lot easier to blackmail someone you don’t know or don’t like. If you address them by their name and smile, the chances they will go through with the scam drop dramatically. Half the time they will be so disarmed they will literally say something like, “Your brake light was flickering, but it looks fine now. Make sure you get that checked out,” and walk away.

Showing any anger at all is the fastest way to get the biggest fine they can come up with. They already don’t like you because your are a foreigner, and if you are from a developed nations they see a giant dollar sign behind the wheel. Cursing them out does nothing but make it more satisfying for them when they buy that new Folex watch.

    3. Have Local Police Contacts

No official wants to look bad, even in a totally corrupt nation. Why do you think some of the most evil dictators throughout history have gone through epic efforts to have propaganda created that makes them look amazing? Even in precincts where everyone knows everyone else is corrupt, they tend to act on a more don’t ask, don’t tell strategy. Before you go you should get the phone number to the local police, and names as well. If you are being busted on bogus claims, politely suggest that you are going to call Valkimir’s captain and do so if needed. An even stronger strategy would be to go straight to the police station as soon as you arrive in the country and meet the Captain personally, get his cell number. If you can do that corruption is unlikely to be an issue at all. Even if the captain is corrupt himself, he will almost certainly reprimand the officer ripping you off to make himself look good. Name dropping has great power!

4. Get Other Locals Involved.

This goes along with involving people at a higher rank. If you are in a public area, try involving a local or two if you can. They may not know what’s going on, but usually someone is willing to stand up for the foreigner being taken advantage of, and they can do it with far less risk than you. Also, locals, just like in the States, are more than happy to go to the news about it if they think they can get on TV. Officers know this and will usually change their tune and put away their wallet.

5. Don’t Pay the Bribes.

For many people this is a morally gray area. They don’t see any issues with paying bribes if it will get them out of the immediate predicament they find themselves in. There are huge problems with paying though. First, as you probably know it simply feeds into the corruption culture, making it more likely the guy behind you is going to get ripped off too. But beyond that, paying bribes often comes back to bite you. Once they know you will pay, they will often either make something else up to get more out of you, or they will call their buddy down the road and tip them off about you. There is also always the chance that they will get you to pay, and then arrest you for bribing an officer to show everyone how “anti-corruption” they are.

   6. Always Have Your Papers at Hand

I can’t stress this enough. When you are driving/walking around you need three things on the dashboard, or in a cup holder, or anywhere you can grab within two seconds. You need your passport (with a piece of tape on the page with your visa stamp so you can turn to it fast), driver’s license, and insurance papers for your vehicle. Those are the most common things you will be asked for.

Often you will get waved/pulled over by police simply because they are curious about what you are doing there. It is in the time they ask you for papers, and you are fumbling around in a panic that they start looking for ways to make money off of you. If you can immediately produce them with a smile like a pro, they lose that window and don’t have time to make up something to get you for without a creepy awkward silence. It isn’t full-proof, but it has been proven to work hundreds of times now. If you are driving and an officer at a check point is checking everyone, hold your license and passport out the window at them as you arrive, half the time Valkimir will just wave you on.

The post 6 Strategies for Dealing With Foreign Officials appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

10. American Airlines

In terms of price American Airlines is great. I know there are some shoe-string airlines out there that are cheaper, but American is a nicer, more experienced airline with low prices if you know where to look. I spend most of my time in Central America and my family is in Texas. I can get round trip flights from San Jose, Costa Rica to Houston on American for $350, which is the same as the other cheap airlines where you have to pay to breath.

American is at the bottom of my list because their staff have been pretty rude to me on several occasions and in general have not been very friendly. They usually smile and do their job, but they don’t seem to be enjoying themselves or actually like being around the passengers as some of the other airlines on this list. For me customer service is king.

About twelve years ago when I was newly married and working on my residence visa in Panama (where my wife is from) I had to return to Texas for papers and come back over the course of four days. When I was at the AA counter checking in for my return flight the woman at the counter asked to see my visa to Panama because I didn’t have a return ticket, which is a requirement to fly there. I explained that I was married to a Panamanian and was working on my residence visa, and showed her my paperwork as well as the dozen or so Panamanian immigration stamps in my passport to prove it. You can arrive in Panama and get a three month tourist visa without applying beforehand. She called the manager who was unnecessarily irate with me, and after having me explain the situation again he told me, “We will let you on board, but if you get stuck in immigration don’t come back to us for help.” 

I still fly American often, but I think the whole airline needs and attitude overhaul.

9. Frontier Airlines

Frontier Airlines is one of those hidden gems. They are mostly a U.S. regional airline based out of Colorado. Since most of my flights are international I don’t get to fly with them often, but when I get a chance I do. They don’t have the highest reviews if you check them out on Google, I don’t understand why personally. When I have flown with them the staff are always very nice, the planes are clean, and my flights have always been pleasant. Plus their prices are usually great!

8. Lufthansa

Lufthansa, the German Air Prince. Internationally I don’t fly with anyone as much as with them. They have great prices, really professional stewards and stewardesses who are always on top of their game. It may sound strange but I actually get pretty nervous when I fly, and no matter how much I do turbulence still freaks me out. Lufthansa is one of the airlines where they are so solid in their training that I feel very safe with the captains. Anyone who has flown a lot knows you can definitely tell the difference between experienced and non-experienced captains and crews. One of my most recent flights from two weeks ago, with an airline not on this list, I could swear the pilot was a drunk three year old. I have never felt that way with Lufthansa.

So why aren’t they at the top of my list? Because of a few people at the check-in counter, specifically at the Frankfurt airport. For whatever reason the Lufthansa staff at their own airport are some of the most high strung airline staff I’ve ever seen. Twice now I have been a witness to, though not involved in, shouting matches between the staff and passengers. I don’t know what they were about or who was the instigator, but the manager’s face was pretty red last time, which was on my layover two weeks ago. The passenger was yelling too so I can’t cut the counter staff down too much, but it still seemed overboard to me.

7. Pegasus Airlines

“We Didn’t Start Aviation In Turkey, But We Transformed It.” That is Pegasus’s company slogan, and boy are they right. If I made a list of my top favorite countries, which I might one day, Turkey would be in the top three hands down. I have spent a lot of time there, and have flown all over. Pegasus Airlines is a regional Turkish airline, so you aren’t likely to fly with them outside of Turkey unless they have added international flights by the time you read this. I have flown with a variety of domestic Turkish airlines, and the others have a tendency to be late and not give timely information in my experience. But Pegasus has always been great from the check in counter ’til landing. Like Frontier Airlines, their biggest negative is simply that they don’t have more routes.

6. Air Canada

O Canada. If you are from the States, especially the South, you may have laughed at the thought of what a Canadian gang fight must look like, or thought about ways to fake a Canadian heritage for citizenship there so you can adopt a baby seal. They are known for being the nicest nation on earth, that translates right into their flight crews. They are super friendly, seem to be happy that they get to travel for work, and genuinely like people. On my last flight with them from Toronto to Frankfurt there were three people vomiting on the plane and the crew was right there helping out, standing by the sickly ones, checking on them frequently and making sure they had everything they needed, and they seemed to really care. I was very impressed.

My negative with them is that their website is confusing for me, and when I called and asked questions about Global Entry, the person I spoke with didn’t know what Global Entry was and said they can’t help with anything that isn’t directly related to ticketing, and also couldn’t forward me to anyone who could help.

5. Copa

Copa Airlines is the Panamanian airline and goes to multiple locations throughout the Americas. They have great planes and the staff are usually pretty friendly. If you are flying around Panama it is hard to beat them. With international flights I have never had issues, but their domestic flights have been delayed without warning or explanation several times for me. But they are still the best for flights in this area!

4. Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines is surprisingly unknown in my circle of friends. I never hear anyone talk about them, but they are actually the third largest airline in the world by the amount of destinations they travel to. They are this sort of wonderful undercurrent. I have flown a lot with them, and will continue to do so. They always have very nice staff, they have a great system for check in where the lines are separated all the way down to whether or not you have check in bags or not. I know others do this too, but often times there are only lines for web-check in, first class, and economy, but many International flights don’t allow you to check in online, so even if you have no bags to check in you have to go through the huge economy line. They bypass that by allowing both, which is awesome!

3. Avianca

This Colombian airline is my absolute favorite for Latin America. They have such great service, clean planes, nice crews, and solid captains. My family flew from Panama to Chile and the flight was so smooth my three year old son slept through most of it, which is saying something. They don’t always have the cheapest prices, but sometimes you can snag a deal with some searching, when you do I highly recommend them.

2. United Airlines

This is my preferred airline. Yes yes, I know they’ve had some nasty scandals lately, as have several other airlines, but I have never seen that side of them personally and they have always been great to me. They are the only airline that has ever bumped me up for free, not first class, but economy plus which gave my long legs some wonderful extra room. They also go to pretty much all the locations I want to visit and they are friendly and professional.

1. Thai Smile

And finally my absolute favorite airline ever. Thai Smile is an airline based out of Thailand that pretty much just travels to the nations in that area like Cambodia, India, etc…. Wow are they impressive. When I have flown with them they give me a full on welcome box once we are in the air. I’m talking a sort of shoebox filled with goodies for the flight, and they still give snacks and drinks! The stewardesses have the most awesome looking uniforms as well, and are some of the friendliest staff you will ever see. They bowed to every row, were constantly attentive to us, and we a real joy to travel with. Whenever I am in that part of Asia they will always be my number one choice.

Honorable Mention: Southwest Airlines – I haven’t flown with Southwest personally, but I have consistently heard very positive things about them, and I know that they have incredible policies to benefit their staff in order to get the happiest flight experience for their passengers.

Do you have a favorite airline? Share in the comments!

The post My Top 10 Favorite Airlines appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

If you want to keep them both, take some advice:

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Look Confident No Matter What

I can not overstate the importance of this. Looking confident is your greatest single line of defense in foreign travel. Thieves thrive on disorientation. They specifically target the least threatening and most confused of tourists. Why? Because as scary as they are thieves are humans just like you, and are usually trying to survive in impossible conditions. They don’t want violence any more than you do. That one-toothed hobo is actually a mother of three, her strange attractiveness is working for her more than you think, and her tooth is gold.

Even if you are wandering the streets blindly lost, screaming in your mind, “I’m going to die! I’m going to die!” maintain a steely gaze of utter confidence. You will cut down your chances of being robbed drastically. If someone asks where you are going, point ahead and say, “That way, some friends are waiting for me,” and keep walking.

Front Pocket is Only Slightly Better

For some reason newbie tourists everywhere believe that if they merely shift their wallet from the back pocket to the front, it becomes kryptonite to the thieving hand. They imagine that once the thieves see their flat butt pockets, and a square bulge in the front, they will immediately fall to their knees, fists raised, screaming to the heavens, “How did they figure it out! Foiled again!”

Having lived sixteen years overseas at the time of writing this, many people have tried to rob me. Only a single time has it been successful, and that one time my belongings were in my front pocket. While placing your lootables in your front pocket does slightly raise the difficulty for them, thieves steal the same way a street magician removes your watch from your wrist without you noticing. He can even do it while standing right in front of you. It isn’t magic, its sensory distraction. Thieves, like magicians, will touch you in multiple locations on your body because while your brain is firing off signals that you are being touched, so many places are being stimulated, you don’t notice a grungy hand sliding into your pants and removing your whole life. It’s like getting tackled in football. You feel the whole tackle, not each individual point on your body.

The most common way of pick-pocketing someone, as shown in so many movies and tv shows, is to purposefully run into them and have quick hands. If anyone ever randomly runs into you, or if you are trying to board a bus or train and someone is shoving you from behind, chances are good they aren’t just being rude.

Pat the Nothing

I once heard a story of a notorious tourist town where signs dotted the streets warning people of a high number of thieves in the area. When tourists saw these signs, they would immediately pat the place where their wallet was hidden, and within minutes it was gone. The thieves themselves planted those signs, and let the tourists do the work for them by pointing out where the goods were.

Next time you are somewhere and you get that strange itch of eyes gazing at you from behind. Pat the area where you have nothing at all. A few minutes later when someone jostles you at the urinal, you’ll get some coveted human contact without losing your loot!

Carry Decoys

Sometimes things get ramped up to violent proportions. You can be gazing upon the beautiful statue of the man in a gloriously violent battle against a pack of babies in Oslo, Norway’s Frogner Park, when someone on a motorcycle rides up and sticks a Beretta in your face, demanding your Benjamins. Instead of being caught off guard and giving up all your money, a tried and true method is simple and effective.

When traveling abroad maintain a dummy wallet on you. Fill it with useless cards, maybe a picture or two of non-family members (enemies?) for realism, and top it off with a stack of ones to make it look full. You don’t want to put blank paper inside, because if the thief opens it and finds nothing but paper he will shoot you in the face. But if it is full of ones, and maybe a five, you can shrug and tell him it’s all you have. For your real wallet, I suggest something thin and easily hide-able like the Radix One Slim Wallet or similar.

Never Get in the Car

Do you know how many people get kidnapped every year overseas? A lot. That’s exactly how many. Do you know what happens when a guy drives up with that Beretta from before and tells you to get into his carpeted minivan, and you do it? Nobody ever hears from you again. If they do it is after you have been living in a jungle cage eating banana leaves and neon caterpillars for seven years while your family tries to raise the ransom money. You know what’s better than doing that? Running away from the guy with the Beretta! If they don’t shoot at you when they roll down the window, they don’t want you dead, they want money. The chances of them actually shooting at you are statistically slim because they don’t want to call attention to themselves. Even if they do shoot at you, even if the bullet hits you, I promise it’s better than what awaits you in that van, no matter how soft the carpet is.

Don’t Be Uppity

This may come as a shock, but other cultures are different from yours. People from developed nations tend to be colder, more independent, while people from developing nations would rather get buried in volcano ash than leave their families. They place the ultimate value of life on who is family or friend and who is not. Thieves in these nations don’t steal from family and friends, they steal from strangers, people they don’t care about.

If you come into a nation and are an uppity jerk because these people don’t have any manners. They didn’t serve you as fast as they do at your fancy Red Lobster, or didn’t smile at you at the cash register. Guess what? You just became a target. If you want to avoid being robbed, be nice, always. Even when they are rude to you, and discriminate against you because you are white (yes, it happens all the time), you smile, make a joke, cheer them up, make them feel like you care about them, like you are family. Families in developing nations are mafiaesque, meaning news travels fast and they all stick together. If dad thinks you are awesome, his twelve kids and their seventy grand kids will all think the same, and it multiplies to your benefit. The opposite is also true.

If you use these tips we hope you can always avoid being robbed as you enjoy your stay overseas.

The post 6 Ways to Not Get Robbed Overseas appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Here are several reasons why you need to visit Ephesus in your lifetime.

1. The History

When you are standing on the ancient stone streets of Ephesus surrounded by pillars carved by a diligent craftsman thousands of years ago, your breath can’t help but to catch. The broken pieces and ancient Greek writings are so full of mystery. Who wrote this, who made this symbol and why is there a lone foot carved into the street, and what hooligan did this act of what can only be a first century equivalent of a gang symbol spray painted onto a wall under a bridge (first evidence of the Foot Clan perhaps?).

I mean, Constantine the Great ruled here, it was the first Christian nation in the world (not the U.S. believe it or not), gladiators fought here, the “many-breasted Lady of Ephesus,” Artemis had a temple here (one of the Seven Wonders of the World … not the breasts, the temple), Alexander the Great conquered the city and was welcomed with great celebration, the Apostle Paul, and Timothy both lived in Ephesus. I could go on and on about so much more. All these things in this one place.

2. The Sights

When you go to Ephesus, you aren’t just standing in some ugly, overgrown location that once must have been amazing, but has since been so overgrown and untended you can only imagine what it must have been. No, when you visit Ephesus today you can still walk the same streets and imagine the Roman soldier marching through. You can still go sit in the incredible amphitheater that could seat 25,000 people, you can touch the ancient statues and walk through the narrow streets.

3. The Food

Dear Lord is the food in Ephesus (and all of Turkey) amazing. I would fly back there right now for one of those Yogurt Kabobs (pictured above), and that I am totally serious about. There is a restaurant right outside of the ruins of Ephesus that serves great food. Although I will say if you rented a vehicle you can drive twenty or thirty minutes to one of the may nearby towns and probably get the same thing for cheaper. That said, wow is it worth it. I’ve been to some countries where the sights are amazing but the food is something like a live tarantula wrapped in a starfish. Or jellied moose nose. Yes, that’s a real thing.

4. The Prices

Let me tell you something. You can go to all kinds of beautiful places in the world. But a trip to Israel is going to cost you up to $5,000 or more. I went on my two week trip to Turkey, saw all the sights, had great flights, stayed in nice placed (not five star hotels but not hostels either), for half that. Now, going with a full-on tour company will run you more, but my friend and I rented a car and drove from Kusadasa to Ephesus for about $40 (25 minutes), and then just paid our way in for 45 Turkish Lira (about $10 at that time), and spent pretty much the whole day there. If you go make sure you bring a bottle of water though, I didn’t because I thought I could buy water in the ruins, but it turns out all the shops are on the OUTSIDE and you have to leave to get them.

Aside from that we stayed in hotels with an average price of $30 ($15 per person). Food is cheap too. You can get a delicious pide for $3-$4.

Lastly, renting a car (our $40 car was overpriced, but we were in a hurry) or scooter is very reasonable in Turkey, and usually cheaper than taking taxis. For me, I didn’t know much of the language so buses were pretty terrifying because I had no idea when to get of or what to say TO get off, so renting a car was way more comfortable.

5. The Other Sights

Did I mention the main ruins of Ephesus are not the only amazing things to see in the Ephesus area? Oh, I didn’t? It’s a surprise bonus! That’s how I felt when I was driving away from Ephesus and saw a random little sign that said something about a “Grotto of the Seven Sleepers” and I suddenly realized there was MORE. We didn’t spend much time there, but from that little adventure not only did we learn that you can go visit that sight, but also St. John’s church nearby, and probably others I didn’t find out about.. To be honest I basically just got out of the car and asked about these places, but I now regret not going in. When I go next year I definitely will visit to a greater depth.

As you can clearly see, I absolutely loved my visit to Ephesus. I am already planning my trip back and am super excited about seeing more and exploring as much as I can. It is breath-taking for anyone. I would defy any human to go in and not be amazed by it. Only the too-cool teenager could even pretend not to be in fat-guy-in-Dairy-Queen-on-a-hot-summer’s-day glee in Ephesus. And I know, I was just in Dairy Queen yesterday and I was getting all kinds of looks.

The post 5 Reasons Why You Need to Visit Ephesus appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

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Most of all, you learn how incredibly mind-numbing it can be, and how cruel certain airlines are as well (not referring to Sun Express from the picture above, they were actually a delight). I am not a rich man, so I fly economy and I get the cheapest (meaning longest) flights possible. This means that to get to Turkey from Panama took me five flights total, one way, and almost all only had a one and a half hour layover, just long enough to get through customs in the different countries and get to boarding a sweaty mess. On all but one of these flights, only one had free in-flight entertainment. The others had the entertainment available, for about one million dollars from what I understand in the conversion of U.S. dollars to rubles or whatever other currency they were using on Obscure Airlines.

So, without further ado, here is a slew of things that helped me make it through these trips and pass the time while still maintaining a shred of dignity and the will to live.

Track Your Finances

Okay, okay, this may not sound that fun, but scanning in your receipts to your phone with a free scanner, and keeping track of what you spend particularly during the flight portion of your trip can be a good way to use up some time. Why? Because when you need to do a long journey again (as I will next month), you will have a much better idea of how much money to spend so you don’t need to survive on nothing but muffins and tap water like me. Seriously, two mid-sized muffins are what I bought: $12.

Bring Gum/Mints

I hate bad breath, and when you are flying you will be in close proximity with other people, most of whom don’t care at all about their mouth musk. Gum is actually better than mints in this case because mints often leave a weird aftertaste that eventually goes sour on you. Having this on a long flight will at least help you avoid self-consciousness when conversations start.

Cushion Time for Delays

My goodness is this important. It is our nature to want to arrive as fast as humanly possible, so we tend to plan for the shortest layovers. On a long trip with multiple planes involved, this can be disastrous. The amount of things that can cause delays, as two of my flights were (one had no fuel in it), can bring on so much more stress to your trip than is necessary. I recommend planning for at least three hour layovers as flights are often delayed for an hour while they refuel and clean, and it gives you time to go through customs if you are flying international without being a seething, stressed, hot mess the entire time.

Bring External Chargers

On smaller airlines, they don’t have outlets in their seats, and if they do they charge you just to look at them. Therefore, I bring two Poweradd Apollo 3s in my carry-on, each with the capacity to recharge my phone or tablet two times. That way I can load my devices up with movies and games, and not have to worry about conserving the battery. On my layovers I recharge both my device and external chargers.

Have All Important Articles Under Your Seat

This is particularly important if you are in the window or the cursed middle seat. You don’t want to have to get up every little bit and make your seatmates get up as well so you can get your Virtual Boy out (and then put it away because it’s terrible and you shouldn’t have spent that $1,000 on it). It also makes it easier when the custom forms come around. (Bonus tip: Carry extra pens. Because chances are someone next to you will be uncomfortably looming over you while you fill out your forms waiting to ask you for your pen. When you notice the looming, just offer an extra and save yourself the discomfort.)

Bring a Change of Clothes/Brush Your Teeth

Layovers can be brutal. You feel disgusting and often have to fight through every minute to stay awake so as to not miss your next flight. Changing your clothes, washing your face, and brushing your teeth can be wonderful in waking you up and getting you emotionally prepped for your next leg. Some airports, like Frankfurt, even have showers!

So Many Snacks

Not much to be said here. Long flights with little food means you should bring snacks, especially since snacks on flights cost about as much as snacks in the airport ($12 for two muffins people!). See our favorite travel snacks here. 

Pillow

I think neck pillows are ridiculous. I laugh and scoff at people who wear them so proudly as they saunter onto planes where they intend to sleep comfortably as my head dangles limply and painfully on my rolling neck. But I did join the unashamed ranks on these last flights, and my goodness are those travel nerds right. It makes a huge difference in comfort after about hour 10 of the expedition.

Forget About The Others

Let that mouth gape and that drool stream down your chin in a glorious, shimmering, unabashed river! They don’t care that they are filling the plane with human mustard gas. Get some sleep, who cares what they think!

Bring Dinner

On my flight to Turkey I brought a full foot-long teriyaki chicken sub from Subway. Stuffed it right in my carry-on. A teaspoon of scrambled eggs, a weird coconut cookie, and chicken food soup just isn’t going to fill me up on a nine hour flight. I didn’t regret for one minute scarfing down that glorious sub while watching my seatmates shrink before my very eyes from starvation.

Delays? Don’t Stress!

My last tip for you. If your flight is delayed, maybe you even know for sure you are going to miss the next one. Don’t stress out about it. I have not once had an airline say, “Too bad,” and make me buy another ticket. If the delay is their fault (and not because I was late), they have always changed my ticket, and if there are no flights until the next morning, they put me up in super nice hotels with free food. So it’s all good in the end!

Do you have tips for making long day of travel more comfortable? Tell us in the comments!

See our tips for beating airline luggage fees here.

The post 12 Tips For Surviving a 24+ Hour Flight (w/ Layovers) appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

1. Check the Travel and Visa Requirements

This is the only tip I am offering that doesn’t directly relate to the feelings of your child. This is for you, the parent, because many of us don’t know this. A lot of airlines and nations have different visa and travel requirements for children than for adults. For example, my children, even though they are U.S. and Panamanian Citizens, are not allowed to leave Panama without both my wife and I present at the border or flight. This is pretty common, but in Panama even if my wife and I are both present we have to have their original birth certificates (no copies) or Panamanian ids to leave the country with them. Make sure you do your research on this!

2. Don’t Force the Other Culture on Them

I see this a lot from new parents who move from the States or Europe to Panama. They are all excited to move here because it is this great new adventure, and the first thing they try to do is be part of the Latino culture (usually by purposefully arriving half an hour late for everything). All that is fine, the problem comes when they decide to force their children into the excitement they themselves have.

Their kids didn’t really want to move here. Even if they said they did it was only because they didn’t actually understand what that all meant. When they arrive here and realize there are very few kids who understand them when they talk, totally different food, and on top of that their parents have morphed into completely different people, they almost always want to go back home.

Parents make this so much worse by forcing their kids to go to language school right off the bat, or making them dress like the locals. Or because the parents decided they want a simpler life, they take away all of their kid’s electronics and tell them they can’t play on the Xbox anymore.

I’m not saying those are bad things, I’m just saying that by requiring your kids to do that, you usually have the opposite results. The kids are usually angry and bitter about moving, and just want to go home, and it makes life in the house miserable. That said, my advice is this; let them ease into it.

3. Don’t Cut Off Friendships in Your Homeland

Unless you moved overseas specifically to get away from their friends. There are plenty of people who do so to get their kids out of drugs or gangs or over zealous hockey teams (go Mighty Ducks!). Those are all legit and I fully support cutting off those bad friendships in that situation. But if that isn’t the case, your priority should be to get internet, or find the closest internet cafe, and let your kids have plenty of Skype or FaceTime contact with their friends in those first months. This will let the change be more gradual, they can still have fun with their friends back home, and in the natural course of things they will almost certainly make new friends in your new country and it won’t be so hard on them anymore.

4. Do Encourage Them to Make New Friends

Last point being made, your kids may be shy and not want to be around the new kids in the area. I’ve seen many kids who simply don’t like the new kids because they speak a different language and don’t understand their culture. They want to talk about Pokemon Go and the new Xbox, while the native kids are obsessed with Messi, Chuck Norris, and MacGyver. This is normal and you shouldn’t get mad at your kids about it. As they adjust to the new culture that will change. Also, in pretty much every country you would want to move to there are ex-pat communities, you can find forums for them all over the internet. And where there are ex-pats there are usually kids. Try to link up with them and bring some familiar culture and language to your kids.

I would warn you to be careful though. Just like you would be careful who your kids are friends with back home, do the same here. There is a tendency to think everyone who speaks English (or your home language) is your friend because they live in the same foreign country as you. It’s weird how that happens. Just remember that there are bad influences overseas like anywhere else. Also, most of America’s Most Wanted people live overseas in hiding and blend right in with the ex-pat communities, so don’t just trust anyone because they act like you.

4. Don’t Trash Talk Your Homeland

My goodness is this prevalent. Especially in people from the States. I meet people all the time, and I don’t even like to ask why they moved to Panama anymore. They almost never say, “I came down here on vacation, fell in love with the place, and decided to move here.” Nope, it’s almost always, “The U.S. is a poop chute and I wanted out! I hate that place and I’m never going back (except to collect the disability checks the “poop chute” gives me, unlike the vast majority of the world, that let me live overseas without any effort aside from pretending to be sick at my yearly exams).

Not only is this annoying to people who love their country, like myself, but it can have a nasty effect on your kids who don’t know all the bad stuff you do. All they know is they loved their friends and the food, and the movie theaters and Pizza Hut, and for some reason you are badmouthing it. It may seem innocent, but you would be surprised how much kids internalize that stuff, and eventually turn it on you.

      5. Do Your Best to Let Them Have Their Own Foods

This can be tough. Sometimes you simply don’t have access to the food your kids love. Most of South America doesn’t have pepperoni or peanut butter. When I lived in Argentina I remember the first time I took my son to get pizza. His favorite is pepperoni. I ordered and got a pizza with sliced hot dogs on it!

Food is a universal comfort, even for kids. If you have to pay a few dollars extra to buy some Rocky Road ice cream rather than a frozen pineapple slushy, do it. If you can’t find Rock Road, and your kids love it, learn to make it and do it with them. You would be surprised and how it can turn your kids around to get their home foods every once and a while.

6. Plenty of Family Time

If I could only give you one piece of advice, it would be this. When you move overseas, make a serious effort to spend time with your kids. It may sound like a cliché or an obvious suggestion, but the truth is, over and over again parents move to another country and end up all but forgetting their kids because they are having too much time living it up in the cheap new country. Your children need you, and if you want them to have a smooth transition and enjoy living in this new world you have brought them too, do things with them and make it fun. Have two or three game nights a week at first. Read books with them, watch Netflix, cook together, go out to eat together. Do these things and hopefully your relationship with your kids will bloom, and they will love their new home.

The post How to Make Moving Overseas Easier With Children – 6 Tips appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

As I write this, I am five days away from a two week trip to Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey. My first destination is Izmir, and to get there will be five, count-em, five flights over a period of 25 hours. To go on a trip like that requires not just a lot of logistical preparation, but mental. Here is a checklist I keep at the front of my brain any time I have to go through the travel gauntlet.

1. It’s Going to Hurt

I figured, why not just jump into the gritty part of it all. There will be pain. Just prepare yourself for it. If you are a dad like me with toddlers who can barely carry their own diapers, you haul it all on your back, luggage I mean. And I’m not talking about just us men either, my wife has carried enough baggage for our kids to leave bruise stripes on her shoulders.

I can already hear the more experienced travelers saying, “I give my kids a Zip-Lock bag, and anything they can fit in there they can take, otherwise it stays home! Why don’t you try that travel noob!” Yes yes yes. I get that. Thank you for your wisdom. Unfortunately nobody told me that the first time I traveled with my family. Just me, my wife and son, and thirteen bags for a two month trip. So this part of the article is more for Alan of the past and any future parents doomed to suffer the fabled “first family outing baggage”.

Related: what to pack in your toddler’s carry on bag

It isn’t just about baggage either. It’s about your wallet ($10 for an Egg McMuffin at the airport!). Your knees (Driving 5,000 miles starts to ache a tad). Your sleep (They are called red-eye flights for a reason). Your stomach ($1,200 later and a 15 hour flight and the airline meal is saltines, and a quarter of a sandwich with so little toppings you may as well just put it on a salad and pretend it’s a crouton, along with a thimble of Diet Coke).

2. Triple Check Your Checklist

Part of mental preparation is confidence and the peace of mind that comes with the wonderful checklist. If you don’t already have the app, Wunderlist is a great free one that can help. Don’t just check one time though. If you do that you will end up doubting yourself later on. I know I do, especially with things like travel money, passport, fake mullet, fake dog poo, the usual most important stuff. Knowing without a doubt you have everything with you can take a lot of the stress out of the trip.

3. Things Are Going to Go Wrong

Here’s the deal with this one. Things don’t always go wrong. As a matter of fact I have never had a bag go missing from a flight. I’ve never had my car break down on the highway in the middle of nowhere while the man with a hook for a hand is shuffling toward me in the moonlight. Overall my travel experiences have been great.

I have had my share of being delayed overnight (and put up in sweet hotels by the airline with free steak dinners), I’ve had souvenirs break and found myself vomiting into a clear plastic bag on a bus from San Jose, Costa Rica, to David, Panama, an eight hour ride, and oh so much more.

You know what though. You can ask the people who travel with me. Very rarely have I ever gotten upset or lost my temper. I’ve never yelled at anyone or shaken my fist at the heavens. The reason for that is because whenever I travel, I always go pre-prepared with an attitude that if anything goes wrong, it will work out in the end and I will be okay with it. If my flight gets delayed and I miss a meeting, unlike in the movies there is actually a good chance the person waiting on the other end will understand and reschedule. Unless I’m going to miss the birth of my child or something, there is no reason to get upset. There is nothing that can be done, and even if someone is to blame, I can’t change it so what good does it do to throw a fit over it?

Therefore, when you are going on your wonderful trip. Things will probably be fine, but in the case that you do have one of your bags sent to the Himalayas while you went to Jamaica, don’t let it get to you. Shrug your shoulders, laugh, and just think of it as something that will make a great story when it is all over.

4. Decide to Have a Good Attitude

This goes hand in hand with knowing things will go wrong. Let me make a suggestion. I know that our natural reaction to people making mistakes or being jerks to us is either, “I have my rights!” or “I’ll make that lady wish she never messed with me. She’ll be out of a job by the end of the week!” How about we go against the grain and make a decision to be friendly even when other people are not. I can’t tell you the hundreds, nay, thousands of times people have cut in front of me in line, cut me off in traffic, stolen my seat on an airplane and asked me if I “would mine switching because they need the window,” and countless other rude things people do.

I know they are thinking they have a right to this or that, and I’m just some faceless stranger they will never see again. The truth is though, I feel sorry for those people. Because rude travelers never really enjoy their travel experience. If you are one of those people I can already hear your remarks. “I do so enjoy it because I get what I want. Who cares about you? I paid for my seat, so I should get to sit at the window if I want to.”

I get that, I really do understand, I paid for my seat too, but people who have that kind of attitude never truly enjoy their travel because even though they get what they want, they do it with inner anger and bitterness, and a selfishness that is really just self destructive. I would much rather smile back with peace and happiness in me, let you have the window, and enjoy my flight rather than being defensive and causing a fight that is only going to make us all have a bad day.

So let me give you this challenge. Even if someone else is a jerk to you on your trip, try being nice back to them. Aside from simply being a better person and more respected for it (despite what the jerks want you to think), you actually will get much better customer service and usually better stuff for it.

I recently bought an iPhone on eBay and had some questions about it. At first the seller was a bit standoffish, but I was friendly in return and thanked him for taking the time to answer. In the end, he sent me an extra charger, several months of Apple care, the original box, and a case, none of which were included in the sale.

          5. It Will Be Worth It

Always keep your eyes on the prize. That is a great saying to keep in mind when you are on the road. You may be aching now, not be treated like you think you should be, spending $10 on an Egg McMuffin and have bruises on your shoulders, but it will be worth it when you get there. There is nothing quite like reaching the end of a long trip and getting to see the Grand Canyon or the Great Wall or the Grand Bazaar. It may be a long time coming, but it is all so worth it.

In closing, I love to travel, it’s something I’ll probably never stop doing but it pays to be prepared both mentally and physically.

How do YOU prepare for a trip? Share with us in the comments!

The post The Traveler’s Mental Checklist appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

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1. Try Multiple Web Sites

I chose this first because most people are going to know it already. However I know a couple of people who only use Orbitz.com or Expedia.com and miss out on some great deals. That said, I have used both of those sites dozens of times, so I’m certainly not saying to avoid them. However there are other fantastic sites I have bought tickets from like JustFly.com, Kayak.com, and AirGorilla.com (although AirGorilla will trick you by not telling you the taxes right off the bat). Currently my favorite has been SkyScanner.com. Their app is fantastic and if you sign up you can get price updates on your different flights. I personally have found them to be really nice when I am not in a rush to buy tickets. I can wait for a price drop and then purchase.

2. Consider a Frequent Flyer Program

Here is the deal with frequent flyer programs. They lock you in to certain airlines, which can be frustrating because they usually aren’t the cheapest. When you buy on a website like Orbitz.com, they will mix and match airlines to give you the cheapest airfare, which means you can’t maximize your miles unless you get lucky. However, if you stick with the airlines in your program, the extra you pay on a solid frequent flyer program pays off in the end. Just considering the amount of free flights you can get makes it worth it. A good friend of mine earned free flights to Australia and Hawaii in the past couple of years on the same program I use. That is easily $3,000 in savings. Always check the sites themselves like Virgin-atlantic.com before resorting to external ticketing prices!

I personally am part of the United Airlines (Star Alliance) program, I even (finally) got approved for the Chase United Explorer Card, which is one of the best things to ever happen to me in travel. With that card I have so many stinking perks it’s amazing. Double miles when I buy United tickets with it, priority boarding, use of the executive lounge twice a year (until I rack up enough miles to be Platinum or whatever it is called, then it’s more), and so on.

The other benefit to being part of some kind of program, is that if you need to change your flights or have something happen, even without paying the extra for insurance they will often change you no charge. If you buy from a discount web site, you end up with a situation I just went through just this very morning of writing this article. I bought the ticket, needed to change it, but because I bought through Expedia I can’t without basically buying and entirely new ticket. If I had bought directly from the airline, which is part of the Star Alliance, I could have changed it for free.

3. Take a Bus to Another Airport.

Most people dread the idea of taking a long bus ride, but on a budget it can mean the difference of being able to go on vacation or not. I live in Panama, and if my wife and kids and I decide to visit my family in Texas, flying out of our nearest airport, David, it costs the four of us over $2,000. However, if we hop on a bus and go six hours to San Jose, Costa Rica, which is what we always do, we can fly for about $1,300. With the extra money we can stay in a nice hotel (try something like booking.com to get a good rate!), eat great food, and still save $500.

4. Fly Into One City, Out Another.

If you plan on exploring the country you are visiting extensively, and it has multiple major airports, flying out of a different airport from where you arrived can be cheaper. For example if you fly into Hong Kong, and then travel by land through China to Beijing (to see the Great Wall of course!), you can often fly out of Beijing cheaper. Plus you save time and money by not having to travel all the way back to Hong Kong.

5. Flying in a Group, Use a Travel Agent.

I won’t spend much time on this, because is more commonly known. I only bring it up just in case you don’t know! If you are flying individually you can usually book your own flights easily and cheaply, but if you are in a large enough group going through a travel agent can often get you discounts.

6. Flying for Religious or Humanitarian Purposes?

Here is a little know fact! Did you know that there are many airlines that give great discounts to people flying for religious or humanitarian purposes? Not all of them do, and their policies vary widely and seem to change fairly often, probably because of people abusing them, but if you make a few calls, or talk to your travel agent and ask, you may be surprised at the deals you can get. You will be required to prove you are traveling for these purposes of course, usually through a letter from the NGO you will be with. However, if you find the right airline and have your paperwork in order, you might just build a long lasting relationship with that airline and have multiple cheap fares coming your way.

Have you found any ways to save on air travel? Share with us in the comments!

PS: after you save on your flights, check out how to pack your child’s carry on bag to keep them entertained the whole flight here:

The post How to save money on flights appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

For example, most people who come here to Panama and go to the tourist locations get so excited, and buy the “traditional” purses, hammocks, hats, ponchos, etc…. What they don’t know is that Panama doesn’t really have traditional versions of those things, not that people would want to buy anyway, nor do they mass produce them. Anyone who lives here knows the “authentic Panamanian” souvenirs are actually brought in from Ecuador or Peru, because those cultures are more colorful, and people want to buy soft, prism-colored cotton hammocks rather than scratchy white nylon twine creations like the locals make. Also, I’ve never even seen a Panamanian wear a poncho especially not like the ones tourists buy.

That said, I know full well when you go to a touristy place it is going to be beautiful, nice, double the price of anywhere else in the nation, but also generally a bubble of safety. But you don’t get to really see the culture you paid all that money to get to.

In my recent trip to Colombia to meet with Wiwa people, I spent a couple of days in a little town called Valledupar and the even smaller town next to it named San Diego. To be honest I didn’t expect to take any time to enjoy the experience. I planned to get off the bus, go to sleep, and head out, but things took a pretty dramatic shift.

When we arrived at our host home, things started as usual. Greetings, hand shaking, introductions and so on. The hosts were so friendly and welcoming, one of those families that is there to show you how much they love you, and you have no real way to repay them for the kindness. However, this time there was a way!

After a couple of hours of chatting the lady of the house told us there was a man dying of AIDs on the other side of town and they wanted us to visit him before his time. Myself and the three others in my group decided to go visit the family and some some time with the man and his family members.

Sparing you all the details of the visit, let’s just say it was hard. AIDs is a horrible, horrible disease and what it does to the human body is beyond what you can imagine. The man died an hour and a half after our visit.

Some good did come from the experience though. In such a small town like San Diego word got out quick about our visit to the sick man, and we became one of them. That town had something unique that I absolutely loved, and it made me want to move there. I haven’t seen a town like this before, but it had a quality you imagine small towns have. I’ve been to lots of rural zones, and they aren’t the Mayberry we all think they are, but San Diego and Valledupar truly are.

If you want through San Diego at night, like I did, there are people everywhere. And they aren’t just going on with their own lives without a thought for anyone else, they are all gathered in clusters out on their porches gossiping or playing cards or dominoes. Not just a random group here and there, every street, every couple of houses, people are shouting back and forth, laughing, listening to music, and carrying on as if the whole town is one big family (and in a place that rural a lot of them probably are!).

Some of our group decided to play basketball one of the nights we were there, and over a hundred people gathered around to watch the game!

These two towns, especially San Diego have to be the friendliest towns I’ve ever been in. Unlike Cartagena, I never once felt like I could be in any danger. As a matter of fact, I felt so welcomed by the town that I thought if anyone did try to rob me, the town folk would step up on my behalf and stop it.

Aside from the incredible atmosphere, there are amazing statues full of stories and legends. One statue you can see in the image above is a massive golden mermaid overlooking a popular river. The last weekend was there, hundreds of people were swimming together below it. The place is packed with oodles of beautiful scenery, mountains and rivers and more. It’s a paradise for people who like nature and history.

Lastly is the food. There are several unique meals you can have in Valledupar, although I can’t say everyone would approve or enjoy them, I myself couldn’t stay away. One of the most delicious meals I tried was chicken and rice. Big deal, you say? Have you ever tried chicken and rice cooked in Coca Cola rather than water? It sounds weird, I thought so too, but wow was it delicious. I also ate iguana there, which isn’t unique to the area, but it was the first time I have ever seen iguana being sold from a food cart like hot dogs in New York.

If you find yourself heading to northern Colombia or want to try somewhere off the beaten path, I would highly recommend making a trip out to Valledupar and San Diego. Although I do have to add a disclaimer to the whole visit; make sure you check for any travel warnings in that area. Valledupar has had a history (although it has been at peace for a few years) of rebel incursions and violence. You don’t want to get caught in any of that, so make sure it is safe before you go into the area. It will be well worth the visit!

The post Valledupar and San Diego: Colombia’s Hidden Gems appeared first on Traveling Family Blog.

Do you remember that time your baby seal skin suitcase was “misplaced” at DFW Airport? Your grandma painstakingly sewed it with her own arthritic fingers from your childhood pets after that mining accident in Northern Alaska. Sure it was sad, but you would never be without Shirley and Buzz again. Until the airline lost them. You called and called, but since you never bothered to fill out that little ticket with your name and address, and there are so many other baby seal suitcases just like it (thus Grandma’s arthritis), you never got it back.

This real life situation happens all day every day to people throughout the U.S.. Airlines can’t keep up with all of it, so they give 90 days for you to magically find your luggage before they shrug their shoulders and chunk it onto a huge pile in the back of a trailer. It all goes to Scottsboro, Al.

The Unclaimed Baggage Center purchases these bags, sorts through the mountains of it, cleans it up, and then resells it at what looks like an upscale thrift store. What kind of things are for sale there, what kind of deals? You remember that 60k Rolex watch you casually lost from your pile of other Rolex watches? Someone else bought it for half that at The Unclaimed Baggage Center. The $300 North Face backpack containing your Rolex, same deal. What ever happened to that full suit of armor you had in the carry-on they forced you to check at the gate? Also at the land of the lost luggage.

Over 4,000 new items come into the center every day, adding to the already 100,000 plus items in stock at any given time. The glorious flow of traveler’s tears continually provides you with fresh things to scoop up before the owners come alookin’. There is plenty of space for spelunking in the massive 40,000 square foot facility. It covers a full city block!

The store also has a tradition it has held for many years now, a treat for its customers if you will. Every business day at 2:30 pm, a random customer is chosen for the honor of opening a piece of luggage and gazing upon the treasure inside. It isn’t a total surprise of course, the luggage is cleaned and reviewed before you open it. This is a family friendly store. They don’t want a bottle of bubonic plague exploding on you like a facehugger from Alien.

How did this happen, you ask? Who was brilliant (evil genius?) enough to come up with the idea of turning one traveler’s woes into another traveler’s treasure? Doyle Owens, that’s who. He had the idea all the way back in the ancient days before internet. In 1970 he took out a $300 loan and bought a load of unclaimed baggage from a local airport and resold the items. It was a hit, so he slowly began building relationships with airlines all over America, building his truly unique business.

While The Unclaimed Baggage Center isn’t the most famous of stores, it manages to attract over a million visitors each year. Speaking to those who have been there, and reading through reviews and stories is a gauntlet of amazing finds. Some say it isn’t well balanced, that there are some overpriced items within, but many more tell of amazing deals. Most jewelry is appraised and sold around 50% of its original value. There is unique clothing galore, strange items, electronics, and so much more. If anything it is amazing to wander through and imagine what kind of person would try to travel with that?

If you happen to be in Scottsboro and need a new diamond tennis bracelet, or some sweet African tribal masks for your Ebay store, swing by The Unclaimed Baggage Center. Whether you end up finding your baby seal skin suitcase or not (grandma can make another), it is a memorable experience that you will talk about for years!

If you’re not able to go today, they have a pretty entertaining Instagram account with photos of the coolest finds! You can follow them here.

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