My Worst Vacation!
Travel Tips
I have worked in the insurance business for the last 13 years. Travel Insurance is a must for anyone planning a long vacation (i.e. more than a week) months or years in advance, especially honeymooners. There is always the chance your travel agent will go out of business leaving you with no vacation plans and a loss the money you paid them for the arrangements. Travel insurance can help reimburse some of the loss. Also, once you are on vacation travel insurance can help you with things like lost luggage, botched flight and hotel arrangements, and injury or theft that occurs during the trip. The properly insured traveler will find a helping hand is on their side when the best vacation turn into My Worst Vacation!
The one caveat to the above is to always, ALWAYS, always read your policy and become familiar with any coverage exclusions well before you set sail. Often times, if your policy excludes coverage for something you think you might need you can negotiate with the insurance company to remove the exclusion. Or if your plans aren't set it stone and you think some situation might cause them to fall through, you can provide for these contingencies also through negotiation with the insurance carrier. BON VOYAGE!
Ultimate Fishing Tip #2: Don't sleep in the galley. I was sick as a dog on my trip and you know what I did? I stood outside with my fishing pole in hand and puked over the side of the boat. You might think it's miserable but you'll recover after a few heaves and some beers. If you sleep in the galley, you'll miss the whole trip, feel worse, and will secure your destiny of having a truly bad vacation experience. Endure a couple sick hours and you'll feel great the rest of the trip, and you'll probably even catch fish! Those who retire in shame to the galley or their bunk miss the fish, miss the vacation, and miss the fun.
There's nothing like a group of lifetime guy friends fishing for albacore tuna on the open waters of Baja. Here's the scenario. Six lifelong friends, now married with kids with seldom recreation, hit the high seas out of a place like H&M landing in San Diego, CA for an overnight fishing trip which starts with the most relaxing a fun part of the trip, beers on the boat at 9 p.m. when you leave port.
After 2 to 3 hours of partying while pushing off to sea and talking about what tackle we're using, you slumber for a few hours to the hum of the boat's motors in a slim bunk, which is surprisingly bearable because the beers have kicked in.
You wake up to a spectacular site of flying fish skimming across the water at 5 a.m. whie you bait your first minnow and start tuna fishin'! It all makes for a weekend you'll remember for a lifetime. But you don't want to spend the trip heaving chunks over the side. Here are some tips to help you avoid MY WORST VACATION!
Tip #1: Take it easy on the brewskis the night before. While this might seem like an easy task, when the boys get going there's no stopping. Just remember you'll be drinking the whole day fishing so have a few the night before but don't go crazy. You and your tummy will thank you.
Philippino Faux Pas - A Guide to Tasting International Foods
I love nothing more than sampling the international cuisine of the latest exotic country. However, there is something to be said for being smart about what you taste. I always like to "fit in" with the locals and prove that I can eat anything the locals eat. Once, this backfired on me when I ate Balut in the Philippines, in a very big way! Here's a picture to give you some perspective.
This delicacy is a half developed baby chicken fermented inside the egg while buried underground for some amount of time. Natives eat this like Americans eat beef jerky or Ritz crackers. My pride got the better of me and I spent three days heaving into a toilet after I proved I could eat one of these. My point, your body can't immediately adjust to drastic changes in your diet. So be kind to yourself. Be adventurous and try new things. But don't let your "Machismo" get the best of you. Know what your body can and cannot handle. Otherwise, your dream paradise just might turn into your "Worst Vacation Ever!"