Barbara Weibel of Hole in the Donut shared with us some of her favorite travel tips she utilized on her career break – and we want to pass them on to you!

BEING CULTURAL RESPECTFUL
[singlepic=1431,250,,,right]It’s very important to understand the culture and etiquette of a country you are traveling to so that you can be respectful to the people you may encounter.

Travel guides are a great source for this information, but during her six-month trip, Barbara didn’t want to have to drag these heavy books with her. Instead, she visited sites like Wikipedia (type in “Culture of [insert country]”) and Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree Forum to find this information.

Then, she uploaded text files to her iPod for reference. When she was getting ready to enter a new country, she could easily read up on their customs and etiquette to avoid doing anything that might be offensive.

TRAVEL SAFETY SECURITY KIT

As a woman traveling solo, Barbara packed a few items that made her feel a bit more secure on the road; common sense being the first and most important one. Other items in Barbara’s “Security Kit” included:

• [singlepic=1433,200,,,right]A small padlock for lockers at hostels or train stations. She also packed a cable in order to lock her suitcase to the upper rack of buses or trains. This prevented her bags from being “snatched and grabbed”.
• Rubber door stop – when shoved into the door from the inside, the stop prevents others from breaking into your room.

Other useful security measures Barbara utilized included:

• Scan everything (credit cards, passport, drivers license, tickets) before leaving home and upload them to your webmail. This way you always have copies available to you.
• [singlepic=1434,150,,,right]When checking into a hotel or hostel, be sure to pick up a business card. It is easy to get lost in a new destination, but this easy tip insures you can find your way “home”.
• Barbara also used Journeywoman, an online travel resource just for woman, to find local guides.

BARBARA SAYS:
Don’t leave home without a flashlight! She says “it’s amazing how often that comes in handy.” We couldn’t agree more! Read about why we love headlamps.

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