Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Marathon Traveling





 here

Last week I took a taxi to a bullet train in Kyoto. Travelled by train from Kyoto to Tokyo and took a regional train from Tokyo to the airport (about an hour out).  I then flew overnight from Tokyo to LA, waited about 5 hours (just enough time for a shower and a nap) and took another red-eye to Philadelphia where I took an hour Lyft to the suburbs.  

It was a MARATHON even for someone like me who is almost more comfortable traveling than sitting still. 


I wanted to share the things that make times like this easier and actually manageable. 
Sometimes you don’t have a choice about how much travel you do in a short amount of time. Its totally possible and here’s how:

 

YOUR CHILL 
No matter how prepared you are it will not matter unless you are MENTALLY prepared for your journey and accept ahead of time that things WILL go wrong and that's ok. 
I got on the wrong train switching in Tokyo to go to the airport and had a woman yelling at me in Japanese. I was very flustered but did my best to communicate with her and she helped me find the next train. Keeping enough time to make a mistake (in if you don’t make one) is SO important- because what if you do?

EMERGENCY FUND
Speaking of mistakes sometimes they are not as simple or as inexpensive to fix than the helpful woman on the train. You may have read the post I wrote on when I booked the wrong plane tickets in Thailand and had to buy two first class tickets the day before the flight because that was all that was left and we had to get where we were going! This is SO important and will help you avoid turning into a puddle of tears on the floor of the airport like me. 


ESSENTIALS ONLY
I used to be in such a habit of packing absolutely everything I might want or need to wear! That might be fine for shorter trips but on longer ones you are going to wish you had packed as LITTLE as possible. I always stick with layering pieces like black T-shirts, shorts, leggings, things that will match with everything and you can swap around. Small accessories like jewelry totally change a look and are light on the go because my gear takes up SO much room. Also I buy the reusable toiletry bottles so I always have travel size everything!


WIFI & INTERNATIONAL CALLING
For emergencies and for just getting around wherever you are this is a MUST! Dan was smart enough to research beforehand that you could get a wifi block at the airport in Japan which was way cheaper than international wifi. This varies depending on where you are so research before; between mapping where we were going, translating, and posting that Instagram you will thank yourself later.

CHARGERS
I am fairly useless without my technology so being able to charge on the go is absolutely necessary. I have a Mophie case for my iPhone 6+ which hold THREE charges. If this fails (believe it or not sometimes I go through all of these charges). 

I also have a Mophie block which charges any of my devices. I even have a solar backpack by Birksun (who I AM partnered with but genuinely love) that has a solar panel which can get a full charge with 15 minutes in the sun that I can charge my devices off of! I also always carry an international converter when traveling. 

You can get one that fits all ports now rather than carrying all the extensions! I also love the 3 meter charging cord so I am not all wrapped up in 1000 cords. I can’t wait until everything charges via solar energy and pads! I have so many plugs and cords its half the weight in all my bags! 

APPS
I am not being sponsored or paid by any of these apps (I am more than willing to be so hey guys, hit me up!) but for now they are just what I can not live without while traveling:



Rome2Rio-This app lets you put in any location 
(including finding your current location) and anywhere you 
want to go and shows you all the ways (car, train, bus, uber, boat, camel, whatever) 
the time it will take and how much it will be to get there! 
It then links you to the mapping or ticket/scheduling you will need! 
What!? It is FREE and highly accurate in my experience so far! 






WorldMate- A lot of times I am not just booking one trip at a time 
or I have seal different modes of transportation I am taking to get to my destination. 
This app organizes me by listing all my flights/cars/hotels etc in one 
place by date and time. I can check in, check for delays, 
and keep everything straight in one place that is super easy to use. 
I just forward my reservation emails to the app! 
It has helped me so much because I am pretty much the least organized person. 


Kayak- This is just my personal favorite flight booking site. 
I find the app the least glitchy and easiest to use on the go.



Waze- Basically a SUPER smart version of Google maps or your GPS. 
It tells you the fastest route even takes side streets, sees other people using the app 
so you know what average speed all the roads have at any time, 
warns you about upcoming accidents, cops, camera lights etc! 
It is fascinating and really user friendly. 

Airbnb- I have had SO MANY amazing experiences with this it 
really deserves it own blog post. For quick purposes here it is 
my favorite way to find a place to stay super 
short notice for a reasonable rate. 



Lyft- I have had really terrible experiences on 
other ride sharing services (I can not talk about specifics at this time) 
but I really like Lyft for affordable car sharing and women drivers. 


So, that is all I have for you on the subject for now! 
I update you when I learn more useful tips! 
Thanks for reading! xox
H  

(cute sign from here)

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