The Travel Independently Blog

Few things strike the first time traveler to Asia as more anxiety provoking than bargaining. If I offer a price that is too low will I insult the seller? If I pay too much will the seller think I’m a dumb tourist? Everything seems so cheap anyway, shouldn’t I just pay what is asked?

First of all, it helps to have a context for bargaining. In cultures where bargaining is done, it is a part of the social discourse. It is expected that you’ll bid back and forth and come to a mutually agreeable price. Think of bargaining as similar to other scripted social interactions. “How are you?” “ I’m fine, and you?”

Start low so you have room to trade bids when the vendor comes back with a higher bid. Don’t start with the price you want to pay.

Remember that when it gets down to the final bids, you are likely talking about a few cents. Don’t bargain as if your life depended on getting the lowest possible price. Bargain with a smile. Be pleasant even when you are saying, “that’s too much.” Remember that you both want the same thing, the seller wants to sell you something at a price you’ll both be pleased with, you want to buy something at a price you’ll both be pleased with.

What Should I Start With?

So how much less than the starting price should my first offer be? There is no hard and fast rule. Sometimes you should offer as low as 10% of the asking price; sometimes you’ll be lucky to get 10% off the asking price. It helps to have some idea of what the item is worth. If you’ve wandered around a bit, you’ll have an idea of what other sellers are asking for the item. If you’ve been to a store with fixed prices and have seen an item, you’ll have a better idea of what it is worth.

If you are really nervous about bargaining, you can always simply ask if you can get a discount or if the seller will give you a “special price.” The seller will almost always offer you a lower price, which you can then either accept or can make a slightly lower bid. You won’t get a rock-bottom price doing this, but it can be a way to start learning how to bargain.

You can ask the price of anything with no obligation to buy, but once you start bargaining, you are obligated to buy the item if you and the seller come to a mutually agreeable price.

The first sale of the day is considered good luck, so sometimes sellers are willing to come down farther in price for that sale. After you pay, the seller may touch all of the items in the stall with the money you paid. I always enjoy this little ritual and laugh with the seller about the sale being good luck.

Always Know You Can Say No

When you are bargaining for an expensive item and you can’t come to an agreement, it is ok to say no thank you and walk away. Sometimes that will inspire the seller to come after you and offer a lower price, sometimes not. But you can always return later and resume your bargaining.

There is no need for a common spoken language to bargain. I’ve often bargained for items with a calculator passed between us. Perhaps the most important currency in bargaining is goodwill and a smile.

Technorati Tags: independent travel bargaining, se asia bargaining, tourist bargaining, travel bargaining

No, this isn’t a reminiscence about viewing Van Gogh’s painting at MoMA, it’s a memory of stars.

As a city person, seeing the starts is very special. There is so much ambient light that when I look in the night sky, I am lucky to be able to pick out a few constellations.

When I was a child we used to go to a place way out in the country in upstate New York. My father took me out into an open field, to show me the Milky Way. I was amazed at how many stars there were spilling out in all their splendor across the night sky. What a revelation it was – to see something that is always there but seldom seen.

The times when I’ve seen the Milky Way as an adult have been too few and far between. But I have some favorite travel memories of the stars.

In Morocco, we stayed at a tiny oasis in the desert. I walked outside at night and away from a bright light they had as a marker for travelers and I could see the stars in the velvety sky… the Milky Way spread out before me.

I have a memory of flying into Tahiti after midnight. We took a ramshackle taxi to our hotel. I remember how grubby the cab was… the windows were greasy, but I could see lights. It took me a while to realize that the lights I was seeing were stars in the Milky Way! The view out the taxi window was straight into the middle of the galaxy. One night, we went out onto our dark balcony and drank champagne to the stars in honor of Dom Perignon’s description of champagne: “It’s like drinking stars!”

The most recent view I had of the Milky was from the beach in Kauai. I was taken by surprise by the stars… what a treat to see the Milky Way again! It was like a surprise visit from an old friend.

Technorati Tags: light pollution, milky way morocco, milky way tahiti, milky way traveling, travel memories starry skies

I’ve been wearing the same pair of flip flops for the past 4 years because I haven’t been able to find any to replace them. When I go into any of the local shoe stores, they never have what I’m looking for. I’ve even searched the web and come up short. So, I was pretty excited when I found these.

The flip flops I’ve been wearing all this time are Teva’s and they are just basic black that go with anything and are comfortable enough to walk a fair distance in. Since buying these it seems like all I can find are sissy women’s flowery flip flops without the same durability as I’ve had with these.

Since these flip flops have definitely seen better days, I had to find a pair to replace them. Thankfully, I found these flip flops from Merrell. Since I’ve been wearing Merrell’s for years I really trust this brand and thankfully they make a flip flop (or thong as they prefer to call it) for women that are sturdy and functional. For men, I found a nice pair of Montrail flip flops, another brand I own and trust. And for a nicer pair to wear to the restaurant at night, I found these wonderful Keen flip flops. I’m ready for Honolulu now!

Technorati Tags: flip flop women, North Face Base Camp flip flops, travel flip flops, travel sandals

Some of the most spectacular sights worldwide are religious buildings, shrines, or sculptures. Think of the spectacular cathedrals of Europe, the Temples at Angkor, the Buddhist wats in Thailand, Laos and Burma, the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples of India, the mosques of Morocco or Turkey. Everyone wants to get a beautiful shot of the sun rising or setting over a temple or a tiny exquisite detail of a sculpture or fresco. Most religious sites allow photography, though some places don’t allow flash photography, as it interferes with others’ experience of the site. Some don’t allow tripods, particularly if the site gets very crowded.

While cultural sensitivity is always important, special sensitivity is required at religious sites. Here are some ways to be a welcome photographer at religious sites:

Show respect for the site. Follow the traditional signs of respect, covering shoulders or your head, or taking off your shoes before entering temples or shrines. While you will want to read about these customs ahead of time, guidelines are generally posted at much-visited places. Photographing people making merit, praying, meditating, making offerings should be done carefully so as not to disrupt their experience.

Don’t raise your voice, don’t climb on things not meant for climbing (that is, anything but stairs). Don’t touch the surface of paintings, frescoes or statuary as they can be damaged by exposure to the oils on your skin. Don’t try to brush moss or lichen from the surface of stones, as you will damage the stone.

Don’t pose people with religious statuary. I’ve seen people who I thought were otherwise culturally sensitive posing with, say Hindu statues, trying to mimic the poses. Imagine what they would think of a tourist standing on an altar in a European cathedral mimicking the pose of Christ on the cross!

When we visited Sri Lanka in 2007, I had read that they no longer allowed photography in the Dambulla Cave Temples. There was an incident several years ago when a Japanese tourist had her photo taken sitting on the lap of one of the Buddha statues. As a result, they stopped photography for a time, and they re-consecrated and repainted the Buddha statue that was desecrated. They now allow photography (including flash and including using a tripod) but the signs say that you cannot take photos of people, only photos of the paintings and sculpture. I think that’s a good guideline in general at religious sites.

After all these “don’ts” there are plenty of “do’s.” Do have a great time visiting Buddhist sites and taking pictures. It’s really easy not to break any of these rules and maintain a respectful presence while taking pictures and enjoying the rich artistic and cultural offerings.

And, if you like, have some fun checking out the many wonderful photos of religious sites in Southeast Asia at Cheryl’s SE Asia Travel Photos.

Technorati Tags: buddhist sites photography, religious sites photography

So, you want to check your email and your bank accounts while you’re traveling but is it safe to do that? It is if you plan ahead and bring along the right tools.

Your Own Laptop – Best Solution

Having your own laptop with a personal VPN and your firewall turned on is by far the safest way to go. This is true for both Windows and Mac. I’m more familiar with Windows, both XP and Vista have a personal firewall that you should always have turned on when you are using it on an unsecured network to prevent others from coming in a using your laptop as a launching pad for such unsavory things as pornography, spamming or spreading viruses.

Personal VPN software

The personal VPN software I recommend is from Witopia. It currently runs 39.99/year which is very cheap for what it does. It’s very simple to use and quite dependable. You install it on your laptop and every time you are on an unsecured wireless connection, you double click on it and it creates the VPN tunnel within about 30 seconds. Actually, you can use it any time you turn on your laptop, even at home, and your IP will continually be different. If you don’t understand what an IP is, don’t worry! I initially purchased Witopia when I started spending more time working in coffee shops around Seattle. I now need not worry about someone in the area “sniffing” my network connections in plain text.

Many more reasons to install a personal VPN are explained here at the Witopia site. Witopia – Reasons to Install a Personal VPN

Here’s the one you’re most interested in while traveling, so I’m quoting it here:

“You use Wi-Fi Hotspots.

Although most don’t realize it, Wi-Fi Hotspots, whether paid or free, are horrifically insecure. You are literally broadcasting all of your data “in the clear” with typically no security whatsoever. This can include your e-mail, IM messages, web searches, and any other data sent or received over the wireless network.

It is shockingly easy for anyone to “sniff” and capture your data without your knowledge. Due to the ease of the crime, and the fact Wi-Fi Hotspots are typically frequented by folks with a little change in their pocket, a Wi-Fi Hotspot is a tantalizing place for bad guys to lurk.

One common tactic is something called the “evil twin” attack where the evildoer sets up a laptop as a seemingly legitimate Wi-Fi Hotspot. You connect to the Internet through “FREE Airport Wi-Fi” — or anything the bad guy wishes to name it — and although all seems fine you are actually sending all of your data through a hacker’s laptop.

Honestly, we’re not sure how often this happens, and it may even be pretty rare. Nevertheless, with data crimes, it usually only takes once to cause some pretty serious havoc in your life.

With WiTopia VPN service you could even connect through the hacker’s laptop and all they would be able to capture is a lot of encrypted gibberish they will never be able to crack.”

Public Computers

When you decide to use a public computer, even a computer at your hotel that you assume is safe, you’re taking a huge, repeat, HUGE risk. Even using an https address will not protect you from spyware and key logging programs or hardware. Always be very aware that when you choose to use a public computer, be it at the hotel or at an internet café, you are taking a huge risk of getting your passwords stolen if you type them in manually.

Bottom line, when you use a public computer, you should not log onto your bank accounts unless you are using some kind of password autofill program. Read more password autofill options below.

Password Autofill Software

I recommend password manager I use at home is RoboForm. For use while traveling, I’ve purchased Roboform2Go, which is a $20 add-on to the Roboform software. This will will provide you with everything you need to access your passwords securely while traveling using a USB drive. Be sure to purchase a U3 Smart USB drive, they have security built in. Bottom line, Roboform costs a relatively small amount for what it offers and I’ve gotten to where I can’t live without it now. It also does form filling for you.

If you’re looking for something free but not quite as robust as Roboform, check out Lastpass. It’s very simple software to use. All of your passwords are stored at LastPass (they use very secure 256 AES encryption). When you’re using an untrusted computer, you’ll log onto Lastpass using a one time password that you generated before you left (be sure to do this or you’ll be out of luck). Get this service before you leave, be sure to store all of your passwords that you’ll use on the road on it and then create about 50 one time passwords (or however many you think you’ll need to gain access to your password vault while on the road).

Other Opinions About Using Hotel or Other Non-Secured Computers

Quoted from CNET PCMag Article

“But really, you should do your best to avoid using nonsecure computers. Even if you keep a key¬logger from snagging your password, it might still take screenshots of key financial info. Your best bet is to implement a high degree of security on your laptop and resign yourself to lugging the darn thing along.”

What To Do Every Time You Finish Using a Public Computer

Clear the browser cache and cookies! Normally this is done by going to Tools – Internet Options.Don’t, I repeat, DO NOT leave any personal information on the computer.

In Conclusion

This isn’t about being paranoid, it’s about being smart. We’re beyond the days of leaving home and really being gone, but you can check your email and your bank accounts safely if you follow the recommendations shared in this article.

Bon Voyage!

About the Author
Cheryl is both a computer systems professional and as someone who travels frequently for both business and pleasure both here in the US and internationally.

Technorati Tags: computer fraud traveling, computer security traveling, password keeper programs, personal VPNs, travel laptops

When I am traveling, I check my bank and credit card accounts more frequently than I do at home. I want to know what exchange rate I am getting for foreign exchange on my credit cards or via an ATM. I also want to be vigilant about fraud, so I check all of the accounts I am using every couple of days while I am away.

When I am at home, my credit card company calls me if there is an unusual transaction on my credit card. When I am traveling, I need to check that for myself. If I were to find a fraudulent transaction, I have phone numbers I can call, collect, from anywhere in the world for each of my various accounts.

Of course with services such as billpay, you can pay your bills, transfer money, buy and sell stocks and mutual funds – effectively manage all of your money matters from thousands of miles away. Since I’m on vacation, I don’t want to spend a lot of time attending to these things, but I do want to know that my finances are running smoothly.

I have as many bills as possible sent electronically (utilities and credit cards) and have things like my mortgage paid automatically from my checking account. On most of my trips, I need to log on and pay my credit card bill or utilities.

With a few minutes every couple of days, I can keep tabs on my finances without interfering with my travel activities.

But there is one more thing to be concerned about as you pay bills and check your bank accounts: computer security while traveling. I’ve asked Cheryl, a computer expert to write about this important matter.