Blogger Spotlight: Journeywoman's Travel Tip Tweet-A-Thon

Evelyn Hannon, also known as Journeywoman, has been the go-to girl for women's travel advice since she founded her site in 1997. Over the years she has continued to inspire countless numbers of women, myself included, to travel the world. 

As an avid social networker this week on Twitter, Evelyn, surprised us with this tweet:  

"BE AFRAID! To all of you who followed me this #FollowFriday, I say welcome+beware. I will definitely lead you astray! (insert wicked laugh)"

What she really meant was that we were all in for a #FF tweet treat as she listed off a plethora of GREAT travel tips.

Here's a look at the Tweet-A-Thon in case you missed it:  

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Pick up fun postcards in museums or flea markets u visit. They make gr8 gift enclosure cards back home. #gifts #travel #museum

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Trace UR child's feet on pieces of paper. Now you can shop 4 shoes as U travel. #shopping #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Tip to make U laugh;) In a pinch condoms can hold large amts of water. Can also be filled with ice to create icepack.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Buy almonds+raisins in bulk. Create individual pkgs 4 ur trip. A healthy, energy producing, filling, inexpensive snack. #nutrition

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Good idea! RT @RunawayBrit @Journeywoman I often put one of my rings on my wedding finger too when traveling.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Grilled cheese sandwiches as you #travel. Pack aluminum foil. Buy ingredients. Wrap sandwich in foil. Heat with the iron in your hotel room.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

The travel section of your newspaper makes great wrapping paper for Bon Voyage Gifts.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Keep a pair of slippers only for travel. This way U don't transfer dust/dirt on hotel floors back 2 UR home. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Sweet gift for toddlers-visit major university in town. They often have tiny tshirts with university logos.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Like purses? The Museum of Bags in Amsterdam contains over 3500 bags+accessories http://tinyurl.com/l7d7z4 #Netherlands

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

UR travel research should include watching at least 1 film that takes place in the area ur going 2. #film #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

ng a book in the train station? Put a cover on it so touts won't know which language to bug you in. #trains #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Want to bring back gifts for teenagers when you travel. Look 4 cool locally designed tshirts in street markets.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Going solo? Carry photo of a BIG man 2 show all who ask where UR husband is? Say UR going 2 meet him now. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Out 4 evening? Remove pads frm pushup bra, wrap cash in tissue+put it where pads originally were. $$ safe.

legalnomads Jodi Ettenberg

by Journeywoman

Security researcher files complaint w/ FTC alleging that Dropbox lied about data security: http://bit.ly/kim23N (via @BoingBoing)

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Flight attendants fly 2 the same cities often. Ask them 4 their experienced restaurant+shopping advice. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Travelling with a pal? Carry 50% of her things in UR bag + vice versa. If 1 bag is lost, UR both still OK. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

The more grungy & threadbare your backpack the better. Thieves will not be attracted to it first. #travel #backpack

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Pregnant? Be sure travel insurance covers possible pregnancy-related conditions+nursery care 4 premature infants.

legalnomads Jodi Ettenberg

by Journeywoman

@Journeywoman I also suggest a tiny plastic doorstop - easy to carry + extra peace of mind when sleeping in a room alone :)

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Wrap duct tape round+round your travel shampoo bottle. Tape is there when you need it.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Pack hot water bottle. Takes little room but so helpful. Fill with hot or ice water depending on your needs.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Seek out local universities for moderately priced cafeterias, clean washrooms & fun gift shops. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Always c.c. yourself when emailing on the road. These notes become your journal at trip's end. #journaling #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Look like a local. Use grocery shopping bag bought at your destination to carry camera+stuff.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Wrap birthday gifts U buy abroad in local newspaper. Add foreign BD card= original when you bring it back.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Travelling with kids. Photograph them before entering crowded events. U have ID record should they get lost. #travel #children

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Make laser photocopies of your passport pix. They can be used for ID passes you might need on the road. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Ladies, stranger wanting more info about U than U want to give? Tell him you're a policewoman on holiday.

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Concerned about dining solo in India? Ask if resto has family room where women & children are served. #india #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Dress down, not up. You travel to observe not to be observed. #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Hide emergency $ in old vitamin bottle with few pills in it. Thieves not interested in your Vitamin C. #money #travel

Journeywoman Evelyn Hannon

Have a cardboard tube cut to fit your bag. Use it to protect artwork you're bringing home. #travel


If you have a favorite travel tip you would like to share on Journeywoman, be sure to check out this article before you send it in. What makes a great Journeywoman travel tip? 


With only a few weeks to go, I am really looking forward to meeting Journeywoman and so many other amazing travel bloggers, in person, at the 2011 Travel Blog Exchange in Vancouver.

For more travel advice go to her website Journeywoman.com or follow her on Twitter:

@JourneyWoman Evelyn Hannon is the CEO of Journeywoman, largest online travel resource for women+free tip newsletter going to 73,800 women in 240 countries.

She has even passed the love of travel on to her family:

@JWKid Journeywoman Junior -I'm a small fry with a big love of travel. I'm my grandmother's travelwriting assistant. I hope you'll follow me. I will offer a kid's point of view on travel.

Travelfish.org

I am now blogging at Travelfish.org 


Here is the link to my Saigon Blog


Come stop by and say Hi!

Boat Jumping in Nha Trang

Max and I really enjoyed our trip to beautiful Nha Trang! Here's a video we got jumping off the boat on our snorkel adventure :)

The Siesta Lifestyle

As an American, taking naps or a siesta in the middle of the day has never been a part of my daily routine nor do I think it ever will be.  However, living in a different country, thousands of miles away from everything and everyone I know has taught me that the timely routines, that I  take for granted back home, are, in most cases, out of the ordinary to other groups of people.

For example, due to hot weather in Vietnam, some businesses you will find take a break in the afternoon from 12-2pm for lunch or a siesta. If you are walking around outside during this time you will see many people laying on their motorbikes in the park or curled up in a hammock strung under whatever nearby that provides shade. Since people prefer to not be out during the hottest part of the day this is also why you will notice many more people out late at night socializing with friends. 

Most of the time this “break” time does not hinder my daily activities but, sometimes it really does. Back home a popular time for me to visit the bank is on my lunch hour. In Vietnam this is impossible to do because the banks are closed from 12-2pm.

HCMC visitors also have to be aware of this 2-3 hour lunch break when touring popular tourist stops such as the War Remnants Museum, the Reunification Palace and Bitexco Tower.

Naptime is so popular that some coffee shops even provide sofas for workers to enjoy a drink and a lay down on their afternoon break.

NOTE: According to SiestaAwareness.org taking a siesta gives a person more energy, improves alertness and reduces stress.  

A good friend once told me in her traveling experience she has found that, ‘…it is times like these when you realize it is hard sometimes, it does not matter who you are, it is a completely different culture and no one cares how you “do it in your country”.'

Life Lessons in HCMC

In a city thousands of miles away from my own hometown I sometimes find it hard to describe to my family and friends just how busy and bustling this city truly is. This collection, of time lapse videos, displays footage from rooftops all around town. 

Below is a sample of some answers to questions for my Seattelites back home wondering about my daily life here in HCMC. 

YES's, NO's & BUT's About Saigon (more to come.)

YES, you will find delicious pho and Vietnamese sandwiches on every street corner BUT, beware some food carts are cleaner than others.

NO, you can not drink the tap water BUT, there's plenty of bottled water to go around.

NO, you will not find a Starbucks here, BUT if you ask the locals they will let you know that they would much prefer Vietnamese iced coffee aka Cafe Su Da anyday. 

YES, you can get a hamburger in Saigon now that Carl's Jr. & Hard Rock Cafe are here BUT, it doesn't mean I still don't miss In 'N Out, Five Guys & Dick's.

YES, cheap, designer look-alike clothing can be found in markets such as Ben Thanh BUT, why buy that, when you can stop by a tailor and create an exact replica, made just for you.

NO, I do not drive a car in HCMC, are you crazy? But, Taxi's are cheap and Xe Om's* are even cheaper. 

YES, Vietnamese love to barter so, be sure to have your bartering shoes on when you hit the markets or negotiating with a Xe Om.

*A Xe Om is a motorbike taxi. A man sitting/sleeping** on his motorbike on a street corner with two helmets on his bike.

**Yes, you can sleep on a motorbike, it's crazy but it happens...ALL the time.

Photo Courtesy of http://sevenmonths.com/

The Battle of Little Big Pomelo

Pomelo

After months of agonizingly waiting, I finally got to try a Pomelo!  Be prepared, if you dive into one of these bad boys, you're in for some work.  After fighting through the super thick rind you get to navigate around numerous seeds and thick, membrane like 'dividers.'  I guess the lesson that I learned is that you should peel the pomelo, like it is an orange, and not cut it in half and spend the next hour, spoon in hand, getting a wrist workout!  Touche market lady, next time I will listen! 

Fruit Name: Pomelo

Color: Pale green to yellow rind on the outside with a white, sometimes pink inside.

Size: 15-25 cm in diameter

Weight: 1-2 kg

Taste: Similar in texture to a grapefruit but, with a thicker rind. The pomelo is sweeter than a grapefruit and lacks that usual grapefruit sharpness that everyone tries to cover up with sugar. 

How To Eat - Cut in half and eat like a grapefruit or peel like an orange and enjoy.

Also, you're lesson in fruit history: the pomelo is the parent fruit of the grapefruit.  The grapefruit is an orange pomelo hybrid.  And to think, if it wasn't for some ancient farmer making crazy fruit in his fruit lab grandparents, across the world, wouldn't have a fruit to trick little kids into trying.  I remember the first time my grandpa offered me a bite of grapefruit and I was like, 'WOW a GIANT orange!'  The joke was apparently on me!  Very funny grandpa, next time you can set-up your own Facebook!

Photo Courtesy of http://rexwordpuzzle.blogspot.com

Bonus: Rihanna's Mini-Me

Photo Courtesy of http://totallylookslike.icanhascheezburger.com

Source: Wikipedia

Chic Mung Nam Moi!

Chic Mung Nam Moi! Or, Happy Lunar New Year! 

Today, I went on my first Flower Street stroll in HCMC. A lot of preparation goes in to bringing in a "lucky" new year and this flower display shows no exception. While many people leave HCMC to head back to their hometowns for the Tet holiday. Quite a few people and tourists remain in the city and enjoy the flowery sights with their friends and families. 

Nyugen Hue Street is blocked off and filled with flowers.

Around 120,000 flowerpots of 50 different kinds of flowers have been used in the street display. 

Year of the Cat.

Upside to Tet= a lot LESS traffic :)