Jan 8, 2008
Hidden pockets are certainly something else!
Sometimes the best travel devices are so obvious that no one thinks of actually producing them for sale. Such a product is the "hidden pocket" manufactured by a one-woman entrepreneur, Frieda Newton, from a home-based plant in Connecticut. She mailed me a "hidden pocket" this past weekend, and I actually tried it out, leaving my wallet at home and filling the "hidden pocket" with cash (a few bills) and several credit cards. I probably could also have stuffed in my ultra-narrow cell phone.
The "hidden pocket" is simply a little nylon pouch, Velcro-fastened, that's large enough for cash, credit cards, and driver's license. It is attached to a broad elastic strap, also Velcro-fastened, which you can wrap around your arm, wrist or ankle, always concealed by your clothing. And thus you can walk the streets of Moscow or Naples completely protected from pickpockets or purse snatchers who will never know where you're carrying your valuables.
Says Ms. Newton: "I am writing in hopes that you would be interested in recommending a hidden pocket to all your travelers. I never travel without it. It keeps my hands free and is concealed under my clothing for safety."
You can order a hidden pocket by phoning tel. 888/300-4161, by e-mailing sales@thehiddenpocket.com, or by consulting www.thehiddenpocket.com. I have no idea what they cost (mine were free), nor does the website (which really doesn't do justice to this small and well-hidden product) reveal the price. A phone call is your best way to proceed.
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The "hidden pocket" is simply a little nylon pouch, Velcro-fastened, that's large enough for cash, credit cards, and driver's license. It is attached to a broad elastic strap, also Velcro-fastened, which you can wrap around your arm, wrist or ankle, always concealed by your clothing. And thus you can walk the streets of Moscow or Naples completely protected from pickpockets or purse snatchers who will never know where you're carrying your valuables.
Says Ms. Newton: "I am writing in hopes that you would be interested in recommending a hidden pocket to all your travelers. I never travel without it. It keeps my hands free and is concealed under my clothing for safety."
You can order a hidden pocket by phoning tel. 888/300-4161, by e-mailing sales@thehiddenpocket.com, or by consulting www.thehiddenpocket.com. I have no idea what they cost (mine were free), nor does the website (which really doesn't do justice to this small and well-hidden product) reveal the price. A phone call is your best way to proceed.
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Labels: shopping
Dec 20, 2007
Designer salt, anyone? At $3 a package when bought in Europe, it has become the perfect gift purchase by indigent American travelers
Now that the dollar's weakness has put an end to normal shopping (by Americans) in Europe, you may want to know about an item that you can buy affordably and in quantity overseas, and that will positively enthrall your relatives and friends when presented to them back home. On last week's edition of The Travel Show presented by my daughter and myself (www.wor710.com, go to weekend programming), my daughter interviewed the single greatest commentator on travel shopping, Suzie Gershman, author of the several Born to Shop travel guides (admission of self-interest: they're published by Frommer's). And Pauline asked: what can we now buy in Europe, given the pitiful state of the dollar?
"Have you considered designer salt?" responded Suzie. Turns out that designer salts sells for $30 and up in the United States (or on Amazon.com), but for only $3 a package at numerous groceries and super-markets in Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and the like.
And what is "designer salt"? Apparently, it's salt with a special flavor, like raspberry salt. There's semi-coarse Hawaiian red Alea salt, small-flake Fleur de Sel, Jurassic salt, Peruvian Pink and Sicilian White salt, Kosher salt, Lavender salts, Ginger salts, French sea salt, Australian sea salt, Maldon salt, Murray River salt, La Baleine, Danish Viking Smoked salt, and (most expensive of all) Japanese Jewel of the Ocean salt, among many others. They come in coarse, plain, or chunky grains, and are “saltier” than usual salt. True gourmet chefs, I'm assured, would never dream of using just-plain salt (sodium chloride).
Look at the lengths to which we've been driven by currency changes.
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"Have you considered designer salt?" responded Suzie. Turns out that designer salts sells for $30 and up in the United States (or on Amazon.com), but for only $3 a package at numerous groceries and super-markets in Paris, Frankfurt, Rome, and the like.
And what is "designer salt"? Apparently, it's salt with a special flavor, like raspberry salt. There's semi-coarse Hawaiian red Alea salt, small-flake Fleur de Sel, Jurassic salt, Peruvian Pink and Sicilian White salt, Kosher salt, Lavender salts, Ginger salts, French sea salt, Australian sea salt, Maldon salt, Murray River salt, La Baleine, Danish Viking Smoked salt, and (most expensive of all) Japanese Jewel of the Ocean salt, among many others. They come in coarse, plain, or chunky grains, and are “saltier” than usual salt. True gourmet chefs, I'm assured, would never dream of using just-plain salt (sodium chloride).
Look at the lengths to which we've been driven by currency changes.
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Nov 29, 2007
Some GPS devices can also be used for walking the complex streets of an unfamiliar city
In response to my recent post about GPS devices, enabling you to navigate the confusing highways of a new city, one reader wrote in to point out an extra feature of some -- not all -- GPS's.
Not only, he pointed out, is it "great on the road, but also wonderful for walking in cities. We brought it to NYC, changed the 'mode' from driving route to walking route, and had no trouble finding the sites we wanted to see easily and also fairly discreetly." Apparently, they simply whipped out the GPS on occasion to check their whereabouts and the direction of their walk.
In a number of chains offering discount opportunities, GPS devices are now selling for slightly under $200, and it was just such a low-cost device that I recently used so successfully in driving within the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area.
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Not only, he pointed out, is it "great on the road, but also wonderful for walking in cities. We brought it to NYC, changed the 'mode' from driving route to walking route, and had no trouble finding the sites we wanted to see easily and also fairly discreetly." Apparently, they simply whipped out the GPS on occasion to check their whereabouts and the direction of their walk.
In a number of chains offering discount opportunities, GPS devices are now selling for slightly under $200, and it was just such a low-cost device that I recently used so successfully in driving within the Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area.
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Nov 12, 2007
Take a look at www.thedutyfreepriceguide.com, and you'll never again go shopping at any airline's duty-free stores
Because it would obviously be so difficult to do comparison pricing on all the vast array of goods sold in so-called "duty-free" airport shops, a website called the Duty Free Price Guide (www.thedutyfreepriceguide.com) devotes most of its attention simply to cigarettes, perfume and liquor. But the huge price variations for those products are obviously representative of similar variations for electronic products and clothing. They show that certain airport shops or airlines mark up the initial cost of the property to such an extent as to cast doubt on whether the public receives any real benefit out of buying those goods from them.
Take the product identified as "Marlboro 200 packs Cigarettes." From various exotic airlines or remote airports (Ethiopian Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Qatar Airport), you can buy a 200-cigarette carton of Marlboros for $10 to $12, according to the website. Yet the very same carton is being sold for $24 to $26 by Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines; for $27 at the Los Angeles Airport; and for $41 by British Midland Airways and at Vienna Airport.
The same giant gaps between prices from airlines and airports are reported for perfume and liquor. A 50ML bottle of Dior Perfume ranges in price from $26 to $77, depending on the airline or airport selling it.
It's a crazy world out there. On several recent trips, I haven't seen a single product selling for much less than I would pay at Best Buy or Circuit City in New York, or at the perfume wholesalers on lower Broadway. And I haven't any present plans to fly to Qatar or Dubai to pick up a cigarette bargain.
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Take the product identified as "Marlboro 200 packs Cigarettes." From various exotic airlines or remote airports (Ethiopian Airlines, Middle East Airlines, Qatar Airport), you can buy a 200-cigarette carton of Marlboros for $10 to $12, according to the website. Yet the very same carton is being sold for $24 to $26 by Northwest Airlines, American Airlines, and United Airlines; for $27 at the Los Angeles Airport; and for $41 by British Midland Airways and at Vienna Airport.
The same giant gaps between prices from airlines and airports are reported for perfume and liquor. A 50ML bottle of Dior Perfume ranges in price from $26 to $77, depending on the airline or airport selling it.
It's a crazy world out there. On several recent trips, I haven't seen a single product selling for much less than I would pay at Best Buy or Circuit City in New York, or at the perfume wholesalers on lower Broadway. And I haven't any present plans to fly to Qatar or Dubai to pick up a cigarette bargain.
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Labels: airlines, airports, money, shopping
Oct 11, 2007
You can learn more about the great outdoors at your local retail camping store -- and usually for free
An adult scoutmaster recently told me that he frequently takes the boys to a nearby REI store for free clinics in such outdoors skills as backpacking, mountain bike maintenance, winter camping, and wilderness first aid. REI, as you may know, is a travel and outdoors cooperative with 99 stores in 27 states. Its programs, and those of other similar stores, include one- or two-day trips developing the skills of hiking, kayaking, rock climbing, fly fishing, photography, GPS navigation and geocaching.
Many of the classes are free. Others -- especially the hands-on ones where you bike or kayak for a full day -- might run anywhere from $20 to $90 (sometimes a bit more for advanced courses). Individual REI stores also post numerous opportunities to join in local walkathons, bike-athons, runs, and hikes. For more information, go to its Web site (www.rei.com) and click on "Stores & Events" -- the section labeled "REI Adventures" takes you to the company's multi-day active vacations, not the short, inexpensive-to-free classes and clinics.
Another top-rated chain, LL. Bean (www.llbean.com) -- with nine stores along the East Coast, from the famous flagship in Freeport, ME to one in Tyson's Corner, VA -- offers "Outdoor Discovery Schools" in fly fishing, kayaking, bike tours, and outdoor skills such as first aid. Most of the more involved trips take place in Maine and Maryland, though every store does offer shorter "Walk-On" adventures from May through early October. These cost $15, including round-trip shuttle bus from the store, for 1½ to 2½ hours of introductory kayaking or fly casting clinics (the Maine store also does archery and clay pigeon shooting).
EMS (www.ems.com), with 80 stores throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, conducts its programs -- kayaking, rock climbing, and winter sports (Telemark, backcountry, and ski mountaineering plus avalanche courses) -- at a dozen of its locations throughout New England and New York (plus, for climbers, Pennsylvania and New Jersey).
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Many of the classes are free. Others -- especially the hands-on ones where you bike or kayak for a full day -- might run anywhere from $20 to $90 (sometimes a bit more for advanced courses). Individual REI stores also post numerous opportunities to join in local walkathons, bike-athons, runs, and hikes. For more information, go to its Web site (www.rei.com) and click on "Stores & Events" -- the section labeled "REI Adventures" takes you to the company's multi-day active vacations, not the short, inexpensive-to-free classes and clinics.
Another top-rated chain, LL. Bean (www.llbean.com) -- with nine stores along the East Coast, from the famous flagship in Freeport, ME to one in Tyson's Corner, VA -- offers "Outdoor Discovery Schools" in fly fishing, kayaking, bike tours, and outdoor skills such as first aid. Most of the more involved trips take place in Maine and Maryland, though every store does offer shorter "Walk-On" adventures from May through early October. These cost $15, including round-trip shuttle bus from the store, for 1½ to 2½ hours of introductory kayaking or fly casting clinics (the Maine store also does archery and clay pigeon shooting).
EMS (www.ems.com), with 80 stores throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic states, conducts its programs -- kayaking, rock climbing, and winter sports (Telemark, backcountry, and ski mountaineering plus avalanche courses) -- at a dozen of its locations throughout New England and New York (plus, for climbers, Pennsylvania and New Jersey).
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Oct 4, 2007
In case you were worried, it will now be possible to wear mini-skirts on all further flights of Southwest Airlines
The management of Southwest (www.southwest.com) has just issued an abject apology to the young woman who was prevented from boarding a Southwest flight because she was too skimpily dressed (in a mini-skirt). Turns out the decision to bar her was not based on company policy, but was simply the impulsive act of an officious flight attendant (who happened also to be female). Let's all hope that what appeared to be an attempt by an airline to enforce moral judgments, was nothing of the sort. We have enough people attempting to curtail our liberties without the airlines entering the act.
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Sep 21, 2007
Go to the web and you'll get discounts of up to 70 per cent on travel gear and clothing
Next time you're in the market for travel gear or specialty travel clothing, don't buy retail. Whether it's an Eagle Creek backpack or Swiss Army rolling bag, travel pants with zip-off legs and hidden pockets, or a performance button-down shirt that offers SPF 50 sun protection and built-in bug repellant, you can get it at big savings from a travel specialty discounter.
The king of the discount catalogs is Sierra Trading Post (www.sierratradingpost.com), which sells outdoors gear and travel apparel from major labels such as Ex Officio and Columbia Sportswear for anywhere from 35 to 70 percent off the retail price. Sometimes the product may be last year's model, or be available in limited range of colors, but these savings more than make up for being slightly out of style.
Other travel specialty catalogs? In the "outlet" section of REI (www.rei.com/outlet), the popular camping and travel co-operative, all items are at least 60 percent; there's also a nifty list of items under $20 (the virtual version of the "impulse buy" rack at a checkout counter).
And finally, the website of Travel Smith (www.travelsmith.com), known for its own brand of high-quality travel clothing, offers up to 75 percent off items in both the "Clearance" and "Weekly Specials" sections. Or you can get discounts (usually of 20 to 50 percent) on a range of gadgets and clothes among the "Web Specials" at Magellan's (www.magellans.com) -- select "Final Clearance" for the deepest cuts, up to 75 per cent.
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The king of the discount catalogs is Sierra Trading Post (www.sierratradingpost.com), which sells outdoors gear and travel apparel from major labels such as Ex Officio and Columbia Sportswear for anywhere from 35 to 70 percent off the retail price. Sometimes the product may be last year's model, or be available in limited range of colors, but these savings more than make up for being slightly out of style.
Other travel specialty catalogs? In the "outlet" section of REI (www.rei.com/outlet), the popular camping and travel co-operative, all items are at least 60 percent; there's also a nifty list of items under $20 (the virtual version of the "impulse buy" rack at a checkout counter).
And finally, the website of Travel Smith (www.travelsmith.com), known for its own brand of high-quality travel clothing, offers up to 75 percent off items in both the "Clearance" and "Weekly Specials" sections. Or you can get discounts (usually of 20 to 50 percent) on a range of gadgets and clothes among the "Web Specials" at Magellan's (www.magellans.com) -- select "Final Clearance" for the deepest cuts, up to 75 per cent.
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Aug 14, 2007
Were you aware that travel luggage can be cheaper on the internet? (Second of a two-part series)
Yesterday, I wrote about the remarkable eBags.com, and the deals it offers for luggage. Two online luggage retailers based in New Jersey are also worth searching for bargains: Luggage Online (www.luggageonline.com) and LuggagePoint.com (www.luggagepoint.com). A recent sale at the former offered a six-piece luggage set from American Tourister, originally priced at $450, for only $170. A closeout special at LuggagePoint.com was a 31-inch four-wheel Samsonite bag, originally priced at $260, for $117, or $143 off.All the internet luggage companies allow for free returns and cover the cost of return shipping, though their policies differ sometimes. Luggage Online only has a 30-day money-back guarantee, while LuggagePoint.com is more generous, giving the customer 90 days within which to make a return.
Another difference is the price-matching guarantee. All three companies have one, but while Luggage Online promises to match any competitor's prices, LuggagePoint.com and eBags.com take it a step further with a 110% price guarantee
Even with the presence of helpful product reviews and easy return policies at these websites, however, some consumers may still be concerned about purchasing such a large item without inspecting it first-hand. For them, the solution is simply to go in-person to a store that has the item in question. If the product proves satisfactory, ask the store to match the price you found earlier online. If it doesn't match or beat the price, head to a computer and make the purchase.
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Labels: shopping
Aug 13, 2007
A top travel secret: luggage is cheaper on the internet (first of a two-part series)
We need luggage to travel, and too often we pay too much for it. The high cost of high quality luggage has sparked the emergence of luggage stores on the Internet, which often undercut the normal prices because they don't have the expense of a brick-and-mortar business.
These e-luggage stores have grown immensely popular. They overcome the reluctance of some people to buy luggage without inspecting the product by offering free shipping (including on returns, if you're so inclined) and radically-reduced prices.
The leader in online luggage retailers is a Colorado-based company called eBags.com (www.ebags.com), whose website sells thousands of bags (far more models than even the largest store would carry) from dozens of popular manufacturers, including Samsonite, Eagle Creek, The North Face, Liz Claibourne, and Pierre Cardin. Shipping is free for most orders over $35; returns are free of hassles and costs: unused bags are refundable within 60 days; and the company includes a pre-paid UPS label with every shipment.
Ebags.com offers many options to help the shopper find exactly the right bag (or the right price). You can search by brand, style, price, bag material (canvas, suede, polyester, nylon, cotton, leather), best sellers, closeouts, and other categories. Each bag is rated by customers who own it on a scale of one to ten, and unlike many hotel-review websites, which often only have a handful of ratings on which to base your decision, many pieces of luggage on eBags have hundreds of reviews to guide shoppers along.
The closeouts section of eBags is where to find the very best deals. Recently, a JanSport expandable carry-on in a discontinued color with a retail price of $160 was selling on eBags for just $50. Even items that aren't closeouts are usually priced far below retail. A four-piece travel set from Samsonite that 263 of 286 eBags customers (92%) said they would buy again was being sold for $150, $70 off the manufacturer's suggested retail price.
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These e-luggage stores have grown immensely popular. They overcome the reluctance of some people to buy luggage without inspecting the product by offering free shipping (including on returns, if you're so inclined) and radically-reduced prices.
The leader in online luggage retailers is a Colorado-based company called eBags.com (www.ebags.com), whose website sells thousands of bags (far more models than even the largest store would carry) from dozens of popular manufacturers, including Samsonite, Eagle Creek, The North Face, Liz Claibourne, and Pierre Cardin. Shipping is free for most orders over $35; returns are free of hassles and costs: unused bags are refundable within 60 days; and the company includes a pre-paid UPS label with every shipment.
Ebags.com offers many options to help the shopper find exactly the right bag (or the right price). You can search by brand, style, price, bag material (canvas, suede, polyester, nylon, cotton, leather), best sellers, closeouts, and other categories. Each bag is rated by customers who own it on a scale of one to ten, and unlike many hotel-review websites, which often only have a handful of ratings on which to base your decision, many pieces of luggage on eBags have hundreds of reviews to guide shoppers along.
The closeouts section of eBags is where to find the very best deals. Recently, a JanSport expandable carry-on in a discontinued color with a retail price of $160 was selling on eBags for just $50. Even items that aren't closeouts are usually priced far below retail. A four-piece travel set from Samsonite that 263 of 286 eBags customers (92%) said they would buy again was being sold for $150, $70 off the manufacturer's suggested retail price.
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Jul 18, 2007
Where's the world's best shopping? It's on the enchanting island of Bali
When shop-a-holics ask me to suggest the best possible destination for a holiday devoted almost entirely to shopping (and there are such people), I answer "Bali" without a moment's hesitation. And I give them the following directions:
From the airport of its capital city, Denpasar, take a taxi (less than $20) to the town of Ubud in the central uplands far from the commercial atmosphere of the beach resorts. And once there, seek out low-cost accommodations from the dozens of choices to which a city tourist office on the main street will direct you.
Then, most days, simply negotiate with a taxi driver to bring you back and forth to the various crafts villages -- they specialize in oil paintings, furniture, batik cloth and clothing, wooden sculptures, or stonework -- that surround Ubud. Prices are a fraction of what you'd pay for similar items elsewhere, and what you buy will be reliably and cheaply shipped home to you by the various crafts manufacturers and shops.
As Bali recovers from the tourist drop-off caused by two terrorist attacks on beachfront nightclubs several years ago, prices for every purchase and other element of your stay will be lower-priced then ever before. My own living room is graced by a large and quite stunning Balinese oil painting acquired several years ago for less than $70, including the equally stunning frame.
Bali is one of those places like Yellowstone, like Egypt, like the safari games parks of Kenya, to which every human being at some point in their lives must go.
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From the airport of its capital city, Denpasar, take a taxi (less than $20) to the town of Ubud in the central uplands far from the commercial atmosphere of the beach resorts. And once there, seek out low-cost accommodations from the dozens of choices to which a city tourist office on the main street will direct you.
Then, most days, simply negotiate with a taxi driver to bring you back and forth to the various crafts villages -- they specialize in oil paintings, furniture, batik cloth and clothing, wooden sculptures, or stonework -- that surround Ubud. Prices are a fraction of what you'd pay for similar items elsewhere, and what you buy will be reliably and cheaply shipped home to you by the various crafts manufacturers and shops.
As Bali recovers from the tourist drop-off caused by two terrorist attacks on beachfront nightclubs several years ago, prices for every purchase and other element of your stay will be lower-priced then ever before. My own living room is graced by a large and quite stunning Balinese oil painting acquired several years ago for less than $70, including the equally stunning frame.
Bali is one of those places like Yellowstone, like Egypt, like the safari games parks of Kenya, to which every human being at some point in their lives must go.
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Jul 2, 2007
For $4.95 at Wal-Mart: A "bucky" that keeps your head from falling forward on an overnight flight
Some travelers swear by them; others think them absurd. For $4.95 at Wal-Mart, you can buy a "bucky" that you deflate and inflate at your convenience (and is thus easy to carry). A "bucky" is a wrap-around-the-neck head pillow that prevents your head from slumping forwards (and waking you up) when you fall asleep in the seat of an airplane. It comes in a stuffed version, that changes shape to accommodate the size and shape of your head, or a less expensive, inflatable version. The Wal-Mart version is a far more sensible purchase than the $24.95 stuffed variety of the bucky sold in some department stores.
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Labels: shopping
Jun 20, 2007
Ever heard of a "Tilley Endurable"? It's a travel hat that people swear by
At the demand of a reader who wrote that I must recommend this classic piece of travel clothing, at the peril of leaving our Frommers.com audience unprotected from the sun and lacking in flair, I hereby announce that www.tilley.com is worth a look.It's actually quite accurate to point out that the Canadian company called Tilley has become something of a legend in travel clothing, with its handsome cloth hats for both men and women, guaranteed against any deterioration or mishap. And if you think I'm balmy for mentioning it, you'll want to look at the website, which goes into some details about why the hat is so helpful for both the male and female travelers (catch that velcro fastener for sticking your sun glasses against the side of the hat, and the fact that the brim buttons up on the side if you should care to wear it Australian-style). At $60, it's not the most economical purchase, but after looking at the various photos, you may succumb.
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Labels: shopping
Jun 14, 2007
Get a suit made in Hoi An (a reason for visiting Vietnam)
If you've thinking about Vietnam and studying the tours there, you've probably seen a two-night or three-night stay assigned to the port city of Hoi An, on the South China Sea. And why is everybody going there? Why is the little-known Hoi An often scheduled for the same length of stay as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City (the former Saigon)?
It's to permit the American tourist to buy a custom-made suit, or dress, or anything else that can be copied from the pages of Vogue or GQ. Though the picturesque Hoi An has numerous attractions dating from the medieval era (Buddhist temples and shrines, much else), it also boasts nearly 100 tailor shops for the overnight manufacture of custom-made suits, dresses, coats, and shoes, for less than a tenth of what you'd spend in the western world (US$75 for a custom-made suit). Like so many other secondary Asian cities, its decision to specialize in one activity has created a shopping mecca that overwhelms the size of similar industries in the great Asian capitals. You can go there independently, or you book an air-and-land-package from companies like General Tours (look up its offerings in Google).
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It's to permit the American tourist to buy a custom-made suit, or dress, or anything else that can be copied from the pages of Vogue or GQ. Though the picturesque Hoi An has numerous attractions dating from the medieval era (Buddhist temples and shrines, much else), it also boasts nearly 100 tailor shops for the overnight manufacture of custom-made suits, dresses, coats, and shoes, for less than a tenth of what you'd spend in the western world (US$75 for a custom-made suit). Like so many other secondary Asian cities, its decision to specialize in one activity has created a shopping mecca that overwhelms the size of similar industries in the great Asian capitals. You can go there independently, or you book an air-and-land-package from companies like General Tours (look up its offerings in Google).
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Fifty years ago, 
Arthur Frommer is generally acknowledged to be the nation's foremost travel authority. He is the founder of the
