Right now I’m running an expierament at several gas stations and I’ll report my findings next week. I’d first like to ask if you’ve noticed any hidden gasoline charges at the pump?

Face it: your luggage probably looks just like 90% of the luggage out there. Let me guess: it’s black with a few zippered pockets? Snap a few pictures of the bags your toting around before you leave. If they wind up in Tahiti when you’re headed to Taiwan, it’ll be much easier to show the airline clerk a photo rather than trying to explain how it’s big and black with zippers.

Travel blog Vagabondish also has 12 other clever uses for your digital camera including photographing subway maps, using it as a backup light, and to avoid rental car scams. A digital camera is one of the few small travel essentials that will help you consolidate information and lighten your luggage.

[photo by: iheartlinen via: Family Travel]

WaMu savings accounts offer competitive interest rates, even when compared to other major online banking and savings programs. The rates of each program and income bracket are clearly displayed on the savings setup page. Existing WaMu customers may also link online savings accounts with their existing conventional checking and other accounts.

The initial fee of $1 is tolerable, but the $4 monthly fee would seem to negate any accumulated interest - a concern I hope that WaMu takes into consideration and does away with. All that is required to open an account is a valid social security number and US citizenship or legal residency.

Customer service representatives are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week by phone to answer any questions you may have. Online checking from WaMu does offer some advantages over its competitors that are very appealing such as checks for life and free ATM withdrawals.

The site is well laid out and creating an account is simple and in most cases quick (as advertised, 7 minutes unless further history checks are required, then 2-5 days).

This is a sponsored review of WaMu Online Savings Accounts.

My recent travel plans to several countries in Europe never panned out but I decided to use the time I had already taken off and spend it at home. Over the last two weeks I’ve learned what to do - and more importantly what not to do on a staycation.

• Don’t Plan Anything - Make a rudimentary daily plan and outline what it is you want to accomplish each day. For me it was usually, go run, go to the pool, etc. and it took about 5-10 minutes to schedule out. It shouldn’t take longer than that, remember you are on vacation.
• Watch TV - Sitting in front of the television for hours might be relaxation for some, but it turns your staycation into a regular night off from work. This is where planning comes in, poor (or no) planning will just have you sitting in front of the TV for a week or two which won’t be very fulfilling when you go back to work.
• Missing Things Right Under Your Nose - A week before you plan to take a staycation, keep your eyes open for events, parks, and other attractions right around your own town. Jot them down somewhere are get a chance to visit close places and events you can go to during the day and miss the crowds.

• Get Nothing Done - One of the advantages of a staycation is that you can actually get some of the nagging chores, errands, and projects done and not have them waiting for you at the end of your time off. I’d recommend spending about 15% of your total time off knocking some things off of your long standing to-do list.
• Eating Out The Entire Time - One of the advantages of a staycation is that it can be cheaper than actually going somewhere. With the extra time you can save a lot of money by grocery shopping and cooking meals for yourself.

It’s healthier, you can experiment with new recipes, and you can try shopping at ethnic stores you’ve never been to. I recently discovered a German grocery store close by and have been able to experience and cook many new dishes (and eat lots of good chocolate).

• Answering the Door - Before the past 2 weeks, I never knew how many weirdos, salespeople, and Mormons knocked on my house door during the day - but it’s a lot! Though this varies, I’d recommend simply not opening the door - these people are annoying and waste your precious vacation time off. (By the way, if they think or know that you are home they will ring the doorbell for what seems like forever, just keep ignoring it).
• Checking Your Phone/Email Constantly - Designate only 2 or 3 times during the day to check your cell phone and email and limit this time to 15 minutes each. Also, allow yourself the “freedom” to skip a check - keep in mind that if you were out of town you might be a week or two without contact - during a staycation you can at least be texting, cell, email available a few times a day.

This was one of the hardest things for me to do (you may have noticed if you didn’t get my usual instant response to an email).

• Spend It Alone - I was lucky enough to have my wife with me during the past 2 weeks, but if you aren’t staycationing with someone else there are several good alternatives. Call your friends who work odd hours or may be off during the day, visit an old friend during their lunch break, or volunteer at a local community center.

Overall I enjoyed the advantages a staycation has over a traditional vacation. I was able to get many things done around the house that I had been planning for months, but still made it a priority to relax. (It was also great to avoid rush hour traffic for 2 weeks).

You need at least a week or two to turn a regular sick day into a staycation so accumulate your vacation time wisely. As with any trip make sure that you create a simple vacation budget and stick to it since it’s easy to overspend no matter where you travel (or don’t).

[photo by: scragz]

Go Airlink Shuttle has the permits required by the New York and New Jersey Port Authority that allows them to drive and park on the inner curb outside of baggage claim - a restricted area to most vehicular traffic. Reservations can be made online and the site is well designed making the process a simple one. Select the airport you would like to arrive at, then chose a pickup destination. A nice feature of the website (and service) is that you can specify the hotel or tourist attraction that you want to be picked up from. The rest of the reservation is fairly straightforward, simple select the time and number of passengers of the pickup.

Each passenger is allowed up to two pieces of luggage without additional charge, any other bags after that are $10 each. When I went through the process online I was given a $2 web discount off the total fare, which was $18 for a one-way trip to JFK airport from the center of New York City. The landing page is encrypted using a trusted SSL-certificate (better privacy and encryption than many similar sites) and you don’t have to register to book a shuttle.

Go Airlink Shuttle also offers special deals and other private charters.

This is a sponsored review of Go Airlink Shuttle.

You can review the entries - Brazilian Cabaret, Casual Parisian Encounter, Bellagio Italy, Making Out Chilean Style, and Luggage Vibrations - then vote for what you think is the sexiest one.

The poll will be open through August 1, 2008 and I’ll announce the winner on September 1, 2008. I’m already planning a photo contest to run during the fall/winter season. To get details you can sign up to my RSS feed, or receive daily email updates.

Since this website may be new to you, I’d like to introduce you to foXnoMad. Visit my about page, see the places I’ve been, or read my most popular post on the best places to travel on a weak dollar.

Thank you for following the contest and participating, I hope you’ve enjoyed it. I’ll return to regular posting next Monday with advice on my recent staycation.

Hi, I’m an international journalist who has done a lot of travel. I’m too lazy now to write up anything but you give me the opportunity to give you my best jet-lag travel advice. I have often thought I should apprise Frommer or NY TImes readers of this tried and true method. Nothing works better than masturbation–preferably with a great vibrator–when in Asia and waking up every hour on the hour.

You wake up, you buzz, you sleep. You wake up, you buzz, you sleep. I’ve even done it on the plane, in the bygone days when flights to China weren’t full and one could lay out across three seats and pleasure oneself under a thick plaid blanket, not one of these flimsy things one is given now.

I will tell you a funny story of going through security with my big wonderful jet-lag cure-all, with the little buzzing rabbit attached. It might easily be mistaken for a bazooka under X-ray. About two and a half years ago, I was stopped in Shanghai, on my way out of the country. I knew what the problem was and didn’t want the attendant to open my luggage in full view. I didn’t know if she would understand English when I tried to quickly alert her to the situation. I motioned, I smiled, I tried, in simple English to indicate I knew what the problem was.

The woman carefully opened my luggage and when she saw the culprit, she smiled widely and silently closed my luggage. I was on my way. As I thought about it, I remembered having been told earlier that week by a friend who has lived in Asia nearly a decade that the sex toys we use in the States are, in fact, made in China. I had headed over to the Peace Hotel, on the Bund, to see the reputedly beautiful Art Deco Hotel for myself. After strolling through the public rooms, I walked across the street where a sex toy shop was in plain view.

Sure enough, I saw many of the toys I was familar with, having seen them in US stores and Web sites. Therefore, it made perfect sense to me that the airport security guard smiled as she did. After all, the Chinese–and the ancient Persians–practically invented sex. On that same trip, I had also hoped to make it to the Sex Museum, a legitimate museum devoted to the the history of sex in China. Alas, I discovered the museum has been moved to an hour by bus outside Shanghai and as I was on a working trip, I didnt have the time. I’m still hoping one of these days I will get there and see the thousand-year old progenitors of my? favorite toys.

[photo by: isriya]

It was summer of 98′ and my cousin and I were visiting my older brother in Santiago de Chile. He was going to college there and at the time he was a freshman and I was a 17 year old junior in high school.

It was our first weekend in town and as hormonal teenagers all we wanted to do was start drinking and partying. We started drinking early in the night and then proceeded to go out to find the best place to party.

After bar hoping for a while we finally got in into a club - where the doorman didn’t seem to notice our fake ID’s we carefully made weeks before our trip. Once in the bar we starting drinking? and unsuccessfully hitting on some local girls. Finally, my cousin started dancing with one girl so I jumped in and ask her friend for a dance. For some reason this girl started to dig my cheesy pick up lines and especially my foreign accent. (Later in life I would come to realize that people either hate or love accents). Without realizing I was in??making out with this cute Chilean girl. I couldn’t believe it, this was the first time that I picked up a total stranger. I thought this was the best trip of my life! I felt like Mark Renton on Trainspotting minus the smack, I was the man!

We continued dancing and suddenly I felt I was been stared at, when I turned around I saw a bunch of guys looking at me and then she said, “Oh these are my cousins, let me introduce you to them”. I could tell they weren’t as thrilled as she was to meet me.? Next thing I know I’m sitting on a table with a bunch of guys and they all asking questions. Luckily my brother jumped into the conversation and noticing that we were going to get our ass handed he managed to sweet talk to the guys.

After spending an awesome night with the girl I got her number. The next day I called and of course I had no luck, she never answered (I also? come to realize later on in life that for some reason, girls love to give away their phone numbers, but never pick up). I never heard or saw her again, but it didn’t matter, what mattered was that I had an awesome story to tell to my high school friends back home.

[photo by: DCMatt]

There is something truly sensual about Bellagio, Italy. One of 6 towns situated around beautiful Lake Como, Bellagio is truly a living postcard. With its gorgeous architecture, landscaped gardens, and location on the lake, every view is simply breathtaking. Lake Como is an amazing deep blue framed by homes on the shoreline and amazing villas built into the sloping hills.

From the ferry you take to get to Bellagio, there are amazing views of the snow-capped Italian Alps. Bellagio is perched atop a hill and the cobblestone streets of Bellagio ascend from lake level at a steep angle of almost 45 degrees. Despite the relaxation factor you will get some exercise going up and down the streets.

The streets are lined with quaint boutiques and restaurants and there are many beautifully landscaped gardens filled with gorgeous flowers, sculpted trees and stone verandas. Bellagio does not have many tourist attractions to speak of but the romantic atmosphere makes you want to take a slow walk around town to take in all the beauty. And the food there is absolutely amazing. The dinners, which are usually 4 or 5 courses, are truly an experience. There is always at least 1 or 2 appetizers followed by a pasta and a meat dish, and of course plenty of chianti. The taste and quality of food there is unmatched in my opinion and even the simplest dishes had such superb flavor.

Lunch is usually a lighter meal, but even a simple prosciutto and brie sandwich is somehow so much more delicious than a typical sandwich. Espresso there is delicious and a great start to the day, and of course the delicious gelato makes a great finish to any meal. If you want tourist attractions such as museums and basilicas then Bellagio is probably not the place for you.

But if your intention is to relax in a romantic old world setting and be surrounded by beauty at every turn then you definitely want to visit Bellagio sometime in your life. In my humble opinion, even though my travel experience may not be vast, I would venture to say that Bellagio might quite possibly be the most romantic city in Europe.

[photo by: paolo margari]

One lovely evening after a few drinks with some friends, I was walking to the metro with my friend Mathias. On our way we passed a bar called the ‘Sans G’ne‘ where I noticed that an attractive young lady was looking at me. I felt compelled to speak to her, so I turned around said bye to Mathias and made my way to the bar.

I walked in and sat at the bar, where a very friendly bartender asked me what I wanted to drink. I ordered a beer and as he handed it to me he asked do you like boys or girls?

I was puzzled by the question but as I looked around I understood what he meant. There were only men there, except for the girl, and they all looked at me like a dog looks at a steak. I realized later on that the name ‘Sans G’ne’ meant “shameless”. And “shameless” it was - the barrage of men who stopped by to say hi.

It was only after a few minutes that I was rescued by the only lady in the premises. Her name was Charlotte and we talked for a few hours, with occasional interruption from her gay friends. We ended up at her place with the excuse of smoking some fine ganja, not hash mind you. After a few months in France I was getting tired of hash.

We finished smoking and Charlotte invited me to her room. We said bye to her friends and closed the door. It was indeed a good night in every sense. Good enough to make me visit quite often for a few weeks.

[photo by: Luke Robinson]