I’m Taking My First Vacation, See You In Two Weeks
As I mentioned last week, I’ve decided to be a good boss to my blogging self and take about 6 weeks of annual vacation each year. So this confessed work-and-travelholic is going to take the next 2 weeks off somewhere in the world. I’ll be slow to respond to comments, most emails, and there won’t be any new posts until February 21rst when I’ll launch this year’s Best City To Visit 2012 Contest.
In the meantime you can check out my least and most popular posts of 2011, my travel gadget gift guide if you’ve got a birthday coming up (happy birthday by the way!), or wander around my travel photos. Want to see aliens in varying degrees of clothing? I’ve got you covered there too.
I look forward to getting back to you soon and hope these withdrawal symptoms subside or increase significantly – I want to see where these hallucinations go from here.
February 2012 LIVE CHAT! With Audrey Scott And Daniel Noll About Iran Plus 60 Other Countries In 4 Years On The Road
Hello everyone and welcome to today’s live chat! You’ll have me all to yourself in the first hour and have a treat for you in the second hour (6pm-8pm US EST). Joining us from Mexico will be guests Daniel Noll and Audrey Scott who write the popular travel blog Uncornered Market and have traveled to over 60 countries in the last 4 years.
Click here to jump right into the chat happening for the next 3 hours!
The Live Chat is only open from 5pm-8pm US EST; 10pm-1am London GMT; 7am-10am Tokyo JST).Thanks for a wonderful chat everyone! My next chat will be Thursday, March 2nd; times to be determined.
Let’s talk travel – a few of you had questions about my upcoming vacation, my advice for new travel bloggers, and what camera gear I carry. Plus I’ve got the best comments from January for you too. We’ll keep the keyboards warm for Audrey and Dan.
I’ve had the pleasure of meeting a Dan and Audrey in person several times over the last few years. If you’ve ever been curious about traveling in Iran, Tajikistan, or why laundry service in Oaxaca, Mexico doesn’t accept underwear now’s your chance to find out… Click here to jump into the comments and join the chat!
Reminder: Live Chat Later Today Right Here From 5PM-8PM US EST (10PM-1AM GMT) Taking Your Travel Questions
Hello, good morning, afternoon, or evening wherever you may be in the world; I’d like to invite you to my February live chat taking place right here on the site. Just come to any foXnoMad page and click the gigantic banner you’ll see floating atop the entire site. The chat will begin at 5pm US EST and I’d love to hear from you. I’ll take your travel and tech questions, comments, and let you know what my next contest prize may be in March.
In the second hour at 6pm US EST I’ll be joined from Mexico by guests Dan and Audrey who write Uncornered Market. They’ll be talking and taking your questions about their recent travels in Iran and over 60 other countries in the last 4 years.
The Chat Will Be Live Later Today At These Times
- 5pm-8pm New York (US EST)
- 10pm-1am London (GMT)
- 7am-10am Tokyo (JST)
- In another time zone? Find out the chat time in your city.
Traveling Offbeat? We’ve Got You Covered
Whether it’s Kyrgyzstan, Iraq, or Antarctica; if you’ve ever wanted to travel to an offbeat destination, this is the chat for you. I hope you’ll drop by and look forward to spending some time with you.
4 Ways To Track And Recover Your Stuff If It Gets Stolen When Traveling
We’re beginning a new era in the cycle of travel theft in favor of the victim despite the amount of coverage of what thieves can do to you with technology. Yet, our stuff that is so tempting to steal, is also getting smart enough to protect itself, fight back, and find its way home. You’re probably carrying smaller, more expensive electronics today than you ever have – two good reasons to prepare yourself in the craftiest ways possible.
1. All Around Laptop, Tablet, Mobile Phone Recovery: Project Prey
I am a huge fan of Project Prey and if there’s one solution you should use as part of a physical security plan for your gadgets, Project Prey is it. This free piece of software runs on your laptop (Windows, Mac, and Linux), mobile phone (iPhone and Android), and tablet (yes, iPad too); remaining hidden until you activate it. If your gadget gets stolen, you activate Project Prey remotely (through a free account on their website) and you can track it, get secret screenshots, steal passwords, and even get pictures of the crooks covertly with any built-in camera. Need more convincing? Project Prey helped Matthew recover his Macbook Pro in Panama.
Mac users can also take a look at iCloud (although it doesn’t work nearly as well).
2. Set A Decoy Wallet Trap To Surprise A Pickpocket
I’ve talked about decoy wallets before as part of a broader travel security plan to reduce your loses if you’re unfortunate enough to be pick-pocketed. Decoy wallets also make good dummy targets but if you want to add a small chance of catching the thief, be sure to leave an unused – but activated – credit card in yours. This won’t work in every country but if the pickpocket decides to use that credit card somewhere and you’ve reported it stolen, police can use surveillance footage from stores to track them. More criminals are caught this way than you might think. Plus your credit card company likely won’t hold you liable for unauthorized transactions.
You probably won’t get your wallet back but justice may still be served.
3. Find Lost Or Stolen Luggage With An Inexpensive GPS Tracking Unit
Although controversial, GPS tracking units are often used to follow the movements of criminal suspects in many countries around the world. These small-palm sized devices broadcast radio signals that can be used to track them from a computer. Place Hide one of these (the Winplus AC13268-72 Beacon GPS Tracker is $29 or the Telespial TrackStick $149) in your backpack or checked luggage to find out where it is when it’s not where it’s supposed to be.
4. Keep A Digital Eye On Your House With Your Desktop
There are plenty of uses for that clunky desktop when you’re traveling; one of which is to act as security guard. Both Yawcam (Windows) or iAlertu (Mac) can snap and email you photos when they detect any motion – especially useful when things should be motionless. A picture of a potential burglar may help you get your stolen things back. Plus, you’ll finally know if you’ve really trained your cat not to jump on tables when you’re at work.
In addition, iAlertu (and Laptop Alarm for Windows) can put some muscle on your laptop so it sounds a loud alarm if moved. Useful for those times you’ve just got to hop up for a napkin or your 6th cup of coffee in a cafe with your laptop just within visual range.
Hope For The Best But Plan For The Worst
No security is absolute – the first rule of security – and that’s why any plan without a backup is doomed to fail eventually. Remember, your data is more valuable than any piece of electronic equipment you own so don’t screw up your vacation by preparing for mini-disasters. Recruit your gadgets and technology to work on your side for protection and preparation just in case.
