Now that we have established how cheap airfare has become (My God!), we can talk about how you can get some of that sweet sweet honey. Plane tickets are not like most other services. When the normal laws of economics get within range of the airline’s reason-distorting glare, they ball up in fear.

Here are three quick tips to help you navigate your next airfare purchase. After all, tickets are cheap (My God!).

1) Watch for deals

Here is where your flexibility and willingness to go anywhere that is both cool and not dangerous can save you some serious bank. Though airfare is “My God!” cheap, it isn’t cheap everywhere all the time.

For example check out this list of deals. Right now you can buy a round trip ticket from New York to London for $90 (My God!). See, I only know that because of that deal section. I also know that it is a little misleading because fees and taxes will add hundreds of dollars. However, it is still cheap.

2) Time your purchase right

Much like eating a peach, there is a fine art to biting into airfare at just the right time. If you do it too early you can end up with an overly crunch somewhat tasteless fare. However, if you are too patient and wait too long you will get a somewhat spoiled kind of revolting fare. The goal is to buy your ticket at just the right time. Right after the airlines start panicking about not selling enough tickets yet before the last minute buyers start panicking about not having tickets.

In all honesty, I am really bad at this art. In response, I often refer to the number-based farecast.com approach. They try to help you figure out the best time to buy. Luckily, they provide this service even if you don’t buy through them.

3) Consider the quirks of the airlines

In what sort of strange world is it cheaper to buy more? I’m not talking in a salesman-ese “cost per unit” sense either. I’m talking absolutely cheaper. Airlines.

Sometimes buying the round trip is cheaper than the one way, even if you only want to go one way. Unfortunately, airlines can also raise the price of tickets to certain cities if they see a rise in search traffic. Yup, this is what airlines can do to reasonable economics.

There are several of these quirks and paying any significant amount of attention to them is probably too paranoid. However, I swear I have seem airline prices go up hundreds of dollars when I search for a specific destination and date on several different sites. Plus, worrying about this matches my tinfoil hat perfectly.

Creative Commons picture by Chrispitality.

Budget travel may be the most exciting way to save money; After a two dollar bus ride up the Ganges you might find yourself dancing in the shimmering moonlight or facing a disgusting toilet in candle light. One dollar you spend next to the Mekong may buy you one of the best meals you have ever had or a night battling bed-bugs. For less money than it costs to buy strir-fry in the States you can spend a day on a Thai beach.

If you are interested, the following are the three basic steps.

1) Settle Your Accounts

Even when you are away there are bills to pay. From health insurance to monthly payments on your storage unit, money usually still needs to keep flowing back home. Some people convince a very trustworthy friend to keep an eye on things. I prefer to have things directly deducted from my checking account. Either way, make sure your health insurance payments are made on time.

2) Wander The World

South America and Southeast Asia are long-time favorites of the budget traveler. You may find a vibrant, colorful, delicious world…that happens to offer a very good exchange rate. But, no place is perfect for everyone. Plan to wander. Then linger in the places you really enjoy.

Creative Commons picture by judepics.

3) Learn

Learn how to speak Thai. Try your hand at organic farming. You could even do field research on sea turtles.

4) Board and Disembark Swiftly

This Helps you Avoid:

Missing your train -or- Ending up in the wrong town

Explanation

In order to keep things moving, the trains stop for just long enough to let people jump on and off. Usually this means the train will be there for just a few minutes before heading on it’s way. At some of the smaller stations the train may only stop for 60 seconds.

Creative Commons picture by …†∆†¡∆µ∆ .

3) You Can Often Stash Stuff Behind Your Seat

This Helps you Avoid:

Lifting your airline-carry-on-size bag over a strangers head only to realize that it doesn’t stand a chance of fitting up there.

Explanation:

I don’t know why, but the overhead storage space on many of these trains is only big enough to store something about the size of a….head. If your bag is bigger than you noggin, try to snag one of the behind the seat spots. I missed them because they didn’t seem like they were designed for bags. Bags slide into these spots easily and don’t slide out until you want them to. Plus: no lifting.

2) Look Out for Pickpockets

This Helps you Avoid:

Waiting to get a replacement passport while calling all your banks

Explanation

It sucks to get pick-pocketed. These trains are often dense enough to give a pickpocket cover. Not to mention that you are probably carrying some valuable stuff when you travel. Luckily, most pickpockets can be foiled by keeping your wallet in a zipped pocket or looking really tough. I use a zipped pocket.

1) Validate Your Ticket

This Helps you Avoid:

Rather Hefty Fines

Explanation:

Before boarding your train you are required to validate your ticket by sticking it into one of the little yellow boxes on the platform. The box will just print a time stamp on your ticket. This shows that you aren’t trying to use your ticket for train ride after train ride. If you are caught using a not-yet-validated ticket, you can face some seriously annoying fines.

Bonus tip:

If the train may be crowded, consider getting a reservation with your ticket

This Helps you Avoid:

Having to stand during an entire train journey

Explanation

A “Ticket” doesn’t assure you a seat. It just means you are allowed to take a train. If a train is crowded you may find yourself standing the whole way.

To get a reserved seat, but a reservation (Prenotazione) as well. This does assure you a seat.

1) Service Fee

It is not uncommon for Italian restaurant to charge for simply sitting at a table. In a sense you rent that little square meter of real estate. In my experience, service charges are around two euros per person.

Finding this on the bill has surprised quite a few Americans. Many of us are pretty used to the custom of paying “whatever I thought your service was worth.” But, in Italy many incredible restaurants are forced to operate out of small basement flats. The number of people they are able to seat (and thus how much business they can do) is limited by how willing drivers are to swerve around the tables they put in the road. These tables are only slightly less valuable than their reputation. By charging to use them the restaurateur is able to encourage people to watch where they sit and consider ordering to take away.

2) Drinks

You are expected to buy a drink. This makes less sense to me than the service fee. Complimentary water is about as common as alligator burgers and if you order water you will get (and be charged for) bottled water. If you want liquid, you must pay.

My attempts to order tap water were usually the beginning of a bad relationship between me and my waiter. I get a quick “no” and he gets the impression that he will be feeding a cheapskate.

3) Tipping

OK, so here is a part where you pay less at an Italian restaurant than an American one. The 15% or so tip that is common in the US is rarely done here. If there is a service fee, don’t tip. You already paid for service. If there isn’t a service fee, tips are sometimes left in the 5% range. All in all you usually just pay about what they ask you to.

Creative Commons picture by gruntzooki.

3) In An Open Purse, in Cash

A big wad of cash loosely stuck in an open purse is like a big red button with a sign that says “do not push.” Previously honest people will be tempted. Those who have spent the last few years working at a boring job will wonder if they could get away from it. Even a devout monk would get a rush of adrenaline looking at it. It is just so easy.

Extra points if:

You only hold one side of the purse, so gravity seductively pulls it open.

2) Cash Taped to Your Elbow

I have no idea how you would end up with cash taped to your elbow. But, I have a feeling that the story about why you have money taped to your elbow is worth far more than the actual money you could lose. As a result, I’m not wholly against this situation.

Extra points if:

You walk up to strangers, say numbers and expectantly wait for them to tell you if that is the amount you have taped to your elbow.

1) Ask a Stranger To Carry Some Cash For You

Truthfully this is just a somewhat mean donation. On the plus side you get to choose who gets the money. This way you can be reasonably confident that the person who gets it needs it. Unfortunately this particular donation comes with a side of guilt and a dash of shame.

Extra points if:

You tell them they have an “honest face” before you ask them to carry your money.

1 – The Weather

Creative Commons picture by extranoise.

As blasé as it may sound, talking about the weather actually works. The weather is something that we all experience, are all influenced by, and usually don’t blamed on strangers. A quick “I’m glad it is such a nice day” or “wow, I wasn’t expecting that rain” is a nice non-aggressive opener.  It is so good at starting conversations that I sometimes wonder if all of human society would fall apart without such a topic.

Disadvantage

You can get trapped in a conversation doldrum. Once the ice is broken you are still miles from other topics.

2 – Use Props

Creative Commons picture by Richard Moross.

Photos of my family and home town are not only surprisingly interesting to strangers, but usually lead people to talk about their own family and town. On that long train trip this can start a very interesting conversation about various cultures. It also has the advantage of introducing you as a person with a mother and a father, someone who is more than just a nationality. That is the type of person people can identify with.

Disadvantage

Like a good boyscout you have to be prepared. The props have to actually be on you when you want to start the conversation. Since I sometimes have trouble remembering my pants, this is a lot to ask.

3 – Ask Advice

You are trying to learn from these people right? You could always just ask them. Perhaps they know some good restaurants or fun sights in the town you are headed to. If you are daring enough to mention where you plan to sleep, they could even save you quite a few bed-bug bites.

Disadvantage

If you start with something big, this can come across as a bit to forward. Who really trusts a stranger’s opinion about which graduate school they should go to?

There are also times when you can’t get out of your reservations. In these cases knowing that you are trapped in a bad situation can just make things worse.

Finally, don’t discount the chance that people can lead you astray. Some people really like hookah bars others are asthmatic.

Once The Ice Is Broken

Once you start talking one of the best ways to bring the conversation to another level is to volunteer a story about yourself. That story where you mistakenly ate a frog can cause people to laugh and even offer a similar story about themselves. The ideal story for such a situation is probably a little embarrassing. That way people don’t feel threatened or challenged to a “which one of us is cooler” contest.

When to Stop Talking

If you show people a picture of your dog Stinker, but they don’t make eye contact and reply in grunts, they don’t want to talk. In these situations continued attempts to start conversations will just piss them off. It is probably best to just sit there.

Creative Commons picture by *Solar ikon*.

Starting a conversation with a stranger in a distant land can certainly be intimidating. However, it is worth it. Advice from a local can help make your trip far more comfortable. That conversation could even become one of your fondest memories of the trip.

Amore Turistico (tourist love)

Most people know that Shakespeare was an excellent English playwright and a sub-par historian. However, sometimes the fictional stories can matter more than the real ones. In an attempt to make Shakespeare’s story appear true, a house in Verona was declared to have been “Juliet’s house.” To make this claim more convincing a balcony was built onto it in 1938. People have flocked there ever since.

The house features a courtyard with a statue of Juliet that is overlooked by a balcony. It is said that if one gropes the right breast of Juliet’s statue, they will receive good luck. Juliet’s statue now has a very shiny right breast.

War

While Verona may have some really good stories about love they have a history full of war. Even in ancient roman times the city had an important strategic location (the junction of four major roman roads) that many generals were willing to have their soldiers die to control. Napoleon controlled it a few times. In world war two it was one of the most bombed cities in the region. [warning: cheesy sentence follows] Much like love itself, many have risked their lives to have Verona. [told you]

Creative Commons picture by luiginter.

The Modern City

Luckily many historic attractions have been able to weather the centuries of conflict. In ancient roman times the city had the third largest amphitheater in Italy. This amphitheater’s inner structure still stands and is quite an impressive site. It is said that much of the ancient roman city, with it’s roads paved in basalt, is quite well preserved about 6m underneath the present city.

Not to mention that the modern city hosts cool castles and excellent gelato. Even without stories of rival families and true love, this city would surely be a worthwhile place to visit.

These new wee hunks of computing plastic tend to share an emphasis on internet use and a small form factor (generally about 2lbs and roughly the size of a hardback book). They pretty much all have wifi cards. Depending on the model you can also get one with a webcam and microphone built in so that you can easily video chat (or even record videos) from the road.

As you might expect, not all ittsy bittsy laptops are created equal. Here are things you will want to look at before purchasing:

Price

I don’t want to spend a lot of money on these things. I figure others are like me. Netbook prices range from $200-$600.

Keyboard ease of use

Having a “condensed” keyboard is pretty common with these ultra-portable laptops. If you plan on using the keyboard at some point, make sure it isn’t so small that it hurts your hands.

Is it portable enough?

We are going for portable right? Make sure it can easily fit in your bag. “Netbooks” or “ultra-portable laptops” are certainly not all the same size.

Does it seem durable?

It sucks to have a cracked screen.

Battery Life

It can be nice to have a computer that thinks it’s a camel.

What software does it support?

I like Ubuntu myself. However, it doesn’t run perfectly on all hardware. Make sure you get a computer that can run the software you want.

Boot speed

A lot of the uses for such a computer are little. How do I get to that restaurant? I wonder if my mom has emailed me? The sort of thing you just want to quickly check and then close the computer. It can save you a lot of time to have a computer that boots in 15 seconds.

Creative Commons picture by Dan4th.

When you are searching the web for these computers, it is also valuable to know that there isn’t really a standard name for them. Sometimes these new portable laptops are called “netbooks,” “ultra-portable PCs,” or sometimes “weee bitty hunks of plastic.”

This post is part of an 2 part series on ultra-portable laptops:

• A Traveler’s Introduction to Ultra-Portable Laptops
• 4 Ultra-Portable Laptops You Could Buy Right Now

As cool as that experience can be, bathing at the top of HUGE waterfalls is better.

Usually bathing at the top of a waterfall is a recipe for trouble. It can be hard to resist sliding off the cliff like the water around you. However, some waterfalls aren’t as pushy. They have a small sheltered area, a pool of relative tranquility, that will allow you to safely bathe in water that is about to free fall off a mountain. Just be really sure that such a pool exists before jumping in.

Creative Commons picture by mckaysavage.There is one such pool at the top of one of the biggest waterfalls in the world: Victoria Falls in Zambia/Zimbabwe. Non-suicidal people actually wade into water that is about to fall around 360ft (pictured above). The small safe patch of water at the top of the falls is called the devil’s swimming pool. I’m not sure, but the devil reference could be implying that it is terrifying to bathe inches from the precipice of Victoria Falls.

Bathing at the bottom of waterfalls one can feel the natural excitement and freshness of the water around them. However, when you bathe at the top of waterfalls you can also feel the earth shaking potential.

Here are four fictional “stranded” stories and their analogous real events.

Wall-E & Charles Barnard

Fiction – Wall-E

Wall-E is a little robot who is marooned on earth by the humans he is cleaning up after.

Real – Charles Barnard

OK, so this one isn’t a perfect analog. Charles Barnard isn’t an adorable robot. Everyone didn’t leave the planet without him.

However, Charles Barnard was marooned by people he was in the process of helping.

What happened?

Charles Barnard was the captain of a ship sailing in the Falkland Islands. He came across some shipwrecked sailors with whom he was technically at war (they were British, he was American, it was 1812). However, ol’ Charlie thought it cruel to leave them behind so he offered to take them to safety. However, adding extra people to the crew meant his ship didn’t have enough supplies to make the voyage. To solve the problem, he set out on a nearby island with some of his crew members to find some more provisions. While he was out, the shipwrecked sailors overpowered his crew and left. Thus beginning Charles Barnard’s 18 month stay on the uninhabited eagle island.

Jack Sparrow & Edward England

Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End

Fiction – Jack Sparrow

The pirate Captain Jack Sparrow is marooned on a deserted island when the crew of his ship (the Black Pearl) mutinies against him.

Real – Edward England

The pirate Captain Edward England is marooned on a deserted island after his crew mutinies against him. For a little while Eddie E even captained a ship called the “pearl” (but he changed it’s name to “The Royal James” shortly after taking command).

What happened?

The part that really makes this story for me is the reason they mutinied: England decided not to kill the crew of a captured ship.

Jack’s and Edward’s stories diverge after the abandonment bit. This is probably partially due to the very un-disney-like ending of Edward’s story. He and the few crew members that were marooned were able to make it the 500 some odd miles to Madagascar on a crude raft. However, once he got there England was destitute and only able to survive for a short time by begging for food. He died before the end of the year.

Lost & Amelia Earhart

Fiction – Lost

A plane en route to Los Angeles from Sydney crashes on some southern pacific island.

Real – Amelia Earhart

Most people-in-the-know believe that Earhart’s plane crashed in the south pacific while she was trying to circumnavigate the globe.

What happened?

No one really knows what happened to Amelia Earhart. However, one of the best supported theories for how she crashed argues that she made it to a nearby island.

According to the “she made it to an island” theory there was some trouble with finding their intended destination. The plane overshot it’s goal by quite a bit and eventually crashed near Gardner island. If this is the case, the search efforts sadly concentrated in the wrong place. Even though she may have been able to survive for a little while on the island, she was not found in time.

Robinson Crusoe & Alexander Selkirk

Fiction – Robinson Crusoe

The famous book Robinson Crusoe tells the story of an English castaway stuck on an island for 28 years. (I’ll give you two guesses what his name was….)

Real – Alexander Selkirk

Alexander was a Scottish castaway who was stuck on a deserted island for four years and four months.

What happened?

Alexander decided mid-voyage that the ship he was a crew member of was in such bad condition that it was bound to sink in the near future. After a few “we are going to sink” fights with the captain Alexander got off at the next island. He figured another ship would come by soon.

Turns out, ships didn’t come by that often. However, Alexander was right on his primary claim. While he was alone and forgotten on the island, the ship he left in protest sank and most of it’s crew died. Score one for the Alex-meister.

This castaway story ends rather touchingly. When he was finally rescued he was so happy that he was completely incoherent. Because, his rescuers were rather hungry when they came across him, Alexander caught 2-3 goats a day (a skill he acquired on the island) until they were all healthy.