August 14, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Has 9/11 Become the Safest Day of the Year to Travel?

Quite possibly. Very possibly. And why, you ask? Are you kidding?

Have you been to a major American or other Western airport on 9/11? The lines are shorter, but the screenings take longer, because they’re more thorough. There are fewer distractions. The music blaring from Duty-Free is turned down a bit; there isn’t the same raucous chatter from tour groups and families about to depart. Everyone is watching everyone else.

The pilots and flight attendants are more vigilant. Passengers don’t leave bags unattended for five seconds (much less a couple minutes) to recheck their boarding time on the screen. There’s a subtle, but depressing and deadened hush from gate to gate, from terminal to terminal. Planes are triple-checked instead of double-checked. Air traffic controllers watch every move on their monitors and across the sky as if their lives depended on it.

Which to me, at least, all suggests that 9/11 may in fact be the safest day of the entire year to get on an airplane — at least in the West, and at any number of other areas scarred by a terror attack.

But would you care to fly on 9/11? My guess is no.

As we approach the 12th anniversary of 9/11, it’s worth taking a brief look at what’s happened at airports and on airplanes, both in terms of safety and security. Besides a couple of terrifying near-misses involving a shoe bomb and liquid gels, there hasn’t been a major incident or threat. Newer security measures (which are now years old) border on knee-jerk reactions (no one had to remove their shoes before Richard Reid’s threat; no one had a problem with our jug of water until the scare with the bottles of chemicals onboard).

It’s impossible to say if terrorists want an encore of a certain tragedy to drive their message home. From what I’ve observed, they usually move on to some other tactic once they’re successful at a particular “mission.” Take the World Trade Center, for example: after some unsuccessful tries to bring it down, the jihadists accomplished their “mission” and moved on to… well, a variety of other things. Embassies will always remain vulnerable targets. Car bombings are smaller-scale, but accomplish the same basic “goal.”

To me, the people that seem most scared — and maybe rightfully so — are the ones with the Eurail or Amtrak passes. I need to glance through my own travel anxiety book every time I get on a train now. Of course I’m scared. Isn’t everyone?

Will I be flying on 9/11 this year? No, because it’s still a little too hot in Turkey during the first half of September. I’ve given myself a good reason (excuse?) to fly on the less auspicious date of 9/26 instead.

Will you be flying on 9/11 this year? Maybe not, since it’s coming up fast, you might have other plans, and it still holds that sickening power of imagination and dread over us. But would you consider doing so in the future? You might. From my look around during the last 9/11, it seems about as safe as you can get, and your courage — and indifference to the date — flies right in the face of what every jihadist most wants.

It’s 9/11. Am I all alone in here?

August 10, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Those Little Things that Cause Us Stress on a Trip… that We Keep Doing

…usually to make someone else feel more comfortable, or happy, even though it’s our vacation, and we might very well be in self-gratification overdrive… and if not, then our minds are already full of plans and distractions, addresses and schedules. Sound familiar? Even if you consider yourself a “tunnel-vision traveler,” the kind that has their nose to the itinerary and way more interest in the sights around them than the people, you might find yourself spending more energy than you planned in order to make things easier or nicer for someone else. Personally, I never cease to be amazed by fellow tourists who struggle against their own impatience, social anxiety, discomfort, or pride in the name of kindness or sensitivity to those around them (or waiting for them at home). Here are some observations of how we often make things a little harder for ourselves abroad… and usually don’t feel bad about it.

Speaking the Local Language When You Know the Other Person Speaks Good English. Sometimes even perfect English. But not necessarily comfortable English. What’s the big deal? you ask. Can’t the thousands of underpaid and overworked hotel receptionists at all the Americanized hotels out there just help us in our own language so we don’t have to choke on a few recitations out of a Lonely Planet phrasebook? Of course. But does it sometimes irritate or tire them out? Yes, they’ve told me when I’ve actually asked. Personally, I’ve been amazed at how exhausted and disconnected I can feel from my own thoughts and feelings when I have to navigate back and forth all day between two languages. For some of us it’s natural; for others, it’s a major brain-drain, and can make a person feel downright lonely. If I see a depressed Parisian hotel manager hang up the phone after clearly losing an argument in English, I’m going to do my best to converse with him in my rudimentary French. Yes, it stresses me out. But it helps him regain his confidence and frame of mind.

Smiling at Service People. Should we smile at the maid for cleaning our room? Will she think it’s condescending? Should we smile at the TSA security guy who looks like he’s ready to drop from exhaustion? Will he think I’m trying to distract him? Should I smile at the Muslim couple running a convenience store in East London, who just helped me pick up all my spilled groceries off the floor (what’s to smile about? Will the man think I’m being too forward?) or should I nod and get the heck out of their way? Well, often we’re not sure… especially if we’re in a drastically different cultural setting.

Am I alone in getting pretty nervous over little things like this? Probably not. It’s taken me awhile to realize that even if someone doesn’t smile back, it doesn’t usually mean they dislike your nice expression. They’re just too taken aback or tired to smile back.

Offering to Take Someone’s Photo. Have you ever actually said no to someone who asked you to take a photo of them in front of a landmark? Maybe if you had a baby in your arms, or were in a mad hurry. I know I feel a little bad for the oddball solo male or female traveler standing in the grass in front of the Eiffel Tower trying repeatedly to center themselves in front of their own camera… which is why I stop and offer to take their picture. I’m always worried it will result in an awkward conversation, or the person will follow me asking me to take another photo, or that (worse) I’ll do something and actually break their camera… but it never does. And it actually causes me less stress to offer a photo than see someone ten feet away obviously trying to work up the nerve to ask me. Afterwards I’ll think, what was the big deal?… and then some 80-year-old guy from Alabama will nab me near the Louvre and want me to help him buy a metro ticket.

Bothering to Mail Postcards. We have email, and cell phones. Some of us have Skype, and most of us have blogs. You can now send “digital postcards” from a variety of websites. So why do I find myself in line with many other befuddled tourists in a foreign post office as we try to figure out how much it costs to send where, and how? Apparently I’m not the only one who has a sentimental thing for a mass-produced piece of cardstock with barely enough room to describe what I did for the day, much less how I feel about it. But I know that card is going to mean the world to a parent or grandparent who can’t find the power button on a computer, much less remember to be by their phone at midnight Central European Summer Time (CEST) when I try to call.

Yes, it’s often a royal pain to figure out the local version of the Royal Mail. For example, I’ve asked three different Correo attendees in Buenos Aires how much it costs to mail a card to the U.S., and gotten three different answers. I’ve heard of people wasting a good afternoon of touring trying to track down the DHL service in Moscow only to end up at the rather inefficient and expensive local post office. And I’ve had my share of beautifully-written postcards simply never make it to their recipients. To be honest, I have mail postcards on my to-do list for every city right under look up local embassy and do laundry. Yes, it can be a chore, and a source of possible stress. Some things on a trip just are. But most of the time we find them to be well worth it.

Ever been late to a nice tourist attraction while you fretted over whether the postcard that fits into the little box would actually make its way across the ocean?

August 8, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Travel, Terror, Strategy, and Luck

It’s August. I don’t need to know it’s high-travel season; I read your blog entries written from around the world every day. If you’re not on a trip right now, then you just got back from somewhere, or you’re ready to go abroad, or you’re thinking about it. This is the time of year when many of us most want and need a vacation. Summer is running out; students go back to school soon; the dreary months of the year seem depressingly near. Many of us wait until August to take our summer vacation because we had too much to do at home in June and July. We’re relieved to finally, finally be on our way. Then the State Department issues a travel alert… for the entire month of August. Do they call it a terror alert? No, they call it a travel alert. That makes us feel so much better, right? And yet do we sit on our passports and let the doubt and fear creep into our minds? From what I can tell, the answer is definitely no.

The anticipated targets are just vague enough, and just specific enough, to be infuriating. The embassies are closed across the Middle East and North Africa. But I’m not in the Middle East, you answer. Should I stay the heck away from the embassies in all the most popular European capitals because they might be threatened too? Well, we don’t know. It would be a “good idea.” It might be a good idea, too, if you weren’t on top of the Eiffel Tower at 3 pm on a beautiful afternoon. Or aboard The Eye in London the next evening. Or somewhere else insanely popular at an insanely popular time. The point is, there are lots of ways to minimize that thing we call personal risk. Personal risk is about reducing the chance that you’ll be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And what does it really add up to? Does something either happen or not, and we’re along for the ride either way?

The questions really is, does a travel alert actually change our behavior? I’ve talked to tourists who won’t take a direct flight across the United States because they believe there will be a repeat of the 9/11 attacks. They will lay over in Toronto on a flight from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C., and then tell me how much safer they feel when they land. I’ve talked to other people who won’t stay in any kind of large chain hotel overseas because they think that an independent or locally-owned hotel won’t be targeted. I’ve been on board a flight from Paris to London that was running three hours late, and the people next to me didn’t complain once because they would rather sit on the tarmac all night rather than deal with the stress of riding through the oft-threatened Chunnel.

Personally, the travel alert isn’t going to change my plans to fly into Istanbul next month. The fact that Turkey isn’t on the Middle East and North African “danger list” hasn’t inspired me to keep my plans. I just don’t think anything’s going to happen to me. I trust my instincts, my common sense. I trust in my vigilance to notice my surroundings, to know when something’s “wrong,” and to be a small part of preventing a tragedy. Is this arrogant? Yes, I think so. It distracts me from the idea that I believe in my own luck to save me from a serious incident abroad. Am I alone in believing this? No, I don’t think so.

Most of us will use the travel alert to reduce our personal risk. We might choose to travel “smaller,” travel more quietly. We’ll travel “smarter,” whatever that means, and keep an eye out. The more cautious among us will stay the hell out of and off “popular” destinations and routes, and go to bed thinking about how there’s no strategy for luck. The more brazen among us will feel more relaxed and invigorated after 2,000 miles on a Eurail pass without seeing a single nervous-looking security guard. That’s 2,000 more miles without incident… ha! And we’ll keep going, and going, and going.

If nothing happens this month, then we’ll all feel lucky, and we’ll love traveling (and in one sentimental figurative embrace, the world) even more than we do now. If something does happen, then we’ll rage over it, we’ll adjust, we’ll wait, and head right back out. With a more watchful eye this time.

When I was in Russia in late June, I didn’t say anything to anyone about the two unattended bags below the Olympic countdown clock. Now, I would. Would it make me feel any safer?

August 3, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Can Smartphone Applications Take the Worry Out of Touring?

…or the fun? And the discovery?

Imagine standing in a foreign street and holding a smartphone out at arm’s length, and having the names and uses of each building in front of you pop up on the screen — along with info about the nearest metro station, store business hours, and more. Sound impressive? This type of application is actually pretty common these days. It uses a technology called augmented reality (AR), which is a live view of your real-world environment, captured on a screen and narrated by computer-generated input (usually text, but also graphics, sound and GPS data). It can be invaluable if you’re touring where you can’t make heads or tails of the language, or if you have a hopeless sense of direction. In other words, it can help you avoid getting lost, misunderstood, taken advantage of, and other very stressful situations.

So what’s involved in an AR device? The hardware usually consists of a processor, a display, and sensors (all three of which are rolled into one unit and shaped to fit your hand) and the output device (usually a headset, which may not be necessary depending on how easy your display is to use). Standalone units were common at first, but more and more, smartphones and tablets have the camera, sensor, and output needed to support AR. Right now, the application (including all the required software) averages about $400, and can be worth every penny. Consider the following it can help you with:

Identifying the full route of a bus you see down the street;
Potential hazards in your path (such as poorly marked construction);
Road conditions and traffic updates (if you are driving); and last but not least,
Translating foreign text on signs and menus.

So why isn’t everyone walking around with one on tour? Well, there are some definite drawbacks to using AR. Some that I can think of include:

Dangerous levels of immersion. You can get so absorbed in the interface that you become oblivious to your surroundings. AR will tell you a lot, but not about the bad habits of drivers or the motivations of the people around you.
You can become dependent on AR. It can erode your observational skills, your intuition, and your problem-solving skills. Consider the possible effect on your confidence, and your ability to guide others someday (like your kids!).
The application can take some of the discovery and personal experience out of your trip. If part of your touring enjoyment comes from figuring out whether you’ve just stumbled upon a great tattoo parlor or just a music store, or whether an odd building is a museum or an antiques shop, then think about saving AR for occasional use, when you’re really stuck — or just opting to travel the “traditional way,” with a map in your hand instead.

Can’t imagine where this escalator-in-a-forest leads to? Me neither, but to be honest, I’d rather just keep walking to find out.

July 31, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Does Jet Lag Impact Your Stress Level?

I’ve asked a lot of travelers this question, and consistently noted that about half of people say yes, and about half say no. Jet lag is one of those things international travelers inevitably have to manage, and something that we either learn to put up with, ignore, or (at the very least) use as a good explanation for our coworkers, family, and friends after we get back from a trip and feel like we’re stumbling through a fourth dimension for a week.

Interestingly, those who admit that jet lag causes them quite a bit of anxiety discover that it’s actually worrying about jet lag that causes them the most stress (how will it affect them physically? Mentally? Emotionally?) while those that say jet lag doesn’t bother them often say that while jet lag is irritating, it relaxes them in a certain way — unlike any other physiological phenomenon. These are people who actually don’t mind having their natural body rhythms thrown off because it is a break from their daily rut of work-eat-sleep-worry-work-eat-sleep-rinse-and-repeat. In other words, jet lag is just a feature of being on vacation, of doing something different.

Given the varying reactions and all the anecdotes and quick-fix recommendations that abound out there on how to deal with jet lag, it’s worth taking a closer look.

Jet lag results from alterations to the body’s circadian rhythms caused by trans-meridian (west–east, or east-west) air travel. When traveling across a number of time zones, your body’s natural pattern is upset as the cycles that govern times for sleeping, eating, and body temperature regulation no longer correspond to your environment. To the extent that your body cannot immediately realign these rhythms, you are “jet lagged.” Symptoms can either aggravate anxiety, or be mistaken for intensified side effects of medications. Some of the most common jet lag symptoms include:

Headache and irritability;
Balance and coordination problems;
Difficulty concentrating;
Early awakening (if flying west) or trouble falling asleep (if flying east); and
Interrupted sleep (to say the least).

Jet lag usually occurs with a change of three time zones or more, and the extent to which you’re affected depends on the number of time zones crossed. If you’re unfamiliar with jet lag (or just want to explain it as painlessly as possible to your great-aunt), it’s worth noting that the maximum possible disruption is plus or minus twelve hours. If the time difference between two locations is greater than twelve hours, subtract that number from 24 to understand the “adjusted” time zone difference. New Zealand, for example, being nineteen hours ahead of Pacific Standard Time, would pose only a five-hour jet lag challenge to a traveler from California.

The recovery time for jet leg is generally one day per time zone crossed, although many people (particularly those who travel more) are able to recover faster. Women are affected by jet lag more than men, since normal nighttime and daytime body rhythms are connected to estrogen levels. Recovery will also depend on whether your flight(s) are overnight or scheduled during the day. You’ll typically experience more jet lag if you begin a long flight mid-morning or early afternoon than if you take a “red eye” flight departing at eight p.m. or later (it helps, of course, if you can actually fall asleep on an airplane).

Unfortunately, there are no proven ways to avoid jet lag altogether. You can talk to your general care practitioner about where specifically you’re going, and how to strategize flight times and sleep hours, to try to minimize the impacts. Your doctor may suggest getting only a minimal amount of sleep the night before your flight (so that you’re naturally sleepy when you arrive at your destination) or taking a prescription-strength sleep medication for the first several nights of your trip.

How will you feel after making this trip?!

July 27, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Plane Crash… Train Crash… is Your Travel Anxiety in Overdrive Yet??

Yes, there have been two major travel catastrophes in the news this summer: the Asiana Airlines plane crash at San Francisco International, and now the horrific Renfe train crash in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Neither incident allowed the passengers on board to see or prepare for what was coming. Terrorists couldn’t be blamed, or bad weather, or even an act of God. Instead, it looks like inept crew caused both tragedies… which may cause us equal parts rage, and fear, as we ask ourselves: Why should we travel? Doesn’t traveling mean putting ourselves at the mercy of the people entrusted with our safety? What if I was in that 0.0001% of innocent people who died because of someone else’s recklessness?

Everyone who braves their way abroad has to answer these questions for themselves, and the best time to ask yourself (as painful as it is) is after a major travel tragedy. If you don’t, your fear will stick with you deep down, until you find yourself reaching for your xanax instead of that Eurail brochure. Think about it: how much does trust, faith, and belief in your own good fortune play into your confidence? It depends not only on your anxiety, but your personality and your overall view of life.

So you might be thinking, are there practical ways to avoid a tragedy like the high-speed Renfe train crash? For many people the answer is simple: ride those bumblingly slow intercity trains until they forget about what happened in in Santiago de Compostela. So how long until people forget? Maybe by the time the holidays roll around… or maybe not until next summer. What makes a train crash so upsetting is that people generally feel so much safer on a train than on a plane, simply because they’re on the ground and moving at a slower speed. There aren’t security alerts blaring over the loudspeakers as is the case at most airports. There aren’t four officers and a metal detector between you and that cozy window seat. A train is like an old friend: slower, friendlier, safer.

I was on a train in Germany once that made me very nervous. We were hurtling between Stuttgart and Koln at well over 120 miles an hour. I couldn’t tell if the animals we were passing were cows, or horses! So what did I do? I got off in little old Siegburg because I was starting to feel sick with dread. Nothing happened to that train I was on, of course; everything was just fine. I made myself an hour late that night, but I felt relieved to know that I could listen to my gut when I didn’t feel safe on a high-speed train. Remember, there’s a certain advantage to trains over planes: if your sixth sense is telling you to get the heck off, or you just need to stand still and regain control of your nerves for awhile, it’s a whole lot easier to disembark. So don’t let the Renfe tragedy get the best of your travel confidence; understand that accidents can happen, that tragedies are exceedingly rare, and that you have a lot more control than you think. Everything in between is just the essence of adventure.

July 24, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

“Travel Rebound”: is it Healthy?

Say you just got back from vacation — a really, really great one that made you feel like the star of a National Geographic feature the whole time. If you had a phenomenal trip, you may not even recover from jet lag before you start thinking of booking the next vacation. You may be afraid of these feelings because you fear they’re compulsive, reactive, or will lead to a fixation on travel that you can’t control. Are you starting to suffer from “travel rebound”?

Understand that many people start dreaming of their next vacation in order to minimize the “downer” that often comes with getting back to your job, chores, etc. Plenty of travelers liken “traveling on the rebound” to “dating on the rebound”: as in, you miss the feeling of something so much that you can’t wait to jump back in. Fortunately, booking travel on the rebound is a lot healthier, and more successful than dating on the rebound!

If you’re suffering from “travel rebound,” don’t be overly concerned as long as you’re not extending yourself beyond your physical, financial, and practical means. It’s when your credit card company starts calling, or (more importantly) your friends, family, and even your doctor start to think of you as an escapist rather than a travel buff that you need to step back and look more at your home life than your passport.

Yeah, you know you’re seeing a screen like this in your daydreams!

July 17, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

Antarctica: The Ideal Escape for Anxiety Sufferers?

Yes, it’s summer, which means people are booking Antarctica cruise tickets right now to grab those last great deals for ships departing early next year — while many others are already booking summer savings to cruise in January 2015. Does the White Continent hold a special place in the hearts of loners, worriers, and anxious dreamers? You bet. There’s something about all that ice, all that whiteness, and the idea of journeying right off the face of the earth that appeals to us — even when the cost and the logistics of going that far south are a definite challenge

So is it true that an uninhabited place of stunning natural wonder is perfect for you? Consider the following.

1. If you do book a dream trip to Antarctica, it will most likely be on a cruise ship (unless you’re a millionaire who can afford a plane or a helicopter down…) or a smaller “explorer“ ship that can actually land you on ice. That means being in relatively close quarters with hundreds, if not a couple thousand, people. I took one of those “big” cruises, and while I had a fantastic time, I have to say that at the end of two weeks, I had a very intense need for my personal space back. My advice? Learn from my challenges and shell out the extra money for a room with a balcony. If you book an indoor stateroom, the only way you’re going to get a view (or even some fresh air) is to mingle with the dozens milling the observation decks upstairs… and your social anxiety might get the best of you.

2. You don’t have to actually do anything on an Antarctic cruise if you don’t want to — a great pleasure if you‘re in need of some serious stress detox. Not only are your meals and room and board taken care of like on any other cruise ship, but outdoor activities shut down as the temperatures plunge. No outdoor pool; no dancing outside; fewer distractions; no need for you to feel like you should be drifting from fore to aft all day to make the most of your expensive ticket. You usually just sit and enjoy the stunning scenery. And let your imagination take over.

3. Antarctica appeals to the nature-loving, highly-sensitive introvert. I met many such individuals in my experience earlier this year. For every group of ten or twelve people who clearly knew each other, there was at least one person who looked like they had in fact booked the trip to the end of the earth to get away from their anxiety triggers. These people can become your friends if you have the energy and courage to work up a conversation with them. It would probably be a lot more difficult to connect with another anxiety sufferer outside the Louvre or the Parthenon.

Did I mention the photo opportunities? Take your own set of stunning shots, print them when you get back home, and one look back will bring you to that mental space where you had thousands of miles of ice and sea to meditate on during your incredible journey.

Need a good place to start searching for this trip of a lifetime? I had a good experience with Vacations to Go: http://www.vacationstogo.com/antarctica_cruises.cfm

–The Brave Traveler

July 8, 2013 by Rita Hypnarowski

A Plane Crash: Can it Happen to Me?

Will it happen to me?

How can it be prevented? Can it be prevented?

That’s it; I’m not going to travel. I had high hopes, but I can’t risk dying or getting seriously injured!

These may be some of the thoughts going through your head after watching the coverage of the tragic Asiana Airlines crash at

San Francisco International (SFO) this weekend. I’ve flown in and out of SFO almost a dozen times over the past four years, and I have to say, my gut seized when I heard the news, and I immediately thought of the trip I have scheduled for Turkey in the fall. And yes, the first two questions above flew through my head – but not the last one. Why? Because there are things you can do to minimize the chance of personal tragedy aboard aircraft. Here are several that will put your mind (more) at ease about flying before you book your next trip.

These may be some of the thoughts going through your head after watching the coverage of the tragic Asiana Airlines crash at

Find out where your flight originates from. If it doesn’t originate from the city you’re departing from, it’s likely the plane pilot has already been flying for at least a couple hours before he starts your nine- or ten-hour flight. The Asiana Airlines flight originated in Shanghai, China before landing in Seoul, South Korea, and then taking off for San Francisco, California. The cause of the crash is still being investigated, but think about how fresh you would feel after driving for at least twelve hours, and you get an idea of how taxing it is for a pilot to safely land when he or she is exhausted. Bottom line is, you’re likely to be safer on a flight that originates where you do.

Pay the extra money to fly with an airline that has an excellent, long-standing reputation and track-record. I don’t want to knock Asiana Airlines, but their reps are already admitting that the pilot that may have been responsible for the crash was in training. Before the crash, I’d never even heard of Asiana Airlines. Your safety does NOT come with a budget – so think of the premium you pay on a ticket as money well-spent on highly experienced pilots flying rigorously maintained aircraft.

Learn about emergency landing protocols BEFORE you board the plane. I had a stewardess once tell me that only 25% of passengers are really listening to the pre-flight safety demonstration that’s mandatory before every take-off. Furthermore, it’s doubtful that those passengers retain all the information shown regarding use of oxygen masks, flotation devices beneath your seat, etc. Go to the airline website a couple days before you leave and review the safety information then, when you’re relatively relaxed and have time to think about it. When the stewardess is providing the information before you actually take off, look around at the people NOT paying attention, and those with baggage stuffed at their feet, a baby in their lap, people possibly hung over or apparently not feeling well, etc. because these are the people who will present a challenge to your safe and speedy evacuation should the worst occur. Knowing the condition and state of your surrounding passengers is going to be just as important to your safety during an emergency as understanding how to use your oxygen mask or where the nearest emergency exit is.

Happy, and safe, travels to you all.