Travel Tips
Canada - Chicago - Newfoundland - South Africa
Visit QuickAid to read about many of the United State's airports. This is especially handy to get an idea of what you will have to navigate once you get to your destination. Chicago's O'Hare airport has its own website.
Maps On Us lets you choose intermediate destinations. Mapquest is the old standby that usually gets the job done. If you use a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), check out Mapblast for download-able maps.
If you need to know the exchange rate between two currencies, visit the Universal Currency Converter online. It updates regularly (once per minute). Another good resource for North America is the Royal Bank of Canada's conversion page.
An excellent portal for up-to-date news, current events, sports and weather is Canada.com. From this starting point, you are well on your way to being knowledgeable about the second largest country in the world. (That would be Canada, folks.) Find out exactly which of Eric's Canadian stories are true!
Hopefully you will not have to worry about any of this, but if leaving the United States, you should check out any warnings and advisories put out by the US State Department. The most up-to-date listings are found on the US State Department website.
Visit Fodor's Living Language website, where you can look up phrases, have them translated, spelled phonetically, and spoken via your sound card! Also check out BabelFish, where you can auto-translate to/from English or whatever!
This website of Festivals gives you the scoop on local cultural events from all over the world. We have used this to find out what we could see and do on many business trips.
TimeAndDate is a handy website that can tell you what time it is anywhere in the world. Holidays and other calendar issues are also listed. Their Meeting Planner is a convenient way to figure out the best time for an international conference call.
Rules of Airport Behavior
• Keep moving. If you need to gawk at the pretty lights, stand against the wall.
• Maintain strict control of your children. The airport is not a playground. Your children can and will get hurt. Especially if they annoy too many business travelers.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Memorize your flight number. Announcements including your flight number are intended for you.
• Yelling at airline personnel is counter-productive. Yell at the children running around you, instead.
• Do not volunteer help. Good intentions will not go unpunished.
• Boarding is from the higher numbered seats first. Stand away from the door. Wait your turn.
• The seats are numbered in sequence, starting with low numbers. If the seat you are looking at is 18, you can bet the next seat is 19.
• If you cannot lift your carry-on items over your head, check them. There is a reason there is a weight and size limit for carry-ons: safety.
• Keep your sense of humor. The most annoying events are also the most amusing.
• Consider your fellow passengers. No matter how bad a day you are having, there is someone around you who has had worse.
