Archive for August, 2007

Track any US flight

Just come across this useful looking website which lets you track any flight from any airline in the US: FlightAware

Wonder if there’s a UK/European version…

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Tips For Bargaining & Bartering as a LIP

Have you ever been at a local market on holiday or on LIP location somewhere and heard another tourist driving a ridiculously hard bargain with a local, seeing it as some kind of evil game to force the vendor far lower than they want to go just for the sake of a few pence or cents?

Now I know that in many countries bargaining & bartering is expected – indeed offence is taken if you don’t drive a hard bargain and there’s a great vibe of satisfaction all round when the buyer gets to take his spoils home and the vendor gets to make some money that day. In some countries you even do it over a lovely cup of tea together.

There is a limit in my books however to the extent you should go to when bargaining and it makes me cringe when I see tourists haggling over what amounts to 5 or 10p to them just to feel like they’ve won some kind of moral victory…you see them walking away going “Well now, see I wasn’t going to let them rip me off like that”.

Purrrrlease!!! Being ripped off by 5p is hardly the worst thing in the world – you get ripped off in Britain by far more than that on a daily basis. Whilst 5 or 10p means nothing to most tourists, it can mean a great deal more to a local – especially if their average annual wage is £300. Of course their cost of living might be far lower too but trying to win a victory over 5p….I’ve got better things to do with my time & money.

Here’s what we’ve found is the best way not to get ripped off & ensure you’re paying a fair price as a L.I.P on location…

Ask a local (the people from whom you rent your apartment are a great source of knowledge for things like this or people at your hotel) what they would expect to pay for the item you want. When it comes to buying, you then know exactly what price you’re aiming for. It doesn’t do any harm to either take a local with you or to let the vendor know that this is the price your local friend has told you to pay…and not a cent more.

Best Places To Do Business In The Wired World

Business 2.0 has an interesting article on the best places to do business in the wired world.

It’s restricted to cities which is fine if you’re a city person but not so great if you, like us, are no longer city whizzers but prefer to be ‘at one’ with nature

The ‘No Stuff’ Mentality

If you want everything you own to fit in a 65 litre suitcase, it forces you to become an expert ‘de-clutterer’. It also requires a certain mentality that I’ve found many people struggle with, despite pretty much agreeing that clutter is undesirable.

When we leave in 2.5 weeks headed back to Grenada, we want to take with us no more than a 65 litre hard-backed suitcase (about the size of an average backpack or a large holdall) & our 2 laptop bags. We will also still have some posessions in our storage room – but instead of the storage room being the size of a small bedroom, it will now be the size of a large cupboard.

So far we have:

• Sold things on ebay – we’ve sold a bed, a futon, a guitar, an exercise bike, some shelves & there’s still more to go.

• Given books, CDs & DVDs to charity stores.

• Given vases, bedding & ornaments to friends & family.

• Given permission to my stepsister to have the freedom to clear out anything & everything she finds when she & her maid come to clear out my stepdad’s house – including many of my Mum’s possessions & clothes which I’d kept until I was ready to let them go.

Here’s my attitude to ’stuff’ now that I’m in the ‘No Stuff’ mentality:

• If I don’t know it’s even there, I clearly don’t need it!

• Whilst there’s nothing wrong with holding on to things of sentimental value especially for loved ones who have died, I now draw the line at keeping a used handkerchief, an old parking ticket & some mashed up lipstick.

• For gadgets & technology, if it’s sitting in storage and is likely to be surpassed very quickly by faster, smaller, newer models (and it most probably will be), then it’s better to get rid of it now whilst it might be still worth something.

• For clothes, if I haven’t worn or used them in the past 6-9 months, I’ll ditch them. The only exception with this now is that I will have a small bag of ‘warm’ clothes here in the UK for any winter visits.

• I really do think twice, if not three times, before I buy any new clothes and ask myself the following question: Would I wear it every day wherever we’re going to be in the next 3 months?

• When deciding whether to get rid of something in storage, I ask myself these questions:
  • Am I going to use it in the next 6-12 months?
  • Can I easily replace this if I get rid of it & do want to use it again?
  • How much is it worth to me if I sell it now versus keep it & never use it again?
  • Did this really mean something to the person to whom it belonged or was it just one of their ‘things’?
  • Does this really mean something to me or is it just one of my ‘things’?