Travel Tuesdays With KM

A Little Boring But Tres Important!


Probably the most important tip I can give anyone who is traveling abroad is to check out the country's current safety status.  If you're like me and the only news you tune into is E!News then you have very little idea as to what issues are going on in the world.  Luckily for me when I traveled, everything was smooth and there were no conflicts.  


About a year after I traveled to Egypt, riots began to break out in the country and it was very unsafe to be there.  Of course if you're already there then there's not much you can do besides get to your consulate or get as far away from the trouble as possible.  Before you board the plane check to see if there are any updates on the country's current safety status.  Foreign politics may be unfamiliar to us and while most people will tell you that the government is full of loon's, concerning travel matters they are usually looking out for your best interests.  Check out http://travel.state.gov/ for any travel warnings or alerts.

Body Scanner (Photo Credit:  Google Images)

For example, full body scanners used at airports, like Boston's Logan, are meant to help prevent horrible incidents from happening.  People freaked out over these and said it was an invasion of their privacy and blah blah blah.  It's all a bunch of nonsense to me.  Not everyone that travels look like supermodels and they do not only pick the supermodels to go through the scanner therefore, TSA is not exactly excited about seeing everyone in all their glory through a scanner.  Those who put up a big fuss about going through the scanner need to hop off their high horse and move on.  Traveling is stressful enough as it is without someone causing a scene over something that lasts for less then two minutes.  

Sample Yellow Card (Photo Credit:  Google Images)

Paying attention to the news is not the only preventative step you can take to prepare yourself for safe traveling.  Vaccinations and medications for certain countries are required before entering a country while others are highly recommended.  Between going to Egypt and Brazil, I had to get about eight different forms of vaccines or medications.  Some of these included Yellow Fever, Malaria, Tetanus, and Typhoid but that does not come close to covering them all.  The Yellow Fever vaccine was required to enter Brazil and you are to receive a yellow card stating that you received this vaccine with a signature from the doctor or provided it to you.  Now, this yellow card we were told was very important and that they could ask you to show it to airport security.  When I went they did not ask to see it but I would always rather get the vaccine rather than getting sick while I'm away.  If I'm sick how am I supposed to enjoy myself??  Make sure you see a travel doctor before you travel so you are well prepared.  Most regular doctors will refer one to you.


Hope I didn't bore you all too much but I thought this was a topic that needed to be covered.  I'll have something more entertaining for next week, promise!!!!