Image credit: Shujenchang, 29 May 2012

Visas are probably without exception the most frustrating and vexing part of organising a trip.  Especially if you have a passport that isn’t granted the same level of trust as others. If you possess a British, US, Canadian or passport from an EU country, things will be a little easier for travelling generally.  However, there are some guidelines that apply to all when a visa is necessary.

Visa Guidelines

• Check to see if the Embassy has a website applicable for your country of residence.  This is very important because some embassies have different forms for different nationalities that are applying to visit.
• Phone the embassy directly for information relating to the visa requirements.  Visa companies are good, but there is no more reliable authority than the embassy of the country being visited.
• Provide all the paperwork required, if three month’s bank statements are requested to show proof of sufficient funds, they are not going to accept one month’s statement because you only just opened an account a month ago, for example.
• Photo specifications.  If you are visiting an EU country or the USA and need a visa, there are definite set specifications for the photo requirements, ensure that the place you are having your photos done is aware of these.  Just to be certain, take the spec sheet with you for this purpose.
• Always provide as much information as possible.  It is better for them to say, ‘we don’t need that’ as opposed to ‘come back when you have this’ which causes you time loss and frustration.
• Countries’ visa rules change regularly depending on diplomatic changes in relationships between countries and other factors, so if you planned a holiday a year ago and checked the visa regulations then, do a re-check that what was required is still required.  It could be that you may no longer require a visa to travel to your chosen destination or that rules have been made stricter.
• Finally, if the embassy states that no ticket should be bought until the visa is approved, it is best to stick to that.  In fact, if you are applying for a US visa for some countries the US actively prohibits you from doing so.  How?  Well, if the travel agent has not put your US visa information in the airline booking, the ticket will not issue.  This is not applicable to all countries.  For example, if you are from an EU country or hold a British passport, then you can obtain an ETA (Electronic Travel Authority) online.

Visas can be more hassle-free if a methodical and practical approach is taken to acquiring the necessary documentation and doing it in time.  Emergency visas are often not entertained at all by some countries.  For others you will pay a premium, so check the processing times and bear that it in mind when setting your departure date.

These are some basic guidelines that are usually of assistance.

Passport Guidelines

Two important things to check in relation to your passport.

• The validity.  Is it valid for enough time from your return from holiday as stipulated by your government.  For example in some countries it needs to be valid six months beyond the date of return.  The country being visited will also have rules on this.
• Blank pages.  If you travel frequently, be sure to check that you have enough blank pages to satisfy your border control on departure, and immigration on arrival at your destination.  There should generally be two or three blank pages available, but this differs from one nation to another.

If you arrive at passport control at your destination then, unless it is a country that permits travellers from your country to purchase a visa on arrival, you are going to be sent back ignominiously to your country.

Image by Danpaluska, no rights reserved

These days the process of going through airport security raises the blood pressure considerably.  It is unpleasant and often humiliating.

The picture that comes to mind includes long queues, unpacking all your goods onto a conveyor belt, scrabbling in your pocket for the last metallic object capable of setting off the beeps on the machine, and taking off your belt.  One’s personal dignity may be affronted by humiliating body searches.

Even worse yet, if you merely have the “wrong appearance”, you may be singled out for special attention by the security personnel.

Being a little prepared can make all the difference between being inconvenienced or enraged.  Here’s how to make your passage through airport security more bearable.

Documents

Keep your passport and boarding pass on your person, preferably in a pocket.  It’s not a good idea to leave it in your bag that is being scanned, as thefts at security points are common.  Besides which, the protocol is that you should present these to the security officers as you enter the scanner.

Valuables

Keep a sharp eye on your valuables.  Lock money in your carry-on bag to be scanned.  (This means, of course, that you should prepare by having a lockable carry-on bag.)  If the authorities wish to inspect it more closely they will simply ask that you unlock it.  Do not insert your possessions into the machine until it is your turn to pass through the scanner – you want to be in the prime position to grab it as it comes out the other side.

Mobile phones and laptops

Know in which pocket of your bag your cellphone is, as it is often required that you take it out and send it through the scanner separately.  As a rule, laptops have to be taken out of their bags and put in a separate tray.  Not having to search for things will reduce your stress levels and keep you from being distracted.

Carry one bag

This may seem obvious, but how often does one see frazzled travellers with an entire hodge-podge of bags and other paraphernalia scattered over the security conveyer.  One bag means fewer possessions that you have to keep track of.

Secure your jewellery

For total peace of mind, we would suggest not wearing jewellery until after reaching your destination.  The simple reason being that all but the smallest of jewellery will set off the scanners, which may qualify you for a body search.  If you are going to wear it, take it off prior to getting in the queue and carry it in your closed hand.  The scanner will not pick it up as a false alarm, and since you are holding it, it will be harder to steal.

Shoes

Wear shoes that are easy to remove.  If you are travelling by air to the US and are not a citizen, you will definitely be required to take your shoes off.  This will be less stressful if you can slip them off or untie them easily.  In other countries you will only be required to take your shoes off if they set off the alarm.  If you wear sneakers then those countries that rely on metal detection will likely let you keep them on.

Clothes

A body search is compulsory in certain countries’ security and although uncomfortable, you can reduce your stress if you are wearing comfortable clothes.  Wearing bulky garments will likely result in a demand to remove some of them.  The more you are asked to do during a security check, the higher your stress level will be, and the more likely you are to be the recipient of special attention.  Special attention at security is not a good thing!

Wear trousers that have a draw-string top rather than a belt with a metal buckle.  Again, unless you are hand-picked for a body search, you will often not need to take your belt off.  As previously mentioned, fewer things to remove means fewer things to track, and if you do not need to take clothes off you are going to feel more comfortable.

Check customs regulations

We would strongly suggest that you check the customs regulations of the country you are visiting and in fact the regulations of your own country for re-entry.  Many food items are prohibited to be taken into Australia for example.  And trying to do so could result in a hefty fine.  Furthermore, if they find undeclared foodstuffs they are more likely to assume that you are carrying other illegal substances and you may be subjected to an even more rigorous search.

In many countries, it is illegal to bring in agricultural products such as cheese, animal products (meat and leather, etc.) and wood products in, due to the bugs that could be infesting them and the danger this poses for introducing foreign pests to the country.

When arriving in South Africa you may not bring in cashew nuts unless they have been through stringent treatment.  The problem for the unwary is that in neighbouring Mozambique they sell huge bags of cheap cashews to tourists going to South Africa.  These are confiscated at customs and destroyed.  So if you buy them, you are throwing your money away, unless you can eat really quickly.  (If you must know, we ate fast.)

There are restrictions on how much alcohol and tobacco can be carried.  Certain medications that are available over-the-counter in you home country may, somewhat to your shock, be illegal substances elsewhere.  In the USA codeine is not permitted in medications, despite it being common in Europe and elsewhere.  Codeine is banned completely in the United Arab Emirates.  It is best to find out ahead of time if your prescribed medication is permitted.  Even if it is, take a copy of the script with you, or an official letter from your doctor.

Remain calm

We ourselves can do a lot to develop and retain a sense of tranquillity:

• Arrive early at the airport.
• Keep a positive frame of mind – we forget the problems of security once we are back home and remember the good times.
• Check-in early, preferably online before you leave home (Our online check-in link page is here: Online check-in links)
• Go through security as soon as possible, well ahead of boarding time.
• Make normal eye contact with officials, but do not glare.
• Co-operate with the officials.  Maybe they ought not to enjoy their jobs so much, but they can give you a lot of extra trouble if you give them a hard time – they have a huge degree of leeway and discretion as to how awkward they can potentially make life for you.
• Be polite and friendly.
• Do not wear tee-shirts with rude slogans about the security officials.  Red rag / bull / go figure.

Call-back

In our experience a call-back service is the best answer.  It should be one that you are billed for later rather than a pre-paid one.

How call-back works: you phone a designated number, let it ring once and put down.  The service then calls you back automatically almost immediately.  When you answer, you are prompted to dial the subscriber number and you are put through.

Most call-back services are based in the USA, which means that you get the more favourable US rates instead of the higher rate that the hotel would charge you.

Call-back with a mobile phone

In order to avoid the bother of having to access the Internet in order to keep changing the call-back number, it is convenient to use the call-back in combination with a mobile phone.  That way the number stays constant even when you move between countries.

For this you need an “international” SIM card and a GSM phone.  The SIM card can be obtained from the same service provider as the call-back service, and they frequently also rent or sell suitable GSM-compatible phones.

The number is usually Estonian because Estonia has a very liberal phone system (and is the country that Skype came from).  Anyone phoning your number will pay the international call costs to Estonia.  You will also be able to receive SMS text messages from anywhere in the world, which the sender pays for.

Limitations

Check if the phone you intend using is compatible with your service provider.  For instance, we found that a Nokia 95 could not send SMSes with a United World Telecom SIM card.  The similar but older Nokia N70 is fully compatible, which we only found out by experiment after returning home.  As a result we could not send text messages whilst travelling across Europe.

We suggest that you select a service provider that states phone compatibility on their web site.  One such company is One SimCard, who have an exhaustive list of compatible GSM phones.  (If you are aware of others please feel free to register and add a comment.)

For travel within the US different arrangements will have to be made as it is a stronghold of the CDMA phone system.  Cheaper calls can be made with a mobile phone and direct dialling rather than call-back.

This food advice is useful even if you are not travelling – even in the USA 250,000 people are hospitalised each year for diarrhoea, and the food safety in the United States is a great deal better than it is in many countries.  There are other examples too: thousands of people got sick and dozens died in mid-2011 from eating raw vegetables originating in Germany, which were contaminated by a strain of E. Coli bacteria.

The cause

Traveller’s diarrhoea (unkindly called various local names including Delhi Belly and Montezuma’s Revenge) and related problems are caused by contaminated food.

Avoiding illness while travelling – What you touch

Good personal hygiene, particularly about one’s hands is critically important in preventing infection whilst travelling.  Wash your hands before and after using the toilet, after handling money, and before meals.  Also wash your hands before touching your face or putting your fingers in your mouth.

Only use potable water to rinse your mouth and toothbrush when you brush your teeth.  Also, do not use water you would not drink to clean items in close contact with eyes and mouth, such as contact lenses.

Be careful about swimming in fresh water.  Aside from the risk of pollutants, you may also unwittingly be exposing yourself to parasites including river blindness and bilharzia, caused by parasitic worms.

First aid

Stay hydrated.  The volume of liquid you take in must approximate the amount of liquid you lose.

The water that you drink must be clean and uncontaminated.  If it is at all suspect you can boil it for twenty minutes to kill off the bacteria.

Research has established that pure water is not absorbed by the body as fast as a mild solution of electrolytes.  You can buy “Oral Rehydration” sachets to add to water, or you can make up your own in an emergency.  The basic recipe is:

1/2 to 1 level teaspoon of salt

6 to 8 level teaspoons of sugar

1 litre of clean, drinkable water

Antimotility drugs are useful as they slow down the rate at which food passes through your body.  This will at least give you the time to get back to your hotel, call a doctor, etc.  Your doctor or pharmacist can advise you which ones to take with you.

See a doctor

Several food poisoning causes are potentially life-threatening and you should always 1) stay hydrated with clean water and 2) exercise caution and see a competent doctor, particularly if the symptoms are severe or protracted.  Diarrhoea can even be a symptom of a serious tropical disease that needs additional specialist medical treatment.

Avoiding illness while travelling – What you eat

The most frequent cause of  illness while travelling is food contamination, caused by:

• Improper food storage and handling leading to bacterial contamination
• Infection by micro-organisms: bacteria and amoebas, protozoa
• Chemical residues and contamination
• Toxins produced by fungi

You should avoid:

• Hot food that has been allowed to cool down
• Cold food that has warmed up
• Reheated food
• Food that has been uncovered or exposed to flies or other creatures

Chicken is particularly treacherous if undercooked.  Even if grilled, it can have uncooked portions if it was put on the griller directly from the freezer.  Boiled or baked is probably the safest.  Microwaved chicken is probably the least safe because you do not know if it has been heated sufficiently right through.  If there are raw or undercooked parts of the chicken, don’t eat it.

Beef should be well done unless you have sound reason to trust the kitchen (for instance if it is a Michelin-Star kitchen then the chances are that even Steak Tartare is safe to eat).

Avoid food prepared in the street, particularly if there is a possibility for cross-contamination between raw meat and cooked meat.

Buffets can be suspect.  The food is exposed for extended periods to contamination, including people coughing and sneezing near them.  You do not know how good the hygiene is of people that have used the serving utensils, so you could be getting germs on your hands while serving.  It is also possible for tongs or spoons to fall into the dish, thus contaminating the food.

Buffets are also bad because it is rare that the temperature control is adequate.  Hot foods need to be kept hot in order to destroy bacteria.  Once they cool down to merely warm they actually promote bacterial growth.  Hot food kept hot (over 40° C) will be over-cooked in a relatively short period of time.

Cold foods also need to be kept cold.  The rate of bacterial growth doubles with every 10° C increase in temperature.  (Around 20° F temperature change.)  A salad may be at freezing point at the bottom but near room temperature at the top surface.

It there is any slight symptom at all of fungus infection of food, do not eat it.  Visible fungus is often very small in relation to the mycelium penetrating the food, so by the time it shows the whole mass of food may be infected.  Fungi produce poisons called mycotoxins that are not destroyed by cooking.  One group of such poisons called aflatoxins are among the most carcinogenic substances known, but you first have to survive the initial poisoning for that to be a worry.  Many do not survive aflatoxin poisoning.

Fresh fruit and vegetables

Fresh fruit and vegetables are potentially dangerous because you have no idea if they are contaminated or if they have been properly cleaned.  In the tropics it is necessary to do more than merely washing fruit and veg. : they need to be soaked and scrubbed in a dilute chlorine bleach to kill off the amoebas and avoid things like amoebic dysentery.

Avoid salads for this reason.  Not only are salads rarely washed thoroughly enough, in addition to bacteria and amoebas they can also harbour parasitic organisms like flukes and snails, particularly in tropical regions.

Eat only vegetables that have been boiled for an extended period, or baked.

Avoiding illness while travelling – What you drink

Bottle of water

Avoid anything containing ice as it is only as good as the water it was made from, as clean as the kitchen it came from, and as pure as the containers and plumbing it has been handled with.

Some countries have entirely safe tap water supplies, which you can determine when researching your destination.  Others, even first-world countries, may have dubious water quality and you should drink only bottled water.  Some countries (for instance Turkey) have water certification procedures and your hotel will display a certificate that indicates their care in relation to water supply.  That does not mean that you can drink their tap water, but merely means that they may, for instance, have safe drinking water available to guests.

It can be difficult or impossible for you to purify contaminated water by yourself as a traveller.  Treatment with iodine or chlorine tablets will help to kill off bacteria if done correctly.  However, this is not magic, and cannot remove metal contamination, or chemical and pesticide residues, etc.  There are other possibilities that first filter the water, then sterilise it usually with activated charcoal, or ultraviolet light.

If the local water is unsafe then use only reputable bottled water (or water stated as potable that is provided by a certified hotel).  If you cannot get bottled water then drink brand-name bottled soda drinks: Coke, Pepsi, etc.  Staying hydrated is more important in the short term than a few extra calories or the state of your teeth