Air Travel

Dear Globetrotter:

Welcome to the 441st issue of your foreign-travel magazine, the one you can help write.

Having flown long distance many times in 30 years of international travel, my husband, Bernie, and I noticed that we get more jet-lagged going eastward and a little less so on our westbound trips, though, in either direction, jet lag leaves us feeling tired and not so alert upon our arrival.

We’ve made two good discoveries.

For the problem of swollen feet when flying, we wear compression socks during each flight, which also help prevent deep vein thrombosis.

In the article “Dealing with Roommate Issues on a Tour,” one traveling snorer said that she gives each new roommate a gift of Muffle Wax Earplugs, made in the UK (July ’12, pg. 41). In a follow-up note, the editor commented that Mack’s silicone-wax earplugs, obtainable at Wal-Mart stores, were equally good.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a pack of the earplugs, which stated that they were “snore proof.” I found that they were not any better than the cheapest squeeze-type of (foam) earplug. Snore-proof, they were NOT.

I took the “Southern Africa Odyssey” trip with Odysseys Unlimited (Newton, MA; 888/370-6765) and it was mostly wonderful. However, my experiences with luggage handling at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, left me with a very unpleasant aftertaste.

On Oct. 7, 2011, I flew from Portland, Oregon, to Washington (Dulles) and Johannesburg, then transferred with my luggage to a flight to Cape Town. Upon my arrival in Cape Town, I found that the lock had apparently been cut off my suitcase and my case had been rifled through.

A word about Europcar and insurance — before you book your rental car, make sure to find out what the policy is if you decline their insurance. Not doing so was the first mistake my wife, JoAnn, and I made on a February-March 2012 trip to France.