Barbara Glavish of Incline Village, Nevada, wrote, “Many readers have mentioned that they travel all over the world with just one carry-on bag. I do wonder how they cope with the rule prohibiting carrying greater-than-three-ounce containers of liquids, gels and pastes.* Do they carry lots of little bottles of body lotion, shampoo, face cream, toothpaste, etc? Do they purchase toiletry items on the go?
For an upcoming trip to Portugal, my travel partner and I (we leave our husbands at home) went to the Travelex office at Broadway and 47th Street in New York City on Dec. 6, 2010. I got a Cash Passport prepaid debit card on which I placed €1,000 at a cost of $1,530.69 (cash). My friend put €800 on a Cash Passport she bought. I took my packet home and followed the directions.
At JFK Airport on our day of departure, we also exchanged cash dollars for cash euros.
I stayed 3½ weeks in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in June ’10 with my children and grandchildren, ages 13 to 50, mostly visiting the smaller towns in Provence.
by Brita Bishop, Dallas, TX
“You are American?” asked the young man behind me in the passport control line at the Damascus airport. “We get few Americans. You will be very welcome.”
The two men checking my passport echoed this sentiment. “American? Welcome, welcome!”
So started an exciting trip to Syria in April 2010.
I renewed a passport in September 2010 through the mailing process established by the Department of State. I received a 10-year passport with a meager 17 pages available for visas or stamps.
Azerbaijan has ceased providing transit and short-stay single-entry visas (for up to 30 days) to visitors. (There are exceptions for diplomatic and official visitors.) Travelers entering at Heydar Aliyeve International Airport in Baku must obtain a transit visa in advance through an Azerbaijan embassy or consulate.
My husband, Nelson, and I traveled to France in June ’09 and to England and France in July-August ’10. Each time, we took cash to Washington Dulles airport and, before our flight, found a Travelex counter and got a Cash Passport prepaid debit card in euros. Each had a magnetic stripe but no chip.
What I particularly liked is that these prepaid cards were not linked to any bank account, and if one were lost, stolen or compromised, Travelex would put an immediate stop on it and issue us a new card.
I read with some interest Patricia Russell’s letters concerning credit card foreign transaction fees (May ’10, pg. 14 & July ’10, pg. 11).
by Jay Brunhouse (First of three parts)
