As the years pass, I find my eyesight is not as it used to be. Do you, like me, have trouble using luggage locks that feature small numbered wheels, usually four of them? I sure do, especially in dim light.
Luckily, I found a lock that features just two large buttons that can be unlocked by pressing the right and left arrows in any sequence that I set, myself, with a smartphone app (either an iPhone or Android).*
I have flown Icelandair (800/223-5500, www.icelandair.us) several times over the years. In general, Iceland is a safe destination (not to mention close). These days, in tourist season, Keflavík International Airport is swamped with so many flight connections that gates, tarmac buses, rental car facilities and concourse foot traffic are chaotic.
On a recent trip to India, I used to advantage the Simran SM-60 power strip and a 4-pack of Orei 2-in-1 USA-to-India adapter plugs (Type D), priced at $11.44 on Amazon.com. The Simran strip is indispensable and allows for the use of multiple devices, one of which, for me, is a CPAP machine.
I read, in the Travel Brief “Delta Bag-check Fee” (Feb. ’18, pg. 4), that on flights to/from Europe and North Africa, Delta Air Lines and partners will soon start charging each Basic Economy passenger a $60 fee for the first checked bag.
I’ve noticed that, as it is, no one checks the hand baggage at the airline gates. I’ve watched a couple board a plane with two 24-inch suitcases or boxes and take up one-and-a-half overhead luggage areas. I’ve watched people come on with duffle bags or try to stuff 26- to 28-inch canvas suitcases into the overhead.
Dear Globetrotter:
Regarding Rick Steves’ tips in his article on “traveling light” (Dec. ’16, pg. 55), I offer the following.
After a slight weight overage with my carry-on and having to check it (the bag weighed 7 pounds by itself!), I switched to using a duffle bag that meets the size requirements.
Depending on the type of activities I’m planning, I take only one pair of shoes, which I wear. I take a small amount of soap powder for washing whatever I need, and I do rip up my guidebooks, carrying only selected pages.
I have a cautionary tale for those folks who stow their carry-ons in the first overhead space they come to when boarding a plane, even if it is far forward of where they’re seated.
On a flight from Atlanta, Georgia, to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, on March 2, 2017, my husband, Bill, did just that. When it was time to deplane and we got to the spot where he’d stowed his bag, it wasn’t there. In its place was another one, not his. We figured someone had grabbed the wrong one by mistake.
Women’s clothing and jewelry from generations of Duchesses of Devonshire of the Cavendish family will be on display at Chatsworth House (Bakewell, Derbyshire, England, DE45 1PP, U.K.; www.chatsworth.org) in the “House Style” show until Oct. 22, 2017.
Clothing dates from Bess of Hardwick (16th century) to current duchess Amanda Cavendish. Modern designers whose clothing is in the show include Christian Dior, Helmut Lang, Vivienne Westwood and Alexander McQueen. Art from the family’s collection will also be shown.
My wife, Patti, and I ordered two luggage tags from RuMeID (Centennial, CO; 303/799-4256, www.rumeid.com) on the TripAdvisor store, and they have a unique feature: each RuMeID tag comes with a QR code that helps you be reunited with your bag if it’s lost.
Before a trip, you log in to the RuMeID website and register your tag, then enter the names of the hotels you’ll be staying at plus the dates.
Dear Globetrotter:
Welcome to the 494th issue of your monthly foreign-travel magazine.
Those of you who regularly visit our website — www.intltravelnews.com — in order to read the latest issue, post a question on the Message Board or access years’ worth of travelers’ articles and letters for your trip planning, well, you may have noticed some improvements lately.