I thought of a couple of others, more travel related than dive-travel related, as I tgravel for a living:
a) There are two types of luggage - the kind you carry on, and the kind you leave at home. They haven't made the business trip I can't carry on for, yet. Diving is another story.
b) I always bring my own alarm. I have a folding one with a large display that has a "Nap Minder"... friggen rules. I can set it to count down from 90 minutes, in ONE MINUTE increments so I can get in a nap. Nap = life. Anyone who tells you differently has had too much caffine. Say it with me: Nap = life.
c) I too, have paid off little kids to keep them from kicking my seat. But unlike Cath, who resorted to filthy lucre (albeit the direct approach... nice touch, hon) I use Origami. I can make 27 or 30 Origami animals, objects & wacky things out of the in-flight magazine pages. Kids under 5 dig it. Hot moms dig it. Their burly escorts splash their mojo all over me. Its sad.
d) Years ago I joined every possible hotel club, airline club, rental car club and miles program there is. They have paid for nearly every vacation over the last 10 years, and pay for the upgrades on nearly every flight. Miles rule. If you're not getting miles for every dime you spend (I get miles for groceries, gas, fax paper.... everything), for every foot you travel or for every night you sleep, you need to shake yourself. Take an hour and join them all.
e) Like Cath, I to prefer flop houses. I will not pay over $10 an hour to sleep. My eyes are closed, so I don't care how pretty the fixtures are or how plush the carpet is. If the water is hot, and there are at least three pillows, I'm in business. I can sleep through anything. I will spend my cash on activities I can partake in while I'm coherent. If I'm in my hotel room, I'm toes up. The sole exception is when I go on my once-every-7-years wacky resort vacation thingy. Apart from those rare occasions, I won't pay extortion to sleep. I'll take that cash and upgrade my restaurant, upgrade my wine, upgrade my diving. I won't upgrade my sleeping. Its pointless.
f) When I bought my house, I bought my house about a 5 minute cab ride from LAX. I will only fly in and out of LAX. Nothing is worse than getting home from a 3 or 7 day trip, only to land in your home state and have to spent another 2 hours to get home. From wheels down in my airline seat to my fireplace in my fav chair with a port and a slice of dark choco flourless cake is about 20 minutes and a $12 cab ride. That rules.
g) 15 years ago I paid the unreal sum of $500 for a Hartmann carry-on wheel bag. I have a zillion miles on this bag, and its never, ever failed. If you travel a lot, pony up for a real bag (Hartmann or Tumi) and leave the Samsonite and Brighton wanna-be nonsense at home. If you travel occasionally, cheap stuff is fine. If you're serious, get in the game and get serious gear. Hartmann is the best. End of story.
h) Almost forgot: Bring lots of singles. I always single down a couple of $20's before I leave. Leaving a few singles on the bed each morning, taking care of the cab hailer, throwing some at the greeter for a decent seat (traveling alone they will often attempt to seat me in the hinter regions...)
Excellent thread.
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Ken
