A Constitutional Case in a Box of Cash
A traveler used his iPhone to help his case against what he considered overzealous airport screeners.

Even in a Terror Attack, Seeing the Best of India
In the midst of a terrorist assault, a traveler sees the selflessness and humanity that draws her to India, the land of her parents’ birth.

Vancouver Between Medals
During an Olympics visit, here’s where to find the city’s slightly gritty, diverse soul, whether it’s biking along the sea wall or sampling neighborhood cafes.

This article was pretty interesting. It combined two of my favorite activities: travel and the movies.

Where Hollywood Takes Flight
Two companies provide dummy aircraft and airline-related sets for filmmakers around the world. Scott McCartney checks out the fuselages.

Travelocity Plans New Hotel Booking Deal
Travelocity.com plans to announce that travelers who book hotels on their Web site, and then later find the same reservation at a lower price online anytime before the day of check-in, will be refunded the difference between the prices.

Saving Flier Miles From the Ax
Consumers are letting billions of dollars worth of frequent-flier miles expire unused, in part because of confusing policies. But there are steps travelers can take to protect their miles.

… And a bit of nostalgia…

Pan Am Takes Off in a California Garage
Anthony Toth has built a precise replica of a first-class cabin from a Pan Am 747 in the garage of his condo in Redondo Beach, Calif.

I’ve been privileged to travel to 32 countries so far, and I think the thing that startles me most about interacting with people from other cultures is how closely they watch the USA. Never was this more evident than tonight when the new president-elect was named. That news was front page on nearly every newspaper across the globe. Here are headlines just from Europe:

London – Times: http://www.timesonline.co.uk
Paris – Le Monde: http://www.lemonde.fr
Deutche – Die Welt: http://www.welt.de
Italian – Il Sole 24 Ore: http://www.ilsole24ore.com

We learned so dramatically in September how intertwined we are as a global community, and the days following have been dark and uncertain. The restoration of hope and re-establishment of business success will be a person-to-person effort. Business travelers are de facto ambassadors of this effort — the front-line troops, if you will, building relationships face-to-face across town and across the globe in the everyday activities of commerce.

I, for one, choose to take the optimistic view, to draw inspiration from the example of our “most unlikely candidate” turned “president-elect.” Fellow travelers, I invite you to recognize and participate in the opportunity to rebuild our global economic community; to endure the airport delays, marginal food, and tired feet, knowing that what you do every day contributes to a greater whole. We have challenging days ahead, but we also have each other.

Be kind. Share a smile. Have a good trip, and come home safely.

Blessings,

Toolie®

It’s truly a joy to be a travel writer and photographer. In fact, when I’m on an open-top, double-decker tour bus shooting photos of landmarks and architecture, I’m almost giddy. I waited a long time to own a professional camera, and because it shoots 8 frames a second, if I can get something into the viewfinder, it’s mine!

Business travelers rarely have time or make time to get out and see the city they’re visiting (which is the point of my previous blog post and video), yet most can spare 2 hours to go to dinner. As silly as it may feel to ride around on one of those tour busses, they turn out to be one of the most efficient ways to get a feel for the place. Most of those hop-on, hop-off busses last about 2 hours, and will return you to the point of origin. Even if you don’t get off the bus, you can at least get a look around and snap some photos to bring home.

Next time you’re headed to a new city, tuck that small point-and-shoot camera you own into your pocket, jump on the tour bus, and “take your best shot!” It’s fun and relaxing.

My monthly business travel newsletter covers travel techniques, technology for travel, and intelligent thinking about cross-cultural issues like this one. Wanna subscribe? Visit www.tooliethetravelguide.com to sign up.

Toolie®

I’ve been writing a monthly business travel newsletter for 4 years, and you’re welcome to join my newsletter list at http://www.tooliethetravelguide.com.

During 2007-2008, I created some audio segments for the National Speakers Association monthly CD called “Voices of Experience.” The response was so positive that I decide to continue podcasting here. I’ll be posting blog entries and podcasts on an irregular basis, so the easiest way to keep up is to subscribe to my RSS feed by clicking here.

The rest of the time I’ll be sharing my travel tips, commenting on issues of interest to business travelers, and sharing some of my travel stories with you. I hope you find this information useful.

Toolie®