travel mishaps

7 Travel Scams — and How to Avoid them

Published August 11, 2022 | By Clark Norton

ATMs are the best option for getting cash on the road. -- but watch out for fees.

I admit, as vigilant as I try to be, I’ve been an unwitting victim of a few travel scams over the years.

I’ve been taken for a ride (in more ways than one) by a tuk-tuk driver in Singapore. I’ve fallen for charming stories by a jewelry hawker on the beach in St. Lucia, and once got ripped off for some rupees by a “mind-reader” in India. I’ve even had to fend off fake police officers in the Dominican Republic.

Probably the most egregious scam was one my wife and I fell for in Shanghai a few years ago; it’s a long story, but involved some super-slick con artists who invited us to what proved to be a very expensive “tea ceremony,” which lightened my wallet considerably. The con artists were so engaging that we even debated for a day or so whether or not we’d actually been scammed. It… Continue reading →

Posted in Baby boomer travel, travel fears, travel finances, travel mishaps, travel mistakes, travel scams | Tagged ATM theft scams, baby boomer travel, con artists, Fake police officer scams, Public Wi-Fi scams, Ticket scams, travel scams, Tuk-Tuk scams, vacation rental scams | 1 Comment

Emergency: Help! Rescue Me!

Published October 19, 2020 | By Clark Norton

Here’s something I hadn’t thought much about — but probably should have.

In case of emergency on a remote hiking trail, or on a lonely highway, or anywhere that your cell phone doesn’t get service, what do you do?

Guest poster Harding Bush of Global Rescue has a suggestion: satellite communications. And you can get it for not all that much money.

I do have satellite TV — but that wouldn’t help much if I encountered some Rutger Hauer (RIP) or Javier Bardem character out on that lonely highway. (If you haven’t seen The Hitcher or No Country for Old Men, check them out).

And, one hopes, I could reach AAA, a park ranger, a rescue service — or my favorite ER doc who makes remote trail calls. Well, hope springs eternal. But you get the idea.

By Harding Bush

Traveling near or far? Going with friends, family or… Continue reading →

Posted in Accessible travel, Adventure travel, Baby boomer travel, Electronics, Hiking, travel fears, Travel gadgets, travel gear, travel health, travel insurance, travel mishaps, travel tips | Tagged Global Rescue, Satellite communications, Satellite communications devices, Satellite emergency services, Travel emergencies, Travel emergency calls | 1 Comment

Escaping from a New Zealand Lockdown

Published May 9, 2020 | By Clark Norton

Waterfalls empty into beautiful Milford Sound on New Zealand’s south island. Photo by Jade Chan

Among our far-flung correspondents is Jade Chan, who writes for The Star, an English-language newspaper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Jade was on vacation in New Zealand just days and hours before that country — as well as Malaysia and Australia (where she had to transit) — severely limited travel to combat the coronavirus threat. Getting home was something of a trial — “I was ‘saved by the bell,'” as she puts it — but at least she wasn’t stranded for weeks on a cruise ship.

I’ll let Jade take it from here (note that a somewhat different version of this piece originally appeared in The Star).

By Jade Chan

My family had planned for a holiday in New Zealand more than half a year ago, and departed for the Land of the… Continue reading →

Posted in airports, Asia, Australia, Baby boomer travel, New Zealand, travel fears, travel mishaps | Tagged coronavirus travel, Covid-19 travel, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia, New Zealand, New Zealand travel, pandemic travel, traveling during pandemic | Leave a comment

A Truly Crazy Travel Day

Published October 23, 2018 | By Clark Norton

What we left behind in Greece. Photo by Catharine Norton

After an idyllic three-week sojourn in the Greek islands (which I’ll write about soon in subsequent posts), my wife, Catharine, and I experienced “one of those days” where virtually everything went wrong trying to get home to Tucson.

It was like having a karmic payoff for everything that had gone right in Greece, where we got tanned, rested, and ready (we thought) for the slew of appointments and other challenges that we knew awaited us over the coming weeks.

I don’t want to suggest in any way that our bad day compared to the serious disruptions that many travelers have suffered from weather-related delays and cancellations — including, no doubt, some on our own Newark to Dallas flight who were trying to make connections to a plethora of onward destinations.

More than any single thing, this day was a… Continue reading →

Posted in Airlines, airports, Baby boomer travel, travel mishaps | Tagged air travel, airports, American Airlines, Clarion Inns and Suites, Legionnaires' Disease, Ramada hotels | 10 Comments

According to government and private surveys:

Leading-edge baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1955) and seniors account for four out of every five dollars spent on luxury travel today.
Roughly half the consumer spending money in the U.S.--more than $2 trillion--is in the hands of leading-edge baby boomers and seniors.
Baby boomers (born 1946-1964) travel more than any other age group.
When asked what they would most like to spend their money on, baby boomers answered “travel” more than any other category, including improving their health or finances.