crewtag's Profile

not ugly but they are for sure not Tibetan. They do look Indian for sure.

The tibetan wall hangings we saw in Lhasa were all huge pieces of textiles that cover entire door ways and act as doors. And we saw more blues and greens in Tibet than purples.

As for the second one...not tibetan either...probably a cheap chinese repro of what they think a Tibetan wall hanging should look like ...

how ironic!

We just thinking about getting a steamer instead of sending our clothes to the dry cleaners to save money...

Never ever check your bags (except on the return trip)... not only because of misconnects but if somehow your schedule changes and you show up earlier and would like to get on an earlier flight, its too much hassle if you have checked luggage.

We love to shop, so we always pack a spare duffle. Even, with the duffle, we are usually still within the one rollaboard and one "personal item" allowed as carryon. The rule is, if you can't take it with you, don't buy it, however nice it is. Sometimes, if its a large piece, we will bring it as checked luggage - at least we have some what of a "supervision" of the package rather than relying entirely on a shipping service. In certain countries (like China), always always make sure you watch them pack the items that you purchased to take with you. Never have them pack in the back and then give you the final packed box...you don't want any surprises when you get home.

Email all important documents to your blackberry including scanned pages of your passport info page AND all visas and travel documents.

Enter all emergency contact in your speed dial including emergency numbers for all the embassies, medicevac, insurance etc. Register yourself with embassies so you get updates.

Final tip and a very important one (especially going to high risk countries), make sure you have everything that you need for a quick evacuation on you when you leave the hotel room daily. Basically, you should always have your passports, any tickets, documentation, cellphone, camera, cash, credit cards. We go on the premise that if we suddenly need to leave the country while we are out and about, we can leave with just the stuff in our pockets and everything in the hotel can be left behind.

Thank you! I agree with K T G. A seasoned traveler has a beat up suit case.

We use Rimowa's Salsa carryon size luggage. Super light and very durable so we can pack a lot without the extra weight. And the scuff marks wipe right off...and of course its silver!!

Kayak is great for research purposes, then I usually go to the airline's website and purchase the actual tickets.

Kayak is great a searching roundtrip but using two different airlines so often you can still get the same deal individually at the airline's website. American Airlines recently announced they are pulling out from Kayak.

You should always follow the new time zone the minute you board the plane (even better before you board the plane) and adjust eating/sleeping schedule accordingly. Also, pick flights that can allow you to keep a compromised schedule for both time zones.

Transatlantic (outbound usually departs late afternoon/evening) - eat before you board and you should sleep the entire flight. On the return (morning departure), skip the first meal and sleep for most of the flight. Wake up in time for the lunch service prior to landing. For afternoon departures, stay awake the entire flight.

Sunlight is a great help. If you can get sunlight (maybe a picnic or sit outside for lunch) will help you stay awake.

Yay - First question for the first Aussie blogger here....we're going to Melbourne this weekend to visit my sister!! (I know we missed the big design fest last weekend!)

Where are most of the home design stores/showrooms/art areas located? Budget range from low to high end ... basically places where we could walk away with home accessories or a furniture... Specifically, are there a few streets where they are generally clustered around?

We've been to Melbourne many times so know the city quite well (at least for clothing and food) but were never really interested in shopping/window shopping for the home until now.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

I thought this one was going to be the winner...

Umm....get rid of the cat might solve the problem? :)

(Sorry...I couldn't resist!)

Symmetry on Division Street carries the table. I saw these they look great. Only concern is that the workmanship doesn't seem that great and the tables are a little bit flimsy. But you can't beat the price though.