Travel Unravelled

Subtle Warning

This particular blog entry has been written because a certain TP Overlord, who shall remain nameless (Peter), felt "digesting" the information taken from a forum thread could be useful. Actually, he's right - it will be useful. But, do yourselves a favor and don't read it over breakfast, lunch or dinner. You've been warned.

Dodgy toilets on the MV Sophie, by Shlugger

In The Beginning...

A few months ago, one of our members posted a thread in the General Talk Forum entitled Avoiding the trots. (diarrhoea). It received enough attention that it was even featured. Though not normally subject matter that catches everyone's attention, it is an "affliction" almost everyone experiences at some point during their travels. A bout of diarrhea is annoying at the least, but a severe case can put a real damper on one's travel plans and ultimately affect one's health. So, giggle now while I glean the important stuff from the original thread... (Too late, I've already gleaned.)

A Short List Of The Culprits

• Water
• Contaminated Food
• Dietary Changes
• Schedule Changes
• Personal Cleanliness
• Paper Currency
• Soap

Don't drink the water! Not too many people are unaware of this concept but it bears repeating. This includes ice cubes in your drinks. This also includes ordering something like a Scotch and water. But, another plausible cause was brought to light in the forum thread - beware of showers. The water used for bathing may not be the same water that runs through the taps for drinking. Ingesting even a small amount of contaminated shower water could have consequences.

All food bad! Okay - that's an exaggeration. Be mindful of uncooked vegetables (green salads) as the "greens" may have been lightly rinsed in water. Seafood and shellfish are well known for being contaminated, especially raw oysters, ceviche, sushi, etc. Also be mindful of your changes in diet. That Guinea pig kabob may smell delectable but may wreak havoc with your digestive system. Make changes to your diet slowly.

Watch the clock! Depending on your eating habits at home, traveling throws in a monkey wrench. Try to maintain your regular eating schedule (based on your "home" clock rather than your current time zone). Avoid skipping meals and/or just having snacks to tide you over. Your body doesn't like abrupt changes even if you do.

Sing! Okay, people will think you're nuts if you do it out loud. But, wash your hands with soap and hot water for at least 15-30 seconds - the length of Happy Birthday sung twice. Be sure to wash between each finger and get under those nail beds. Remember, anything you touch after washing said hands is another source of contamination. Avoid using cloth hand towels that other's have also used. Hand sanitizers work but nothing beats soap and water when available.

Show me the money! Again, another tidbit from the forum thread. Paper currency does indeed harbor bacteria more so than metallic coins. The weave of the paper gives bacteria a place to hide and stay cozy warm in your pocket.

Squeaky clean! Soap is a very useful item. It not only cleans things but it also cleans things out, including your digestive system. Those wonderful little liquids used in home and industrial dishwashers to keep spots from forming on glassware are a type of soap. Dishes and glassware that are not adequately rinsed can be coated with soap residue. This is quite common in small eateries where dishes are still washed by hand. This soap residue will come in contact with food or drink and ultimately be ingested by you, the consumer. (To this day, soap and water are the key ingredients for enemas - get the point?)

Not so squeaky clean! All the soap in the world will not rid a plate of bacteria if adequate amounts of water at a high enough temperature are not used. Enough said.

Close The Floodgates!!

I have mentioned basic "avoidance" procedures within each category listed above though sometimes, they aren't quite as effective as we'd like them to be. So, here are some additional tips for stemming the tide - so to speak. (Oh come on, admit it. That made you giggle.)

• Pro-biotics - pro-biotics are comprised of a family of (friendly) bacteria that occurs naturally in our intestinal tract. The most commonly known is Acidophilus, which is used in the culturing of yogurt. It is also available in capsule and tablet form through most health food stores and pharmacies.

• Imodium - an over the counter (OTC) anti-diarrheal medication that should be used with caution. Yes, it is an OTC and will slow or stem the tide but it should not be used on a regular basis. There is a reason your body is trying to rid itself of the causative factor. The same holds true of Pepto-Bismal and any other OTC anti-diarrheal treatment.

• Fiber - products, such as Metamucil (and generic forms) are known for their effectiveness against constipation. They are also very useful tools against diarrhea. The fiber absorbs the excess fluid in the digestive tract and slows down the motility. Such products are available in powder and capsule form. Food stuffs, such as rice, pasta, crackers, biscuits, bland cheeses, and white breads are also quite useful.

• Antibiotics - these should only be used under the direction of a physician. There are certain times when antibiotics are the only route of treatment (giardia, etc.) but they should not be used as a preventative. Over use of antibiotics may lead to resistance and complicate a treatment for some other ailment/condition.

Mecardo spices and grains, by jessnsteve

Bottom Line

In a nut shell...

• Always remember, what goes into your body must come out of your body. (Okay, stop smirking - it wasn't a sex joke. I'll save those for another blog.) Be mindful of the food you eat and how it has been handled.

• You always wondered why your mother told you to wash your hands all the time - now you know.

• Pay attention to your eating schedule and alcohol intake. Avoid the "mysterious drink of the house" or pay the price.

• Pack a few pro-biotic capsules, a few fiber supplements and a few Imodium tablets but use the pro-biotics and/or fiber first.

• Don't drink the water.

• Don't forget to check out the original thread in General Talk too. If you have additional recommendations or comments, by all means, please add them.

If you have other tips and tricks for your fellow travellers, then join us in educating travellers worldwide. To get started, send our editors an email at unravelled [at] travellerspoint [dot] com. Let them know a bit about yourself, and maybe include some writing samples and ideas for entries. They will review your submission and, if you fit the bill, they will welcome you to the team.

A few years ago, I was sitting in the Russian consulate in Toronto, waiting for my name to be called to head up and arrange a visa for a trip to Moscow. I was sitting patiently with my forms in my hand, occasionally flipping through them to make sure I hadn’t forgotten my invite letter, passport-sized photos or completed visa application form.

Castle Guard, Riga, Latvia. Photo by kavanadb

Sitting across from me was man who had a lot more paper work that I did. He had a stack of paper at least 2 inches thick.

“Planning on going to Russia for a while?” I asked, jokingly.

The man laughed. “No, I work for a company that arranges visas. This is about 20 applications,” he said, holding up the stack of paper.

We sat quietly for another moment, and then the man looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “Are you getting an application for yourself?” he asked. “I mean, you and just you?”

I nodded. “Yes, just a tourist application for me,” I replied.

He laughed. “I didn’t realise people got these visas for themselves.”

When jetting off to exotic destinations, it can be overwhelming to figure out what, if any, hoops you have to jump through to visit the country. It can be tempting to just hand it all over to someone else to deal with, and I have done it a few times when jetting off to a location for work (and when my company was paying).

However, if travelling for pleasure and on a budget, money spent on having someone else handle your visa applications is less money for travel once you arrive. With a little research and some leg work, it is usually easy to arrange tourist visas on your own. To start you out, I’ve collected a few resources that can assist.

Where To Start

First up, why not start by checking out what your own government has to say about the entry and exit requirements for the country you want to go to? Below is a list of country advice from the Foreign Affairs departments of a few different countries. Most of these will have specific entries on every country. These travel-advice entries give general advice about a destination, and specific advice on the entry and exit requirements for the country, including any cases where you would need a visa.

• British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO): http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/
  
• US Department of State: http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1765.html
  
• Foreign Affairs Canada: http://www.voyage.gc.ca/countries_pays/menu-eng.asp
  
• Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/
  
• Irish Department of Foreign Affairs: http://www.dfa.ie/home/index.aspx?id=386
  
• New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade: http://www.safetravel.govt.nz/
  

Luminojos: road signs, Curanipe, Chile. Photo by triptime

These resources are a good place to start, but most will include a warning similar to this from the Foreign Affairs Canada website on Russia:

It is the traveller's responsibility to check with the Embassy of the Russian Federation and its consulates for up-to-date information.

Check With Those Who Give Out Visas

Governments do occasionally change their minds about entry and exit requirements, so it is best to check with the source. If you are lucky, you might find a link from your country’s travel-advice page to the appropriate consular website. If there's no link available, a Google search should hopefully bring it up.

It is best to check with the Embassy, High Commission or Consulate of your destination in your home country before travelling. If you are a Brit wanting to travel to Paraguay, for example, the Paraguayan embassy staff working London will be best positioned to understand the entry and exit requirements for Brits headed to Paraguay. Sometimes you will find that another country is “responsible” for your country. For example, Australians wanting to speak with the Malawian embassy need to contact their embassy in Japan.

Governments do occasionally change their minds about entry and exit requirements, so it is best to check with the source.

Not all embassies and consulates have websites, of course. If you can’t find an online presence, check the phone book for listings. Larger and more popular countries will usually have embassies in their capital city, and perhaps additional consulates in larger population centres.

If you are still unable to find an embassy or consulate, check with the government of your destination. See if you can find a department of Foreign Affairs, or something similarly named. They should have a site listing embassies and consulates, or at least contact information so you can email or phone to ask.

When You Arrive, Be Nice

Even if you don’t need to get a visa ahead of time, you should nonetheless check the entry and exit requirements of the places you want to visit. Sometimes you will need to provide information upon arrival, like a confirmed place to stay or a return ticket--although even when you are “required” to have this information, custom and immigrant officers may not even ask. Even if a visa is not required beforehand, you may need to fill out a landing or tourist card and pay an entry fee.

To make things easy, I always keep any documents I need for entry in labelled folders--one per country--in my carry-on luggage. This allows me to easily pull out documents and present them to officials when required.

Also, some countries require that have at least six months validity on your passport from the date you are planning to exit the country. You'll want to check the expiry date on your passport before you leave.

If you are planning a trip further in the future, be sure to check entry requirements again about a month before you leave. These may have changed, and you don’t want to arrive at the airport--or, worse, at the border of a new country--only to find you can’t get in.

Passport to adventure. Photo by tomstrick1

Finally, even if you make all necessary checks beforehand and think you have everything in place, customs and immigration can be a mystery. As the Foreign Affairs Canada website says, “It is the sole prerogative of each country or region to determine who is allowed to enter,” and custom and immigrations officials can deny you entry--even if you have a visa and all your paperwork appears in order--with no means for appeal. Getting put back on a jet and sent home is a waste of time and a huge waste of money.

Therefore, when speaking with custom and immigration officials, remember to be polite and answer their questions honestly. Don’t provide them with information they don’t require, and don’t joke around. A professional attitude with concise answers will help them do their job easily, and will increase your chances of gaining their stamp of approval.

Next time you are thinking of heading off some place, take some time to check visa requirements in advance and make sure you have all the appropriate documents--then check the requirements again before you leave to see if there have been any changes. Upon arrival at your destination, be professional and courteous when dealing with immigration officials on both entry and exit from the country.

With a little investigation and a small amount of elbow grease, you can maximise your chances of having all the right paperwork and approvals to make border crossing as easy as possible.

If you have any tips or tricks to share on getting visas, please post them in the comments. If you have other tips and tricks for your fellow travellers, then join us in educating travellers worldwide. To get started, send our editors an email at unravelled [at] travellerspoint [dot] com. Let them know a bit about yourself, and maybe include some writing samples and ideas for entries. They will review your submission and, if you fit the bill, they will welcome you to the team.

A friend recently decided to go travelling for a year, and one Friday night she invited me for drinks to grill me about destinations, routes and where she should go. As a first-time solo traveller, she was hesitant about where to start and she wanted to see it all. So she decided that lacing me with wine would get her some solid advice. She’s not the first one; over the years, I’ve been approached by a lot of people wanting to know where they should take off to, what was realistic and what they should consider. I, in return, have developed a quick set of questions to help them come up with their ideal destinations.

Road to Nowhere in the Peten Guat by Shmips

THE FACTORS

Your personality. Travel tends to bring out the best and worst in people, so have a quick think about your personal positives and negatives. Get anxious when the tap in the public toilets is broken and you can’t wash your hands? Then India might not be for you. Love the great outdoors, hiking and being in fresh air? Jot Peru onto your wish list

Travel tends to bring out the best and worst in people

Your interests and hobbies. Travelling is a great way to explore new hobbies and expand your knowledge of your existing ones. If you are the proverbial culture vulture, Europe would keep you busy. Love food and gourmet experiences? Africa might leave you wanting for more. Always wanted to try some extreme adventures? New Zealand would have you screaming for more.

Your budget. Money is, unfortunately, a big factor when travelling. I always find it hard to answer people’s queries about budgets because people’s spending habits are different; some shop, some party, some do neither. Sure, if you are on a shoestring budget of about $15 a day, then going out in Oslo is a bit out of your range, whereas you could probably have a perfectly nice night out in most of South East Asian destinations. Lots of countries are camping-friendly, but a lot of backpackers aren’t. Be realistic about your expectations. Although you have a tent and a sleeping bag for that 6-week trip around Western Europe, you might not want to sleep in it every single night. Similarly, a nice meal in a mid-range restaurant will cheer up the daily bread-and-cheese routine tremendously. The same amount of money will last a lot longer in Asia, Africa and South America than it will in Europe or North America.

Time. How long do you have? There’s no point in planning a round the world trip if you only have 3 weeks of annual leave. There are still a lot of places which are hard to access easily and therefore need more time to be reached. I’ve deliberately left some fantastic cities in Europe un-visited, figuring they were close enough to visit later on when I might have a permanent job and less time off- doing an overland trip in Central Africa would be hard on a short holiday, but doable now

Local Customs and culture. Fancy going out clubbing every night, sampling beers? Not so easily done in Iran. Love the beach life? Try Australia. I spent six months living with a Zambian family who simply could not understand why I sometimes wanted to be alone, as it is common to do everything communally in most African cultures

Crossing to Australia by Ofelia

THE TIPS

Fantasise and dream. Borrow a few travel guides, read a few travel stories, browse through the blogs here at Traveller’s Point, watch a few travel programmes on TV. You might just find you have developed a desperate need to visit Burkina Faso (like me) or Alaska (my best friend)

There are no must-see destinations in the world, only the ones that are a must-see to you

Don’t follow the flock. Travel agencies tend to pre-design packages with their most popular destinations and recommend those, but there’s more out there. Where did you dream of going to as a child? A vast majority of the world is accessible to the average traveller- don’t be fooled into thinking that nothing exists outside that package presented to you at the travel agent’s, and don’t be afraid to include a less than usual destination, such as Central Asia, to your list. There are no must-see destinations in the world, only the ones that are a must-see to you

Do some research. Although I am not a huge fan of planning, some research is good, such as seeing if you need visas, if some routes are ok to travel, and to give you an idea of the time/money required. An Australian friend turned up at a London airport a few years ago, on her way to the Czech Republic, but without a visa; she missed Christmas in Prague and had to stay in London alone. Some research to your destination is advisable

Be realistic about your expectations. It is impossible to see it all, and it’s very easy to get greedy when planning your trip. Always calculate a bit of extra time for things like getting ill, possibly missing your bus/flight/train, and simply for meeting new people whom you just want to hang out with. Travelling is not a race to see as much as possible, and if you make it into one, you’ll stop enjoying it. Narrow it down to the things you really want to see, and add a few more if you have the time and the money

Don’t listen to other people too much. Travelling is very much a subjective experience, and every place has its good and bad points. If your acquaintance got her wallet stolen in Ecuador, she might be less than likely to recommend it as a travel destination. I spent most of my time in Bolivia ill, and therefore hardly ever recommend it- not because I dislike it, but because I cannot suggest much to see or do there. Take all advice (including mine!) with a pinch of salt.

Sunset at Easter Island by Ofelia

Or you could simply do what I did- Unsure where I wanted to go on my first long trip, I opened the atlas at random, and China it was. Unfortunately I couldn’t find a cheap deal there at the time, and after a few frantic last-minute calls, I found myself on a plane to India. There’s something to see everywhere- go and experience it for yourself.

First off, I need to thank Robert Townsend for that great "lead-in" line - taken from the movie The Mighty Quinn (1989). It's a great movie. So what if neither he, nor Denzel Washington, can hold a Caribbean accent for more than a line or two. It's still entertaining. Watch it.

Australia - Hippie Campervan, by stacestu

I GET THE HEX!

Hop into my Way Back Machine then give that dial a spin! Oh look! It's 1968 and I am all of 15 years of age. The "Summer of Love" came and went twelve months prior, but it has left its proverbial footprint in the sexual sands of time. Life is good. Taboos are thrown on raging bonfires, alongside bras and draft cards, while everyone watches the smoke mingle with the clouds. Pot is cheap. Sex is free. Both are everywhere--along with a few other goodies. "Share the Love" takes on a whole new meaning for a whole new generation. Oh, and don't bogart that joint, my friend. Hand it over to me...

Little did most of us enjoying the fruits of the sexual revolution realize what "seeds" were actually being sown. Sure, pregnancy was one of those "seeds" but with the upstart of free clinics handing out free birth control pills... a minor consideration. Syphilis and gonorrhea (the BIG STDs of the day) were easily cured with a few penicillin injections. Sex had become a true contact sport with many players and didn't require protective gear anymore. Life just kept getting better.

My Dick Fall Off and I Wake Up Dead.

Where to next? Oh, just give that dial another spin! Ah--1981 and I am all of 28 yeas of age. I have just gotten divorced, so I know it's going to be a good year! Wait. Something isn't quite right... I am also engaged in a battle with Secret STD Agent - Chlamydia Trachomatis. My Consultants are telling me Chlamydia launched Project PID at some point in an attempt to destroy any chance of my reproducing offspring. (What a cruel plan!) They also explain to me that, being a good little Secret Agent, Chlamydia allowed no symptoms to be detected until now. Whoa!

It had taken up residence in my reproductive organs while evading detection for several years. It was also hell-bent on a campaign of mass destruction. I was diagnosed, misdiagnosed, told I was crazy, put on an anti-depressant which "supposedly" helped with "phantom" pelvic pain, etc, etc. There was nothing phantom about it and I had surgical reports to prove the original diagnosis: pelvic inflammatory disease... Chlamydia (source of origin). Because I didn't present with the classic symptoms, it was all in my head. (Thank God I didn't have a dick. It may have had to have fallen off in front of someone to prove something was really amiss.)

For the next eight years, I waged innumerous wars against PID. At the time, no doctor would perform a hysterectomy because of my age and the contradicting diagnoses. Thankfully, I worked in a profession where my colleagues (MDs) would treat me with Demerol™ for the pain so I could keep doing my job. I would eventually spend one week a month in hospital on IV antibiotics when Agent C. attacked again. In 1989, I underwent a radical hysterectomy at age 37. The surgical report states I would have been admitted for emergency surgery within a few weeks because other organs had come under attack also. (Hey, at least I didn't wake up dead.)

Amsterdam - Condoms, by LizaBrooks

HOW TO AVOID THE HEX!

Yes, I realize I have probably given you way too much information about my personal life. As payback, you can share with me one of these days. But these blog entries are designed to make travelers better and safer travelers. We do that by sharing experiences. So, as with most things, being forewarned is forearmed even when it comes to sex. Here are some tips (no pun intended - really):

• Abstinence - Refraining from sexual activity.

True abstinence pretty much guarantees you will not encounter any of the pesky STDs. By true abstinence, I mean NO sexual contact, which includes oral and/or digital stimulation. Several of the STDs, such as Herpes simplex, HIV and Hepatitis B can be transmitted through oral sex. Sorry, but if you are engaging in any type of direct genital contact with a partner, you are engaging in a sexual activity. Sex does not mean intercourse only.

• Condoms (prophylactics) - A device, especially a condom, for preventing venereal infection and conception.

The (latex/polyurethane) condom is your friend when it comes to sexual activity. It will not protect you against genital herpes or genital warts, as these infections also manifest themselves in areas not covered by the condom. But they are great for protection against many other STDs, including HIV/AIDS. Please use them. They are cheap. They also come in many colors, flavors and styles. (The price of a condom is nothing compared to the medical bills associated with an STD. I speak from an expensive experience.) The use of "natural" condoms is not advised. Natural condoms are constructed of animal tissue which will stop sperm but allow bacteria and viruses to pass through the membrane.

• Vaccines - A preparation of a weakened or killed pathogen, such as a bacterium or virus, that upon administration stimulates antibody production or cellular immunity against the pathogen but is incapable of causing severe infection.

Presently, there are two vaccines available for the protection against 4 of the 15+ Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) which are associated with cervical and other genital cancers. Gardasil™ and Cervarix™ are available in over 80 countries, but it must be noted that both of these vaccines and their side effects are under investigation at this time.

• Common Sense - Sound and prudent judgment based on a simple perception of the situation or facts.

Common sense is your ultimate best friend. (Condoms rank second.) Alcohol, recreational substances and/or just that "hot guy/girl in the corner of the room" can cloud one's judgment. I understand that completely. But use your brain before using anything else. Regardless of your gender, carry condoms if you are sexually active. Never rely on the "other person" to do the thinking (like bring condoms themselves) for you. Find a reason to use the bathroom to wash before and after the encounter. (That tip alone is worth its weight in gold, as "cleaning up" washes away bacteria and viruses.)

Okay, I could continue but I'm sure you've gotten the point. Think and be safe.

Do you have some tips and tricks for your fellow travelers? Then join us in educating travelers worldwide. To get started, send our editors an email at unravelled [at] travellerspoint [dot] com. Let them know a bit about yourself, and maybe include some writing samples and ideas for entries. They will review your submission and, if you fit the bill, they will welcome you to the team. Each entry published on Travel Unravelled will earn a $5 donation to the Travellerspoint Foundation.

A few days ago, I got into a cab here in Santiago for a quick, nine block dash to the Metro station. The ride would ostensibly take three minutes....

Twenty-five minutes later, the cabbie and I leapt out of our respective doors and stared over the cab roof at each other with angry looks on our faces. The trip did not go well......

Outside a bar in Prague, by Piecar

When I was a kid, the idea of taking a cab was tantamount to being a high roller. My Dad thought cabs were a huge waste of money and instilled that in me. I read an article about London cabbies and their extensive training and encyclopedic knowledge of their city. I just assumed that this was the case in EVERY city. Cabs were for the rich, or the intelligencia, or something...Something, whatever it was, that I was not.

When I was 13 I started collecting comics, and I started with Amazing Spiderman 192. In it, Peter Parker takes a cab into the city, and the driver is a slovenly sort, rumpled and wearing a beat up newsie cap. He tries to run up the fare on ol' Pete, and our hero calls him on it. The cabbie's response, I remember clearly, is "Hey! I ain't tryin' ta rook ya, kid!" But Pete handles it. Spiderman showed me that cabbies could be lowlife rip off artists.

I don't remember my first local cab ride...lost in the mist.... But I remember my first foreign cab ride. None other than London, England. I couldn't get wait to get into one of those black clunky vehicles. I had visions of a guy in a suit saying things like "Good day to you Governor!" and "Where will it be, then, young sir?" It wasn't quite like that, but the man was personable, got me to where I was going efficiently, using a side street or two, maneuvering like the pro that he was. It was great.

My second was not so great - Caracas, Venezuela. I considered myself well travelled then with five different countries under my belt. I stood just inside the sliding opaque doors that lead from the safe haven of the country called “Airport” to any country in the world. I steeled myself, and went through. On the other side, the first people I saw were cab drivers. Every one of them had a laminated card that said “Tourist Information” clipped neatly to their lapels. The trouble was, no two of the cards were the same. I was ready for these guys, and just blasted through them. There is a second level to the Caracas airport, and I went up there to sit for fifteen minutes while the hooplah of a new flight full of tourists died down.

While I was up there, a fellow without a tourist badge came up to me and told me in broken English that he knew where to get a trustworthy cab. I bought his line, and followed him out, past the other cabs and into the parking lot. That was mistake number one. (A real cab gets the privilege of pulling up front. The shady operators live in the parking lot... hey, I was new!) The fellow got into the front passenger seat, and the driver started the car. (Mistake number two, and three. Two, if there are two people in the cab, don't get in, unless it's a colectivo. Three, I was getting a shifty feeling and rather than listen to it, I ignored it.... Never do that.)

Oh, I got to my hotel okay. I dropped my stuff. I felt confident that things were going to work out. The two guys were friendly enough and invited me to hang out with them. I spent six hours getting drunk (mistake four...Don't get drunk when you don't know where you are, or how to get back) as the driver drove us to different spots around the city, and the other guy led me into place after place. I never paid a cent, and never found out the price of anything. I actually picked up a girl, but she was shooed away. I was their pigeon to pluck, no free riders.

After the six hours, I was drunk lost and defenseless... Then they stopped the cab and got me out. The driver waited in the car while the other guy introduced me to two tough looking friends. He told me I owed him 400 hundred dollars, or I was going to get tuned up. I only had 200, and had just enough latent toughness not to let them force me to use the ATM they had stopped in front of.... A two hundred dollar lesson I told myself as I staggered down Avenida Sabana Grande at three in the morning towards what I hoped was my hotel.

Havana taxi, by DinaRosado

Since then I've had my ups and downs with drivers. Some are great. Some are horrible. Some are honest, some are lowlife sleaze-buckets who deserve a solid kick in the 'nads with a steel-toed workboot. A guy once stopped and drove me out of a neighbourhood he didn't like for free...and then left me with a medialuna his wife had baked.... Another guy tried to charge me double because I had a backpack. Guys have led me to a good hotel that was cheap when I asked for an overpriced one I'd found in a stray guidebook.... Guys have taken me to broken down hovels when I asked for a decent low-priced option because they got a kickback from the owner.

So, I've developed rules for taxis..

Before you leave my fave country - the Airport - ask someone inside what the regular price of a cab is. Tourist info is fine, but try to ask a cleaner or security guard too. They'll have the lowdown, and now you have some ammo before you go through those magic doors.

The less a cab driver cares if I get into his cab, the more I want to get in.

Bring a compass. I am amazed that people don't do this. At least know the four cardinal points. Not just for cabs but for everything. You save yourself a ton of time on a winding street that started pointing North but now is heading East if you have one of these things.

The less a cab driver cares if I get into his cab, the more I want to get in. If a guy is reading a newspaper on the hood and only begrudgingly gets into the driver's seat....that is my favourite guy. He's not trying to put the moves on me.

Keep a Weather Eye. You're in a new place. Look around for landmarks. If only to see whether you see it twice in the same cab ride.

Seem confident, (even if you ain't) Sit forward, Be squinty and look dubious. Cock an eyebrow every now and again. Make 'em think you won't buy their act, if, indeed they have one.

Check for a meter, make sure they use it. If a cabbie has a meter, the only reason he's going to negotiate a fare is so he comes out ahead. And how are you going to adequately negotiate with no information or local knowledge?

Do your best to know where you're going. If you've reserved a hotel ahead of time, ask the hotel dude(tte) for a local TALL landmark so you have something to shoot for...and you can tell the cabbie that the place is near this landmark, implying you have local knowledge, making you seem informed, and giving the cabbie something to shoot for, because.....

Cabbies don't always know where they're going! It is a myth that cabbies are knowledgeable about the place they patrol. Don't expect a cabbie to know about that cool little hole in the wall down some side street that you heard about online. Half of them are lucky if they know where City Hall is.

Taxi bug in Mexico City, by malmn

Don't be afraid to say NO. The guy is working for you. If he's doing something you don't like, tell him to stop, or get out.

If it feels wrong, it is. Don't second guess that feeling. It may be way off, but better safe than sorry.

Friendly and grinning and funny doesn't mean Safe. In fact, I prefer bemused quiet and altogether ambivalent in my cab driver.

Right.....

...So there we were staring over the roof at each other. I wasn't mad, in fact I was amused. The cab driver had given me the "run-around" Drove me all over the place, at one point taking me around a roundabout four times. Had driven North, East, South, West, and then back North before back tracking East to the Metro. I'd seen it all, and even though I was late, I was having fun. I took out some big bills as the ride got more expensive on the meter, and let the driver see them. He thought I was buying his trick. I was hoping he'd turn and say, in broken English "I ain't tryin' ta rook ya kid!"

The driver wasn't really mad. I'd paid him what the trip would have cost if he'd played it straight. But you have to play the act.

We looked at each other for about ten seconds. Then the driver shrugged and got back into his cab. I waved and headed to the Metro. We had just wasted each other´s time. I screwed the driver out of about two fifty worth of gas. Just 197.50 left to go before I get even for Caracas.