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16 Travel Blunders to Avoid!
1. Not calling your bank or credit card company before you leave Before our trip to China, we did very little preparation other than just pack our bags and water our plants. On our first night in Beijing, we thought, “No problem, we’ll just walk to the mall near our hotel, hit up an ATM and grab some dinner”. We visited an ATM with my debit card’s logo and, worst thing ever; it sucked up my debit card and kept it! We tried buying some small items at a grocery store and got rejected with every card we tried there as well. That night, we had to go back to…
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Israel, Petra and Egypt — Part 1, Israel
Highlights: The Sea of Galilee, Jerusalem, Petra, The Pyramids of Giza, Nile River Cruise Tips: Israel is very safe; I’d feel comfortable there traveling on my own. However, in Jordan and Egypt, for baby boomer travelers like us, we felt comfortable being part of an organized tour group and would recommend the same for others. Bring bags of cheap candy for little kids in Egypt. Cultural Preparation: Books: The Bible — all those Sunday School lessons on the Bible come to life here. Exodus by Leon Uris — a story of the founding of the State of Israel Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie — Book or Movie (I…
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Petra, Jordan and Egypt, Part 2
After several days in Israel (see Part 1) and after a visit to the ancient mesa-top fortress of Masada, it was time to move on to Jordan and Egypt. First up, Jordan. Crossing into Jordan — the Allenby crossing is named after Edmund Allenby — from the time this area was colonized by the British. If you saw the movie, Lawrence of Arabia, you may remember this character as one of Lawence’s commanders. The Jordan River — where Jesus is thought to have been baptized. There had been a lot of rains and flooding in the winter of 2018-19 and some the meeting pavilions had been damaged. A lot…
