Several folks signed up for trips on the spot and many more asked lots of questions and gathered up lots of information to peruse. Some just came forthefunofit; a chance to “reunionize” with old friends and meet a few new ones.

Our parties are getting famous; we’ve now hosted AJ-sponsored parties in New York (three times), South Florida and DC as well as hosting presentations in Dallas, San Diego and Toronto. Coming up later this spring, we’ll be in Rockland County, NY for a presentation….and under consideration are a number of other cities for our next party.

We want to come see you, and host another Amazing Party. Where should we head next: Atlanta? Chicago? Boston? Los Angeles? These are the front runners, but we’re going to take a poll on this blog and see where we receive the strongest response. Please post your vote..and one lucky city will become the next hotspot for our next Amazing Journeys party.

When I was a college student I worked on my campus radio station, WOSR at Ohio State. The call letters for the station, WOSR, was also an acronym for the “Other Side of Rock”–followed by the tagline “the leading edge of progressive audio”.

Before your next trip, be sure to check when your passport will expire. Most countries require a validity date of 6 months beyond your last date of travel (this is to discourage you from remaining beyond the legal allowable visit…or yes, the possibility that you could defect). You will also want to make sure that you have several blank pages to allow for visas and additional entry/exit stamps. It only takes about a week to send your passport away for insertion of additional pages.

When traveling with friends/family, be sure (be VERY VERY SURE!) to actually look at your passport when you take it out of the safe of your hotel room or ship’s stateroom….and make sure you are putting your own passport into your possession. If you and your traveling companions should happen to separate when going through the customs/immigration lines, imagine your embarassment (and subsequent inconvenience) of showing the wrong passport. Worse yet, imagine the horror of discovering such a mistake when your travel partners are still hanging out at The Parthenon, the Great Barrier Reef, or at the Great Wall while you are headed home…only to discover an hour before your flight that you grabbed the wrong passport. It sounds like a simple mistake, but take it from one tour leader who has experienced this disaster on more than one occasion with his travelers; the ramifications of such a minor whoops can be rather discomforting.

And finally, while your passport can survive round the world travels…it has its limitations at home. Be sure to store it in a safe & secure place, but in a place where you’ll remember to bring it along. Never pack it with the luggage you’re going to check; rather keep it as secure on your person as your cash and credit cards. And contrary to this tour leader’s absent-mindedness….a clean passport isn’t necessarily a worthy passport. The back pocket of one’s jeans is not a good place to store the passport after clearing customs upon returning home….because forgetting to check one’s pockets before laundering said jeans can make for a damp and frayed travel document that, thank goodness, wasn’t quite ruined. This time.

Wanderers of all types are susceptible to stings and swindles as anyone else. This tour leader was once scammed out of 50 euros by a streetwise sidewalk entertainer. Silly me, thinking I could find the pebble under the slow moving rotation of cups. When I discovered that the missing link wasn’t my own stupidity but rather the trick of a magician, I screamed bloody loud…only to have the “entertainer” pack up and ship out into the crowd faster than a bee into the swarm.

The ubiquity of instant communication has made it easier for con artists and dubious travel agents to prey upon those of us who like to move around. The California Department of Justice recently announced the arrest of an Orange County travel agent for allegedly ripping off dozens of senior citizens who wanted to travel to Cuba for religious and cultural purposes. The scam targeted Jewish and Greek Orthodox seniors trying to congregate with people of their own faith on the Caribbean island. After the 34 victims forked out five-figure deposits he announced their trips were being blocked by the Treasury Department and refused to refund their money.

Selling counterfeit merchandise is another huge travel scam, especially for anyone visiting Asia, the source of so many bogus goods. There was a day in the not-too-distant past when a fake Rolex was the height of Third World travel chic. But nowadays the knockoffs can be downright deadly. Sunglasses, handbags, DVDs—every product in every industry is liable to be knocked off these days. If your product isn’t being counterfeited, then you probably have a brand that isn’t worth much. Nobody’s going to get killed by a counterfeit handbag, but consumers are at risk of buying counterfeit products that pose a real danger such as bogus electronics with faulty wiring or potentially hazardous batteries, knockoff pharmaceuticals (its obvious what danger this possesses) , as well as shampoo and perfumes that contain harmful amounts of bacteria.

There are also all kinds of money scams, from hotels that charge exorbitant commissions to change currency to money changers passing you bills or coins that are no longer in circulation. Obviously, its best to change in kiosks and banks.

Another scam is the hotel that isn’t quite what it advertised—and sometimes nowhere close. Its so easy to get lazy in your booking process and not ‘read between the lines’ or ask the right questions…ending up booking rooms at beach hotels that were nowhere near the beach and airport hotels that were miles away from the terminals. The best advice is to do your research. The more educated you are about a given hotel, the better off you’re going to be.

And finally, despite the phenomenal growth of airport security over the last several years, getting scammed at the TSA checkpoint is still a distinct possibility. Often it’s just a crime of opportunity—somebody who decides on the spur of the moment to snatch your iPod or cellphone from one of those ubiquitous plastic bins. But there are thieves, working solo or in tandem, who make a living off airports. They stand behind you in the TSA line and snatch items from your carry-on as you’re passing through the metal detector. Or, they may be in front—one member of the team takes forever passing through the scanner while his or her partner walks away with your laptop that’s already gone through the X-ray machine.
The best suggestion keep from getting ripped off at airports is to keep an eye on your handbags and carry-ons at all times. Don’t go through the metal detector before your bag does. If you require secondary screening, always ask a TSA agent to get your bag from the belt and bring it with you to the screening area. Be vigilant and avoid distraction. And before you leave the TSA screening area, always double-check that your valuables are in place.

In the end, the best piece of advice is to USE A TRAVEL PROFESSIONAL to help you in your planning. They are your best resource to ensuring that you get what you paid for and a safety net for those particulars that may be unfamiliar to you. You go to a CPA to get your taxes done….a repair man to get your car fixed and a plumber to fix your pipes. Being a trained professional in that area, a trustworthy travel pro is just as important to your sanity on vacation as a warm blanket can be on a cold winter’s night.

At the end of an Amazing Journey, we often say “the easiest way to say goodbye, is to make plans to see each other again”. Having just returned home from China with 52 exhausted but exhilarated passengers from across 13 US states and four countries, the feeling of being home again is bittersweet. There’s nothing like the comfort of home, but the excitement and adventure of visiting a land most people only dream of visiting is a phenomenon that just can’t be ignored.

To walk on The Great Wall….to view the Terra Cotta Warriors….to order food in an authentic Chinese restaurant…to enjoy the more-common-than-you-think ritual of a foot massage….to tour the ancient yet mezmorizing Jewish ghetto of Shanghai…to ride a rickshaw through the “Hutongs” community…..and to just wander and see for oneself what an odd but fascinating place China truly is, is well, truly fascinating.

If you’re a traveler and have seen places outside the good ol’ USA…good for you. If you’ve dreamed of visiting a far away land–whether it be Europe or Australia, Peru or Japan, or maybe just the Caribbean or Alaska–you need to get out there and do it. Life’s just too short. The world is waiting for you to explore and Amazing Journeys is proud to be your source to do so.

And so, as the China group relishes the memories and experiences gone by…we hope that for those who have traveled with us recently (to Alaska, South America, Egypt & Greece, the Galapagos Islands and many more), “we make plans to see each other again”. And for those who have yet to make such a plan, we share with you one of our favorite quotes: “Its not just about where your dreams take you, its where you take your dreams.” Add to that the Amazing Journeys tagline: “Vacations that can change your life”, and you have a recipe that can fill your life with new experiences, new appreciations and especially new & wonderful friends.

Home Sweet Home, indeed…but the world is a beautiful place to visit. Let us show you how.