Travel ( 3 )

Mexico Down to a Travel Precaution

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009

It is said that there may be 100,000 Americans infected by the H1N1 swine flu virus. Along with this news, the CDC announced that they may be facilitating the travel warnings in Mexico.

The U.S. swine flu death recently increased to 5 as a man died of the said virus in Corpus Christi.

Although the Center for Disease Control and Prevention thinks that there are 100,000 H1N1 infected Americans, most appeared to be seasonal flu only. There are actually just 4,714 confirmed swine flu cases.

Doctors from CDC observed that majority of swine flu infected patients who were hospitalized had underlying conditions that placed them susceptible to flu complications.

Based on the CDC’s observations, they could downgrade the travel advisory to Mexico. Only those who are likely to contact flu complications are discouraged to travel to Mexico. From deferring nonessential travels or a level four alert it will be down to a travel precaution.

The CDC also thought that it is more useful to know the pattern of the illness, rather than just tallying the number of cases. WHO announced that there are 7500 known H1N1 swine flu cases, mostly from the U.S. and Mexico.

According to statistics, there is an annual 7 – 10 percent of the American population that get flu annually or 21 – 30 million citizens a year. But with the current swine flu case, the CDC sees that the flu illness cases may be up by 100,000.

Then, there is this unconfirmed news that there is another virus lurking in Mexico —– a strain that includes H1N1 and the seasonal flu virus. Communications to the Mexican authorities are still ongoing to confirm this news.

The World Health Organization warns everyone that the flu scare may not yet be over. Though cases are already waning and there are apparently just some mild outbreaks, in case this virus infiltrates Southeast Asia, the threat would be worse. And if the spread is confirmed to go outside North America, the pandemic alert may reach the highest level.

The H1N1 swine flu virus has really caused many lives. Let us cross our fingers and hope that the H1N1 scare will be over soon. This is not good not only to health, but also to travel, particularly to Mexico.

Be a Little Easy on Your Teens and Your Travel will be Easy

Monday, June 29th, 2009

Teens usually demand for their freedom: If you are too controlling, they can make you miserable as well. They can ruin a summer travel so better liberate them a little, this will make everyone happy.

Here are some compromises you can do to gain the cooperation of your teenager:

Plan with your kids. Inform them about the travel plan and what they could expect from it. Include them in your planning. They may even have great ideas to make the trip more entertaining for you, and for them. Plus, when you give in to their suggestions, they can be more accommodating to your ideas.
Teens are at the stage of their development where the most important persons in their lives are their friends. So, why not have a buddy come along? A friend may serve as a baby sitter during the travel.
But if your budget is limited to your family, you can courteously ask the friend’s parent to pay for their kid’s fare. You can also ask the hotel for extra room discounts and payments for extra amenities.

You can also arrange a travel trade with the friend’s family: you take their kid now for the weekend, and they will take your teen for a trip next time.

Cell phones, portable video games and Wi-Fi time can be another tantrum-inducing argument during travel. Try to be a little more accommodating to your kid’s extra time with their gadgets, just remind them that there is a right place and time to play with their hi-tech toys.
Budget. Let your kids know that they can not spend on everything they want during your summer travel. They must have a limit on their souvenir buying, shopping, etc. Apply rules on how much they could only spend for a day. Though kids are a little more behaved when you let them stroll in the malls, remind them about spending. Better yet, let them bring their own money.
Kids would want to sleep in late during the summer. Allow them, as long as they know until what time breakfast is available and what could they miss if they wake up late.

Summer is the time for your teens to unwind. Let them enjoy your travel by letting them a little loose. Just give constant reminders and you can enjoy your trip too. Giving them a little more freedom means less whining and more peace.

Terrible Air Travel with Toddlers

Friday, June 26th, 2009

One of the fears of vacationers that choose air travel is a toddler in flight. You will not know how long you could take the crying, whining, and other noises the kid makes. Imagine if you have to endure that before you reach your dream vacation that is 10 hours away.

How could we all enjoy air travel if a kid is on board?

If it would only cost an extra $20 for a peaceful air travel, free from kid annoyance, everyone would try to avail that. Some tried offering non-compulsory kids-only section, but it did not become popular. Families can not be pushed into a specific section in a plane.
But if you really want to have a peaceful flight, some domestic flights do not allow kids in exit rows; have a reservation on those seats. Or maybe try the business or first class seats where parents would not usually purchase expensive tickets for their kids.
Since a child-free flight is impossible, passengers and flight crewmembers must exert an effort to maintain peace during their air travel. Flight attendants must be more vigilant in reminding parents of potentially trouble/noise making kids that any disruption will not be tolerated. And if you think the kid that is sitting next to you will nothing but be trouble all throughout the flight, you can ask to be transferred to a different seat, or even better to another flight.
Remember that there are not only pesky toddlers on board, there are also obnoxious and disrespectful adults. Do not blame it all on the kids.
If you are a parent and you need to travel with your kids, please be responsible. You must know when your child is already causing a commotion. Bring enough entertainment and food to keep the child calm and happy.Yet airlines must be responsible too. They must remind their passengers, particularly parents on what to expect and what should they prepare for their flight.
Why not secure these kids, like having a passenger seat. This can keep the kids buckled up snuggly all throughout the flight. This will be safer and more peaceful for everyone else in the flight. Airlines can promote parents to purchase an extra seat by offering discounts and providing these special seats complete with child-friendly safety belts.

We can not keep parents from traveling with their kids. We just need to do our share to keep our air travel enjoyable.

Surveys Contradict Each Other On Whether Travel Will Be Good This Summer

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Yearly, there are a bunch of polls coming out predicting how summer travel would be. Well, like any other year, there are a lot of them, but 3 contradicting surveys caught the attention of many: AAA’s that say that the traditional opening of season of summer travel, Memorial Day Weekend, will have a little travel [...]

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