Sydney Harbor offers a lot of boat tours but the best way to get great views of the city is by taking the local Harbour City Ferries. There are over 30 stops (you can plan your trip here) but don’t forget to look back, especially if you’re leaving from Circular Quay.
Yemeni cuisine is as surprisingly diverse as the landscape of a country I visited in its last days of stability. Although the security situation has changed considerably in Yemen since 2013, these tastes flavor a culture that’s often obscured by bomb smoke for many around the world.
The Spread
Yemeni breakfast, lunch, and dinner tables only begin like the photo below from At Hameeda, a completely woman owned and run restaurant near the city of Shibam (northwest of Sana’a). After the first course, plus some lounging, the tabletop is replaced with several new dishes.
Rice With Hawaij Spice
Common in many Yemeni foods, hawaij is a spice mix that varies but the primary ingredients are cardamon, tumeric, and cumin. Also varied is how much (if any) clarified butter is used for flavor.
Shakshouka
Fried or poached eggs on a layer of tomatoes spicy enough to make your temples glow with perspiration.
Malawah
Bread heavily buttered with a touch of egg.
Lahoh
A spongy flat bread served warm with a cool mixture of yogurt, cucumbers with carrots on top.
Saltah
Yemen’s national dish, it never looked the same twice. Saltah’s main ingredient is a meat (often lamb) in a broth with the strong flavor of fenugreek – an unexpected taste that probably takes more than a few tries to acquire.
Leham Segar
Minced lamb with tomatoes and onion. The okra isn’t standard but your appetite will appreciate the culinary creativity.
Cooked Peas (Bezelye)
Those of you familiar with Turkish vegetarian foods might recognize this green pea dish with a tomato base.
Marak
A chicken or lamb broth soup that is tastier than its short ingredient list implies.
Fahsa
A variation of saltah, fahsa is cooked at much higher heat until the lamb meat slides off the bone, boiling inside a soup of garlic, onions. It is then topped off with fenugreek paste mixed with tomatoes (which is cooked separately) so you have a layer of bread dip on top of dinner. Well, at least 6% of a dinner if it’s Yemeni proportions.
Still Eating
Going through them all I had so many photos from Yemen of food I didn’t realize how much time I spent eating – all different types of food.
You’ll probably notice as well that many of the pictures a selected above are from the same meal or two to show you that Yemenis like to eat. Meals are often largest in early noon, since after 2pm most people take some time to get high on khat. I didn’t even mention the coffee a drink introduced to the world from the Yemeni port of Mocha. Unfortunately much of the coffee crops – and the potential export income it could bring in – has been replaced by thirsty khat trees.
The world’s world’s most neglected tourist destination Socotra Island, hundreds of kilometers off the mainland coast of Yemen, still remains accessible by air but for now, getting to one of the world’s best kitchens will have to wait for a distant future trip.
Although the world is more digitally connected now than it ever has been before, finding an inexpensive connection for your mobile phone when crossing international borders is still a cumbersome process. You either have to contend with expensive, often murky roaming charges, or spend what can be a long afternoon trying to track down a local provider for service. The TravelSim card however eliminates the need for either of those sub-optimal choices, providing you with pay-as-you-need international mobile and data service.
What Is A TravelSim?
Physically, the TravelSim is your basic mobile phone SIM (optionally Micro SIM) card. Functionally, the TravelSim allows you to make calls and send text messages from over 135 countries in the world at national flat rates. Data service is also included in most countries with incoming calls, plus texts, free. The TravelSim is sold online through through their website with two packages available, either 35 or 85 Euros depending on how much initial air time you want.
TravelSIM International SIM Card with 5 USD airtime
How The TravelSim Works
The TravelSim is a callback service routed through Estonia. Once you’ve got the TravelSim inserted into your phone (which must be unlocked for the service to work), you make calls as you normally would – with one extra step. Instead of being connected directly to the person you’re calling, once you dial, you’ll receive a phone call from the TravelSim service. You then wait on the line for a second or two before hearing the familiar sound of ringing as you’re connect to the person you’re calling. The additional process adds under 5 seconds of time to an ordinary call and is fairly seamless, once you get used to your phone calling you back before connecting. (Admittedly, it took me a few times.)
Text messages are sent as you would with any regular phone service. To activate data, you’ll need to follow these steps to configure your phone.
Benefits Of Using TravelSim
For starters, the TravelSim is available in a lot of countries from Madagascar to France and is a pay-as-you-go service. Once you’ve added credit to your card on TravelSim.com, it’s good for two years. Anyone can get in touch with you through your dedicated phone number, which will have a +372 country code, since TravelSim is based in Estonia. Having (inexpensive) mobile service upon arrival in a new country can be one of the most comforting things a traveler can have, especially if you need to contact your hotel or have a mother who still worries about you.
Additionally, TravelSim gives you a phone number that’s actually usable without costing you twice your plane tickets. Hotels and hostels often want a contact number, as do the friends you make on the road. The TravelSim can’t replace regular mobile service at home but it’s not designed to do that. Ideally, you swap out your home SIM with the TravelSim before your next international flight or train ride to seamlessly close the gap in coverage between arrival and accommodation we all face when showing up in a new country.
There are a lot of good reasons to use a VPN when traveling, from getting around local Internet censorship to finding cheaper airfare but with so many options, it can hard to determine the differences between services. The best VPNs work around the world even in Internet-repressive countries (*cough* China), give you security, and protect your privacy. Plus, if you travel frequently, good VPN software will keep your mobile devices seamlessly connected too.
Quickly: What’s A VPN
In short, a virtual private network (VPN) is like a scene in an action movie where we (and the bad guy) see the hero run into a mall. The bad guy or gal knows the person is in the mall but doesn’t know where they’ll exit from. In this analogy the mall is the VPN, the exits are websites, and the bad guy could be any person or government agency watching what you do online.
Without the VPN (or mall in this example) someone could just follow you to your favorite store, tracking what you do. This is the security a VPN provides. But you have to trust the mall’s internal security, that they’re not using their cameras to track you when you’re inside. This is the privacy aspect of VPNs and varies between providers.
The VPN is a little program you run on your desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Viewed from the outside the fact that you’re connecting to a VPN isn’t a secret – but once there, your Internet browsing is obscured. Another benefit of the VPN is they can be configured to make it appear as if you’re browsing from another country so you can do things like watch your favorite TV shows from anywhere.
Are They Worth Paying For?
Yes. Most free VPNs either have slow connections, poor (if any) support, limited bandwidth, and might not take your privacy or security as seriously as they should.
The Best VPNs For Travelers – 1. Private Internet Access (P.I.A.)
Private Internet Access overall has in good measure the things you want from a VPN – strong encryption, they don’t keep logs of your activities, and they let you choose where it looks like you’re located (e.g. you want to access U.S. Netflix from India). They also don’t restrict ports for things like torrenting. P.I.A. is great but can be a bit slow sometimes; also their iOS and Android apps aren’t as reliable or configurable as they could be. Still, for $39.95/year is an excellent VPN choice.
2. TunnelBear
The strong suit of TunnelBear is its mobile apps, which seamlessly connect to the VPN even when you move between wireless networks or to cellular data. Here’s my full review of TunnelBear if you want to read more about this VPN provider with excellent customer support. Unlimited TunnelBear is $49.99/year.
3. IP Vanish
For those who like to configure things, IP Vanish’s mobile apps (Android and iOS) give you more options than other VPN providers and the service is consistently the fastest in my testing. (You’ll pay a bit extra for it, as IP Vanish is $77.99 annually.) Like P.I.A. above, IP Vanish also was rated by Torrent Freak as one of the VPNs that take your privacy most seriously.
Worth Mentioning
Several of you highly recommended Astrill (especially for travel to China) as well as WiTopia. Their listed privacy policies aren’t quite as robust as the other VPNs listed above but if your main objective is to prevent international governments from spying on you when you travel, both will serve your needs.
Is there a VPN you would recommend to other travelers I missed above? Let us know in the comments below!
I’m sent a lot of electronics to test, play with, and give feedback on, but while many don’t make it for a full review here; others so seamlessly blend in with the tech gear and gadgets I travel with, I almost forget how useful they are for a traveler. That is the case with two Powerstick chargers I was sent by the company in late 2013: the PowerStick+ and the PowerTrip.
Over the past 2 years the PowerStick portable batteries have become an integral part of keeping my gadgets charged on the road in a way that’s reliable, quick, as well as efficient with or without a wall outlet.
What Are They?
Two portable batteries that can charge up most of your gadgets, save for a laptop. (Too much juice required for most portable battery packs.) The PowerStick+, about the length of an iPhone 5s, roughly twice as thick, weighs approximately 80 grams (2.82 ounces).
The PowerTrip is a bulkier, slightly wider than a credit card, 2.54 centimeters (1 inch) thick, weighing about 198 grams (7 ounces). It carries more power and has a solar panel on one side allowing you to recharge without the use of a wall outlet if needed.
How Much Can They Recharge?
The PowerStick+ is a 2300 mAh battery, meaning most smartphones can be charged from nothing to 80%. (Apple iPhones, whose batteries are anorexic can be charged from zero to full easily.) The PowerTrip is a 6000 mAh battery that can bring nearly two iPads back from the electrical dead.
You charge the PowerStick+ by USB and in my experience it takes about two hours to get a full charge. (For faster charge times you’re better off getting a USB-to-outlet adapter rather than using your laptop.) A great feature of both the PowerStick+ and PowerTrip is that they retain charges for around a year – meaning you don’t have to charge up and use either relatively soon for fear of losing the stored power.
Spark Wireless 5pcs USB AC Universal Power Home Wall Travel Charger Adapter
The PowerTrip has both a USB outlet for charging as well as a built-in flip out prongs for direct wall charging. (Currently AC only so for international travel be sure to pack this Swiss Word Travel Adapter.)
The Small Things I Don’t Like
The PowerStick+ is straightforward and charges quickly but the small gripe I have with the PowerTrip is that is can take a little long to charge up. Around 7-8 hours if it’s plugged in to a wall outlet isn’t too bad for a battery this size but if you’re like me and often forget to charge it the night before a train ride across England it can be disappointing. Also, the solar charging is hit or miss, despite my best efforts to toast it under the Egyptian sun in Hurghada, for example.
Save On GB Before You Charge Up
Although I would like faster recharge times for the PowerTrip specifically, I highly recommend both the PowerStick+ and PowerTrip. They’ve become absolutely essential for me personally, finding I rarely worry about not having an outlet around on a long journey because both batteries can power my devices for over 12 hours. Remember though it’s still worth taking care of all your batteries when traveling to get more life out of any charge.
The PowerStick+ starts at $65 and PowerTrip is $99 with more expensive models available that give you some data storage space as well. You’re better off saving your money and getting the least expensive PowerStick+ / PowerTrip models; splurging on a decent-sized USB thumb drive if you’re really crammed for space. Both batteries come with cases plus, for some flair, the option to print any custom design you want when ordering directly through their website, PowerStick.com.
There are two types of flyers in the world – those that leave for the airport at a reasonable time before a flight and everyone else who thinks those kind of people are risk-taking-maniacs who want nothing more than the thrill of almost missing a flight. For many, the notion of arriving at the airport 3 hours before an international flight is one airline commandment that can’t be broken – except that even most airlines don’t recommend you get to the airport that early.
Where Does The 3 Hour Rule Come From Anyway?
There are two factors the airlines use to determine their recommendations on how early you should show up at the airport before any flight: the time it takes for a checked bag to get to the plane from the counter and how long it takes a passenger to get to the gate from the counter. (The airlines see a lot of passengers giving them a huge data set with which to base these times.) It turns out the total time between the two have varied over time, they have remained equal to one another over time.
Despite what it feels like to us, getting through security now is a lot quicker than it was 20 years ago and our bags also get to the planes faster too. (As most experienced ramp agents will tell you.) The 3 hour rule may have been practical for most flights in a time when all bags were routinely opened for searches, passports couldn’t be scanned electronically, ticket records weren’t computerized; but not so much now.
Save Yourself An Hour
The sweet spot for getting to the airport before an international flight is actually two hours before scheduled take off. Two hours isn’t an arbitrary time I’m just making up, it’s based on how the airlines calculate the time you’re recommended to show up. (For some, it’s even as little as 90 minutes.) Again, the airlines base their recommendations according to the amount of time it takes for a checked bag to get from the check-in counter to the gate – which is roughly equal to the amount of time it takes the passenger to get to the gate.
For most airports this time is calculated as 45 minutes – the minimum amount of time it takes for your checked bag to get to the gate. For those of you who traveling with checked bags, this is the absolute latest you can get to the check-in counter. Otherwise, you won’t be allowed to check bags which might be a deal breaker for your flight depending on your backpack or suitcase.
Add in 30 minutes in line to get to the counter (as the airlines do), totaling 120 minutes. Remember, this time varies by airline, airport, and destination so be sure to check on the airline’s site for last check-in times.
More Time If You Don’t Have Checked Luggage
Traveling without checked bags not only saves you a lot of time upon arrival since you can skip baggage claim, it also generally means you can get to the airline 30 minutes later (around 90 minutes) before an international flight. Again, this isn’t an arbitrary time – it’s what the majority of airlines recommend. Not having checked luggage often means you don’t need to see an agent at the check-in counter and pick up your tickets directly from a kiosk.
Also, some destinations with strict visa or security controls (e.g. Israel) often mean you need to get to the airport earlier than 2 hours before your flight.
Cut It Efficiently Close
Some airports are small enough where you can show up even an hour before a scheduled flight but unless you know it well enough it’s best not to get carried away with procrastination. Inside the United States you can check security wait times with the TSA, use What’s Busy for future flights, plus see how long a walk to your gate will take with Gate Guru.
Despite all of your best efforts, in case you do show up too late you can try missing your flight for free without paying for re-booking.
Hi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More 
