The iPhone appears to do everything:  email, internet, music, games, applications… even phone calls.

But does it make a good travel buddy?

One member is looking for a 100% effective way to ensure that the iPhone does not attempt to update data while on international roaming and hence cause their phone-bill to sky-rocket.

The problem with iPhones, as one member points out, is that there is no master “data off” switch and accordingly no guaranteed way to ensure that phone does not automatically update when roaming with other carriers.

Our members, however, are a rather technology-savvy bunch and have come up with a number of useful suggestions and tips for travelling with an iPhone:

• Turn off 3G and data roaming
• Avoid using the calendar function as it initiates mail downloads
• Ensure that the mail is not set to push
• Change the cellular data network profile so that it can not physically connect to other networks
• Purchase a local sim, but it is important to ensure the phone is unlocked from the current network first

Another option of course (although unthinkable to many iPhone users) is to detach yourself completely from the beloved iPhone and drag out an old Motorola or Nokia for your overseas travel purposes.  This will guarantee that you won’t experience unnecessary downloads and upgrades.  However may seriously damage your street-cred!

One member learnt the hard way with a $900 phone bill and others share horror stories of bills costing thousands.

Click HERE to find out exactly how to modify your iPhones settings to ensure it is travel-friendly.

The old saying tells you something about them.: “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” Well, that isn’t always what you find anymore. It’s gotten a lot more commercial since I first went with my Mom and Dad, but it still draws huge crowds, vendors hoping to make some money, and shoppers hoping for a bargain or at least a day of fun.

Now I’m not much of a shopper, and we usually go more for museums and history when we travel, but sometimes you can have lots of fun at flea markets around the world, and learn something about that country’s culture at the same time. At the very least, finding one of these giant jumble sales will keep you from getting museum sensory overload!

Probably the first one we ever found abroad was the Marche Aux Puces de Clingnancourt in Paris. All the French guidebooks mention this one. It’s a great place to prowl around and find all sorts of vintage French items. I have to admit… we never bought anything, but it was a fun way to spend a morning.

If it wasn’t the Marche Aux Puces, then perhaps our first international “junk prowl” was Portobello in London, or maybe it was the Camden Passage to look at antiques. (Certainly not to buy – we couldn’t afford that on those early trips!) There are antique and junk markets all over London, many have become touristy, but if you look hard and bargain, you might still find a treasure to take home. There are lots of websites to direct you to all of the possibilities.

You’ll find markets like this all over the U.S. From the Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market in New York to the the Pasadena Rose Bowl Swap Meet which is supposed to be the largest on the West Coast. There’s the “127 Corridor” in the middle of the country. It’s actually a giant once-a-year yard sale that stretches over 600 miles through 5 states in August.

There’s the Mercat Gotic in Barcelona, Spain. In South America, there is the San Telmo Flea Market in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and in Japan, there’s the Togo Antique Market in Tokyo.

You can find them in many less developed areas too. But what really differentiates a flea-type market from the local bazaars? Flea markets typically sell second hand goods. The question sometimes is when do they become antiques? And, in those developing counties, the next questions is… what is really an antique, and what is just made to look like one? Remember, anywhere you shop, it’s always buyer beware. Far from home, it’s hard to return what you bought.

Go ahead and explore those markets where ever you find them and if you find that one man’s junk is your treasure. Buy it and enjoy it.

You’re right in one sense. A pilgrimage is, most often, to go on a journey to visit a place that is religious or has historic significance, and more often than not, it is a journey to a sacred place. Whether you go for strictly religious reasons or for personal satisfaction, a pilgrimage can be a moving experience. It’s a journey inward as well as outward.

This theme came to mind because of our recent trip to Jerusalem. Our trip was just for fun; we didn’t intend to take a pilgrimage. Most people would say we didn’t, but when we were there, we went to all of the most holy sites of all three major religions represented there. It was a moving experience.

Remember that if you want to take a pilgrimage, there are no hard and fast rules. It’s YOUR pilgrimage. If it is a long pilgrimage trail like the route through Spain to Santiago De Compostela, you might want to take it in stages. Do a section this year, another section another year. Many people don’t have time to take a whole long pilgrimage all at once, holiday time being what it is.

Or you could do a one week pilgrimage in Jerusalem. We felt we saw all the sights well in that time. There, of course, we stayed in one hotel the entire time and ventured out each day to explore the sites. On other pilgrimages, you will be moving day to day.

Pilgrims in the middle ages made long difficult journeys to earn favor, or do penance, or hope for a cure. Your pilgrimage doesn’t have to be long and hard, but part of the satisfaction for taking a pilgrimage comes from challenging yourself or learning something.

Pilgrims do go to specific places for a deeper, more significant experience than the casual tourist might. Although pilgrimages may be spiritual experiences, they all don’t have to be “churchy”. People even go on pilgrimages for somewhat less reverent reasons. A pilgrimage to Elvis’ birthplace for instance.

Whether you go to the Potala in Tibet, the Vatican in Rome, or the Western Wall or the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, you really feel like you’re some place special. A visit to ancient caves like the Font de Gaume in France – connecting with the 25,000 year old art can feel like a pilgrimage. You get that connected feeling in places like Stonehenge and Avebury too.

You can choose to just visit a site and stay in a hotel. You can make the long walk like the Way of Saint James to Santiago de Compostela. You can go with a group or by yourself.

However you choose to do it, take a pilgrimage for personal satisfaction to someplace that means a lot to you. It’s a great way to give travel more meaning.

The world is changing quickly all the time. With the internet and 24 hour news, travel is changing. It’s changed a lot since we started traveling. The world and your travel plans can even change while you’re traveling.

The point is, while you may have things planned out, you have to at least be aware that you might have to change your plans. Be a flexible traveler. You have to be prepared for changes.

Here’s our most extreme example: We had just arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on September 11, 2001. A few hours after our arrival, things were totally different in the world of travel.

In this most extreme of circumstances, our safari went off as planned. We couldn’t go home right away even if we wanted to, so we went forward. The biggest change then was the security on the flight home, and that we had to check EVERYTHING. Our airline gave us a plastic bag for our passports, pills, and glasses.

In less extreme examples, your tour operator could change hotels, or your cruise ship could change ports of call. One time we didn’t stop at a Caribbean port because of political unrest.

Ships may be delayed or rerouted because of weather. On a cruise around Antarctica, we had to skip one stop because the pack ice was way too thick.

Weather can certainly cause changes. We were visiting Gombe National Park in Tanzania to see chimps. We had to leave the park the night before our flight from Kigoma rather than the morning of the flight because of a storm brewing on Lake Tanganyika. We still saw all the chimps, but back in Kigoma, we had time for a drive to the little town of Ujiji where Stanley met Livingstone. You know, as in “Dr Livingstone I presume?” That change was a bonus.

Flights can be delayed due to weather. This applies in the middle of your trip as well as the beginning and end. We were going into the jungle in Peru, but weather delayed our flight to Puerto Maldonado. We had to overnight in that frontier town. The river wasn’t safe to navigate as late as we got in, then we extended our trip for a day so we had our full time in the jungle.

Even with a group booking you might not be safe. We got left behind on a flight to Tibet because a Chinese delegation took our seats. The plane wasn’t overbooked, at least not until the government stepped in! So our tour operator gave us two more days seeing Nepal, and we got a private tour of Tibet instead of a small group tour. We were more flexible and saw it all anyway.

Then there was the time the train derailed on the Altiplano in Peru on the way to Lake Titicaca! We got there much later at night than we planned, so we had to take a boat to the Floating Villages very early the next morning to fit it all in. We were the only ones there – another bonus!

Do you have time to be a flexible traveler?

Most of the time, things will go just as you or your tour operator plan. But weather, delayed flights, life, and world events can sometimes throw little “monkey wrenches” into the works. Hurricanes happen. Roads wash out.

We feel that each trip is an adventure. Be a flexible traveler. You might get more than you bargained for!

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One new member this week is determined to peel back the elusive curtain separating economy from business class and experience the luxury of travelling in style.  But be warned – our members note that, once experienced, addiction will follow!

Our newbie identified three potential options to assist in securing the business class seat.
1.  Buy the seat with points,
2.  Buy a return economy ticket and attempt an upgrade or
3.  Book a Premium Economy fare on the 747-400 to experience the “old” business class.

Our seasoned members this month polished off the welcome wagon and provided some helpful and practical advice to our first-time poster.

Our members concurred that option two is unlikely.  Without elite status it is likely that our newbie will be at the bottom of the upgrade queue.  Others reported that even with platinum status they do not rely upon, or expect, free upgrades.

There was some dispute as to whether option three was still occurring, but most agreed that the Premium Economy experience on 747-400 is not comparable to flying business class.

Overall the only guarantee proposed by our members is to buy a seat or an upgrade with points.  This option saves disappointment and guarantees luxury!

Read the full story HERE.

You should know enough by now if you’ve been reading along with us that if you need to drink bottled water, you should also avoid using ice cubes in drinks.

Some people will even tell you to drink beer and soft drinks from the bottle in case the glasses were washed in contaminated water. We think that’s a bit extreme, unless they look dirty of course. I guess that kind of goes along with the possibility of salads being washed in contaminated water. It never hurts to use the “peel it, boil it, or avoid it” mantra. Use your judgement on that depending on where you are.

Beyond all that, sometimes you need to ask is the water safe in rivers and lakes? Should you swim in that inviting lake or river? Or are there dangers large and small lurking there?

You need to know what endemic problems there are in areas you plan to visit. Are there parasites in the rivers or lakes? This doesn’t necessarily apply only to developing countries. Back country streams in the U.S. can have parasites such as Giardia. In less developed areas, infectious disease risks include typhoid and cholera.

In Africa, South America, and other tropical areas watch out for standing water in some places and moving water in others. If Bilharzia or River Blindness is a problem for the local population, you don’t need to ask if the water is safe. Just stay out!

Is the water safe when wildlife is present? If you’re on safari, you can see predators like lions at the waterhole, but there may be territorial hippos underwater or even hungry crocs. Watch for crocodiles in some coastal areas of Australia too. We were disappointed not to see Anacondas in South America, but you wouldn’t want to be taken by surprise by one.

If you’re a diver or snorkeler, you probably know that you have more to worry about from stinging jellies and sea wasps than from sharks. Stinging fish and fire corals can be hazardous. The water is safe if you’re aware of your surroundings.

Is the water polluted? Rivers and lakes can be polluted, and where they empty into the oceans or bays, the marine environment can be contaminated with bacteria and foreign bodies too. If there are warnings up about pollution, heed them.

Heed local weather forecasts too. Is the water safe to play in? Not if there are thunderstorms and lightning.

In most places, and most times, the water will be safe for drinking and eating and playing, but it’s just smart travel to be a bit cautious.