Alright then… here’s the last entry, Part 3, in my series on my tips for international business travel. Everyone’s got their own stories and techniques so I might not be breaking any new ground here, but, it’s the Internet so who doesn’t need some more random opinions, right? There’s a Part 1 for Getting Ready and a Part 2 for En Route if you’re interested.

Managing Jetlag

Just suck it up cupcake. There’s probably not a lot you can do. Tons has been written about this. Some say to manage your sleep cycles in a certain way, take this pill or that pill, use various types of blue colored light therapy, etc. etc. Any or all of these may work for you, but just realize… you’re in for some crappy times. Your circadian rhythm controls your body’s daily agenda. So the comings and goings of the sun define our days and nights. When we mess with our time zone, we’re just going to feel it one way or the other. And then there’s just the discomfort of travel in general. Maybe you’ll love catching up on some books or movies in all that in between time. But basically, even in the better seats you’re going to have hassles. You’re going to be either bugging the person on the aisle because you have to use the bathroom or you’re getting your elbows smashed by the drink cart or whatever because you’re in the aisle. You weren’t so sloppy in planning that you ended up in a middle row for 10 hours, did you? Wow. That sucks. (Done it. Hate it.) [Read more…]

Welcome to Part 2 in my short series on Tips for International Business travel. And once again, (as if there were any doubt), I’m no expert here. But I do have some hard learned lessons to share, so here you go… (oh, by the way, if you like to do things in order, check out Part 1: Getting Ready.)

Terminals, Missing Flights, Customer Service

There’s apps out there like GateGuru that can help you figure out what might be available at various terminals in terms of snacks and services. Unfortunately, you really can’t fully trust these things. They’re really good. And useful. But things do change and as much as they may try to stay up to date through buying syndicated data sources, doing their own research and crowdsourcing, they don’t always keep up with all changes. [Read more…]

When I was first starting to travel for business I got really excited about my first business trips. While I still like to explore, more of the practical comes to mind before bouncing off to wherever. There’s a lot of stuff I would have liked if someone had told me way back when. For any seasoned business travelers who come across this, chances are you’ll either just nod your head or maybe have a couple of changes or things to add. But if you’re early in your career and end up headed for wherever, maybe some of this can help. My motivation for doing this? Just yet another trip with some excess time to kill. My experience? Years ago, spent a couple of years on a plane at least every few weeks. Then add a couple of gigs involving weeks long stays overseas. Anyway… this will be a three part series… Getting Ready, En Route and Being there. Here we go…

Documents

This is too obvious perhaps, but it should be at the top of any such list. Copies of your passport, plus copies in some online service. Personally, I bring my passport card as well as my passport. It’s technically not valid for use in crossing for many places, but as ID it’s fine for the most part and this way I can leave my passport in my room safe. (Which maybe can’t be wholly trusted, but better than in my pocket all the time.) Note, however, there are some countries where foreigners are required to have their passports with them.

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