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William Mungall Travel Photo | Valpolicella Winery Villa

William Mungall Travel Photo | Rome Maxxi Museum

Travel: Keeping Your Identity Safe

When you’re traveling there are always dangers.  Identity theft has risen as one of those dangers.  In a recent USA Today article, it gives an extensive report of ways to look out for potential thieves and keep your identity safe.  Below are some highlights from the article written by Dara Continenza, a writer for SmarterTravel.com.

Public computers = danger

While many travelers travel with all sorts of personal technology, there are instances where you may need to use a public computer to print your boarding pass, make a reservation, or something else.  Continenza states that public computers are a “hotbed for identity theft.”  There will be plenty of websites that ask to autosave your information onto the computer itself and sometimes you aren’t even asked.  Always delete your history after you have used a public computer and if the public computer is using Google Chrome, you can use an incognito window by pressing “Ctrl + Shift + N.”  The last tip seems fairly obvious.  Avoid checking anything regarding your finances like bank accounts or credit card information.

Use cash

If you have the option to use cash, use it.  If the cash is stolen it is gone, of course, but you won’t be in danger of losing your identity along with it.  If you have to use a card, avoid situations that put it at extreme risk.  Never let someone take your card to a different room.  If the card leaves your sight it is more likely to be used to steal your identity and Continenza points out that overdraft fees could hit you before you even know your identity has been stolen.

ATMs

Many people have had their identity stolen through street side ATMs.  Be wary of non-descript ATMs as it is not all that difficult for hackers to purchase the machine and hack the system to store your information.  Stick with bank branch ATMs and make sure that no one is looking over your shoulder while you input your information.  It is also wise to cover your hand when inputting your PIN.

For more information on the other tips provided, check out the link above.

William Mungall Travel Photo | Antwerp Villa

William Mungall Travel Photo | Bruges Canal

William Mungall Travel Photo | Antwerp Main Square

William Mungall Travel Photo | Yerevan

William Mungall Travel Photo | Musical Fountain

William Mungall Travel Photo | Mount Ararat

William Mungall Travel Photo | Burj Khalifa

William Mungall Travel Photo | Dubai

Amtrak Encouraging a Different Type of Travel

Amtrak is launching a new project called Amtrak Writer’s Residency which will try and connect writers with the flowing countryside and hoping that the clack of the train hitting the tracks will be resonated in the keys being pressed on a laptop.  A Chicago Tribune article explains that Amtrak is “borrowing a page from ivory-tower universities” which typically give designated space in libraries or offices to authors and poets.  However, in that realm you are stuck in a single place.  Amtrak is hoping to provide “an inspirational space for writing” and that inspiration with stem from the beautiful surroundings that are always changing as the train barrels down the track.

So how will this work?

Amtrak has already opened up the gates for applications to come in and applications will be accepted until March 2015.  Selected applicants will be able to take part in the writer’s residency and will be able to travel for free round trip on any of the long-distance routes that Amtrak has to offer.  Each trip includes it’s own private sleeper and meals are also included.

After announcing the residency on March 8, there have been over 10,000 applications to date.  The appeal is an experience like no other and to which the Tribune says isn’t “available at 35,000 feet.”

The writer’s residency is not limited to only published authors though.  Amtrak says that they are looking for individuals who are creative and passionate about working on their craft as well as train travel.  In fact Amtrak is looking for “a good mix of people” and are hoping to find novelists, short-story writers, writers just getting on their feet in college and freelance writers from around the world.

Amtrak states that there are very few strings attached and they will be selecting 24 participants each year for the next two years.

William Mungall Travel Photos

Here is another video from William Mungall. Take a trip with William to the many scenic landscapes and take in the beautiful structures that William Mungall has seen on his travels!  

William Mungall Travel Photos from William Mungall on Vimeo.

William Mungall's Travels

Check out this new video from William Mungall on his travels throughout the world.  There have been many exciting places that William has visited and you will see them in the backdrops of this video. Hope you enjoy!

Travel and Common Sense

Cristopher Elliot with USA Today wrote an interesting article called Is Common Sense in Travel Dead? that sheds light on the average worldly traveler.  Elliot found the necessity to write the article because a reader sent him a photograph of a hotel door sitting ajar.  The man who sent the photograph was Robert Welch, who works for security in a major New Orleans hotel.  Welch also told Elliot that on any given night he would see 25 to 30 doors ajar which accounts for 6% of the hotels rooms.  Whenever he has had to investigate it, doors being ajar have been the number one reason a theft has occurred, Welch said.

So has the common traveler lost their common sense?  Elliot says maybe.

Elliot has investigated more and asked many people in the travel and hospitality business to back up his claims.  He brings up that it doesn’t stop with doors ajar in the hotel hallways.  Many hotel patrons leave expensive electronics by pools and common areas as if they have lost their sense of responsibility once they are in vacation mode. 

After getting in touch with someone who works at a major airline, Elliot discovered that many people who fly have asked where the window seats are on the plane diagram or if they can take hair dryers and flat irons on board.  Many people also appear to have an issue with information kiosks saying that they don’t understand them.

Travelers to exotic landscapes have been known trying to pick up snakes and feeding alligators or crocodiles by hand.

Elliot also spoke from personal experience with such instances as someone asking for a refund for a non-refundable ticket or getting upset that they can’t get their expired frequent flier miles back.

So why are we getting worse at the common sense travel thing?  Elliot believes it is because we have become to reliant upon technology to guide us every step of the way.  Many people Google a destination and believe that they know how to travel in it.  Elliot also goes so far as to claim a “lack of adversity” from our ancestors claiming that this adversity gave our ancestors a wealth of common sense to pass on or killed them off because they didn’t have it either.

So is the common sense traveler dead?  Maybe just dwindling.