GET SET TO JET
Book Review, October 1997 - By Anne de Braganca Cunha

Tips & Tales for the Travellers - travel made easy by Dr. Hiru Bijlani. Published by Times Book International, Singapore, Pages 168.

What does a body management consultant do while he flies to and fro, hither and yon? Recharges his batteries by writing out a slim book called Tips & Tales for Travellers - Travel Made Easy culled from his million-plus kilometres of globe-trotting. That's what is called effective time management!

According to Dr. Hiru Bijlani, the author with a doctorate in Business Policy and Administration, you can make up-front work winding down time! To help you to kick-start, Tips & Tales, does the whole gamut from getting set to getting where you want to.

For many of us, the preparation is the worst travel dampener. Waiting for visas, unavailability of tickets unpredictability of schedules, long waits in airport lounges, all conspire to form a Molotov cocktail just wanting to blow up in your face.

So, whether you are foraying into known or unknown territory, you can do it smiling, perked up by Bijlani's chuckle-provoking tales. Pick up the nitty - gritty of :

  • "How to get the best possible deals, services, facilities, seats with the most leg-room. Did you know that a seat in an empty economy row can open into a comfy bed?!
  • Making a check-list of 15 things to do before D-Day.
  • What to pack up with a back-up.
  • How to avoid being hassled by customs officials - for instance "be as well dressed as possible; a shabbily dressed man is more likely to be stopped. The first class passenger is less likely to be stopped than the economy class passenger; likewise, the person who looks relaxed than the person who does not."
  • Decoding codes - on airline tickets, direct dialling, clothes labels, etc.
  • Watching out for your finances, both paper and plastic.
  • Your rights as a passenger.
  • Health tips, and eating and drinking right en route

Bijlani also provides a 6-language chart of word and phrases to help you get around in English, Hindi, French, German, Japanese, Arabic and Chinese. He also offers practical tips on how to protect your possessions along with ground rules for safety.

Thoughtfully provided is a list of 12 travel books for you to read and satisfy your wanderlust. Interesting practices from around the world - e.g. slurping of soup and noodles is a sign of appreciation in Japan but bad manners in the West.
 
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