This is hands-down the best space-maximizing packing system I’ve ever used. Before I found out about this, I used to swear by those plastic space-saver bags you squeeze the air out of by rolling up. After using the Spacepak, I’m never going back.

I was able to fit 7 dresses, 12 tops, and 4 pairs of shorts into my Spacepak on a recent trip to Thailand.  My entire wardrobe for my trip fit into about ¼ of my suitcase, leaving plenty of room for me to pack other things I may not have brought otherwise. (And, while traveling, to buy things I may not have bought otherwise, but that’s another story). The double-sided nature of this bag means that dirty clothes and clean clothes can be kept separate, a huge bonus that other space-savers don’t have. This was worth every penny of the $46 price tag, and after trying the Clothes Pak I will absolutely be purchasing bags for shoes, toiletries and undies as well. If you can’t tell already, I’d highly recommend this bag to any traveler for any trip, whether it’s a short two week hop or a nine month extended journey.

Check out this video that shows the bag in action:

How to pack for a 2 week trip with Spacepak from FLIGHT 001.

Bangkok is one of the world’s busiest travel hubs, with over 18 million passengers coming through Suvarnabhumi Airport every year. AirTreks books hundreds of tickets every month that include at least one night in Bangkok.  Bangkok is a great jumping off point for other places in Southeast Asia, and for whatever reason a lot of travelers don’t stay in the city for very long. On my recent first trip to Thailand, I only had 24 hours in Bangkok so I decided to try to make the most of that time by hiring someone to show me the town.

Here are some of the best reasons to consider shelling out some cash for a private guide:

5. Air Conditioning

It’s really hot in Bangkok. Or at least it was to me – I’m not used to 90F with 90% humidity. Instead of traipsing around the city trying to fit in all the major sites in the heat, with a guide you’ll get an air conditioned car to shuttle you from point A to point B.

4. You can do more

So not only is the car air conditioned, it’s also your car – you can go wherever you want, whenever you want. No waiting for cabs, no negotiating fares, no maps to figure out – just make a plan with your guide for the sites you want to see and you’ll get there. You’ll probably negotiate the sites in advance, but usually the guides are pretty flexible.

3. More detailed info

Having a guide to explain the historical significance of the sites you’re visiting means a very different experience than if you were to go off of guidebooks and signage alone. Wats don’t have audio tours. Neither do palaces, klongs, or flower markets so having someone explain the background can provide a very different viewpoint than just wandering through on your own.

2. They speak the language

Many people in Thailand speak English, but if English isn’t your first language (or even if it is), it’s nice to have someone who can interpret for you. If you want to ask a street vendor a question or want to do something out of the ordinary, private guides are delighted to help in any way possible.

1. Closer view of Thai culture

If you’re only in town for a day or two, it can be hard to get a real feel for modern Bangkok culture, or even have a one-on-one conversation with a Thai person at all. With a private guide, not only will you be able to get an historical perspective, you can also ask questions about contemporary life in Bangkok in as well.

It was totally worth it for me to hire someone to create my custom tour rather than try to muddle through it on my own. I was able to do the maximum amount of sightseeing and still feel rested enough to experience Bangkok’s amazing nightlife later that evening. I’m sure I’ll be back to Bangkok someday and there’s a good chance I’ll hire a guide again to take me through some of the things I missed on this trip.

If you go:

You can most likely arrange a guide with your hotel, hostel, or guesthouse the same-day. I paid about $70 USD for 4 hours of touring, which included all admissions fees, car service, and any extras (such as temple donations). If you do hire a guide, it’s customary to give a tip on top of the tour price for exceptional service.

Now you know why I decided to do it and what I liked about it – what do you think? Do you prefer on-your-own exploring or would you rather have an expert take you through town?

In the age of Stephen Slater’s and other horrifying incidents, it’s nice to know there can be some spontaneous fun on an airplane for a change. I love the boisterous applause at the end.

Happy Friday everyone!

Recently Pauline has been interested in how the movie Eat, Pray, Love has impacted long-term travel and around the-world trips in general. It has had an impact, no doubt about it, and with AirTreks leading the way selling these type of tickets, Pauline was especially interested in how we help travelers arrange trips like this.

Listen in on how their conversation went:

AirTreks Interview with Pauline Frommer by AirTreks

The recording above is a short part of that day’s entire program. To hear the show in its entirety or to download podcasts of any of her other Frommer Travel radio shows you can find them all in her archives. Check out all Ms. Frommer’s conversations with travel personalities and experts around the world as well. Or else tune in online – the show airs on Sundays at 10am.

You can also take the first step in starting your own around-the-world adventure. Click the red link below!

The first thing to remember is not to panic. Take it from me, you’re less likely to make good decisions when you’re freaking out. Fortunately, there are tried and true systems in place to locate lost luggage – the airlines have been losing bags since commercial flight began and usually know just what to do.

The first thing you need to do when you realize your bag isn’t coming down the chute is to visit the airport’s baggage claims office. Every airport should have one located in the baggage claim area.

Baggage Delayed

First rule, again. Don’t panic. Remember that 98% of all misplaced luggage is returned eventually and those are great odds. You may have to wait though.

There are three possible scenarios for what happened to your bags:

• They didn’t make the flight: They should get to you on the next flight but you’ll likely have to wait a few hours to a day to get them back (unless the airport doesn’t have daily service from your departure city). If there are no more flights at all to where you are, trust me, you have other things to worry about.
• They were put on a wrong flight: They’ve likely gone to another airport, causing you a potentially longer wait since the bags will have to return to the original airport then connect to your location.
• They were on your flight but didn’t make it to the carousel: This is the best scenario since you should only have to wait a few minutes (at worst an hour or two) for the staff to track them down.

Airlines usually will, but aren’t obliged to, deliver your lost bags to you when they come around. Some will even reimburse you for expenses tallied due to the loss. Ask them about this when filing your claim.

Be sure you know how to check the status of your delayed bags – some airlines will have you call, some will have you check online. Make sure you know which one before you leave the airport.

Baggage Lost

If the airlines loses your bag, don’t panic. Have we said that enough? Panic never helps. Secondly, start a written “lost luggage” claim, sometimes different than a “missing luggage” claim. Airlines have a certain sum that they are liable to pay you if they cannot locate your stuff. It caps at about $3000 for US domestic flights but the limits vary for international flights as they are set by international tariff law.

To get reimbursed, it’s helpful to have an inventory of everything you had in your bag, so they can return to you the maximum extent of what you lost. Receipts from your wares are extremely helpful, especially if the item was expensive, like a laptop. Of course the airlines won’t reimburse for certain expensive items like heirlooms, jewelry and other valuables, so if you must travel with these things, keep them in your carry-on.

If you’re perpetually worried about losing your luggage, or even if you’re not, get travel insurance. Most good policies cover for lost, delayed or stolen luggage. Just get it, please.

Baggage Stolen

The best way to keep it from happening is to head directly to the carousel as soon as you deplane. Most airlines now scan luggage as their off-loaded so they have a record of which bags are loaded on the rubber. But if you aren’t there to pick it up, someone else might.

After you leave the baggage claim area and your bag is stolen, go immediately to the police, not the airport personnel, and file a report. You’ll need it to collect from the insurance company.

Make It Easy On Yourself

Best way to keep a lost, delayed or stolen bag situation from getting worse to nip it in the bud. Here are a few things you can do to either prevent these situations from happening or else keep them from becoming more tragic than they need to be.

• Keep your name on—and in—all your pieces, in indelible ink.
• Make an inventory of what’s in your bag. If it gets lost, the airlines, or insurance company, will want to know what’s inside (so they can reimburse you!). A list will make the process of remembering easy. Keep the list with your other important docs.
• Write down the size, color and brand of your bag. It’s amazing how unhelpful your memory is when called upon to describe your baggage.
• If your bag isn’t eye-catching, embellish it. Make it stand out from the other nondescript black luggage coming down the ramp with colorful tags, ribbons or better yet, lasers.
• Keep your claim ticket. I know they’re small, but stick them to your passport. It’ll make the lost bag claim go a lot smoother if you can provide them with the barcode of your bag.
• Try not to check in late for your flight. The airport crew may be crafty but may not have sufficient time to get your bag on the plane. You can run through the airport, your bag cannot.
• Avoid short connection times. Again, the process for getting a bag from a flight to another flight may be quick for a body, but a bag has to be unloaded, scanned, transported, handled, scanned again and loaded. Quick connections may seem fortuitous for someone with legs but may end up causing problems for your legless baggage.
• Keep your important documents, major valuables, money and passports on you (in your carry-on bag).
• Get travel insurance. It will simply make your life easier in the event of the unfortunate.
• One final way to prevent a lost or delayed baggage situation is to keep your suitcase with you. Take it with you on the plane and don’t let it end up here.

If you ultimately find yourself without your luggage be sure to file a claim immediately. Airport staff know what to do in these situations and will help you out. Remember the stat? 98% of all lost bags are returned to their owner eventually.

Potts is traveling around the world with nothing but the clothes on his back (and whatever he can fit in them). I love this not only because when I travel I always feel hopelessly overburdened, lugging around all my stuff, playing the obvious traveler with giant camera, books, cables and all sort of other creature comforts.

To document the endeavor Potts created a prettily designed new site to let his fans to keep up with his trek of ultimate minimalism – he’s calling it the No Baggage Challenge. The best video he’s got so far (not his buzzcut at a Kansas barbershop) is him fitting everything into the pockets of his Scottevest Travel Vest. It’s remarkable really. But hell, if you can get 51 varieties of tropical fish under your skirt the least you can do is this.

Here’s the video:

With or without a change of pants, it’s an around-the-world trip to be envied. He’s hitting 12 countries in 42 days including the perennial hotspots of London, Paris, Morocco, Cairo, South Africa, Bangkok, Singapore and New Zealand.

He (and “logistics man” Justin Glow) have generated some pretty good buzz around the endeavor as well, appearing in publications like the USA Today,  Wired and ABC News among others.

There are about a million places to keep up with Rolf as he wishes he brought that extra pair of socks to Thailand. Follow his Twitter stream (or Justin’s) or simply watch as their line across the planet grows.

So, the next time you’re getting ready to toss your hairdryer into your luggage while preparing to brush off the baggage fees as an unfortunate consequence, keep in mind Rolf’s journey of discovery. Think about what you to can do without.

As you’ve probably noticed, I’m a big fan of time-lapse videos, especially ones with a sense of place that draw you in to either go there or to else reminisce on the time you’ve already spent there. I also feel it’s a great way to capture the spirit of remembering because in the minds-eye time has little relevance already, no?

Today’s selection was chosen in part to honor our sales manager Sara who is currently vacationing on a couple of the beaches you see here, and partly because so many people know and love these locations in Thailand. The video was produced by a Spaniard who visited the country in ‘09 and took shots with his DSLR to provide a stunning visual portrait of his short trip through Thailand. These are his 10 days pared down to 4 minutes.

The scenes are Koh Samui, Koh Phangan , Koh Tao, Nang Yuan and Bangkok. Have a great weekend!

The video is in HD so it may take a few minutes to get going.

It took me a little while to catch up after attending the Book Passage Travel Writers Conference last week and not checking my feed. I came back to my Google Reader filled to capacity, which is good news for you because there were some great articles written over that time period.

Here is some of the travel blogosphere’s best content over the past couple weeks.

Travel + Leisure had an interesting post about what happens to your luggage after it sits in the lost luggage pile at the airport for 3 months. Evidently Scottsboro, AL is where it goes to die, only to get resurrected by fastidious shoppers in a retail setting.

Since 2010 is the year of the blogger I found Adventurous Kate’s post about how to choose a name for your travel blog especially relevant. I also know just how anxiety-producing this process can be. After all, you just might end up with a name people might misconstrue.

Bloggers have opinions, and no opinion is as loud and colorful as those found in the comments section of a blog post, especially if it controversial. Gadling writer Mike Barrish wrote a post last week about long-term travelers being a tad bit snobbish about their lifestyle. It spurred a huge debate in the comments section. Overall a great dialog between those people that make traveling a lifestyle and those that only travel between workweeks.

Keith from Velvet Escape has been doing a series entitled “Enchanting Spots” that I’ve been loving. His most recent edition is Penang, Malaysia, more specifically Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang’s capital of Georgetown. The pictures just make you want to grab a Singapore Sling and wander its halls.

Normally I’m not a fan of photography how-to’s, simply because they’re either painfully obvious or not terribly helpful. “Compose your shot”, “think about lighting”, “don’t be afraid to get in people’s faces”. But Daniel and Audrey at Uncornered Market wrote a great post about how to get great street and market photos when you’re abroad. These are not stock tips but actually well-thought out suggestions on how to get great people-shots (which is a pretty hard thing to do). My favorite: “Ignore the first shot.”

And finally, an article from the UK’s Financial Times highlighting another sign of the slow and painful death of print media, this time the harbinger is in the travel guidebook arena. I quote:

“The latest news from the front line is not good. In fact, over the past two and a half years, guidebook sales in Britain have fallen off a cliff. Sales for 2009 were down 18 per cent on 2007, and if the second half of this year follows the first, 2010 will be down 27 per cent on 2007, according to data from Nielsen BookScan. If the current rate of decline continues, the final guidebook will be sold in less than seven years’ time.”

Perhaps we can think of how the times, they are a-changin’ as we download another Rick Steve’s audio tour (which I love by the way).

*rss icon image by Chesi

The AirTreks Travel Blog is accepting guest posts!

Now’s the time to submit your writing. If there’s something in your journal, a set of tips another traveler would love to hear or a story you’ve been itching to tell, share it with us.

This is your opportunity solicit your writing, your travels and your wisdom with the fabulous readers of the AirTreks Travel Blog.

What we expect from you:

• A clearly written piece that exposes the first person travel experience with perspective and relevance to those people who travel on an AirTreks-style international ticket.
• One that is your own writing and hasn’t appeared in another publication within 6 months.

What you can expect from us:

• A wide audience: the AirTreks Travel Blog averages over 9000 unique views per month and several hundred more via subscriptions to our RSS feed.
• Exposure and traffic back to your blog or website.

Submissions should be kept under 1200 words. Photos and videos are welcome. This is not a monetarily compensated writing opportunity.

Guest posts will include the author’s name, a short bio (and photo if you have one) and links to sites of your choosing. Please include those in your submission only.

Topic suggestions:

• Destination reviews
• Anecdotal or cautionary tales
• First person experiences
• “Best-of” lists
• Travel tips
• Website or webtool reviews
• Photo journals

If you’re interested in having your piece appear in the AirTreks blog please fill out the comments form below as if you were commenting on this post. Include your name and email in their requisite boxes and hit submit. AirTreks will contact you by email with a link to add your piece to the AirTreks blog as a correspondent.

DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR PIECE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION.

Feel free to ask any questions directly when you receive the email. Your email address will not be published in the comments section.

AirTreks reserves the right to gauge the submission’s quality and relevance and will determine what appears in the blog.

Thanks and happy writing!

* photo credit “Write” &  “Stop Waiting For That Muse” by swimparallel

This post was written by David Derrick, Director of Product Development at AirTreks.

There’s exciting news at AirTreks. We’ve just signed a partnership with AirAsia, the leader of low-cost, short-haul flights throughout South East Asia allowing us to use their extensive route network and bargain fares to get you around like never before.

AirAsia revolutionized flying in Southeast Asia by offering reliable service at unheard of prices to and from their hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They have been expanding their routes and destinations steadily. At present they have four airlines under their brand; AirAsia (Malaysia), Thai AirAsia, Indonesia AirAsia and now AirAsiaX and they’ve added hubs in Bangkok, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu and Singapore allowing for nonstop flights to all sorts of interesting places. Among the most useful to our passengers are Bangkok to Bali, Bali to Perth,  Hong Kong to Borneo, Chiang Mai to Phuket, as well as long haul flights like Melbourne and Gold Coast Australia to Kuala Lumpur, London to Kuala Lumpur.

AirAsia opens up a lot of possibilities for our AirTrekkers. The fares are so affordable, one could add a whole bunch of destinations to their trip without breaking the bank. Or just keep your savings and extend your stay at the beach hut.

Keep in mind, AirAsia is a low-cost carrier. Passengers will need to pay for extras such as checked luggage, meals and pre-assigned seats. But we’re getting used to that aren’t we? Besides, AirAsia’s fees for these are quite reasonable (and their meals look really good!)

Even though they are a low cost carrier, you can expect your experience to be better than many “legacy” carriers. In fact, AirAsia was selected by Skytrax and the World’s Best Low Cost Airline.

Another thing about AirAsia is that their business model is solely based on point to point fares. They do not encourage or support making connections. Let’s say you want to get from Krabi, Thailand to Yogjakarta, Indonesia.  You can do this on two tickets to and from Kuala Lumpur, but you’ll have to allow for plenty of time to connect just in case of delays. Neither AirAsia nor AirTreks can help you if you miss the connection, even if the delay is AirAsia’s fault. The safest bet would be to give yourself a stopover in Malaysia. At these savings you can pay for a good hotel and a blow-out meal.

As far as we know, we are the only Travel Agency in the US authorized to sell AirAsia. This is important because many US travelers have reported problems trying to buy tickets on their website with American credit cards. You won’t have that problem here. Our AirAsia flights must be used as part of your around-the-world, Circle-Pacific or long-haul multi-stop journey planned with AirTreks. Be sure to visit our TripPlanner to start designing your big trip today!