Travel Essentials Blog

by Nancy Bestor

A few minutes in a public bathhouse will teach you more about daily life in Tokyo than any book you could ever read,” says Lonely Planet’s Tokyo. Public bathhouses, or “sentos”, live on from the days when homes and apartments didn’t have showers or baths. But to many Japanese, sentos remain an important cultural meeting place where social and economic status is literally stripped away. Therefore, as a way to dive deeply into this culture (no pun intended), Bob and I decided to visit the Jakotsu-Yu bathhouse, a short walk from Senso-Ji temple in Asakusa. After a few wrong turns, we found Jakotsu-Yu tucked down an alley and of course, with no English signage.

At this moment, butterflies in the stomach began to flutter. As rank outsiders we were about to enter a revered and etiquette-filled Japanese institution. While we had been told that the Japanese will generally forgive foreigners’ ignorance of their social graces, the bathhouse is where this generosity ends. We initiated the entrance, removed our shoes and paid the attendant about $4 each for use of the facility, a locker and a towel. We then went our separate ways, Bob to the men’s side, and me to the women’s. Our research revealed that locals will watch foreigners very carefully, to make certain they get 100% clean and 100% rinsed before entering the baths themselves. I put my clothing into a locker and smiled at many women, most of whom were older and fortunately didn’t pay me much attention at all.

Read the rest of this entry »

Hovercraft Bags from Eagle Creek

Eagle Creek has revamped its line of Hovercraft bags, making them better all around. Not only are they lighter and more streamlined than the previous Hovercraft bags, but they come with a new-and-improved “No Matter What” Warranty – which means that no matter how your luggage is damaged, Eagle Creek will repair it. One of the best warranties in the industry is in itself a reason to choose Hovercraft as your next luggage purchase. But, even without that warranty, we would still love Hovercraft.

The Hovercraft line may include fresh new colors this fall, but the durability and quality craftsmanship remain. Made from heavy duty ballistic nylons, the

Hovercraft 25" Rolling Upright

upright bags have rugged kick-plates and corner bumpers, two-way lockable zippers and over-sized off-road wheels.

There are two kinds of large wheeled bags in the Hovercraft line – the Wheeled Uprights and the Rolling Duffels. The Uprights feature compression two front zippered pockets, interior compression wings, inside accessory pockets, and an expansion that adds %15 to the bag’s packing capacity. The 19″ Upright and the 22″ Upright are both carry-on friendly on most airlines. Eagle Creek also offers a 25″ Upright and a 28″ Upright if you need a larger bag and don’t mind checking it at the airport.

Hovercraft 30" Rolling Duffel

The Rolling Duffels offer a more casual travel option. They feature both internal and external compression straps. A large handle on the front of the bag provides a duffel carry, or you can use the adjustable handle to roll the bag (and when not in use, you can zip in the adjustable handle, and streamline the duffel.) It also has inside pockets to organize, including a lid pocket that is accessible from the inside or the outside. The 30″ Rolling Duffel has an additional pouch in the bottom of the bag for shoes. If you want a smaller rolling duffel, Eagle Creek also offers a 25″ Rolling Duffel and a 22″ Rolling Carry-On Duffel.

Also offered in the new Hovercraft Line are several Rolling Totes (one with a computer pouch) and a smaller carry-on In-Flight Bag.

Visit www.TravelEssentials.com to check out the rest of the bags and learn more about each one.

And the Winner is….

"Tannery Workers, Fez, Morocco" by Matthew Jorizzo

Congratulations to Matthew Jorizzo, who’s photo of tannery workers in Morocco was chosen as the grand prize winner of a $250 gift certificate! To see a larger version of his photo and check out the rest of the winners, click here to visit our website and view the slide-show.

We would like to thank everyone who submitted photos. We got a lot of beautiful shots, and it was  difficult to pick a winner. We look forward to seeing lots more great travel images next year! Remember, you can’t win of you don’t enter! And, if you’re in Ashland, please come by and check out our window display, which shows off all the winners and many of our other favorites!

Photographer Sean Bagshaw

We’d also like to extend a special thanks to professional photographer Sean Bagshaw, who was a guest judge for this year’s contest. His seasoned eye was a great help in picking out great photos that were not only beautiful but told a good travel story.
Sean is southern Oregon’s premier landscape, nature and travel fine art photographer. He has photographed throughout the western United States as well as Mexico, Alaska, Hawaii, Central and South America, Nepal and Tibet. You can visit his site at www.OutdoorExposurePhoto.com

Read the rest of this entry »

by Nancy Bestor

Eagle Creek Switchback 22"

There are times when I know my husband is right, and I am just too darn stubborn to admit it. One time that stands out was a trip to the Bahamas. After I finished packing into the Eagle Creek ORV gear bag, which is a duffle-like bag with hidden backpack straps, Bob suggested I instead take the Eagle Creek Switchback, a carry-on rolling bag. “I’m already packed,” I thought. “Besides, how far am I really going to carry this bag, and plus, it’s not that heavy.” Wrong, wrong, wrong.

In addition to my ORV gear bag, I also carried on a small collapsible cooler with food for the week and my very small Eagle Creek Guide Pro purse. While it was no trouble handling these three bags in Medford—an airport so small that when you’re dropped off in front of the airport, you’re almost on the tarmac, it was in Salt Lake City that my shoulder pains began. Our commuter plane from Medford landed at an outer terminal, and we had to hustle to another terminal to make our connection. It took only a few minutes for me to wish I had taken Bob’s advice and was rolling my main bag, with my cooler sitting on top of it, instead of carrying two heavy bags (is it possible that they got heavier from Medford to Salt Lake City?) from what seemed like one end of the airport to another.

At the gate I found that my troubles were not yet over. “You’re only allowed one carry on and a personal item,” the not-so-friendly Delta grounds crew person said. “You’ll have to check one of your bags.” This would be a problem, because we needed to get right to our private plane in Florida in order arrive on the island of Exuma before dark. We didn’t have time to wait for checked luggage. Informing the grounds crew person that I had carried all three bags on from Medford made no difference at all. In fact, it only seemed to make her more determined. I had a sneaking suspicion that it wouldn’t butter her up if I told her I had a private jet to catch in Florida either.

Read the rest of this entry »

by Nancy Bestor

This favorite story is from the archives, five years ago.

I’ve heard it said that life, like fine wine, only improves with age. If my recent trip to the Bahamas to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday is any indication, I’ve got a lot to look forward to. Three women friends and I traveled to the island of Exuma, south of Nassau in the Bahamas. Exuma is about 60 miles long and has 3700 full time residents. The sun shines almost all the time and when you exit an air conditioned plane, your glasses fog up and your shirt sticks to your skin in the steamy tropical air. We were lucky enough to have a two-bedroom condo at the Four Seasons Exuma to call our own for the week (sad to report, this Four Seasons has now closed. It is hopeful that another company will take this resort over soon.) Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom (oh yes, and Keira Knightley too) had recently stayed at the Four Seasons while filming scenes for Pirates of Caribbean 2 and 3. Rumor had it they were still somewhere in the Bahamas, and we were determined to find them if they were anywhere near.

Our group flew from Medford to Fort Lauderdale via Delta Airlines, then latched on to the lifestyles of the rich and famous, traveling by private jet from Florida to Exuma (on a much too short 55 minute flight). Upon arrival in Exuma, we took about two minutes to clear customs after which we met Willie, a 70-year old Exuma native, who would be our driver for the week. No Johnny Depp sightings yet.

Our first few days in Exuma were spent soaking up the sun and relaxing on the beach at Emerald Bay. With powdery white sand beaches, and warm, clear blue waters, it is truly paradise. The 200 room resort was only 16% occupied the first few days of our stay, so the two pools, steam room, hot tubs, work out room and long, lovely beach seemed ours and ours alone. We kayaked in the Bay, snorkeled in the waters, and worked out the kinks of life. We saw many beautiful fish while snorkeling, including a huge stingray, lobsters, an array of colorful fish both large and a lot of beautiful coral and shells. We did not see Johnny Depp (I even looked underwater).

Read the rest of this entry »

by Nancy Bestor

I am not a big shopper. The idea of a typical shopping trip, browsing from store to store and buying items from various establishments, sounds to me like a day in purgatory. More than anything I like my shopping easy and convenient. If I can’t find it quickly and close to home or work, I’ll buy it online.

Thus on a recent trip to southern France I was a bit surprised to find myself delighted to arise each morning and excitedly ask my family, “Where’s today’s market?”

We rented a house in Marnac, a tiny town about 20 kilometers from Sarlat in the Dordogne. Though there was a traditional super market just a few minutes away, our rental agency kindly provided a list of open-air markets in nearby villages to choose from, and we gladly took advantage of this opportunity.

Fresh Produce at the Market

Each morning, we took our empty grocery bag and drove to a nearby village to fill it up. All the open-air markets we visited offered crafts, knick-knacks, and even some touristy doodads, but we normally passed these offerings by and headed straight to the food. A mouth- watering array of produce and vegetables, breads, wines, desserts, pastries, meats, cheeses, and much, much more were all available. Beautiful fresh flowers and decorative plants were also in abundance.

Read the rest of this entry »