# Travel stress



## AliceA (Jul 29, 2010)

Wish I could just take a holiday without experiencing all the stress before hand. Heading off on Saturday on a trip for 1 1/2 weeks with DH (first time for both of us going overseas) and I'm waking up Thursday night with anxiety in the early morning hours, currently 1am. Checking flights and baggage detail etc. Thinking about all the work that no one will do while I'm gone and the disasters I'll probably come back to, yey. The kids are in good hands but this is the first time we'll be apart from them for more than a night. I left half the trip unplanned with just general guidelines of what we wanted to do but what if that was a bad idea... ugh, feels like I'll need a holiday to recover from the holiday at this point.


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## richardsharpe (Jul 8, 2014)

Good evening Breeze.
I travel a LOT both for work, and vacations with my wife. Some prosaic (las vegas or Hawaii), some exotic - Borneo, central Asia, the arctic.

A few things to keep in mind and help relax:

The long distance part of the trip is the easiest think in the world. Just sit on the plane, relax and read (bring snacks, the food may be awful). All airports are the same, all have signs in English.

All you really need to bring is your passport (and maybe a visa) a credit card, and any medications you need. Everything else can be bought if you forget it. (yes, you can buy a toothbrush in Borneo). So don't stress about packing.

Your kids will be fine. They are not (I presume) living in an active war zone - and most kids there survive.

General guidelines are great. When you arrive you will have more "ground truth" about what the area is like and what you want to see. Don't forget that the goal is to relax and have fun, not check off boxes for what you have seen.

If you want to say where in particular you are going, I may have more comments.

have fun


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## AliceA (Jul 29, 2010)

Thanks Richard. Heading to an easy travel destination, New Zealand, for our first time out of Australia. There's a conference we're attending for a few days, the rest is holidays. I don't really have anything to worry about. Short flights, English speaking country, no safety concerns other than what I'm used to. Early mornings is always my worst time for anything causing me stress to come out in force. I think the worst part of it is work and feeling like it's not going to be handled by anyone while I'm gone. Nothing more I can do about that now though.


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## richardsharpe (Jul 8, 2014)

Good evening breeze
New Zealand is fantastic: An entire continent shrink-wrapped into two islands. Wonderful place. (Which island?)

If it is different side of the road driving from what you are used to , be careful! 

Work is always a source of stress. Just tell yourself that you could have gotten the flu for a week and also not done anything. Things will be busy when you get back, but don't worry about it until it happens. The world won't end. In fact if there are problems it will be a hint to management that they need to find someone to back you up. 

HAVE FUN:smthumbup:




breeze said:


> Thanks Richard. Heading to an easy travel destination, New Zealand, for our first time out of Australia. There's a conference we're attending for a few days, the rest is holidays. I don't really have anything to worry about. Short flights, English speaking country, no safety concerns other than what I'm used to. Early mornings is always my worst time for anything causing me stress to come out in force. I think the worst part of it is work and feeling like it's not going to be handled by anyone while I'm gone. Nothing more I can do about that now though.


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## heartsbeating (May 2, 2011)

How exciting! 

Work won't collapse with you gone - and if it does then changes need to happen for the better. But that's to think about later. 

All you gotta do is show up and enjoy yourselves! Sounds like an easy task to me! As for the unplanned part, it depends on your personality as to how that works out. I love leaving parts of trips unplanned and just going with it. New Zealand is an easy place to get around. Hire a car, enjoy the scenery and good food. Are you going to the North or South island?


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## Holland (Aug 20, 2012)

I have lived in NZ in the past and have traveled back and forth from Aus a few times a year for the last 20 or more years. Sometimes solo, other times with my kids. Honestly it is like flying Interstate, really no big deal. My kids have done it on their own, really it is an easy trip.

Relax and enjoy, don't get home and wish you had enjoyed it more but held yourself back.


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## Sunburn (Jul 9, 2012)

My X was like that .......... she was a list maker........... I on the other hand embraced spontaneity. To her the world would fall apart if she didn't have direct control of it and had everything in its place..........I had learned early in life that no matter what life goes on and it could always be worse. 

We quit vacationing together because the days were so regimented that it was more of a chore than it was worth.


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## Homemaker_Numero_Uno (Jan 18, 2011)

richardsharpe said:


> Good evening Breeze.
> I travel a LOT both for work, and vacations with my wife. Some prosaic (las vegas or Hawaii), some exotic - Borneo, central Asia, the arctic.
> 
> A few things to keep in mind and help relax:
> ...


I second this, but...
You should register your travel plans with State Department so you can get advisories emailed or texted to you. 

And, sure, take your credit card but please call your bank beforehand and let them know your dates of travel and what countries you might be likely to use your card in (destination and/or en route.)

Pack a small first aid kit. Include bum wipes, immodium tablets and powdered Pedialyte, also the usual pain reliever (Pamprin is a wonder drug, for much more than PMS, lol). 

Also make photocopies front and back of all of your id, passports, credit cards, etc. Scan and zip with a password and email to your own account. You can easily retrieve them with email access anywhere in the world. 

Make sure you have done powers of attorney for your kids' care and medical care, and make sure there is someone who can also access your bank accounts and bills if need be. I have an adult son who is on backup for all of this, including my kids. I also made sure my will and living will were up to date. 

I spent half a summer in Mongolia and have been to Iceland since for a bit. No worries about my kids left behind or my safety/security away.

One last thing is trip insurance, it's a good idea because of the medical and other insurance provided. If you didn't get it, then you can get a Hostelling International membership and it provides all of that...medical abroad, travel insurance and all that. 

Lastly, you might want to make sure you know the emergency numbers for the country you're visiting. It's not 911 worldwide. And you can also put in the number of the embassy or consulate. 

When you get there, take cards from the hotel or you lodging, that have the address. That way you can easily show it to a cab or bus driver. GPS coordinates are helpful. You can usually fiddle with your phone a bit overseas to get it to give you mapping capabilities even if you don't have phone access.

Wifi hot spots are nearly universal. Just make sure you have your phone/tablet as protected as possible from hacking. It goes without saying to make sure you are pickpocket proof. 


Don't worry, once you've arrived your going to forget all about this whether you're prepared or not. 

Because you'll be on vacation, which is clearly what you need.


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## Holland (Aug 20, 2012)

Homemaker_Numero_Uno said:


> I second this, but...
> You should register your travel plans with State Department so you can get advisories emailed or texted to you.
> 
> And, sure, take your credit card but please call your bank beforehand and let them know your dates of travel and what countries you might be likely to use your card in (destination and/or en route.)
> ...


All great info but really OTT for going from Aus to NZ. Yes the emergency numbers are different but it is 111 in NZ instead of 000 in Aus so not a huge issue.

We have reciprocal health care arrangements. No travel warnings and basically it is like being in the same country only separated by the Tasman Sea.
No need to take any first aid stuff unless backpacking remotely. We never took toiletries, just bought everything we needed there, same products, same shops, decimal currency, can bank easily there etc.

All the above would be good for people that really are going a long way overseas but not for Aus to NZ, would just add more stress to a trip that should be a piece of cake.


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## richardsharpe (Jul 8, 2014)

Good evening all
I make about 5 long distance (>10 hour flight) trips a year, sometimes more. I've done this for almost 20 years now.

Some of homemaker_numero_uno's suggestions are good:
Photocopy of passport and visas is a good idea. 

Most credit cards no longer need (or want) you to call about travel.

For 3rd world countries I'll check if I need inoculations. Occasionally I'll check the state department website if I'm going somewhere with unrest - though I've never canceled a trip.

I've never had serious problems. Travel in the modern world is really easy.


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## Holland (Aug 20, 2012)

richardsharpe said:


> Good evening all
> I make about 5 long distance (>10 hour flight) trips a year, sometimes more. I've done this for almost 20 years now.
> 
> Some of homemaker_numero_uno's suggestions are good:
> ...


Yes they are good suggestions but way OTT for what is basically a domestic trip under 3 hours from East Coast to NZ. We don't need Visa's and many here have E Passports so we don't even have to line up going through Customs.

The suggestions are good for other destinations but would only serve to increase the OPs stress which is the opposite of what she is trying to do.

I am guessing you don't know much about this part of the world and that is fine but most of the suggestions are unnecessary here.


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