Travel Tip #10

This tip is for the all shopaholics like me. Hehe =P
No matter where I travel to I always return with super full suitcases. Often times my suitcases will weight exactly 50lbs (the max) and I worry about the zippers ripping while the suitcases get thrown around at the airports. As a safety precaution I buy small rolls of saran wrap from the dollar store (sorry I don't have a picture to show you, because I used up my roll on my trip back from Tokyo). In Canada you can find them at any Dollarama and in the LA area I found them at the Daiso (Japanese dollar store) in Monterey Park. After all my luggage are packed up and before I check them in at the counter I will saran wrap each of my suitcases several times (making sure not to wrap up the handles too). Of course, some airports offer this service for a fee of $8 or $10+, but I like to do it myself for $1. Besides, I've only seen a handful off airports that provides this service. *Side note - each roll of saran wrap will wrap up 3-5 large suitcases depending on how much you use on each.
So that's the last of my 10 Travel Tips, thanks for reading and hope you find them helpful!
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #9

You may find this tip to be silly, but this one is an important to me!
Have you ever arrived at your travel destination to find that your luggage has taken a different flight to somewhere else? Then the airline tells you they will deliver your luggage within two or three days? Well, great, time to go shopping... ~_~
I don't know about you, but there is no way I'm going to put on underwear without washing them first. So what do I do to prevent that from happening? Well, I can't prevent the airlines from losing your luggage, but I do suggest packing an extra pair or two of clean underwear in your carry-on. That way you will at least be comfortable in your clean underwear while you wait impatiently for the rest of your luggage to arrive. Hope you find this tip helpful!
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #8

I think I've been blabbing too much in all of my other posts, so I'll keep this one short. =P
Before traveling always make a photocopy of your travel documents and other important documents and store them safely in a safety deposit box or with a close relative. Then make another copy of these documents to store in your carry-on (during your flight) and then in the safety box in your hotel room (once you have arrived at your destination). You will find it handy to have a copy of everything in cases you lose anything during your travel. But *knock on wood* I hope nothing bad ever happens and you will never lose anything! = ) Hope you find this tip helpful!
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #7

***If you have water proof suitcases then you can just ignore this tip.
I was visiting my uncle and aunt once and they were around when I opened up my suitcases. My uncle laughed and asked "Why is everything packed in garbage bags?" Then I had to tell him about my trip where I had to transfer through Salt Lake City and had ALL of my things drenched because it was raining heavily at the time. Basically everything I couldn't throw into the washing machine had to be thrown out included the suitcase, because the rain left a funky smell that wouldn't go away. Luckily, that happened on my return flight. I would die if all of my clean clothes got wet on my way TO my vacation destination.
Since that trip I've been putting all of my clothes and everything else that can't get wet into bags. I use garbage bags for my clothes because they are nice and big and I use Ziplocks for all of my small things. Small appliances such as curling irons or hair driers are important to keep in bags because they definitely cannot get wet.
So yes, it might look funny or weird to see everything in my suitcases packed in bags, but I have good reasons to do so! =P Hope you find this tip useful.
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #6

This one is for all the frugal travelers out there, which I totally am. I am also a germaphobe!! You might find me weird, because when I get onto a plane the first thing I do is get out my sanitizing wipes and wipe down everything! Head rest is always the first, cause you never know who's greasy head had been on that head rest before you. Then I wipe down everything I could possibly touch during the flight, from the TV screen/remote, window, tray table to the seat belt. Then when I get to the hotel I do another round of sanitizing. The remote control and the phone are always the first things I wipe down. Then I go from door knobs, light switches, desk to the toilet, even the wall where I hang my towels and clothes. Yes, I am a freak... ~_~
So as you can guess, I go through a LOT of sanitizing wipes. Rather than buying those travel pack Wet One, which can cost from $2-$5 a pack of 15. I buy big containers of Lysol or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes (depending on which one is on sale at Costco) and I package them myself. I fold them to the right size, stack up 15 wipes and put them in a Ziplock baggie. Then I put a bag in each of the outside pockets of my suitcases. Some in my carry-on so I can wipe down the airplane seat, and some in my check-in so I can wipe down the hotel room. It sounds like a lot of work, but it really only takes a minute or two to package the wipes. When you do the math, 5-10 minutes of my time is much better than $10-15 out of my wallet. Hope you find this tip helpful on your next trip.
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #5

Sorry for disappearing for so long. The rest of my trip in Japan was super busy. We would leave the hotel each morning at 8 (meaning I had to wake up at least by 7) and not returning until midnight or later. So any minute I had at the hotel was left for sleeping and resting up for the next day. But this trip sure was memorable! We were able to see/do/experience a lot of special (limited time) things like eating at the Doraemon Cafe and seeing the life size Gundam at Odaiba. (I'm a big Japanese cartoon/anime nerd, so if you don't know what I'm talking about that's perfectly normal.) We also saw Andy Lau and Sammi Cheng (extremely famous singers/actors in Hong Kong) at a restaurant. That was a huge bonus! After I got back from Japan I had a couple of busy days unpacking and catching up on some Zzz's before getting sick. At first I thought it was a cold, and then the flu. But it turned out to be allergies. I'm not like normal people who will get runny noses or itchy eyes. When allergies hit me my nasal will swell up and all my muscles will ache. I am only now beginning to feel better with daily doses of Benadryl. Anyway, enough of my blabbing, here's my travel trip #5...
This one is especially good for guys, because they have huge shoes and lots of socks. I know this for a fact because my hubby has size 10 feet and his shoes always take up half his suitcase. In order to save room in your suitcase and to prevent your shoes from being squished in your luggage just roll up your socks and stuff them into your shoes. That way you can eliminate a big bag of socks and your shoes stays nice and... not-squished (?). LOL! I especially like doing this on my return flight, because I don't want to stuff my smelly socks all throughout the suitcase and if I put them all in a bag it can take up a lot of space. So stuffing smelly socks into shoes just make sense to me since that's where they came from in the first place. Hahaha. Hope this tip is useful for you!
Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #4

We came home really late again tonight so I will keep this post as short as possible. I want to go to sleep!! Hahaha xD

Each night I have to charge my camera battery and transfer my pictures onto my computer. But in the past I have forgotten to put the battery/SD card back into my camera and end up not being able to take any pictures all day long. So to make sure I don't forget them I like to leave all the (battery and SD card) slots on my camera open. That way when I take my camera in the morning I will see the open lids and remember to put the battery/SD card back into my camera. Here's a picture of what I mean...

Another thing I do (as a second check) is to take a random picture with my camera before leaving my hotel room. If your battery is missing then obviously your camera won't even turn on. And if your SD card is missing, most camera will show a message telling you that it is missing. 

Hope you find today's tip helpful!

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #3

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. We went to an onsen (hot springs) in Odaiba yesterday and we didn't return to the hotel till 1AM. Also because the onsen was so relaxing, all I wanted to do when I got back was to go to bed. So here's my travel tip #3 (for yesterday).

When you travel overseas you often have to bring an adapter plug suitable for the country you are in. But have you gone shopping for a adapter plug? They are EXPENSIVE, ranging from $20-50 each. And with all the technologies today, we often have many things to plug in or charge up each night (your computer, iPhone, camera battery, etc). Who wants to stay up all night waiting for your camera battery to finish charging before you can charge your phone? Here's my solution for that problem. I bought one adapter plug that is suitable for all kinds of sockets and a small power bar. You plug the adapter into the electric socket and then plug the power bar into the adapter. That way you will have more than one socket to use. Here's a picture of that...

The power bar in the picture is from Ikea. It not the one I would recommend you buying because I find the cord to be annoying. I have another power bar that doesn't have any cords and it is much more compact. I think I bought that in Walmart back in Canada. So take some time to search around for one that is inexpensive and compact.

***Disclaimer - Don't go overboard with the electronics. You don't want to set a fire or cause any kind of explosion in your hotel room. Do this with caution! Also, if you have to use a voltage converter/transformer, I really don't think you should plug multiple electronics to that!! I always buy electronics that have the capability to convert voltage on its own. So I never had to use a voltage converter before.

Hope you find today's tip useful!

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #2

Travel Tip #2 - Flat Pillows
How often have you gotten flat pillows at the hotel? For me 10 out of 10 times. One pillow is never enough, but two pillows are way too much, what do you do? A quick fix for me is to fold up some clothes or a bath towel and tuck it underneath your pillow. Then you will still get the comfort of the pillow but you are also able to adjust the height of the pillow.

Here I am using my hoodie to give my pillow an extra couple of inches.

Thanks for visiting,

Cheryl ~

Travel Tip #1

Since my blog is called Chering the Ryl Me I thought I'd share some of my other interests as well. Traveling is a huge part of my life. My parents love traveling and they've been taking me and my sister all over the globe since we were babies. So it was natural for me to love traveling as well. Like I mentioned in my last post I'm in Tokyo, Japan this time. I'll be here for 10 days and I think I'll use this opportunity to share some of my traveling tips with everyone. Each day I will share a tip and by the end of my trip I will have 10 different tips for you. = )

Travel Tip #1 - Fresh Smelling Clothes
It is very important that I look and smell my best all the time. I know it sounds weird, but that's just how I was raised. Every time I go on a vacation I will pull out all the clothes I'll be bringing and give them a wash first so they smell really clean and fresh. However, when you are on longer vacations your clothes will end up smelling not so fresh, even after only wearing it once. You could pay a bunch of money for the hotel to wash it for you. But who wants to waste that kinda money? You also could find a laundromat and wash the clothes yourself. But who wants to waste precious vacation time sitting in a laundromat? A quick fix that I use is spraying Lysol on my clothes after wearing them. In the LA area, you can find travel sized Lysol cans at Target. They are usually placed with the other travel sized things. (I know... I know... aerosol cans cans are not allowed in your luggage, but who doesn't bring them onto planes? I do it all the time and so far it's been fine.) Besides, it's a small bottle you are carrying so even if you get caught and they confiscate it it's only a few bucks you are losing. Anyway, back on topic, each night after you return to the hotel, hang up your clothes and then give your them a quick and light spray of Lysol. You don't need a lot. Just a fine mist over the front and back of your shirt/pants is good enough. This will keep your clothes smelling fresh without having to wash them. **Disclaimer - I have only tried it on my t-shirts and jeans. Be VERY careful when you use the spray on other delicate fabric, it could ruin your clothes, I don't know for sure...**

That's it for today, I'm super exhausted from waking up early this morning and from the really long flight.

Thanks for visiting,
Cheryl ~