LGBT+ travel.

LGBT+ travel.

by | Jun 30, 2021 | 0 comments

Happy Pride month!  The LGBTQIA+ community makes up a large percentage of the travel population but can face singular challenges when traveling. For example, many countries do not recognize same-sex unions, and in some countries, same-sex relationships are considered a crime with significant or severe punishment.  Here are a few things to consider for LGBTQIA+ travel.

History suggests that members of the LGBTQIA+ community are some of the people most willing to travel.  In addition, the LGBTQIA+ community tends to travel more than their non-LGBTQIA+ counterparts.  This reality is partly because the LGBTQIA+ community is often dual income, with no children, and having more discretionary money and time to travel.

With the prevalence of travel in the LGBTQIA+ community, however, there are significant considerations to be made for travel. As recently as 2019, the country of Brunei enacted an Islamic law that makes it legal to flog and stone LGBTQIA+ people to death.  It’s not the only country where LGBTQIA+ individuals can face the death penalty for the simple act of loving someone of the same sex.  Therefore, for members of the LGBTQIA+ community, travel to top destinations is not a simple decision of when and if they have the resources to travel.

Many of the top destinations, such as the Maldives and Dubai, are primarily Muslim countries. In addition, top Caribbean destinations like Jamaica or Dominica have laws and attitudes quite contrary to the LGBTQIA+ community. Therefore, travelers need to be aware of these laws and attitudes before planning their trips.

Simple gestures like hand-holding that heterosexual couples take for granted are not a given for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.  Along with other travel issues, members of this community must consider when or if to show public displays of affection.  Even sharing a bed or using a dating app can be a hazard for members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Therefore, while many may want to travel as we all do, traveling to certain countries for LGBTQIA+ members can lead to the possibility of death for many.  As we wrap up Gay Pride month, I want my readers to be aware that many of the things non-LGBTQIA+ travelers take for granted are not a given for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Have you ever had issues when traveling as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community?  Were you aware of the risks many people unwittingly take when traveling? I’d like to know.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

5 Covid friendly hotel stay tips.

by | Dec 16, 2020 | 0 comments

Having flown as a career for over 20 years I have stayed in many hotel rooms and so the experience has taught me a lot about what to look out for in terms of cleanliness.

1. Check the hotel sheets. No one wants to sleep on possible dirty covid sheets. I can’t tell you how many different times I have gone into a hotel room just dying to shower and get into bed and found that the sheets have not been changed. If you do this when you first get into the hotel room, there is plenty of opportunity for the hotel to fix the issue before you are ready to go to bed.

2. Make sure the sheets are visibly dirty before you check out of the hotel and prevent any possible Covid spread. I think it’s just a matter of kindness to the next guest and just plain hygienic. Don’t feel bad as the hotel should automatically be doing this anyhow. I always wiped the bottom of my shoe across the sheets before I checked out.

3.Place a face towel or hand towel on the bathroom counter to place all your items on. Especially in this time of covid you do not want to transfer any germs to your face or hands. It’s also a visual reminder of anything placed on the counter and it helps in not forgetting items like jewelry in the bathroom.

4. Take an extra washcloth and wipe the toilet seats down. I think we all assume that the hotel room has been cleaned thoroughly but my experience has shown that the toilet seat is often overlooked.

5. Treat hotel room floors like airplane bathrooms and never assume it’s just water. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed through hotel corridors and seen the remains of a hotel room party gone wild. Let’s face it, the hotel does not have the manpower or capability to thoroughly clean hotel room floors, nor do they often have time between checkouts. Covid can be easily spread through bodily fluids.

I hope my tips have been helpful, check back in for more of my lived travel experience.

Why I blog.

Why I blog.

by | Dec 13, 2020 | 0 comments

I have long been a proponent of taking care of myself, and so my interest in blogging is to inspire people by sharing my knowledge and wisdom. I started this blog because even though I am well educated with a doctorate and have traveled worldwide, I felt that people did not hear my voice. I have first-hand experience professionally and personally, and so I believe there is much that I can share. My thoughts and experience count, and this is why I blog. My wish is for people to realize the power of their voices and opinions by bringing stories to the forefront that might create dialog and interaction. People are often so hesitant to share their thoughts or experiences for fear of perceiving that they are trying to be more than they are, even when qualified. Most times, sharing can be inspiring to others, but we need to celebrate ourselves most of all.

One of the first comments I received on my blog was from someone who had been following my social media posts for years and was excited to see more. This feeling gave me a purpose in that If I could inspire one person, maybe I could inspire a lot more. So despite the naysayers, I continue to blog.

When I try to discuss my thoughts and ideas on blogging with many of the people I thought would be supportive, they were not. Blogging was similar to my traveling. Many enjoyed seeing my posts but thought I was going beyond my place in life. As always, I listened to my inner self. If no one were going to celebrate my path, then I definitely would!

There will always be people who doubt you and your abilities, who subconsciously try to inhibit your growth or success. I blog one post at a time, just as I traveled one destination at a time. I have a well-lived experience that has all revolved around traveling. I am most comfortable with and something I can share, knowing that I have a breadth of experience to support my thoughts and knowledge.

I mainly wanted to blog in short posts to inspire thoughts. I may change as my blogging experience continues, but for now, I am just choosing myself and my way. I have faith that the universe will guide me.

Thanks for going on this journey with me. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Your choice to travel is yours alone.

Your choice to travel is yours alone.

by | Dec 13, 2020 | 0 comments

For years I have had to battle the question of my travel experiences. When it was professional, it was “how can you leave your kids?” When it was personal it was again about the kids and whether I should put their needs first. Recently the question was “what about Covid?”

There will always be questions no matter your choice. The only right choice is the inner choice you make and life is too short not to put yourself first.

I always choose me! This might seem selfish, but I cannot be a good mother, wife, or friend if I am stressed out and unhappy. I have learned that more now since becoming an empty nester than ever before. My kids are grown, and I honestly believe that they would not have me make any different choices than the ones I made. Of course, they have not always been happy with my choices, but at the end of the day, I have.

You can be replaced easily at work, marriages fail, children grow up, and tomorrow is never promised. Life is too short not to travel, not to take a vacation, not to get a massage, not to put yourself first. Choosing to travel is a gift to yourself that you can open as many times as you desire. My choice is to travel, it’s the gift I give to myself.

Have you ever been judged for your choice to travel? Let me know in the comments. I bet I’m not alone.

Travel envy.

Travel envy.

by | Dec 13, 2020 | 0 comments

Having traveled both professionally and personally, I can certainly attest to the travel envy often directed to me even though unheard and unseen but very present.

As an international flight attendant, my job took me all over the world. It was not uncommon for me to fly to unique destinations such as Paris, London, Buenos Aires, Bermuda, or Madrid within the same month. At the same time, I was still a mother and a wife and had to contend with all that those roles entailed. I quickly learned when trying to establish a relationship in the community, to gloss over my job. Mentioning destinations seem to bring on the envy of travel and I would quickly say “I’m a flight attendant” and change the subject as many seemed to hear my destinations as a brag. I would get responses along the direction of “oh how nice” or “that’s wonderful.”

It was not unheard of to get responses like “what about your kids?” or “how does that work with your husband and kids?” With my explanation that it was just a job like any other, I would inevitably get the response “it must be nice!” To me, that was the code for travel envy. I quickly learned in conversations to say that I was “going to work” or “going on a work trip.” Always conscious to never say a destination.

As an ex-pat in Europe and Asia, there were plenty of opportunities to travel in those areas. Thankfully I had learned from my professional travel experience to not discuss my travel plans in depth when having conversations with family and friends. Here too, the refrain “it must be nice” was also heard.

It was an honor and privilege to be a flight attendant for over twenty years and to fly to so many unique destinations. However, it was also a job and many times after long haul flights, the only part of the city seen was the hotel room. My personal travel was quite different as destinations such as Bali or Bangkok were planned with itineraries and time to complete them all.

I can certainly empathize with the travel envy now that Covid has canceled so many travel plans for me. But I know as long as I travel, there are many others whose dream of travel is unmet. So, I am very careful in discussing my travel plans and limiting or tailoring those discussions to the audience.

Have you ever experienced travel envy? How do you handle it? Does my story strike a chord? I’d love to hear your take.

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