• Security? Can anyone come thru the door or window?
• Visible bugs?
• Working electrical socket? Apparently Africa's notorious for not having outlets at all.
• Hot & cold water shower? Still a baby & want a hot shower. Down the hall. Out back. Doesn't matter where. Even if it's 100 degrees outside. No longer need it hot, hot, just not ice cold. (But certainly have stayed in places like that.) Used to ask if they had hot water & many said "yes, & cold too." Which always made me giggle. Then stayed in a few places with just hot water. Ok... Then stayed at 2 with just SCORCHING HOT water. Totally unusable! So now I ask, "Is there a hot & COLD water shower somewhere?"

Tonight, assuming I get my passport & visa back from the Indonesian embassy this afternoon, I'm flying to Jakarta. Where there's massive flooding, little to see & no cheap accommodation. So I'm catching the next flight to Jogjakarta. (Gotta great deal on that flight with AdamAir - $33 total!)

But I land at midnight & the connecting flight's at 6:30am. So, I'm basically sleeping in the airport. But is there a good place to sleep? Is it safe? Clean? There's this great website: SleepingInAirports.net  that answered all these questions & more. Highly recommend the site for its traveler reviews on how easy it is to sleep in a specific airport & what kind of services are there.

And for me tonight, no, there's no great place to sleep, plus multiple reviews mention seedy, scary people hanging around... The movie "Year of Living Dangerously" is mentioned twice. On the bright side, no hotel to pay for.

Free room? Yes! Seriously!

There's some excellent sites out there these days that'll put you in touch with people who'll let you crash on their couch or in the spare room. The only catch, you're generally only expected to ask to stay a few nights & you should spend some time hanging out with your host. But think, not only do you get a free crash pad, but you'll get an insider's perspective on your location.

The biggest catch in my opinion, it takes some time... you've gotta give your host a prior warning you're coming, not to mention emailing back & forth to set it all up.

Oh, & safety, many are based on a referal system... previous guests of your host should have commented on their hospitality & a host will comment on whether a guest conviently forgets to do the dishes.

Lastly, some of these sites aren't just for a free place to stay... you can also find someone in a new city to show you around or to just join you for a cup of coffee. 

•  Global Freeloaders
•  CouchSurfing (this site especially seems to attract very cool people!)
•  Hospitality Club

A lot of the world offers commissions to drivers who take you to their shop or hotel. Drivers around the world are notorious for forced shopping excursions when told to drive to a museum or something... happened to me! Tip: Don’t leave the vehicle or tell the shop you’re not buying, you're there against your will.

For hotels, just walk out, tell the driver you'll check other hotels... or go have a drink... then go back & bargain for a room.

But for shopping... commissions can be good. Yesterday knew I wanted to go to the silver area outside of town... so I bargained a great price ($0.50 for the day) by telling the driver my plans. He gets money from the shop, not me. ...now he may have assumed I'd buy more than a $13 ring... And had I spent serious money, I'd tell the shop I want an even better price & would hide the purchase from the driver so they wouldn't have to pay his commission.

Long or short term trips are always easier (& easier meaning less stress, more fun) when you have less stuff.

The very best travel advice is the tried & true
"Pack, then take half the stuff out & bring twice as much money."

But then after that, cut, rip & break anything off that you don't need.

Before I left I removed all labels from my clothes & gear. And you won't believe how many labels there are on things! Sawed off the handles of makeup brushes. Cut out unneeded chapters of guidebooks. Ripped off unecessary hooks, clips & straps from bags & other gear.

And combined, this makes a difference.

Just took my handy dandy box cutter to my new backpack - funny most are made for hiking but rarely used that way - & was able to loose about a half a pound by getting rid of the straps for attaching a sleeping mat, ice pick & other things I won't use.