Dennis Kalma's thread on a carry on bags (
http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showthread.php?t=428182) got me thinking of a new thread for those of us that travel internationally. Besides a good travel bag, how about a thread on travel tips to make your business travels easier. I'll start with a few:
1) You don't need a transformer for most laptops. Just a set of international adapter plugs, there are pretty much six, I think for the entire world. The laptop plug in transformers can automatically change from 110/120 to 220/240 automatically. Same for most phone/ipod plug in chargers. One or two less things to carry.
2) Colorphoto copy the front two pages of your passport and laminate them. Carry that when you walk around, and keep the original in the hotel room safe, (that the maid can open). Keep a PDF of it on your laptop. Your US or Canadian passport is worth $10K on the black market in Eastern Europe. You walk around at night thinking your safe and the bad guys see you as an American/Canadian with $10K in your back pocket.
3) For those of you with Blackberrys and such, there was a recent article about data roaming by a women in Montreal, from the US, who got a $2,300 data usage bill from T-Mobile for the 25 minutes she was in the Montreal airport for some huge amount of data transfer on roaming. Here is the link
http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-lazarus27-2008aug27,0,615131.column
Moral of the story, turn your data transfer off when roaming and use your laptop in the hotel. I have in my "connectivity" portion of my BB to "turn off when roaming"