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Can’t the NZ govt just insist that the airlines collect the info – then when you checked in for the flight you’d answer the questions as well – the questions aren’t the problem remembering your passport no and flight no is!
To each his own – but I was once in the position to pick up a crew job across the Pacific – nice boat, nice man – but yeah I figured I’d be pretty vulnerable if he wanted to extend my duties in the middle of nowhere!
The biggest risk for anyone travelling is the mundane – I was run-over by a black cab in London because I stepped out in front of him having looked the wrong way – after a year in Canada I hadn’t switched back to left hand drive. No serious damage done but scared both me and the cabbie.
I’ve ridden motorscooters all my life – but I look on in disbelief the way that many tourists hire scooters in Thailand – with no ability, no insurance, and usually blind drunk
As a blonde with Viking blood I’ve never been mistaken for a local anywhere except once in Stockholm – when I child spoke to me in Swedish – fortunately her English was better than my Swedish!
I disagree about trusting hotel safes. I know people hold great store in them – but think about it – there’s a master code/key another way in – there must be. I never ever leave anything really valuable (passport, cash cards) in my room – they are next to my skin in a money “belt” (though mind is a shoulder holster style). Obviously I have a decoy wad of cash for the day’s expenses. I’ve lost that decoy exactly twice in over 30 years of travel – once to a pick pocket – once through stupidity because I put a day pack over the back of a chair in a cafe.
The last few years I’ve carried an expensive ultrabook laptop with me. I have it in good quality sleeve, inside a scruffy NZPost envelope. It’s in a 20 yo backpack which is a bit grubby – and I normally have my dirty underwear on top. It’s never been touched even in the cheapest least secure rooms. Basically most of the world makes assumptions based on what you wear and your luggage 🙂 I figure the ones that are targets are the kids on their Macbook Airs on display in the cafe or lounge.
I’m fairly cynical about the warnings about Europe at the moment. I lived in London in the 80s – during the IRA bombing campaign. You knew to avoid abandoned parcels and keep your wits about you – nothing much has changed – it’s just a different religion’s extremists now. And social media can bring you better pictures faster.
For my actual itinerary I use TripIT – it just works – and when it misses the odd thing (youth hostel booking in Sydney, train ride to Auckland) – its easy enough to add in.
For actual research and planning I use Evernote – and fall back to an old-school spreadsheet when I need to wrangle a big trip.
For budgeting, tracking costs on the road I swear by Trail Wallet – only available on iOS – written by a traveller – its the only app I’ve ever found that can handle multiple currencies easily.
The new AirNZ Onesmart does allow 3 free ATM withdrawals a month – so with a couple that gives us slightly more than 1 a week which is not too bad. Their exchange rate is the usual rubbish Travelex one for cards.
We use a Bankdirect Visa Credit card for ATMs which we put into credit ie we’re withdrawing our own funds. They don’t charge a cash withdrawal fee – though they are somewhat ambiguous on the point in their documentation we’ve only ever been charged if the card wasn’t in high enough credit ie we used their funds – and their offshore conversion surcharge is 1.8% – lower than most.
Maybe I’m old – but for many, many years I travelled with thousands of dollars on me – and recently I’ve returning to that approach. At least the NZ$ is fairly convertible in most of the world these day.
Trying to explain to a millenial in a bank branch that a slight crease in a US$100 is unacceptable is a pain in the proverbial though!
It’s not hard to keep cash safe so long as you keep in next to your skin, under your clothes, and never flash it in public.
