Security Issue with Passports and Credit Cards

Wanted to alert you all to a security issue I just learned about. Some passports and credit cards have embedded RFID (radio frequency identification) chips that transmit a signal, as do work badges, packages, etc. Scammers can pick up the signal and steal your identity. I don't have time to research all the issues, but am summarizing the little bit I've heard and providing links to more info if you want to look into it and verify what's here.

There are cheap and easy ways to shield the chip. See the 3 easy steps for protecting your passport with aluminum foil at http://epic.org/privacy/rfid/
Or you can buy shields at places like REI, Amazon or travel-supply shops. Passport shields run about $5; shields for credit cards are cheaper.

For more information, see:

• Researchers See Privacy Pitfalls in No-Swipe Credit Cards - by the NY Times
• RFID-enabled credit card theft - on CNet, which I consider a reliable source; a good article with an awful layout; I copied the text into a Word file that I uploaded to GoogleDrive.
• Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Systems - by EPIC, a well regarded organization whose privacy enewsletter I was already subscribing to
• House of cards: Why your accounts are vulnerable to thieves - by Consumer Reports
• A Threat Analysis of RFID Passports by ACM, the Association for Computing Machine, the "world’s largest educational and scientific computing society"; I used to belong, and I trust their information: The long article says in part: "Six pieces of information can be stolen from the RFID chip on a U.S. passport: your name, nationality, gender, date of birth, place of birth, and a digitized photograph.1 Numerous problems of identity theft could arise from someone taking that information, but this article focuses on the financial risk."
• What is RFID? by the RFID Journal, which I've never heard of but has a nice summary about the technology.

Lots more info on the Web, including on Wikipedia.

More Preparations

Documents

• Passport - make sure it is "valid for at least 3 months after the end of your stay," per the Festival's General Info page
• Airplane tickets
• Festival confirmation letter
• Hotel reservations
• Transportation details, maps, guidebooks, etc.

Pets

• If you have a pet, arrange for their care.

Communications

• Unless you've arranged a house-sitter, stop the mail at the Post Office's online Hold Mail Service.
• Make sure you have contact info for key people (family & friends at home).
• Send contact information to a family member or friend, so that they can get hold of you in case of an emergency. The Festival doesn't yet have a number to contact.
• Ask a trusted neighbor to keep an eye on the house and give them your travel dates.
• Consider setting vacation notice on email if you're not going to be checking it regularly.

Financial

• Gather phone numbers for credit cards you're taking with you, so that you can contact your bank in case they're lost or stolen.
• Call your credit card companies to tell them you're traveling overseas. This is standard travel advice you will read in many places, but if you forget it probably won't be an issue, especially if you bring more than one credit card. Your karma may vary ; )

Flight

• If you want a vegetarian meal or need a wheelchair, contact your airline.
• Double-check your airplane seats and see if you can get better ones. For a long trip, it's worth doing, even if you have to ask again when you check in.
• Make sure your airline has your frequent-flier #. If you're not a member of their program or an alliance, it's probably worthwhile to sign up for their program because you'll accumulate so many miles on this long trip.
• Label all your bags. I use an initial for my first name for a bit of security.

Right before you leave, don't forget to turn over the offering bowls on your shrine.

What I Like to Pack

In case you're interested, here are a few items I like to bring that mostly aren't on the usual packing lists. What finally ends up in my bag depends on how much room there is, but I'm hoping reading this may stimulate your own ideas for what might make your trip a bit more comfortable. Just don't drive yourself crazy with details!

IMPORTANT
Electrical converters! You already know about them if you followed the link to Rick Steves' packing list in an earlier post called Packing Thoughts & Lists, where he has a link to a nice explanation at Electric Europe: Adapters and Converters. Wise and experienced traveler LindaL helpfully reminded me to emphasize this: "For those who are bringing cell phones and other electronic gadgets, they will need to figure out a proper electrical plug adapter and maybe a converter. Our standard US plugs won't fit. I wouldn't count on the hotel, because everyone might be requesting to recharge cellphones. At a minimum you need to have a compatible electrical plug adapter."
Think through your everything you're bringing that uses electricity. Are you bringing an iPad? an eBook reader? (By the way, I got Kindle as a gift and find it great for travel. Did you see that Tharpa has ebooks for The New Heart of Wisdom and The New Guide to Dakini Land, as well as Eight Steps and Modern Buddhism and some sadhanas? It's nice that most of the books are also available as audio MP3s, for listening to on the plane with an iPod, for example. The Kindle only comes with a USB recharger, and I'm not planning to bring anything with a USB port, so I went looking for a wall charger. Amazon had various ones for around $20, but for $5 more, you can get a wall charger that comes with 6 adapters for international travel, as well as a long cable.)

It might not just be recharging your cell phone. (By the way, is your phone even going to work over there? Click the Phone label in the right column of this website to get more info; warning: potentially complicated!).
Linda and I both thought this page had some useful details: Electrical Plug/Outlet and Voltage Information for Portugal. See also the post Electricity in Portugal

Safety travel pouch - for keeping your passport, a credit card, and other essential items close to your body, away from thieves. They come in different forms, such as money-belts and over-the-neck pouches. You can see some of the styles at the Rick Steves Travel Store, all of which are reduced in price through the end of the day. For more information, see the excellent Rick Steves' article Travel with a Money Belt: Your Portable Safe.

FOOD/DRINK
Travel Food - I like healthy energy bars (especially Lara Bars, which taste good and have a short, simple list of ingredients) and nuts or trail mix. Trader Joe's seems to have the best prices on both. For the first leg of the trip, you can bring food like carrot sticks, peanut butter sandwiches and hard-boiled eggs (stored in a egg container, such as the cardboard container they're sold in the store pared down to fit the number of eggs you're bringing), along with salt & pepper packets. The bars and nuts are good for later in the trip. I like knowing that if there are delays and I'm stuck somewhere, I won't go hungry and won't have to overpay.
Go Greens - a health-conscious Sangha friend uses these all the time. A powder made of organic fruit and vegetables that comes in small, light packets that are easy to add to a bottle of water and are reasonably priced. I got mine at Vitacost, and I know they sell various kinds on Amazon, but saw online that they also sell them at Costco. Note that there are other products named "GreensToGo" that are much more expensive, which seem to be sold  by possibly dubious alternative healers.
Emergen-C - the supplement mix that has vitamins C and B, electrolytes,
nutrients, and antioxidants, for preventing colds and infections. It comes in travel-friendly light packets, but check the ingredients for the somewhat healthier flavors with less sugar. The Lite version, which the Vitacost website which helpfully lists the ingredients of the supplements they sell, says it has 1g of sugar (vs 6g in some of the other flavors), but I'm the  not sure if that's sweetened with one of those more dubious chemicals such as Aspartame. It's cheaper at SuperSupplements and Trader Joe's.

Teabags - I love tea and always carry around a few of my favorites in my bag. When I travel I bring various flavors, including some chamomile in case I need a mild sleep aid. Traveling tends to constipate some people; I recommend a senna-based tea such as Smooth Move, a mild but effective laxative. Some places don't offer green tea, and some have really bad black tea.
Coffee drinkers may want to get some of those instant Starbucks Via packets, which I've heard are pretty good for instant and sometimes appear at Costco.

Water Bottle - I don't like water in plastic bottles, because they're not environmentally friendly, the water is not good quality (although it presents itself as healthier than drinking from a tap) and I have reason to believe the plastic leaches possibly toxic substances, particularly if the bottles have been in the sun. They are convenient, however, and I do buy them occasionally, particularly for Go Greens or Emergen-C so that I don't have to clean out my bottle.

Travel Mug - optional if there's room, but I've found I'm happy to have it. I often put my teabags inside, to save room and keep things organized.

By the way, if you want to save money on meals, even if you don't have access to a kitchen, there are some tips on things to pack that will allow you to prepare simple meals at Self-cater Meals in a Hotel Room: What to Pack

OTHER
NoJetLag - see the post Jet Lag Remedies for more information.

Thumb drive - for a few essential computer files. I'm going to try to learn how to encrypt the info. Apparently Windows comes with an encryption program, and I know there are others on the Web. Do I need to warn you about installing software from the web on your computer? Find a trusted site, possibly CNet?

Travel Pillow - finally decided to get one when I saw my acupuncturist with hers at Summer Festival. Certainly nice to have on the plane. For me it's a very optional item, only if there's room.

Headlamp - useful for safe, hands-free walking at night and for reading in bed.

Compass - a quirky item, I admit, but there have been so many times I've wished I had one. I don't have a good sense of direction. I'll have a good map but not know what direction I'm facing.

Map - because I like them, especially paper ones. If you've gotten used to relying on your smartphone, you'll want to think through how that's going to work in Portugal.
Speaking of maps, I've found some interesting or useful ones online.
For example, there's a post Good Cascais Map Showing Attractions, Hotels, Grocery Stores

Other Travel Info - for example, because I'm a vegetarian and a lot of countries have largely meat-based diets (ever been to Scotland?), I research vegetarian restaurants for the cities I'm going at websites like Lucky Cow and Lonely Planet, then and pack a printout. For more info, see the Vegetarian Restaurants & Portuguese Desserts post.

Jetlag Remedies

NoJetLag
There's a natural remedy called NoJetLag that was recommended by Mel, who used to do a lot of long-distance international travel (Seattle to Australia, for ex), and I've found it really works.

For example, it used to be that when I went to Summer Festival in England, I would be falling asleep at the introductory teaching Friday night, constantly jerking my head up to try to stay awake. With

NoJetLag I had no trouble with sleepiness and felt good overall, not "laggy."

You can check out the ingredients - they seem healthy and natural. Scroll down on their Ingredients page to see nice drawings and descriptions of what it contains (arnica, chamomile, etc.):

For some reason, I've never found it in a drugstore, but they sell it at AAA and REI.

You can see here where they sell it in your area: http://www.nojetlag.com/jetlag8.html

It's about $12 for a pack that should cover a few trips.

Salt & Soda Bath

Another Sangha friend recommended taking a bath in salt and baking soda to detox from the airplane crud as an aid to getting over jet lag when you arrive at your destination. Some websites say you should use a cupful of Epsom salts and baking soda in a tub of warm water.

Other Tips

Other basic advice is to drink lots of water; don't drink coffee or alcohol. Some people recommend melatonin or a sleeping pill but others disrecommend them.

 

For more information about jet lag, see this National Sleep Foundation page.

 

Packing Thoughts & Lists

I'm a bit of a Girl Scout (motto: Be Prepared!), but I've found that when it comes to travel, it's been helpful over the years to start thinking ahead about what to bring, and the Festival is only a month away.
On the other hand, when a bunch of us were headed off for Summer Festival, my first Dharma Teacher laughingly said that we think a lot more about what we bring on a trip in this world than we do about what we're taking with us to our next life. I've always loved the teaching about being travelers in this life, just passing through - no need to get so wound up about everything.

I also find the baggage metaphor helpful. When you have a big ego, it's like carrying around a bunch of bulky shopping bags, struggling to carry and keep track of them, and always bumping into things and people. In fact, I used to have a recurring dream about traveling where somewhere along the way, overwhelmed and exhausted, I had to stop and deal with all the luggage I'd accumulated. At first I'd spend some time working on how to bungee it all together. Then I'd find myself thinking, "How did I end up with so much stuff?" and realize I needed to pare it down, letting go of the things that were bogging me down and even unnecessary. Hmm ... I wonder what those dreams mean? : )

There's certainly a middle way, and people have different approaches that work for them.

I use a list. I have a standard packing list as a Word document that I use as a starting point and modify for each big trip. Knowing I have a good list, I feel confident about packing at the last minute if I need to. One part of the list is what to pack, with a section of what to wear and carry on, and another on what to put in my main bag, knowing that it might be checked or deciding ahead of time that I will check it. (By the way, even though almost all airlines charge for checking a bag for domestic travel - unless you're a frequent flier or have the airline's credit card, which may allow you to check the first bag free, as United does - on international flights usually you can usually check one bag without paying. Do check with your airline.)

Within that list of carryon's is a subset of essentials, such as passport, money (cash, credit card, ATM card) and tickets - and *medication.* As long as I have those, I know I can buy whatever else I need when I get there. (My husband and I have a ritual when we're leaving the house on a trip where we ask each other: Money? Tickets? Passport?)
I also have a folder that I carry on that has all my travel info: Flight, hotel, car rental, etc. Now a lot of that can be stored on a device like a smartphone or a iPad if you're savvy that way. If you're traveling abroad, however, make sure you'll have access to them.

There's also a subsection for Dharma items. Don't forget your mandala kit! Of course, I bring my mala so that I can recite mantras, especially on takeoff and landing. You'll be able to buy Dharma items at the Festival shop, but if you already own the books, sadhanas and office supplies (notebook, pens, pencils, etc.) you need, you can pack them. In the past the Festival registration email would include suggested sadhanas. At Portugal the empowerment is Prajnaparamita, so I'm bringing The Yoga of Great Mother Prajnaparamita (not The Great Mother, which is for those who don't have the empowerment). I always bring Wishfulfilling Jewel and Geshe-la's Long Life Prayers, so that I can loan them to someone sitting nearby who doesn't know them and didn't get a loaner copy when they entered the Temple. I heard we're also getting commentary on the new Vajrayogini sadhanas, The Blissful Path and The Uncommon Yoga of Inconceivability.

The other page of my packing list is preparations beforehand, such as stopping the mail, arranging care for pets and plants and buying anything I think I'll need. I've also heard that it's good to call your bank beforehand to tell them you're going abroad so that they allow credit-card transactions to go through. The State Dept has some good advice about what to do before you leave, although I don't agree with all of it (I bring cash but not travelers' checks, for example).

Travel "guru" Rick Steves (who has popular travel shows on PBS and happens to live in the Seattle area and even has a travel store just north of the city) has excellent travel advice on his website, including packing tips here. It's a good starting point, but his suggestions are for travelers who are making multi-city visits, so a lot of the emphasis is on packing light. For the Portugal Festival, if you're not traveling before or after, I'd recommend bringing more stuff so that you're comfortable, but not overdoing it. I've never regretted having a lighter bag. There are going to be Festival shuttles to take us from the airport to Festival accommodations and back, so you shouldn't have to carry your baggage too far.

Note that it's still possible to sign up for the shuttles by adding them to your booking cart; see the "Fall Festival confirmation​ letter" you should have gotten after you registered and click on the link called "your booking cart" toward the bottom; in the booking cart at the left, click Add an option. This is also the process for adding lunch or for pre-paying for recordings of Festival teachings, two new options that haven't been offered for Festivals before.
You may have seen the NKT e-newsletter about the lunch option, which said: "Each day during the Festival, teams of Festival volunteers will provide a wide selection of healthy, affordable vegetarian lunch options. These will be served at the Festival site in a food court style dining area. As there will be a limited number of meals available each day, you will need to pre-book through the Festival booking system if you wish to benefit from this new option.")

By the way, I've found that Rick Steves' travelgear is well designed and affordable. (I'm considering getting his Civita daypack, which is only $25 and looks like it's a good size but packs small. It isn't waterproof, however.)

Weather in Cascais in October

According to Accuweather's historic average for Cascais, the low is 12 Celsius (54 F) and the high is 18 (64 F).
Of course, it's best to check the predicted forecast shortly before departure, because we all know it's highly variable these days.
For example, here's the 10-day Forecast on the Weather Channel, or you can use whatever weather site you prefer.

According to first-hand reports, as well as a site called Holiday Weather (which I've never seen before), Lisbon averages 11 days of rain in October and November.

Probably it's from living in Seattle, but I always pack a rainjacket (helpful for wind too) and sometimes a small umbrella.

On the other hand, it may be warm and sunny, so I'm also going to pack a sunhat and even sunscreen (because my skin is sensitive to the sun).

Packing a Mandala Kit + Learning How to Make Mandala Offerings

Based on Geshe-la's advice, Gen-la Dekyong has been encouraging us to make mandala offerings every day with a mandala kit, because it will help us quickly gain realizations.
At Summer Festival last year, she also suggested everyone bring their kit with them to the Portugal Festival, because it would be a wonderful offering to Geshe-la. (She said we could take out our large bottle or conditioner or our fancy shoes to make room for the kit.)

If you don't know how to make offerings with a mandala kit, you can ask your Sangha.
In Seattle we have a Guru Yoga and Mandala Offerings Retreat this Saturday through the following Thursday at KMC Washington. If you'd like to learn, I'm sure there will be someone who is happy to teach you, especially if you arrive a bit early. Note that we have some new meditation classes, so there won't be retreat sessions at the Temple during those times.

Self-cater Meals in a Hotel Room: What to Pack

Some suggestions from a Sangha friend for how you can prepare meals cheaply in a hotel if you bring a few small items:

• A flexible cutting board (lots of real estate for preparing meals and cutting bread and veggies but light and easy to fit in a suitcase). [I saw a thin MSR Alpine Cutting Board that rolls up at REI for $5 but haven't used one and didn't find any reviews from searching online.]
• One re-usable plate, bowl, and mug per person (also consider getting a mug at Jumbo market in Cascais and save weight and space in your suitcase). [For more about Jumbo and other shopping in Cascais, see Shopping in Cascais, Estoril & Carcavelos.]
• One set of knife, fork and spoon made of Lexan or other durable material. [Lexan is very strong, light and inexpensive.]
• A sharp knife, with a sheaf for safety, for cutting bread, veggies, cheese and so forth.
• A small can opener of some type in case you want to buy anything in a can.
• Resealable bags of several sizes.
• Clothes pins for closing bags. [Binder clips work well too.]
• Small scissors for getting into packaging.
• Extra shampoo or liquid soap for cleaning up after the meal. [Dr Bronner's all-in-one soap is another option; it comes in a 2oz plastic bottle with a flip top that's great for travel, and is Fair Trade and organic. You can use it as a shampoo, body soap, and dish soap. I just read that the company "caps all executive compensation at 5 to 1 to the lowest paid warehouse position, and dedicates all profits not needed for business development to worthwhile causes and charities worldwide."]
• Quick-drying scrubber for cleaning dishes.
• A bag for transporting the meal to an outdoor location for a picnic.

A hot pot can be used to heat water for tea, broth and veggies, canned soup and so on.

Medical & Health Issues when Traveling Abroad

General
U.S. State Department Health Issues - how the local consul can help if you are sick and other useful info

Portugal
U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) Health Info for Portugal - prevention, vaccinations, medications, what to pack, etc.

Travel Insurance
You may want to consider travel insurance; there's also a blog post here called Travel Insurance.