| Business Traveler's
Challenge:
Where am I and What Time is It?  Check Exchange Rate Two popular sites: http://www.xe.com/ucc/ and http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic Wherever you travel overseas, remember that exchange rates fluctuate depending on where and when you happen to swap your home currency into the local currency. Check on-line as it gives you a heads-up for what you should expect to get for your home currency, so you can plan accordingly. Your ATM card and credit cards can be used in cash machines located in major cities globally. So be sure to deposit plenty of money in the account before your trip. You might want to check at your bank to know what fees are associated with using your card in ATM machines abroad. Please Translate for me Translate Sentences: http://www.google.com/translate_t Translate Website: http://altavista.com/tr These websites can help you with easy sentences such as English to Mandarin, Spanish or Italian. The second one is a translation service that comes in handy when you're faced with information in a foreign language on the website that you're viewing and need to figure it out. How's the weather? World Weather: http://weather.yahoo.com/ and http://www.weather.com/common/welcomepage/world.html When I went to Hong Kong recently, I didn't know what to expect in terms of weather. Take a look at these sites before leaving home. Whether you're looking for weather information for the day, the week or the month, it's all there. You can also download a tool from the website that lets you receive local weather updates and alerts and set that on your iPhone. Check Internet Speed http://www.speedtest.net/ What if you have to download a large file from the office? It's nice to know ahead of time if you can do it overseas, or if you can at what rate of download. You don't want to start download of something that will take you 3 hours in Ho Chi Minh City and costs you a fortune! Try this website and plan ahead. How do I get there? Use local public transport if it can help you beat the congested traffic. For example, taking the Sky Train (or BTS) in Bangkok, instead of sitting in a car for hours on the road. Below are free public transport system guides that you can download and check before you get to country.
What time is it? www.timeanddate.com This website provides a time converter to calculate your local time based on a date and time in another location which is very useful. In case you need to call someone, this site also has a listing of international dialing codes so not only do you get the time right but you also know the correct country and city code. Worldwide Freight Transportation There will be a time that you will need to send something home or have someone send important things to you wherever you are. The below guide provides information on shipping, time it will take to get there and how much it costs:
www.kropla.com/electric.htm You bring all kinds of electrical appliance with you, but find out you can't plug them in the electrical socket when you're overseas? This website lists the main types of electrical plugs used around the world. You can click on an illustration of a type of plug to view a listing of countries where that plug is used. You can also search by country to find the voltage, frequency and plug type used there - very useful link. More of our useful articles: |
