Long story short, taking the Megabus is my new preferred way to get to Toronto if I have to.

You can get a one-way ticket from $18 to $55 a trip, and on average a ticket costs $38 for a half-filled bus.

If you go on off peak hours, or when people haven’t bought many tickets, then the price can go as low as $18.

I paid about $100 in total, but that’s because I miscalculated and had to come back a day early to start on a contract in another city…

Comparing it to driving to Toronto ($60 round trip by car)

• About the same length of time to get there (7 hours)
• Same cost of gas as well, but I booked my last ticket at $18!! ONE-WAY! Gas is at least $30
• Kind of sucks worse because you don’t have your own music or space
• …but you don’t have to try and stay awake to drive
• Also cannot bring more than 1 suitcase, 1 carry-on and 1 purse (not great if you were moving stuff, like us)
• Not great for people with motion sickness (me) because it rocks back and forth
• Can’t make any stop or rest anywhere you want to stretch your legs
• Internet is spotty on the bus, but at least you have it for free!!
• Has a table to work on in the lower level (it’s a double-decker) with power outlets

Comparing it to taking ViaRail ($180 round trip by train)

• ViaRail CLAIMS to get you there in 4-5 hours, but they’re 99% always delayed
• Only 2 hours more on the bus, and you’re paying less than half the price for a round trip
• In the end, the bus also drops you right on Bay & Dundas rather than at Union Station
• …which made for a much shorter TTC trip to get to my parents’
• The comfort level is the same — tables, plugs in the vehicle
• …and motion sickness is always a problem because both vehicles rock side to side
• Can’t make a stop or rest anywhere you want to stretch your legs
• The bus doesn’t offer food or snacks to buy, but if you’re organized, you don’t care
• Internet is $10 for 24 hours on the train, and is just as spotty as on the bus
• Both have bathrooms

In conclusion?

If you aren’t picky about amenities like food and drinks available to purchase on board, and don’t mind sitting still for about 3.5 hours (you get a 20 minute break in between halfway through), then go with the Megabus.

It wasn’t bad at all. It was better than I expected, and you even get both seats to yourself in a lot of cases!

I didn’t have to share my row with anyone, and I just listened to my iPod there and back with my Bose headphones to drown out the hum of the bus.

Highly recommended over the train, and on par with the car if you aren’t driving the whole 7 hours.

1. iPod & Good noise cancelling headphones to stop that awful airplane humming in your brain

I load videos in MP4 on my iPod and I watch Sex & The City when my HP Mini Netbook is drained.

2. A light paperback book in case you get tired of music, movies or videos

Consider donating the book when you’re done reading it, to anywhere in the cities you are visiting. It’s one less thing to carry back.

3. Comfortable clothing

You don’t want anything to press hard into your belly, or make you itch, or be too tight to make you squirm in your small economy seat.

4. A sweater/blanket to stay warm

I bring a pashmina so I can wear it in public. Your body temperature drops when you sleep, so you will need to stay warm when you’re dozing.

5. Travel pillow for your head for long flights

A must have for me, so I don’t end up with a crooked, painful neck or drooling on someone’s shoulder.

6.Comfy slip on and off shoes

Don’t forget to wear your socks!!

7. Some snacks

I hate airplane snacks.

Has anyone tried that foul Air Canada mustard trail mix BS? That made me gag…

8. Anti-bacterial wipes

To refresh your face & to wipe down the sides of the chairs & maybe the table too

9. Canteen of water

Bring an empty water bottle and fill it up once you get past security.

10. Lip balm

It gets dry on the plane.

FB Reminder: I am away on vacation right now. This post has been scheduled ahead of time.
I won’t be moderating comments until end of August 2009. Thanks for your patience!

Not that my mother has scabies right now, but she contracted them from the Days Inn in New York, and my brother has also gotten scabies before.

My mom was so cute the other day, she cut out a newspaper article on scabies and mailed it to me with a note about what medicine to use if I get scabies. Thanks Mom….?

She could have emailed it, but she is so technologically challenged.. it’s easier to write and mail me a letter.

So now, I am naturally thinking of buying a travel sheet with a sewn in pillow cover.

Call me paranoid, but the thought of scabies or these little worms burrowing into your SKIN and itching all night, laying eggs gives me the heebie jeebies.

And I mean, let’s face it.

It’s kind of gross to sleep in a bed that tons of other people who may not be as clean, or as lice-free have slept in.

So what’s the deal then?

I’m thinking of buying a travel sheet and pillow case. It is a fabric sewn together like a sleeping bag, and protects against dirty beds. They can also be used as sleeping bag liners and protect the sleeping bag from sweat for example.

The travel sheets that I want, are going to protect from:

• harsh detergents
• lice
• bedbugs
• allergens (animal and dust mite dander)
• unclean bedding

And trust me, you don’t want me to tell you about each of those in detail. I read all about it, and it kind of gives me a body shiver.

Travel Sheet Terms

Pillow Pocket: a pocket sewn to the travel sheet that you can insert a pillow into.

Fold Over Top Sheet: A fabric flap that covers the top of the blanket

Pore Size: the space measured in microns that is in between the fabric threads

Chemical Sensitivity: hotels really use powerful detergents and bleaches to get rid of all bodily fluids left by previous er.. sleepers. Some of the fragrances are very strong, and if you’re sensitive to them like I am, you have to protect your skin from those irritants

What to look for in a travel sheet:

* Pore size below 10 microns
* Breathability and comfort
* Pillow pocket and fold over top sheet
* Quality (something that can be washed constantly)
* Zipper not Velcro, snaps or buttons
* Should be able to be hot water and hot air dried
* Affordability

You’re soooo paranoid

Yeah.

But at least I’ll be coping with my paranoia of sleeping in hotel beds with a travel sheet that will protect me from all of the above crap.

You do NOT want me to tell you what are in hotel beds on a regular basis, especially the cheap hotel rooms we try to stay in. Unless you stay at the Four Seasons.. you cannot be sure it is clean, trust me.

I also travel a lot, so this is justified in the sense that I am going to be using it a lot.

What about pillows with sweat stains embedded into them?

Oh and I also bought a travel pillow that squishes down! I can use it on the plane and also in hotel rooms to sleep on instead of using their pillows.

(My God, I feel like going to start seeing the FBI following me everywhere too with my level of paranoia)

This is the Medium-sized one I bought from Mountain Equipment Co-Op (MEC).

The small felt too small to be comfortable, especially since it is doing double duty in hotel rooms as well.

Which travel sheet did you buy?

I ended up buying the Allersac from a local guy who runs the business.
$60 for the single-sized person travel sheet, which may seem expensive.. but I am going to be using this sucker forever.

I guess you could stick 2 people in there, it’s quite roomy.. but it might get a bit tight

BF tried looking for a cheap alternative to a travel sheet, but we couldn’t even find it in the bed & bath stores around here, and the ones sold at places like Mountain Equipment Co-Op, are usually silk or some other material without a lot of information on whether it keeps out the bed bugs.

I am okay with MY bed bugs, but not with hundreds of others’ bedbugs… if you know what I mean.

The travel sheets in silk, are meant to keep you warm when you’re out camping, with very little bulk. Not the best material for hotel room sleeping, however….

And we thought about taking a plain cotton sheet and just stitching it together, but we couldn’t find the proper size bed sheets to do the work (in the right softness and thickness) without spending $30 a sheet.

Maybe if we went to discount bath stores… the other problem is also that we don’t have any sewing skills or a sewing machine to do neat stitches and hems, as well as to put in zippers.

C’est la vie.

Everyone keeps asking me how the hell I get away with one back pack and a purse for a one or two week vacation.

I guess it’s my training from traveling so much for business, that you develop a hatred for anything that cannot fit into your rolling carry-on.

Vacations = 1 Backpack + Optional Purse

For vacations, I stick to backpacks because we generally check out of a hotel and wander around for a couple more hours before actually getting to the airport for our flight. 

And I hate rolling around a suitcase for 4-5 hours while we get in some last minute sightseeing or shopping.

Business = 1 Rolling Carry on + Optional Purse

For business.. BRING ON the rolling carryon!

I know they have hybrids out there, of backpack/rolling carryons.. but honestly, you’re just putting the weight of the wheels and the handles on your back. Not so cool.

When you’re away on business, the rolling carryon is fine because you take a cab or a limousine to the airport, you don’t really need to walk anywhere and it’s just easier to maneuver when you are in 2″ heels.

So how do I do it?

Everyone packs different things, and packs differently. But I’ll just kind of list what I bring on vacation when I do go, assuming it’s 2 weeks of vacation:

• Enough underwear changes for every single day
• 10 pairs of socks
• Bag to put dirty underwear in and seal up
• 2 tops
• 1 bottom piece of clothing
• 1 complete sleeping outfit
• Travel slippers
• Travel sheets
• Toiletries (Liquid/Gels)
• Toiletries (Other)
• Travel Purse with compartments
• Hairbrush
• Jewelery/Watch
• Pashmina/Large Scarf doubling as a light blanket
• 1 pair of shoes
• Sunglasses
• Entertainment (Book/iPod + Charger)
• Pen + Pad of paper
• Camera + Charger
• Netbook + Charger
• External Hard drive

That’s my basic travel kit.

Naturally, if it’s cold, you’ll have to pack a sweater or a jacket too.

Or if you’re going to a wedding, you’ll need your wedding outfit & shoes and so on.

I have this noted as “Special Events Items” in my Palm T|X Memo on what I need to pack.

Why does this work?

I’ll go through some of the choices above that aren’t obvious:

2 tops & 1 bottom piece of clothing

Everyone forgets that you have to wear an outfit on the plane too.

That means another top, a sweater and a pair of pants. Or a comfortable jersey dress. With a pashmina and another pair of shoes.

Basically, with 3 tops, 2 bottoms, 1 sweater and 2 pairs of shoes (total count, including packed and worn items), you are looking at a combination of 6 outfits (3 tops x 2 bottoms).

And if it’s cool/cold, the sweater will be making an appearance every day, so your top changes won’t really matter because it’s being covered by a sweater every day.

1 Sleeping Outfit

You want something NOT slightly sweaty and dirty to wear to bed and to be comfortable in. This may or may not be something you’d wear in public, but I just put it in there just in case.

Travel slippers + sheets

I’m paranoid, what can I say? I don’t like wearing socks, but I don’t like my feet touching hotel floors. I also don’t like sleeping on hotel bedding without something between me and the sheets.

I got my travel slippers for $1.99 at the dollar store (hah.. dollar only my butt), and they fold up flat.

Toiletries (Liquid/Gels)

Ahh.. toiletries. The only liquids and gels I have are my facial moisturizer, my apple cider vinegar in mini bottles for rinses and mascara.

I don’t travel with perfume (if I did, it’d be solid perfume so I wouldn’t have to throw it in the liquids bag), nor do I travel with hairspray, hair gels, lots of face products and anything but the necessities.

I pre-pack them into those prescribed little plastic bags, and put them in the FRONT compartment of my carry-on, or in my purse, so that I can easily grab them out stick them in the little plastic bucket and breeze through security.

I hate searching for anything, and I hate watching women in front of me search frantically through their suitcase to find ALL of their liquids and gels to try and stuff them into a plastic bag and then wailing up a storm when they can’t.

Get organized, people.

Toiletries (Other)

This includes my body moisturizer (solidified shea butter is not a liquid or gel, but when warmed up, melts into a liquid), my toothbrush, and so on.

I don’t travel with curling irons, straight irons, hairdryers, or all that stuff most women have because they think they can’t possibly go a day without curling their hair.

I do travel with a 100% boar bristle hairbrush… but that’s only because I don’t use shampoo or conditioner and I really need this brush to keep my hair from getting oily at the crown.

Travel Purse with compartments

This is misleading. I should really say “Travel Wallet”, because this is where I put my money (CAD currency and the country’s currency that I exchanged 2 weeks ago), my passport, boarding pass, identification, a pen and pad of paper.

I can even fit my ipod in the back. LUG makes some cute travel wallets. I bought mine for $6.99 at the drugstore on sale because it’s so fugly no one wanted to buy it. It’s grown on me.

Jewelery/Watch/Pashmina

I usually only bring a watch and a necklace (but I don’t wear either when I go to the airport because I hate having to remove everything while waiting in line)

The pashmina, or large scarf is helpful because I wrap it around myself for more cuddly warmth when on an airplane that likes to crank up the A/C, and it doubles as a blanket in the hotel room (no really, I get really cold in bed).

2 pairs of shoes (1 walking, 1 other)

If I’m on vacation, I am either in flip flops or in walking shoes. Either way, that’s all I’m wearing the entire 2 week trip, so I better just pack that, and one other back up pair just in case.

Usually in the winter, it only ends up being a single pair of boots.

In other seasons, I usually only pack 1 pair of walking shoes.

But I give myself the option to pack a pair of ballet flats, if I wanted to…

Sunglasses, Book/iPod/Camera

Standard. Sunglasses goes on my hair, Book/iPod/Camera in my purse.

Netbook & External Hard drive

(That’s my travel wallet —->)

People find it weird/bulky, but it’s surprisingly useful. I update my budget spreadsheet as I go, I download all of our pictures off our cameras’ SD cards onto my laptop AND back it up on my Western Digital Passport hard drive (super small and light), and I can use it to surf the internet wirelessly to look up things, or just to check on my blog.

Really handy, and small. When I had my huge, bulky Dell 15″ laptop before, I refused to bring it because it was just too damn heavy. The Netbook option is a lot better on my back.

How about switching it up for business?

For business, it’s the same principles as above. 

Except I take out stuff like the Netbook and substitute in my Dell business-only laptop.

I also pack 2 pairs of shoes – 1 pair of ballet flats (worn on the plane), and 1 pair of heels, and more jewelery.

The rest of the list stays as is. 3 tops, 2 pairs of pants (one top and pair of pants = my travel outfit).

Read more here: How to pack for a formal or casual business trip

But I can’t possibly live without.. [insert item here]!!!

I hate to say it so bluntly, but … tough luck. Get over it.

If you want to pack lightly, you have to cut what you carry, make choices to either remove a pair of shoes and bring your curling iron instead, or figure out what you REALLY need on your vacation/business trip.

I’m not saying my list above is perfect, I could probably cut it down even further (the no shampoo thing has really helped the load)…

But if you cannot possibly live with your entire arsenal of personal toiletries and items, then don’t try and fit it all into a carry-on and cry that you have to always travel with a big, huge bulky suitcase while other women like me are breezing through with a tiny carry on.

You just have to make a choice, and really pare down on what you bring.

I am totally fine with you carrying a HUGE suitcase, sweating, and feeling exhausted and tired before you even get to your destination, and kicking the airline personnel when it gets lost, or kicking the carousel waiting for it to show up.

Totally fine… because I’m not the one carrying it or waiting for it!!

So why do YOU travel with a small carry-on then?

Other than the added benefit of having less for the security people to put their dirty paws in if they decide to do a random check on me.

I hate carrying heavy items, I hate feeling the weight on my back, and I like being free, so to speak.

I hate lugging it to the airport, checking it in while waiting in line instead of doing a fast express check-in, lugging it off the carousel, waiting for my luggage.. so on and so forth.

I’ve mentioned spending 4-5 hours on the last day doing some last minute sight seeing and it gets pretty annoying to have a huge suitcase to lug around to do so.

Sure, I could leave it at the hotel and pick it up later when I want to finally leave, but there goes the feeling of freedom. After sightseeing, I can’t go directly to the airport. I have to go back to the hotel and then, to the airport.

I also don’t like searching around the hotel room, trying to figure out if I have packed everything into my bags. The less I bring, the less I have to remember to find/pack into my bag when I leave.

Resources

• Water only hair washing (No Shampoo, No Conditioners)
• Traveling frugally & intelligently (For Business)
• How to purchase a suitcase
• What to look for when booking a hotel
• How to pack for a formal or casual business trip

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned this, but it’s one of the easiest ways to save a bundle of cash.

We cook every single time we’re on vacation. We try to book a hotel with a full kitchen or kitchenette, but if we can’t hack that, we try and at least get a hotel room with a microwave (it’s amazing what you can do with one). We have a little $10 travelling rice cooker made out of plastic that works like a charm, and we buy fresh food from the local grocery store which we cook in the microwave, or eat raw with the rice and some soy sauce.

Once, we managed to get a hotel with a kitchen. It was fabulous! We spent $20 on a frying pan, spatula, salt, pepper and other basic cooking essentials, then we made fajitas for dirt cheap all week by buying pre-BBQ’d chicken at the grocery store for $7, peeling the meat off that, and wrapping it in tortillas with cooked vegetables using our frying pan. We ate the entire week for $50. And we were STUFFED.

We even had Chinese Peking Duck, and it was a deeeeelicious dinner with fresh tomatoes, vegetables, flavoured rice (flavoured with the duck juices) and we ate ourselves silly.

What we ended up buying outside was ice cream, or drinks. But for eating – we did all of it in the hotel room by taking the public transit back for lunch (hell, we’ve got time, we’re on vacation!), and then public transit back out towards downtown.

Food was quite inexpensive for the entire trip, with the most money being spent on ice cream and drinks like juice or pop for BF.

It’s a great, money saving, frugal idea. And it’s well worth it to get a hotel with a kitchen. All it takes is some elbow grease to prepare the food, and you eat like royalty on the cheap.

Update:

I agree on the point that when in Japan, eat like the Japanese with sushi etc..

But I’m referring (mostly) to domestic travelling to the States or Canada, or even to other places where the food isn’t exactly very different from what we eat at home.

If I was in China, I’d just buy duck in the store, take it home, cook rice, and eat it at home for cheaper than buying the Peking duck meal in a restaurant where they do the same thing and give you less to boot.

However if it was Japan, we are still able to make sushi in the hotel, but with better ingredients from the store. For example, we bring our own sushi mat, the little mini rice cooker, and we buy the rice/meat in the grocery stores and roll it at home.

We may go out to eat once in a while in a nice Japanese restaurant or eat things from the hawker stalls that we just CANNOT make in a hotel room, but those are once-in-a-while treats that we’re willing to try. However, if it’s food for everyday, it can add up to be pretty expensive to eat in a restaurant all the time.