The Purple Passport

Seasoned advice for British Travellers

Travel Tips

5 Simple Travel Hacks for Your Next Trip

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Almost everyone loves to visit a new destination, but few of us actually enjoy the process of getting there. Travelling can be frustrating, dull and stressful, particularly if you’re having to deal with flights, layovers and connections, and all the administrative stress that goes along with it. Add to that the joys of packing, dealing with hotels and the inevitability of forgetting something important, and it’s no wonder many people are exhausted by the time they reach their destination.

However, travel needn’t be so stressful, and with a few simple tips and tricks you can take some of the pain out of your next trip. Here’s 5 of our favourite travel hacks to help you on your next holiday:

Packing Jewellery

Jewellery isn’t the easiest thing to travel with, as it’s easy to lose or break, particularly during long journeys. If you’re taking a lot of jewellery, you can put smaller pieces into an ice cube tray and wrap a sheet of cling film around it to secure what’s inside. For more delicate pieces or breakable accessories such as glasses, you can secure them inside school binders or plastic folders. No more chipped statement necklaces or broken Ray Ban glasses!

Charging without the plug socket

Forgot your plug adapter or left the plug section of your charging cable at home? You can use the USB port on the back of the majority of hotel TV’s to charge your phone.

Roll your clothes

Instead of folding your clothes normally, try rolling them instead – they take up much less space in your suitcase and allow you to pack far more. It’s also easier to pick out a certain shirt without having to take everything out of your bag shoe storage

That space inside your shoes is wasted when they’re packed in your luggage, so take advantage of this unutilised space to fit more in your bag. Your shoes are an excellent place to put your socks, accessories or any small items without taking up any additional space.

DIY toothbrush holder

You can use an empty Tic Tac box as a toothbrush protector, keeping it clean while it’s packed in your bag and stopping it from picking up general fuzz or makeup dust.

The Weird, The Wonderful, The Unexpected Airline Flight Delays

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When it comes to your flight being delayed or cancelled, you tend to hear a lot of the tired old excuses again and again. ‘Exceptional circumstances’, ‘technical issues’, they’re all the same. However, sometimes flights are delayed for the oddest of reasons. We’re going to be looking at some of the most surreal and downright unbelievable reasons why people were unable to get on their flights.

Cat In The Cockpit

The first up on our list is the story of a cat inside the cockpit of the plane. And no, it wasn’t the cat of either of the pilots. Someone had brought their pet along for the ride and stowed him in the hold. However, the curious feline decided that being relegated to a travel cage wasn’t acceptable, and so he broke out and decided to have a little exploration. This all culminated in the cat finding his way into the cockpit and causing delays.

Homemade Astronaut

In a story which almost seems to come right out of a book, a man from LA bought himself a lot of balloons and helium. He planned to float around in his back garden for some time before using a pellet gun to shoot balloons, thus lowering his altitude. It was a good idea until he lost control and began to float up into the air, and eventually found himself 16,000 feet in the air, and in the middle of LA airspace. This, of course, caused a problem, and people on board the aircraft found a delay in getting to their destination, and obviously, those waiting for the plane were delayed as well.

Foam Catastrophe

We’ve all seen traditions being carried out in the streets, but there’s a high chance you’ve never seen something like this. The fire crew attempted to provide the vehicle with a water cannon burst as a form of salute, but it went sort of wrong. The button which was pressed instead expelled a large amount of foam onto the plane, which tampered with the engine and left a significant portion of the plane covered in foam. This delayed the flight for quite some time as it all had to be removed from the vehicle and everything had to be checked for signs of damage.

Overall, these are just a few of the strangest and most obscure reasons why a flight has been delayed or cancelled. Obviously, you’re going to be less likely to find these problems in an everyday setting, although you would be surprised at the frequency with which these things can happen. Every day, people are exposed to strange things, and they don’t stop to consider how unlikely it is that it’s happened to them. These are just a small handful of the odd reasons why a flight has been delayed or cancelled, and there are so many other possible explanations besides this for why a flight can be stopped. Who knows, you might hear about or even be a witness to one of the many strange phenomena which could prevent a flight one day.

Help fund your travel plans with these income ideas

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Can’t Afford To Travel? Income Ideas To Help Fund Your Trip

Travelling the world can be expensive. Whatever your travel plans are, they are likely to cost money. Finding a good source of additional income to fund your travels can take the worry out of paying for flights, accommodation, and meals. You will probably already have a source of income, but when you want to save for an expensive trip, having an additional income can help significantly. In addition to this, some of the ideas highlighted in this article will allow you to continue to earn while you travel!

Rent Out Your Spare Space

If you own a property and have spare rooms, hiring them out can generate substantial income for you. There are many sites online that allow you to advertise your spare rooms to travellers or holidaymakers. Although you can rent your rooms out to long term tenants, it’s usually more profitable to rent to short stay travellers or holidaymakers. If you wanted to continue generating income from your property while you are away on your travels, then long term tenants are generally a better option. Renting out spare rooms to short term tenants can require a lot more work and management, this is slightly more difficult if you’re not in the country.

Hire Out Your Possessions

Many aren’t aware that you can actually make money from hiring out your possessions to others. Generally these are short term hires, ranging from one day to a month. A quick web search will provide you with a number of sites that will allow you to list your stuff for hire. The best items to hire out are musical instruments, film and photography equipment, drones, vehicles, and bicycles. If you own anything that could be of use to someone else, particularly those in creative industries, then you could make a decent sum of money by renting it out. Most people that hire equipment from others are creative individuals working on a project.

Become A Virtual Assistant

Many businesses are now turning to virtual assistants to manage their business needs, and save money. A virtual assistant usually works from home and takes on a customer relations role representing a specific company. Virtual assistants can be asked to operate live chats for a business, respond to emails, or answer phone calls. The good thing about becoming a virtual assistant is the flexibility of it. Many companies only require you to have a laptop and a headset, this means you can work anywhere in the world. The hours you work are also fairly flexible, some companies may require you to commit to a certain number of hours per week but this usually isn’t a lot.

Try Online Trading

Trading stocks and betting on the stock market is gaining in popularity. Although this is a risky business, it can be a good way to make some extra money. Most trading sites only require you to have access to a computer or mobile device to start trading. This option isn’t recommended to those that have nothing to invest. You will need some money to start trading, and profits from trades aren’t guaranteed. You can learn more about trading stocks online with CMC Markets.

Become An Online Tutor

There are many opportunities online that allow you to teach students a variety of subjects via webcam. Generally all that is required from you is access to a webcam in a quiet environment, and sometimes a minimum commitment to hours that you will work. If you decide to work for a company that teaches English to foreign students, you will usually require a TEFL certificate and be able to commit to a certain number of hours per week. Gaining a TEFL certificate is fairly easy and you can usually enrol on a TEFL course without spending too much.

If you don’t fancy teaching English, then you could become a private tutor in any area of expertise that you may have. For example, some people choose to teach guitar or other musical instruments to students via webcam. Others offer additional support to those studying specialist degrees. A simple online search should provide you with a number of online teaching opportunities.

How to pack for a long weekend away

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Packing for a long weekend away is not always easy, on the one hand you need enough stuff for four days, and on the other, you want a bag that is going to be small enough for you to comfortably carry around. If you are flying to get to your weekend destination, it makes so much more sense form a time perspective that you just take carry-on luggage so that you can get out of the airport and start enjoying yourself, as soon as you land.

I go on about 6-8 weekend breaks per year and I usually take advantage of the holidays to ensure that I can turn it into a long weekend. Because of this, I have got my weekend bag packing down to a fine art and I wanted to share with you some tips on how to get it just right.

Bag

To choose your bag based on what you want to take with you, instead, base what you take with you on the size of your bag. Weekend travel may involve you taking your bag from A to B, a lot more than if you were heading off on a two week break with a hefty suitcase in tow. With this in mind then, it is important that you select a bag which is lightweight, as spacious as possible and most importantly, compact.

Shoes

Shoes really do take up the majority of the space in any bag and if you have thoughts about taking all of your heels, then think again. I like to take two pairs of shoes with me, and wear some trainers to travel in. I ditch the tall heels in favor of some kitten heels and I always take black pair of flats with me. Flats look great in any occasion and they take up next to no space in the bag.

Tech

Unless you absolutely have to work, I would recommend leaving any tech at home, and rely solely on your phone for the next few days. Tech and chargers can really fill space and add weight and for the sake of four days, it is far better to leave that kind of stuff at home.

Clothing

When it comes to clothing, really make sure that you are planning smartly for what you will be doing. A pair of jeans can easily be worn twice or three times, underwear is obviously needed for each day, jackets you can either give a miss if it is warm, or wear it when you are traveling to avoid putting it in your bag. Try to take only what you need and not what you might need. Remember that for the most part, if you desperately need new clothes, you can buy them in your destination.

Make sure that if you do take a towel with you, that you take a small and compact microfibre towel. Usually you will not need a towel as the hotel can provide, and even if you hit the beach you can always buy a cheap towel to use and then discard of.

To get your packing right for a long weekend, plan exactly what you will need and place your focus on keeping that bag light and easy to carry about.