Currently on my first overseas trip in 3 years. Went to the States.
Got Covid almost immediately 
. Will make up for the lost time over the next few days I think.
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3 months actually. Sandals are great to hike in if your feet are accustomed to it. Feet can breathe and donāt swell as much on a long day as they they would in a shoe or boot. They dry pretty much instantly when wet.
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So no socks
And no stubbed toes?
Arrived in Casablanca earlier this week, 1 hour TAP flight from Lisbon. Not especially comfortable (Jetstar level). Definitely not @aceman approved.
First impression is a sprawling city with not much to offer the average tourist beyond an entry/exit point. Forget about any romantic notions based on the classic Bogart film. There is the worldās 3rd largest mosque which is quite impressive and some half decent waterfront views but not much more. Traffic is horrendous.
This part of our trip is a group tour around most of Morocco. Seemed the sensible option to get the most out of the time available. Getting around the rural parts of the country would otherwise be quite challenging.
So far so good but itās very evident that the country is into itās second year of drought.
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Other than taking carry-on only (which the family refuses to entertain), are there any recommendations to mitigate the risk of lost luggage?
Iām assuming to:
- Take overnight essentials & valuables in carry-on.
- Spread everyoneās stuff across all the cases as opposed to having a case each.
Anything else?
TAP are ok, nearly all intra or short haul business class is the same average hard product unfortunate and usually the staff, food and other soft products things are the difference over there unfortunately. As for Casablanca it was easily my least favourite Moroccan city and with what else is on offer over there itās one city that I donāt tend to linger long in
Can definitely agree with that. Just a city really, quite unremarkable.
Fes and Marrakesh thoughā¦ wow!
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Fly as direct as you can.
If paranoid you could drop an apple AirTag or a Tile Bluetooth in your luggage.
When your sitting on the plane prior to takeoff you will have some knowledge as to which bags are on the plane and which arenāt.
Or if your apple get an airtag as the search is more powerful.
I havenāt bothered tagging my luggage but I might on my next long distance trip where I have a few stops.
If you know whose bags are missing you can make plans to well I dunno do some shopping when you land?
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Yes there are plenty of horror stories but in reality luggage losses arenāt anywhere near as prevalent as many think and most reputable airlines will do their best to leave you as inconvenienced as possible. In the last 10 years across the dozens of International and hundreds of domestic flights I can count on one hand how many times Iāve had delayed luggage and have not yet had a write off for missing luggage.
I always pack a change of clothes and underwear in my carry on that suits the climate Iām travelling to and as a family we used to mix luggage between the three of us just in case 1 bag went missing but itās actually more common these days that everyoneās luggage on the same PNR goes missing which is often due to a technical glitch in the IT.
Some airlines are investigating the use of banning tracking tiles or similar but Iām not sure yet what the outcome of that will be.
Stolen items from luggage is much more prevalent and a concern which is why the market for shrink wrapping items is through the roof although that does also present other issues obviously
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Donāt you just use glad wrap?
Common practice when travelling through South America
I donāt use and of the wrapping systems. I have good quality luggage with locks and use padlocks as a double deterrent but Iāve had locks cut by customs in the past and on this trip Malaysian officials had cut the locks on my wifeās luggage when came through KL
Uninconvenienced? 
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Injinji Toe socks. Best investment youāll ever make. I also have a pair of Asics runners handy.
Seems a fairly universal view. We escaped the city early on our first morning after visiting the Mosque I mentioned.
Travelling to Fes this morning. Looking forward to it.
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Anyone ever used a VPN to get cheaper flights buying fares from a different country?
My sister used it to access a boat trip up the Norwegian coast. Used a Norwegian VPN and translated pages. Fares for locals were much cheaper. This was many years ago now so not sure if things have changed.
Question for Japan based blitzers.
On new years at a shrine in Japan, we were given a drink after praying to the gods. It was served warm from a big vat, sort of milky and really sweet. Iāve been told Amazake but there seems to be hundreds of variations to this (amazake seems to be the ingredient rather than the drink). Anyone know what iām talking about and what this drink is called?
Yeah, I would just say amazake, Iām not sure what variants might be called.
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Is this something you buy then mix yourself if you donāt want to do the full brew it yourself option?
I donāt know much about it, to be honest. I think itās just sold in various forms for various uses, sometimes with a low alcohol content.
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