Category Archives: News

Budget Travel: You’ll Never Get These 10 Items Through Customs

News

budgtrave

I came across a Budget Travel article yesterday that I found interesting but not completely true.  The article, You’ll Never Get These 10 Items Through Customs features some items that I have brought home in the past from international trips.

The articles claim that some items that you’d like to bring back as a souvenir should be passed up. Some are for health reasons, while others are for economic and cultural reasons.

Here is the list:

  1. Absinthe
  2. Certain plants (and crafts made from plants)
  3. Ivory (including jewelery)
  4. Ancient artifacts
  5. Meat-based products (even soup mix)
  6. Big souvenirs from Cuba, Iraq and most of Sudan
  7. Most fruits and vegetables
  8. Designer knock-offs and cartoon charactetr paraphernalia
  9. More than $10,000 cash
  10. Some Haitian Goat Hide Drums

Continue reading Budget Travel: You’ll Never Get These 10 Items Through Customs →

Travel News, Deals and Offers

Deals, News, Offers

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Travel News: 

Some MAJOR News For Michael W Travels

BoardingArea, News
a black and white logo


A few months back I attended an event in Colorado Springs called BAcon, short for BoarmdingArea Conference. I was thrilled to get an invited to join this amazing group of bloggers for a weekend of learning and meeting lots of like-minded folks. 

BoardingArea is host to a number of top blogs, mainly focused on miles, points and business/ frequent flyers. I’ve been following many of these blogs for quite some time and continue to read them on a daily basis. 

a man holding a child in front of a group of blue and white characters
Smurfs 2 NYC Premiere After-Party @ Dylan’s Candy Bar

When I created Michael W Travels (in October 2011) it was a way for me to stay involved in travel. I was grounded from traveling for a bit due to Kim being pregnant with our now 18 month old son Lucas Miles.

I originally started off with the idea of posting a picture a day but I quickly realized that this wasn’t going to be a good model to build on so I decided to change gears. I decided to cover quite a few topics, some very different than what was being done on other travel blogs. I like to say that I cover pretty much anything related to travel. I like to cover travel news, deals (miles, points, contests) and share stories & photos from my travels around the world. 

Once I got the ideas flowing, I set my goals high. I decided that I wanted Michael W Travels to be a part of the top frequent flyer site out there, BoardingArea.

Well the day has come!

I’m thrilled and excited to announce that I’ve been invited to join BoardingArea! 
The switch will be coming up in the near future.

(FYI, when I move it won’t be my first post on BA. Back in March I had the opportunity to guest post on my good friend Rene’s blog Delta Points. Check it out here.)

Some Travel Related News From Past Week

Dennis Rodman, Lan, News, North Korea, Oneworld, Travel
a group of people in a stadium
Image from Vice.com

Over the past week or so I came across some interesting travel- related news stories. Most of the stories are probably better classified as international or world news but to me news around the world is still lumped in with travel. 

Check out brief descriptions and links below to read the full articles.

Venezuela’s controversial leader and Anti-American Hugo Chavez died earlier in the week. He was 58 years old. Read about it in this Yahoo article HERE.
The TSA will be relaxing the rules on some banned carry-on items like small knives and some sports equipment. Knives need to be less than 2.36 inches long and less than one half inch wide. Some sporting equipment which will now be allowed include pool cues, lacrosse sticks, golf clubs (up to 2) and toy baseball bats. 
Read more about it HERE.

Is North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un a father? According to reports, Kim’s wife Ri had a baby in late 2012. The sex is unknown but rumored to be a girl. Read more about the story HERE.

Latam Airlines Group will be joining Oneworld bringing TAM along. LAN, the other airline in the group is already a member of the alliance. This wasn’t much of a surprise to most. Read more about it in a Bloomberg article HERE. 

Here is my favorite story of the week:

Flamboyant, retired NBA star Dennis Rodman visited North Korea and made a friend for life- the Supreme Leader! He sat courtside with Kim Jong Un watching a basketball exhibition featuring three Harlem Globetrotters and members of North Korea’s “Dream Team”. The main purpose of the trip was to film a TV Documentary which will air on HBO. Find out more about it in a CNN.com article HERE.

Which story is your favorite from this list?