sassysavvytravelers: Leaving The USA behind

it's always bitter sweet to leave the US , in this instance we are heading off on an amazing adventure ,not heading home , hence i'm happy to be moving on but sad i have to say good bye to fiends and family not knowing when we will again sit together , really in person face to face , not via face time, and yarn !

Heading from Manhattan to JFK it was easier and cheaper to negotiate a fare with a taxi than use uber orbattle the public bus with 30+ kilos of lauguage and hernias and knee replacements ! our cab cost us $57US in comparison to the uber quote of $96US taking into account we were travelling in afternoon peak hr !

so good bye to the land of toilets that are full almost to the seat with water and good by to the land of tipping adding at least 15% to the bill , plus %10 tax , hence the price you see on the bill is in most cases at least 25% more when you pay ,?this is something to take into account when budgeting , . Jet lag hasn't been as bad this trip , jet lag ,i believe is caused by the time zone changes , you get outa whack with sleep times and this your body is confused and over tired and you wake at weird times day and night and are hungry at weird times and trying to get your bowl movements in sink is also something not to be poo pooed !! it isn't easy for me to poop on command so that's always a pain in the ass, pardon the pun!! lol lol it is often a good tip when arriving in a new time zone to try and stay awake till your normal bedtime in that country for example if you arrive in a new country at 10am try and stay away that day until at least 9pm then sleep and try to get up at 7am in that country's time , this isn't always easy as i get so exhausted and i start to snarl when i'm sleep deprived but if i manage my cranky pants i'm usually OK , i also take a low does sleeping pill with me just encase i need to force myself to get to sleep , as sleeping isn't a strong point for me , my adhd keeps me awake ,a lot !! before we travel we visit our GP for a once over and we get scrips for a general antibiotic , strong pain killers ie panadole forte ( please note some countries dont allow you to bring codine in ) i have always had panadole forte in my medicine bag and have never once been stopped !) Craig has many medications as he had a heart bypass in 2011 and we have his medications packed into webster packs as this makes it much easier for travelling as everything is listed on the top of the pack ! some countries require your prescribed medicines to have your name of the pack or a copy of the doctors script ! when we visit our GP for our pre trip blood pressure check etc have Dr Deb print out a brief medical history including any medications and we take that with us , saves drama ! gone are the days when you just traveled with a card of panadole and a bandaid ! in addition the medical travel hints , ive always found it useful to pack the chewable di spring , that way i have one before any long flight to reduce the risk of clots or DVT ! i also pack bedadine antiseptic cream , 3B barrier cream for chafe , ginger travel calm tablets , lip balm , antihistamine tablets, a ventilin puffer, cortisone cream , bandaids and some larger opti-site dressings (as you never know ) and a defibrillator ( lol that's a joke ) but i do carry the essentials , and i am a hypercondriact !!!! good bye USA thanks for the brilliant weather the friendly people , the great service , fun food and for a chance for me to see those i love !