![\"Beth](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Beth-Whitman-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBeth Whitman here. I\u2019m the founder of WanderTours and am your (mostly) fearless leader.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I escort groups on most of our trips \u2013 the exception being photography trips and yoga retreats where professionals are there to guide and teach you. After my first book was released, Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo<\/em><\/a>, women started asking me to bring them along on my travels<\/strong>. <\/strong>Wanting them to travel independently \u2013 as I had done for nearly 20 years up to that point \u2013 I was reluctant at first. But I recognized that not everyone has the energy, time or sometimes even the desire to plan their own travels. So I led my first tour to Bhutan in 2008<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n What I discovered through that trip to Bhutan and through subsequent trips was the bonding<\/strong>, <\/strong>camaraderie<\/strong> and life-long friendships<\/strong> that develop when women (and men on the co-ed trips) experience these destinations together<\/strong>.<\/strong> Those friendships have blossomed not only between myself and my tour people but also between these once-strangers who have met on one of our tours and who now regularly travel together \u2013 many of them returning tour after tour as a reunion of sorts.<\/strong><\/p>\n Want to know more?<\/strong> That\u2019s not me.<\/p>\n I greet you with a hug<\/strong> because, if we\u2019re not already, we\u2019re soon going to be friends. After all, we\u2019re going to be spending some time together, anywhere from five to 15 days depending on the destination. I don\u2019t want YOU traveling without a friend and I certainly don\u2019t want to either!<\/strong><\/p>\n This type of tour isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/strong> And that\u2019s totally fine. I would encourage you to follow me on social media<\/strong>, specifically by friending me on Facebook<\/a>, following me on Instagram here<\/a> and here<\/a>, and listening to me host the She\u2019s Bold Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n I think you\u2019ll get a pretty good sense as to what I\u2019m about<\/strong> and whether a WanderTour is for you. If you\u2019re still not sure, pick up the phone and let\u2019s have a chat. I LOVE to talk travel! 206-317-1860.<\/a><\/p>\n Courtesy Jonathan Romney<\/a>, Film Comment<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Not everyone is happy about Roman Polanski having a new film in competition in Venice \u2014 especially since the festival only has two women directors competing this year. Some commentators have considered it an act of some chutzpah for Polanski to make a film about a historic case of unjust accusation and punishment \u2014 J\u2019Accuse<\/em>\u00a0(aka\u00a0An Officer and a Spy<\/em>), his account of the Dreyfus case which divided France in the 1890s. In reality, it would be seriously stretching a point to interpret Polanski\u2019s new film as being in any direct way about his own experience, although his depiction of Dreyfus\u2019s exile on Devil\u2019s Island certainly rhymes with his concern with the pain of isolation, from\u00a0The Tenant\u00a0<\/em>to\u00a0The Pianist<\/em>.<\/p>\n Not that Polanski has distanced himself entirely from this topic in public statements. In the interview published in the film\u2019s press notes, philosopher Pascal Bruckner asks the director whether he will survive the \u201cpresent day neo-feminist McCarthyism\u201d \u2014 to which Polanski replies: \u201cIn the story, I sometimes find moments I have experienced myself, I can see the same determination to deny the facts and condemn me for things I have not done.\u201d Making this sort of parallel, especially in as profane a context as a PR kit, may not help Polanski\u2019s cause greatly at a time when, outside France and the European circuit that honors grands auteurs<\/em>, his reputation as a public figure is arguably at its lowest ebb. It looks especially awkward when promoting a film that, from most angles, looks very much like an impersonal study of a historic case (just as Polanski\u2019s films have tended to feel impersonal and detached for quite some time, even when the subject is as directly connected to his personal history as the Holocaust story\u00a0The Pianist<\/em>).<\/p>\n One of the routine defenses of Polanski is to claim that, whatever he may have done in his personal life, he remains indisputably a great filmmaker, which some see as an inarguable defense. As Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera put it at the opening press conference: \u201cHe is, in my opinion, one of the last masters in European cinema.\u201d In today\u2019s climate, the \u201cmastery defense\u201d has come under increasing scrutiny, and in any case, this has been a very tenuous case to make for Polanski for some time: he has certainly made some very good films over the years, but it\u2019s debatable whether there has been anything of outstanding brilliance and originality since\u00a0Chinatown<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0The Tenant<\/em>\u00a0in the mid-\u201970s (apart, perhaps, for the outstandingly bold and contentious oddity of 1992\u2019s much-derided sexual-politics black comedy\u00a0Bitter Moon<\/em>).<\/p>\n An Officer and a Spy<\/em>\u00a0will not persuade skeptics that Polanski is that lofty and dubious thing, a True Master. But it is a very solid, compelling, and serious piece of filmmaking. Based on the novelized version of the case by Robert Harris (who has adapted the book alongside Polanski), this account of the story is original in not following the ordeal of French artillery officer Alfred Dreyfus (a barely recognizable Louis Garrel), seen at the start of the film undergoing court martial in 1894 on charges of treason and supplying information to the Germans. Instead, the film follows another officer, Georges Picquart (Jean Dujardin), who, after being promoted to the head of the French army\u2019s intelligence bureau, discovers through following a completely different case that there is a crucial anomaly in the supposedly cast-iron evidence against Dreyfus. Picquart realizes that the man has been falsely charged, the scapegoated victim of the virulent anti-Semitism that, the film shows, was very prevalent in France at that time.<\/p>\n The film is a detective\/espionage story, with an emphasis on military political intrigue and bureaucratic conspiracy, suggestive of French fin de si\u00e8cle John le Carr\u00e9. What makes the drama gripping and plausible from the start is the fact that Picquart is not a noble idealist and whistleblowing rebel, but simply a career soldier of integrity who believes in truth and justice and believes it is his duty to pursue their cause. In fact, he is shown at the start to be less than saintly himself, pursuing secret assignations with the married wife (Emmanuelle Seigner) of a friend, and himself casually subscribing to the anti-Semitism universal in his milieu. It is perhaps frustrating that the scant depiction of Dreyfus\u2019s ordeal \u2014 partly shown in brief sepia sequences, with Garrel\u2019s voiceover reading of his letters \u2014 marginalizes the man at the center of this story. But then, it might have come across as intrusive to show us too much of his exile, and what is essential to the film is the way that Dreyfus has been excluded from his own life, exiled and silenced \u2014 a pariah on an island far from his own world.<\/p>\n For the first 20 minutes or so, Polanski\u2019s film threatens to be a solemn, laborious and altogether academic affair \u2014 a corridors-of-power drama in which the parquet floors of those corridors are sheened with pedantic historical accuracy. As the film develops, however, two things impress. One is the visual precision with which Polanski, DP Pawel Edelman, and production designer Jean Rabasse recreate Paris at this period \u2014 one brief scene at a\u00a0caf\u00e9-concert\u00a0<\/em>feels more authentically a cinematic evocation of the world of Lautrec and Manet than anything comparable I\u2019ve seen in French or any other cinema. There\u2019s a certain visual mannerism that irks for the first part of the film \u2014 the tendency to show interiors cloaked in dusty half-light, a very tangible metaphor for the fog of untruth. But it adds to the impression that this is a profoundly anti-glamorizing depiction of the past \u2014 a Belle \u00c9poque that is anything but beau<\/em>.<\/p>\n The other is the narrative concentration and seriousness of Polanski\u2019s approach, which has no space for thrills or distractions, but simply shows Picquart pursuing the case doggedly as he cleans up the shady mess that Intelligence headquarters has become. Dujardin\u2019s singularly not-of-our-era physiognomy and ever so slightly stiff bearing make him perfect for the part, which he plays with due solemnity and an utmost lack of self-promotion. The casting is perfect throughout \u2014 every face fitting the period perfectly, without its ever seeming that Polanski has trawled for memorable (read: folkloric) \u201ccharacters.\u201d The credits are liberally stacked with Com\u00e9die Fran\u00e7aise notables (including Michel Vuillermoz and Denis Podalyd\u00e8s) alongside French cinema axioms such as Mathieu Amalric and Melvil Poupaud, but grandstanding is minimal. The performance that most imposes itself in a larger, more theatrical way is by Gr\u00e9gory Gadebois as Picquart\u2019s resentful subordinate turned foe, Major Henry, a masterful portrayal of institutionalized laziness, prejudice, and corruption.<\/p>\n One of the most shocking moments in the film comes early on, in the form of a crowd baying for Dreyfus\u2019s blood; another comes later, after the novelist \u00c9mile Zola has written his famous open letter \u201cJ\u2019Accuse\u201d in the newspaper\u00a0L\u2019Aurore<\/em>, and crowds burn the author\u2019s books and paint anti-Semitic graffiti on shop windows (here\u2019s something Polanski does know about from his early experience). Depictions of anti-Semitism are something that, alas, never become out of date, and these feel particularly discomforting today. The other thing that feels especially timely is the film\u2019s defense of a free press and independent campaigning investigative journalism. Whatever misgivings you have about the state of Polanski\u2019s artistry or about his right to continue to be adulated or, many would argue, be let off the moral hook, this is certainly a film that powerfully expounds a righteous moral message \u2014 regardless whether you consider Polanski himself to be an arbiter of righteousness or morality. In any case, this film is in no sense groundbreaking auteur cinema \u2014 not the ineffable sui generis stuff we tend hopefully to associate with \u201cMasters,\u201d but it is a very fine, very authoritative drama, and well worth seeing. But Polanski does lose points for one touch of vanity \u2014 this member of France\u2019s Acad\u00e9mie de Beaux-Arts appears as an extra in a salon scene, wearing the full regalia of an acad\u00e9micien.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a> As millions of Americans<\/a> head out on vacation this summer looking for rest and relaxation, it\u2019s likely that two-thirds of them won\u2019t sleep as well as they do at home.<\/p>\n According to a recent survey from luxury bedmaker DUX<\/a>, only about one-third \u00a0(34%) of Americans say they sleep better in a hotel room. The survey was conducted online by The Harris Poll for DUX from June 18-20, 2019, among 2,060 U.S. adults.<\/p>\n \u201cMost people don\u2019t even think to ask about what type of bed a hotel uses and whether they\u2019re comfortable at all,\u201d said Ed Curry, president of DUX North America. \u201cThe thing is, if a hotel provides excellent beds it\u2019s going to go a long way in assuring you get a good night\u2019s rest and that you\u2019re ready for your vacation adventures.\u201d<\/p>\n DUX, the Swedish bed company that\u2019s produced some of the highest-quality mattresses in the world for 90-plus years, has a longstanding commitment to assuring travelers worldwide get great sleep. DUX beds are found in more than 100 of the finest hotels around the world<\/a>.<\/p>\n For travelers expecting a quality hotel bed, what they find is often a disappointment. The survey found that while 61% of Americans expect a hotel mattress to be more comfortable than the one at home, that\u2019s often not the case. Fifty-six percent said most mattresses at hotels where they stay aren\u2019t as comfortable.<\/p>\n Only about 43% of Americans look for hotels that feature specialty or luxury mattresses, according to the survey. That\u2019s a shame because one easy travel hack that can improve your vacation is to simply ask a hotel what type of beds it uses.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hard to enjoy your vacation when you\u2019re not sleeping well,\u201d Curry said. \u201cSo along with following other sleep tips, such as cooling the room and putting technology away, try to find hotels that truly focus on sleep by using high-quality mattresses, linens and pillows.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Courtesy Calum McCloskey, 10 Yetis Digital<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n New research has found the biggest worries that Americans have whilst on vacation, with the weather, accommodation, spending money and arguments all making the top five, with almost two thirds confessing to also worrying about work whilst away.<\/em><\/p>\n As well as determining the biggest worries that Americans have on vacation, with work featuring quite heavily for many, the biggest worries Americans have at the airport were also revealed, with fear of a flight being delayed or cancelled, luggage getting lost or damaged and missing the flight from being late topping the list.<\/p>\n The study was undertaken by the team behind flight-comparison site www.us.jetcost.com<\/a>, in which over 4,300 Americans over the age of 18 were surveyed. All respondents revealed that they had been on at least one vacation abroad within the last two years.<\/p>\n Respondents were quizzed on their worries when flying \u2013 and going on vacation in general \u2013 and it was found that two fifths of Americans (39%) find going to the airport a stressful experience, and a further 45% said that they don\u2019t like flying.<\/p>\n On top of this, 19% of Americans confessed that they are scared of flying, and a further 8% do not fly to certain destinations because of the time spent on a plane.<\/p>\n Asked what Americans\u2019 biggest worries were when flying, and given an extensive list to choose from, the top answers were found to be \u2018flight being delayed\/cancelled\u2019 (69%), \u2018luggage getting lost\/damaged\u2019 (63%) and \u2018missing a flight due to being late\u2019 (58%).<\/p>\n Quizzed on the vacation itself, the top worries Americans have whilst away were found to be:<\/p>\n Asked further about worrying about work whilst away, it was found that nearly one third of Americans (32%) do work whilst they are on vacation, and a further 70% check their work emails at least once when on a trip abroad.<\/p>\n Due to these worries, more than two fifths of Americans (42%) find going on vacation stressful, and one in seven (14%) even say that they regret going away after coming home.<\/p>\n Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for jetcost<\/a> said:<\/p>\n \u201cGoing on vacation can definitely be a stressful experience, but it is so worth it in the end. You can help relieve some of the stress by being organised and having everything planned before leaving, and try and enjoy yourself as much as you can! If you know you\u2019re the sort of person to worry about work and check your emails while away, leave your phone at home \u2013 if you can\u2019t look, you can\u2019t respond or end up working when on vacation.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Courtesy by David Dean<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Are you worried about the security of your hotel room<\/a> when you travel? You never really know who else has a key to your room, or how good the locks and deadbolts actually are. Luckily, there are several easy, inexpensive ways to secure the room more effectively. Here are five of the best.<\/p>\n The simplest way to add extra security to your hotel room is with\u00a0a rubber door wedge, and many travelers swear by them. They’re cheap, take up almost no space in your bag, and can be set up in just a few seconds. You simply place the thin end under the door jam; then gently kick the wedge into place to secure it.<\/p>\n Door wedges work best on hard surfaces like wood or tile, although some do come with a Velcro strip to stop them from sliding on carpet. For extra security, you can also buy models that come with an alarm that will sound when the wedge is disturbed.<\/p>\n The door you’re securing has to open inwards for the wedge to be effective. Most hotel doors do, but it’s something to bear in mind.<\/p>\n Another straightforward approach to securing your room is by using a portable door lock. These come in several shapes and styles, but they all work in a similar way, preventing the door from opening inwards. Again, for that reason, they won’t protect you when the door to your room opens out into the corridor.<\/p>\n Most portable locks have one piece that fits into the metal plate where the existing latch or lock goes, and another that sits across the back of the door. When locked in place, these prevent the door from opening unless someone physically breaks it down\u2014not the most subtle of approaches.<\/p>\n A few portable locks take a different approach, with a piece that slides under the door jam, and a plate that screws down onto the floor.<\/p>\n When someone tries to open the door, the horizontal force is transferred into vertical pressure that secures the lock more tightly in place. Like door wedges, they work best on hard surfaces. You’ll get some protection if your room has carpeted floors, but not as much.<\/p>\n If you’d like to protect more than just the entry door to your room, consider a motion detection alarm. These infrared sensors can be placed facing a window, door, or anywhere else in the room (other than your bed), and will alarm when they detect movement.<\/p>\n Make sure you choose a model that has sufficient range (at least 10 feet, but more is better), and will automatically re-arm itself if you’re planning on using it when you’re out of the room. If you’re protecting a window, be aware of flapping curtains and swaying tree branches when choosing the right position for the alarm.<\/p>\n Some can also be used as personal security devices, with loud alarms that can be quickly activated in an emergency, so look for that feature if it’s important to you.<\/p>\n While it won’t prevent access to the room, a door alarm should scare away all but the most determined of thieves. There are different versions, but a common type hangs from the door handle, with two metal prongs or blades that are pushed between the door and its frame.<\/p>\n When the door opens, the prongs come apart, and a loud alarm sounds. It’s a simple but effective technique, with the advantage that it will work on any door type, including those that open outwards. These alarms typically only take\u00a0a few seconds to set up, so you don’t need to spend ages messing around every time you leave or come back to the room.<\/p>\n Finally, if your door has a deadbolt, but you’re concerned about staff and others still having access with a spare key, the Lock Locker will help set your mind at ease. It’s a two-part device, with a long flat section that fits around the handle and a round piece that fits over most deadbolts.<\/p>\n Set both pieces up, combine the two, and you’ve got a system that makes it pretty much impossible for anyone to open the deadbolt from the outside, whether they have a key or not<\/p>\n Check prices for the Lock Locker<\/a>\u00a0on Amazon.<\/a><\/p>\n Listen to excruciatingly funny tales from traglamorous selfies, sometimes s**** gets real! But no-one wants to talk about every traveler\u2019s worst nightmare \u2013 until now.<\/p>\n On September 10th\u00a0The World Nomads Podcast <\/a>devotes an entire episode to s***ing\u00a0while traveling. What causes it, how to avoid it, and\u00a0stories which are both horrifying and hilarious shared by experienced travelers.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no shame. I\u2019ve done it in every country I\u2019ve visited.\u00a0It even happened to me in Tokyo on Takeshita Street\u201d said\u00a0producer and co-host Kim Napier.<\/p>\n The World Nomads Podcast usually takes listeners on a journey to some of the most exotic locations on Earth, or interviews intrepid travelers who inspire others to seek out adventure, but the idea for this\u00a0episode came up after many of their guests shared their tales of woe after recording had stopped.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s happened to us all, so we thought it was time we told the truth about travel\u00a0and switched the microphones back on.\u201d said co-host Phil Sylvester.<\/p>\n Among the harrowing tales re-told on the podcast are:<\/p>\n The episode can be listened to, and downloaded from, the podcast show notes page at worldnomads.com\/podcasts<\/a> or by clicking\u00a0this link<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Beth Whitman here. I\u2019m the founder of WanderTours and am your (mostly) fearless leader. I escort groups on most of our trips \u2013 the exception being photography trips and yoga retreats where professionals are there to guide and teach you. After my first book was released, Wanderlust and Lipstick: The Essential Guide for Women Traveling Solo, women started asking me to bring them along on my travels.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":13202,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[240],"tags":[2763,2767,196,2766,107,508,1013,2765,2764],"class_list":["post-13204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips-fun-stuff","tag-beth-whitman","tag-dux","tag-hotel","tag-jaccuse","tag-movie","tag-movie-review","tag-roman-polanski","tag-venice-film-festival","tag-wandertours"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Beth](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/Beth-Whitman-2.jpg\")
All this is to say that after more than 10 years of leading groups to destinations both near (Seattle<\/strong>, <\/strong>my backyard) and far (<\/strong>Papua New Guinea, India, Tanzania, Peru<\/strong> and more), I truly feel like the luckiest person on the planet<\/strong>. I get to travel with people whom I am genuinely delighted to share time with AND I get to introduce them to new cultures, sights, sounds and food along the way.<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nSome people arrive on a tour expecting me to carry a clipboard and pen, and peering over reading glasses checking names off a list.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nPolanski\u2019s J\u2019Accuse<\/em>\u00a0(aka\u00a0An Officer and a Spy<\/em>) Showcased at Venice Film Festival<\/h2>\n
![\"a](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/J\u2019Accuse-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"a](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/J\u2019Accuse-2.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nSurvey: Only About One-Third of Americans Say They Sleep Better in Hotels<\/h2>\n
Majority Believe Mattress is Less Comfortable Than at Home<\/h4>\n
<\/div>\nTwo Thirds Of Americans Worry About Work Whilst On Vacation<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Palouse-17.jpg\")
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<\/div>\n5 Easy Ways to Secure Your Hotel Room<\/h2>\n
Inexpensive, portable safety devices to take with you when you travel<\/h4>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Hotel-Room-Security.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/div>\nTravel\u2019s Unspoken Taboo \u2013 Pooping Your Pants!<\/h2>\n
![\"walking](\"https:\/\/travelingboy.com\/travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/09\/Unspoken-Taboo.jpg\")
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