interrupted trip

It has been week that I have been on a business trip. I am in my connection airport and hope to arrive home and take a rest in 6 hours or so. Cannot wait because my eyes are almost shut and I feel bloated by the airport food.

This trip was originally scheduled for 5 days. On the 4th day there was some kind of labor event in the host country that affected the flights. My return flight was canceled. Being highly stressed and somehow also pissed, I needed to make numerous phone calls over-seas and each time to wait around 30 min (hurricane matthew also caused many airlines to cancel their flights, which increased the wait times.) I could luckily find a flight two days later and also extended my hotel reservation, staying in the same room. This was my first time that I experienced a trip delay at a foreign country.

You know what I am most grateful for? For putting extra clothes and personal/cleaning products/medications in when I packed my luggage. I had thought that I was being spoiled, but now I can see its benefit. I did not need to shop; I did not need to use the laundry service of the hotel (they do not have coin-operated washers and I refuse to let my clothes handled by someone else); and I was not stressed about my other needs during the extra 2-days stay.

So, the next time you get prepared for a trip, consider having extra essential items with you, especially if you have space in your luggage. You never know if your trip plans will change.

how to keep up with budget and diet while traveling?

Looking at the title of the post, you might have thought this post is about the useful tips that can help you.

Well, this is not the case. The title of the post a genuine question I have in my mind.

I have a couple of trips to make in the coming weeks. I am excited about them (I like to travel), but of course the time away from the office means extra work before and after the trip, which can explain my stress levels nowadays 🙂

Anyways, since I am on two plans; budgeting and healthy life-style, I wonder how these trips will affect me.

To tell you the truth, I have a tendency to relax, and eat what I want and buy what I want (mostly little gifts for people I love) during my trips.

I have progressed quite a bit with my budget and it is more or less in the right direction, but I still have a long way to go. In addition, my healthy eating and losing weight plan does not work at all. I need to come up with a good strategy and have some motivation and dedication to keep going with these plans.

I am planning to have snacks, fruits, and sandwiches with me on the first day of my trips; at least I may be able to eat one day good, without indulging into eating at my destinations. I am of course planning to taste different food and whatever I like but cannot find where I am (Chinese and Japanese food for example) once I arrived my destinations.

My other challenge would be how to not eat the free food (to be offered at the meetings I am taking the trips for); they are my weaknesses and I am certainly concerned….. Argh… why the snacks and other food offered at professional meetings are not healthy type? Like broccoli. Or milk. Or, I do not know, something other than the pastries, cookies, and sweets?

The only things I am not concerned about are walking and my supplements (calcium and VitD); i will have my supplement pills with me and I am sure I will find milk to drink wherever I go. Also, generally I am very energetic while on trips, partly because I love to explore the cities I am visiting; so walking will not be a problem, either.

So, wish me luck with my trips.

But at the same time, please tell me if you have any tips and strategies that can help keep my budgeting and eating plans on track while traveling 🙂