Go with the Flow!

I'm an impulse traveler. Last year I traveled almost 150,000 miles, visiting eight countries on four continents, mainly as a way to escape the office and see the world. When I get the itch, I find the best fares I can online, book last-minute deals with hotels, and just go.

It's not only fun to travel like this, it requires a lot less planning. In fact, I do most of my planning during the plane ride over. While some facilities and events require reservations, I've learned to be flexible and go with the flow. The more I travel, the more I've learned to depend on my Dell Axim Pocket PC. It's become my mobile concierge, helping me find my way around strange cities, deal with changing time zones and languages, track my itinerary and expenses, and more. On more than one occasion, it's meant the difference between a wasted trip and a fun-filled adventure.

Finding my way around a strange city

When I'm traveling, there's nothing I hate more than having to pull out a map in public. It not only makes me feel like an idiot, it's like wearing a large sign with the words “Hey! I'm a tourist!” on it. I prefer to blend in, so instead of paper maps, I use my Pocket PC and a few excellent applications.

The Vindigo City Guide (http://www.vindigo.com)

This has become my main travel application over the last few years, providing information on major U.S. cities and on London. When I'm visiting a city, I'll get recommendations on restaurants, bars, etc., from a variety of sources. Vindigo provides me with up-to-date information on restaurants, stores, bars, ATMs, museums, bathrooms, parking lots, and more. Most importantly, it provides turn-by-turn directions and a map from my current location to the destination I've selected. It even gives me the location of the nearest subway station.

Vindigo City Guide gives directions to points of interest in major US cities and in London.

All this comes in handy, particularly in London, where finding a specific pub can become a challenge. The maps are particularly helpful when I get disoriented. For example, when I enter a large museum through one door and exit through another one. The map view helps me find the closest street. I can then orient towards North and go from there. Vindigo also supports GPS integration, but I haven't tried that yet.

Vindigo's major limitation is that it only provides information on U.S. cities and on London. Still, if you travel in the U.S. and want to avoid the hassle of getting lost in an unfamiliar city, it's well worth the $25 a year subscription fee.

MetrO (http://surf.to/metro).

Since I live in Chicago, I've gotten use to getting around via a combination of walking, taking the occasional taxi, and mass transit. When I'm overseas, I favor mass transit—particularly the metro. It's quick, efficient, and cheap. However, complicated systems, maps, and multiple line transfers make this a bit of a strain. For example, my first time in Sydney I tried to find my way around the city using really awful tourist maps. I now use and swear by MetrO, an easy-to-use application that has the widest coverage of any program I've seen (250+ cities!). Most of the cities found in MetrO have an extensive “Places of Interest” listing with simple point-to-point directions. Another reason I love this program is that you can contribute to the program's database by adding information about places of interest you've visited. The developers are very responsive and helpful. MetrO doesn't take up much storage space and it's free! There's no real excuse not to have it.