What's needed to get a fifth star?

Travellers checks ensure you a fixed exchange rate, so they make it easier to stick to your budget. The big drawback is that some places change them at a hefty exchange rate, or charge a comission.  American Express website lists banks worldwide which change their checks free of charge, and so far they are a good option in major cities.

Some people are moving to the so-called travel money . It´s the modern cousin of traveller cheques – you fill it back home, and withdraw money at VISA ATMs, for example. Those cards can be blocked in case of stealth, as are the travellers checks.

And what the old-fashioned money belt filled with money? It’s inconvenient and unsafe. However, having some hard currency at hand is essencial for not getting stuck in some situations. Imagine a US$25 visa-on-arrival fee, an empty wallet, and you can get the whole picture. And don’t understimate the bureucratic skills of some organisations – once I needed US dollars to pay a fee to the Brazilian Embassy in Mozambique.

Bank card – Beware the tiny letters

Last but not least, the ATMs. You look for a Visa or Mastercard ATM machine, use your bank card, type a 6-digit PIN and withdraw money from your current account.  They  usually charge you a small ammount for every operation, and some extra fees.

There are two points to consider about that “extra”, though. First, your card operator converts the withdrawn ammount to US dollars, and if your account is outside the US, they will convert it again to take the money from your piggy safe. On my leave of absense in China, the RMB to USD, and USD to BRL conversions meant an average 3% loss compared to taking traveller cheques.

Last but not least, make sure your bank card abroad withdraws money from your current account, and doesn´t do it from your credit account. During my first trip abroad, in 2004, I was using my Visa and choosing the option “current account” from the ATMs. One day, the card stopped working, though there was some money in my current account. After a couple days I figured out my bank was taking the money from my credit account, anyway. That is, it would charge ridiculous interest rates. Even today, that happens with Bank of Brazil cards abroad. If you’re not sure how things will work, don’t leave all your eggs in one single basket.

The bottom line

Even though we lose a little money by using ATMs, even long term expats enjoy them. For a trip, probably the best strategy is to mix your sources. A possible scenario:
1. Some US dollars or euros, specially in case of a trip involving multiple countries. They´ll work for paying on-arrival visas, and can be exchanged easily for local currency before you find an ATM or can change traveller cheques;

2.  If you’re going on a shorter trip, try using travel money instead of travellers checks.

3. On the other hand, longer trips can benefit of  your bank card. As you hit the road, probably there´s a paycheck on the way, for example. I don’t thing paying US$3 for each withdrawal is a big deal compared to spending a whole morning looking for a decent exchange rate or being worried about a money belt with 1000 euros in it. Check at home if your card is enabled to be used abroad;

Anyway, make sure beforehand that you can find ATMs on the destination (Visa and Mastercard websites provide that information).

On the way to Wangfujing Street

It’s funny how a place can become so familiar, but you never get tired of it. On that map, the hotel I slept in my first night in Beijing was so close to the Forbidden City. I could barely believe I was less than a kilometer from something which had been so far until then. In fact, during my first taxi ride from that hotel, I was staring the streets looking for some sign of those ancient red walls.
And since then, every time I climbed the stairs of Tiananmen East metro station, I came to the square with the same feeling. And that gate never disappointed me.

Statue at Mao Maosoleum, Beijing, China

The Cultural Revolution worked. The movement launched in 1966,  lasted until the 70′s. Everywhere you travel in China, you might hear something like “this was destroyed/broked/crushed during the Cultural Revolution”. The plan was to get rid of everything which could be rightist – a good excuse to start one of the greatest cults of personality in modern history.  

When the so-called revolution was over, it was too late to blame it on Mao. The Gang of Four got all the responsibility, and the Chairman had already passed away. 

Nowadays, Mao Zedong is the symbol to tell everybody the PCC is the one who presses the buttons. Even to satisfy your bourgeois needs, the Great Helmsman will be there, on every yuan bill. In October, it seems every tourist from the provinces pays a visit to his mausoleum. And I’ve never met a Chinese who had something to complain about him.

The infamous campaign hasn’t eliminated all the four olds, but maybe added a couple of them.

Tower on Xi'an's city wall, August, 2007

Believe it: the terracota warriors are way overrated. The ancient Chinese capital was the starting point of the Silk Road, and that’s the big deal. You can wander among its alleys, and see the vestiges of the muslim influence in the city. I must confess I wasn’t aware of that fusion of cultures before getting there. 

The city wall is another impressive sight in Xi’an. Some old Chinese cities used to have thick walls surrounding them (not to be mistaken with China’s Great Wall). The one in Xi’an was restored, and Pingyao claims to have the only original remaining city wall. Beijing’s was nearly 50km (30 miles) long, but fell down to give place the car-jammed Second Ring Road.

And what about the famous terracota warriors? The idea of a big army to protect the emperor’s body is really interesting, but seeing the statues on that sort of big warehouse was a bit disappointing. The guys who make the postcards are really skilled on photography. And the directors from The Mummy: Tomb of Dragon Emperor, very imaginative. 

Anyway, China is a great country. And, as my second-favourite place, hopefully a lot of posts will be dedicated to the Middle Kingdom.   

http://www.popphoto.com/popularphotographyfeatures/5647/tech-support-special.html

Home of gladiators, tigers and a big line of tourists

Some landmarks impress not only because of their size, or architecture. They are so well known that you see them all your life through the media, and one day one of them is there, so alive, before your eyes. 

The Colosseum is a good example of that. It represents, itself, Italy. You can wander in the some piazza and maybe you think it could fit somewhere else in Europe. However, it’s impossible to have that feel while walking around that ancient stadium.

 About the picture

A lot of people like to take pictures from the whole Colosseum. Naturally, I’ve got mine, too. And they seem like a thousand postcards sold on every corner. 

Therefore, I preferred to get a snapshot which could show both some detail and give an idea of where it took place. Hopefully, some visitors will agree with me.

When you focus on a scene, the camera checks how much light is available on that environment, and ajusts itself to produce sort of an “average” scene, as we already know. The main problem is: what if that scene was supposed to be a bit dark?

Probably the camera will take the picture with a very slow shutter speed, so you get the so-called average image, taking a balanced distribution of dark and bright spots on the scene. But chances are some points get too bright, or moving elements get blurry. 

To solve those special cases, most cameras come with a menu to change exposure. Roughly speaking, it’s like you’re saying to your camera: “this scene is supposed to be a bit darker than your average picture”.

Anyway, with that method the camera will help itself by setting automatically the shutter speed and the apperture. That approach is very convenient. 

Unfortunately, there isn’t a standard button among different camera models. Most cameras follow the traditional “P” mode, on which you can control the exposure up and down. As a rule of thumb, when I’m on a darker room, I set it down a few steps, take a picture and check on the viewfinder if that setting is ok. 

Of course, don’t forget to set the exposure to the default value, in order to prepare the camera for ideal light conditions.

Legong Dancer, Bali - flashes were forbidden on that presentation, and even with exposure set a few steps below, her hands are shown a little blurry. But the main subject of the scene - her face, looks preety sharp

Look to both sides before crossing, please

Riding a scooter seems an essential part of the Roman experience. I skipped it, for the sake of my good health, but what about capturing some images of them? 

About the picture

Beginners usually think that taking that kind of photo, with a sharp subject and the background on motion blur, is a big deal. But you’ll see it’s preety easy. 

When the vehicle subject is coming, point the camera towards it. As soon as it gets to the point you want to take a picture, press the shutter button. The big deal is to keep following the subject with the camera even after you pressed the button. Personally, I prefer looking at the viewfinder instead of using the LCD viewer, because it gives me more stability. And, remember, taking it on low light conditions can be hard, without some extra camera setup.

After a few tries, you can take a sharp image. And some impressed friends, I hope so.

A lot of good tutorials, and camera manuals, go through a detailed explanation about apperture and exposure time. Let’s try a more practical and introductory approach. Without going technical, it’s possible to have an idea of the reasons sometimes the camera doesn’t behave as we expect it to do. 

Let’s say you’re taking a picture on the automatic mode. Your equipment will do what it can to generate an “average” scene, neither too dark or too bright. So, if it’s a bit dark, the flash will be turned on. 

“But I just want the camera to capture what I see!”

That’s the main complaint of beginners – we’re photographing indoors, the flash turns on and the background becomes way too dark, and the foreground becomes flat. On the other hand, if you turn it off manually, the picture gets blurry. 

Do you remember the average scene mentioned above? That’s all about it. If the scene is darker than that average, the camera on automatic mode tries to compensate that with flash. If it’s turned off, the camera keeps the shutter open during some extra time, so more light gets in. The drawback: the more time the shutter is open, more chances we have to get some blur.

By now, try turning off the flash. Then hold firmly your camera, or lay it on a base, to avoid shaking. I, for example, took very nice pictures at night just by putting a camera on a small bench, without needing to take a tripod around.

Probably, on darker environments, you’ll have to use the flash. But we’ve got other options. On Part II we’ll talk a little about the exposure meter, and how it’s related to this brief introduction.