About Jazzy Traveller

Jazzy Traveller is for people who like to plan their travels by themselves, out of the road of mass tourism.These travellers are - independent!

Most people like to travel and discover new places! Some are inclined to buy well organized trip from big tour operators. Others love to travel alone because traveling alone offers you complete freedom to decide why, when, how and where to go. You can be more spontaneous with less compromise.

However, traveling with others can really add more enjoyment to your trip. You share common experiences, memories and have someone with whom to reflect. 

And - it is – cheaper!

That is where JazzyTraveller can help: to enable anyone to find a travel partner so - adventure will become even better because you can share it with someone!

At the end – your travel pal can became your life long friend.

Please comment and email me!

http://www.jazzytraveller.com/

Yoga Wear - our Winners!

Part - Two
by Maya T. and Lena Stefanovic

Yes !!! Our WINNERS are  Wellicious and LVR Fashion! Congratulations! Second is Athleta by Gap and third N---*. Bravo! Thanks to all our participants.

Wellicious

If you want to be hugged and comfortable but in a feminine and luxurious way then Wellicious is right Yoga
Wellicious is a London based lifestyle, eco-friendly brand founded by Yogista Heike Schnell in 2007, and is
Their apparel is on expensive side but  - it will last and you’ll be sure that after you bent over into a forward bend pose 50 times there is no that see-through factor that nobody likes to experience.
Wellicious use natural fabrics – cotton, Lyocell and cashmere – all easy to wear and easy to take care for. Their apparel is naturally breathable and soft against your skin.
Wellicious collection is casual, timeless and versatile thus can be used not just for Yoga but for everyday wear too.

Founder and her team are very proud that they are able to use sustainable materials ethically produced and packed in Europe.

What else one can ask for?

LVR Fashion

Again, another earth-friendly brand that is loved for their roomy and so, so soft tops as well as incredibly flattering bottoms with that convenient long fold that helps us hiding little problems areas around waist and tush.
LVR was founded in 2010 by Eric Clarke. It is Los Angeles based company and as Wellicious it is designed and produced in their own community using organically farmed materials. LVR yoga wear is colourful yet made from low-impact dyes and vintage washes so it is especially good for people with allergies to certain chemicals and fabrics (like me being allergic to all non wrinkle fabrics containing carcinogenic formaldehyde).
LVR yoga wear is playful, functional and flattering and again – so, so soft!

Athleta by GAP

GAP is well known company for their both casual and active lifestyle apparel. Athleta is newer to the GAP family and as expected always up-to-date.

There is not much I can say about Athleta that is not already known – we all love their light, breathable tops, their perfect blend of cotton and Lycra, their soft and at the same time strong sport bras, good quality bottoms, wide assortment of hoodies, jackets, and accessories…
Athleta is expression of simplicity, functionality and style.

Now, which brand would you use depend on you and your specific needs. I am sure that there are great companies out there that are unknown to me so please, feel free to comment bellow this post.
                                                               
                            * * * * *
Cute Quotes:
- It’s astounding how much one’s stress level goes down with a simple act of switching from skinny jeans to yoga pants.
- ‘Those yoga pants are hideous’. Said no one ever.
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*  Unfortunately I got an email on October 7,2014 from N--- company that they are not granting permission to use or modify their trademarks, logos, images, advertising or similar materials therefore I am not able to write about this great company.
I  removed  text and photos that I previously published. I assure our readers that Jazzy Traveller always ask for the permission to publish other company's name or photos and N--- was not an exemption. I apologize to N--- for briefly using their name and photos
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Yoga WEAR

Part - One

by Maya T. and Lena Stefanovic

Courtesy of Wellicious.com

I wanted to know what kind of yoga wear would make me feeling the best while doing my poses and I didn’t want to spend more money than necessary, thus Comfort and Price were my first criteria when I set myself into yoga wear buying mission!

Lena (our Stylist) and me, we started our research and we tried tons of yoga clothes.
After asking many yoga devotees (including me) what they want the most from yoga clothes we narrowed down 3 requests that almost everybody expressed when yoga wear is in Question: 

 - comfort,

 - fit and 

 - fabric that breathes.

However, more we did research more we were aware of the particularities that we need to check before we make a decision.

• We like comfort but we want to look stylish
• Fabric should ‘breathe’ and cool down while in asana but also keep us warm while in the relaxation!
• Yoga wear should fit but be loose too! 

• Then - we all want to avoid harming environment, mostly animals.
• We like Fair Trade certified clothes and equally we like to have clothes made in our own countries, employing our own people.
• We want to have clothes that are made from organic and natural fibers as well as from recycled materials.
• We want to have soft, flattering yoga clothes that hold shape during yoga class

Dedication Jacket by Athleta

We looked at many companies that are solely or partly involved in producing Yoga wear:

1. Some like N---*, Reebok, Calvin Klein or Gap are well known sport wear producers, with hundreds of stores all over the world. 

They are all equally good in how their yoga wear is made, their fit is great and, surprisingly, their prices are pretty equal and not as high as someone would think they could be.

In this group I like Gap and their ATHLETA. I like their tops for the simple reason that they fit my body but they are loose at the same time and mostly because fabric is so thin that feels great and dries so fast. Moreover, GAP has another line – Old Navy – inexpensive and quite good.

2. We were more drawn to this group of Yoga wear producers – smaller, younger yet firmly established companies such as:

Wellicious (from United Kingdom),  

Courtesy of Wellicious.com

LVR fashion ( USA), 

Oysho (Spain),  

Solow Sport,

Purusha People,

Prana ,  

NUX ,  

Lily Lotus ,  

Mika Yoga wear (all from USA),  

Lolë women,  

Lululemon 

Joe Fresh ( all from Canada)

(Joe Fresh - being the cheapest and not at all less stylish)

These companies are mostly focused on Yoga and Pilates, their production is smaller and definitely more oriented towards organic cotton, cashmere, recycled materials and they are able to adjust their clothing line faster.

After all, Lena did her research among her friends in Switzerland and France and me here in Canada and USA – and we got our winners: 

Wellicious and LVR Fashion from our second group and ATHLETA (GAP) and N--- from the first group of Yoga wear manufacturers.

Please read more about these companies in our next post.

Tee by Purusha People, USA

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* This name is removed due to company policy: "not grant permission to use or modify our trademarks, logos, images, advertising or similar materials."

Travellers' Luggage Choice

If you want to travel light and with no stress then it is very important to make a right choice when buying luggage. More important than the well-chosen luggage is only the fact that you must not forget the documents and travel insurance.

Many of us are over packers. For 1 week of vacation on Adriatic Coast my traveller friend once carried 4 shorts, 3 skirts, 3 dresses, tons of Ts, light sweater for cold nights, thicker sweater for who-knows-when, when temperature is never bellow 23C, 5 swimsuits, all make up- because ‘you never know’ and 3 towels – one large enough to fill out her whole suitcase, and shoes… shoes – let me tell you just this – that was insane! She ended up wearing bikini all day, 1 shorts, 2 Ts and flip flops that she bought there! High heels sandals (even low heel) were useless, jeans to hot to wear, sweaters totally unused and make up – well, her all make up melted down!

And, she learned her lesson. 

She changed her 30” suitcase to 19” carry on bag and limited space meant – limited stuff.

  

There are three reasons why you should choose to travel lightly:

1. It is – Cheaper !!! Baggage Airline fees are growing every year!!
2. It is – Convenient !!! Less stuff means greater mobility, no baggage check-in or waiting for baggage to arrive; stairs, cobbled streets, narrow passageways are no problems anymore...
3. It reduces Stress !! You are not wasting time and energy while packing – because everything you carry is just enough and sufficient.

Travelpro  Luggage - Maxlite 2

 

Now, which kind of luggage you would buy depend strictly on your budget and your travel needs.

Briggs & Riley Cabin Spinner

If you are business traveller baggage for you should be not only lightweight, but well organized with specific gadget compartments and pockets.

Young traveller prefers Backpacks or rolling Duffel bag. 

There are menu luggage manufacturers today and hundreds of choices. My travellers pals, people that I interviewed and me we tried a large number of different luggage and we got our favorites. 

All of these travellers decided that the least practical as a carry-on in terms of storing under the airplane seat or in overhead storage bins are polycarbonate luggage, although they are cute. I always liked 2 wheeler but whether it is going to be 4 wheeler (spinner) or 2 wheeler luggage (rollaboard) depends on personal preference, so it came up that 4 wheelers (with a brake system) are favorable by majority of travellers and almost everyone agreed that luggage made of nylon is the most durable. Also, everyone loved expandable carry on – “just in case we buy some nice souvenirs…” Even guys agreed!

 

Alpha 2 by TUMI

Samsonite X'Blade

My absolute favorite luggage is by TUMI – Alpha 2. I love everything about it - size, functionality, reinforced interior, 2 wheels, and color. It is on the expensive side and not that light (4.8kg/ 9lb). 

If I need to switch to the lighter luggage my choice is – Samsonite X’Blade that weight just 2.9 kg/6.40lb. 

We also love Boxford by Longchamp, Spark by Samsonite, Cabin Spinner and Baseline by Briggs & Riley and Maxlite2 by Travelpro, all expandable. The best for the price ($75.00) is Traveler’s Choice ConventionalII Rugged (4kg/9lb) – we loved its many pockets as well as sturdiness.

Beside Alpha 2 by TUMI and X"Blade by Samsonite this is our Carry- on Luggage CHOICE plus 2 hand bags by TUMI

Now, having a perfect luggage that suits your travel style is not enough – please keep in mind that how you pack is also very important. All my interviewers agreed that roll-up squeeze method is better than layering but if you prefer layering try to stack sheets of tissue between clothing to prevent wrinkling.

Although, that was the least problem between us, true travellers!

Now, knowing all this – just ‘Hit the road Jack’ and have a great travel experience!

By Lena Stefanovic,

Stylist

Geneva, Switzerland

How to Pack Smart

Have you ever experienced lost baggage? Most of us had and I have to admit - it’s nightmare.

That’s why I pack brutally light. 

5 years ago I had a stop over in Rome, Italy. I wanted to see some concert and

I knew that I had a very short time to change into my concert clothes so I took a nice pair of pants, tunic and scarf with me in carry on luggage. Mind, I didn’t know that my ‘real’ luggage will be lost.

Usually I travel in Yoga pants, t-shirt, and zip up hoodie and that’s exactly what I did that day. Hat on to Air France though. I got, as their sign of apology for the lost baggage, a plastic zipped bag with white T shirt ( with their logo), tooth brush and paste, make up remover, mints, nail filler, comb, small package of Kleenex,  band aid, QTips, tampon, small bottle with some nice, light l’eau de cologne and a – condom!!! French as they are – being prepared for every occasion is always a necessity.

Thank you Air France! That was great.

I got my big suitcase in the morning of my fourth day in Geneva and I had it back in Toronto, no problems.

But, that was a day I learnt my lesson: pack smart which means - pack light, as little as you can and believe me everybody can pack light.

So, my first rule is - make a list.

Samsonite

Second would be – buy a small, light, carry on luggage on wheels.

 




Third rule is to pack essentials in 2 colors- decide what you like the most. I like navy and white.                                           
                                                                                     

Fourth rule is - Don’t forget your passport and other documents or medications.

Everything else you can buy or find wherever you travel. Well, OK, not if you travel to South Pole…Obviously, there would be some additional rules when you travel to uninhabited parts of the world during the extreme temperature.

Most of the time we don’t need much when we are going on a vacation. I would say 95% of the time we are over packing. Being a traveller most of my life I realized that I need just few things, especially if I travel to some warm destination.

 

This would be my first choice...

I do my list and my list for – warm destination -  is not changed in last 5 years. I have my small suitcase, carry on to be precise and I put these things inside:

1. Two T shirts

2. One longer skirt.

3. One shorts

4. 2 underwear and bras

5. One light, long sweater

6. One pair of socks

7. Two swimsuits

8. One scarf and one hat

9. One pair of flip flops

10. One ballet shoes, preferably silver

11. documents, mini I pad

12. Moisturizer

13. Exact amount of vitamins

14. Credit card

15. IPad and

16. Yoga outfit and my converse – which is always on me not in the suitcase.

That’s it!

If I need more clothes, jewellery, sun screen, toothpaste etc. I can always buy it at my destination.

... and this is second...

I am an artist and I always pack my camera but I do only, and only photos of something that I know would inspire my work. Everything else, beach photos, town photos, all of these you can get in a good book shop, and done better then we can ever do. I used to buy postcards, as my ‘memory stock’ and some of them I would mail to myself as a small, crazy memorabilia. Long time ago I decided that I don’t need to overload my camera and computer with photos that can be found in every book store anyway… not to mention Google images…

So, I travel light and free. I am NOT waiting at the airport for the luggage, I am not going, ever, to be a victim of another ‘lost baggage claim’, condom or not coming with that, and I simply don’t want to worry about anything when I am ‘out there’.

And – who cares if you are wearing the same thing every day? As long as it is clean – that’s not important.

I’ve read this somewhere and it became my motto: 

When in doubt, leave it out.

By Lena Stefanovic
Geneva, Switzerland                                                                                   

Roaming Tips While Travelling

It’s happening. We heard about obnoxious roaming charges from our friends, our kids, media and - some of us experienced it first hand. We take our vacation, we are happy to leave everyday life and have at least six no pressure, relaxing days and at some point we turn on our cell phone and text or take a photo and – forget to turn it off. 

Unfortunately data usage is growing by minute, or by MB. We return home, fresh and full of energy and we find that our cell phone bill is as high as sky. Surprise is replaced with certainty that it was a mistake and after discussion with mobile provider we are shocked, angry, disappointed and – deflated.

What we all should know about roaming before we travel?

1. Roaming is a service that allows you to use your cell phone outside of your provider's coverage area and it is expensive both for incoming and outgoing calls.

2. Before you travel, contact your service provider and check your Contract. If you have a nationwide coverage plan, roaming charges may apply just when you travel outside of Canada.

3. Don’t forget that Roaming charges apply not just to voice calls, but text messages, the transmission of pictures, Internet access and other data that you receive, upload or send when outside your home network

4. Your  roaming charges will soar  simply by leaving your Smartphone turned on while travelling outside your home area so shut of the phone, turn off network connections or set your phone on airplane mode.

I checked few of our Top Mobile providers – Bell, TELUS, Rogers, Fido, Wind and Virgin Mobile.

All of them have plans or roaming data pass (Rogers, TELUS), bundles and pay- per – use rates (Bell). All prices are very similar.

I like that TELUS has Data Travel Tracker Tool and Data Calculator. It’s very simple, everybody can use it, even if you are not TELUS user.

Look if your provider has Threshold. TELUS has data blocking tool that block any usage over 100 threshold. Nicely, they send text message when you reach that. Similar is with Rogers - no overage fees - data usage is suspended when the Roaming Data Pass usage or time limit is reached.

With Bell you'll always be billed per minute, in Canadian funds. Wind has flat rate (20c/min) or plans and Virgin is charging 75c for sent text (incoming are free!!).

The most important Q is - How do I know I am roaming?

Easy – look to where you typically see your carrier’s name on the phone screen. If it’s a different company, that means you are using their network. They’re going to charge your carrier for that activity, and that’s what shows up on your bill.

Also, when you arrive in a place outside home network, your provider will send you a text message to alert you that you are now roaming.

In conclusion: 

Rule No 1 – Contact your carrier before trip and know your Contract.

2. Don’t leave your cell phone ON and definitely turn OFF Data roaming and service whenever your cell phone is on.

SIM card, Photo by Lasop, Stock xchange

3. There are many Wi-Fi FREE hotspots around the world and use it when you need to connect to Internet. I always carry my mini iPad, but having your own hotspot may always be good investment too if you are frequent traveller.

4. As an alternative to roaming, in many countries you can get access to local wireless service, by obtaining a SIM card from one of the local service providers in the area you will be travelling to, or by purchasing an inexpensive pre-paid phone.

With these Rules your cell/mobile Bill will never be high!

Now, you can have a great vacation!

 

Scuba in Cuba, Photo coutesy of  E.B.