Recently, I volunteered to be one of the editor in my company newsletter 'waZZap'. I'm lucky enough to have a column to myself to write about travelling. Here's my article for our first publication:
Be warned, this is not your regular travel guide!Air Products headquarter is located in a small town in Pennsylvania, East Coast USA. It’s a 20 hours flight from Malaysia and approximately 1.5 hours taxi ride away from the port of arrival.
Imagine taking this long journey from Malaysia to the States. One would think jetlag is inevitable, and would normally spend the next day snoozing away in the hotel room. Not for me.
As a travel-holic, I tend to squeeze every bit of my time overseas to get the most out of the trip. You might wonder how I overcome that annoying jetlag. As soon as I arrive in Allentown (most flights from Asia arrive in the evening and you have the next day free before you start working), I would go straight to bed and pass out until the next morning. On that very next day, first thing to do when you wake up is to adjust your watch and most importantly, your body clock to US time. You need to accept the fact that you are already in a new continent. Forget about Malaysian time. Trust me, it’ll make your life less miserable.
Next, I would usually head right out to Allentown airport to collect my rental car. For Malaysians, driving in the US is a whole new experience. They drive at the ‘wrong’ side of the road, with the driver sitting on the left side of the car. Hence the term Left-Hand Drive. It takes a little time to get used to it, but once you got the hang of it, you’ll be fine. One tip to remember, the left lane is the fast lane. If you are on a 2-way-street and you find yourself nearing the road shoulder on your left, you are driving on the wrong side!!!
So now you got your rental car, it’s time to fill up your day with activities that keep you awake! For me, what gets me ticking most is SHOPPING! Of course, for non-shoppers, you could always fill your day with some other activities like sight-seeing, sports etc. Just try to stay away from the temptation of your hotel bed until the sun sets.
For the benefit of you shopaholics out there, here’s a list of shopping centres that I frequented in the vicinity of Allentown:
Lehigh Valley Mall: http://www.lehighvalleymall.com/
Promenade: http://www.thepromenadeshopsatsauconvalley.com/
King of Prussia: http://www.kingofprussiamall.com/
For better bargains, head out to the premium outlets in Pennsylvania. They are around 1 hour’s drive away from Allentown and they make a perfect one-day-trip. You’ll be so excited seeing those affordable prices of branded items back home, you would forget about your jetlag, at least temporarily. The following list shows my personal favourite outlet stores:
Philadelphia Premium Outlets: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/store_listing.asp?id=75
Crossings Premium Outlets: http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=59
Lancaster Tanger Outlets: http://www.tangeroutlet.com/lancaster
Shopping tips:
1) Look for tax exemption for tourists. Macy and some other big departmental stores offer this and you could get the tax rebate immediately at the customer service counter.
2) For the factory outlet stores, check out their websites for discount coupons and bring it with you when you shop.
3) For some premium outlets, you could join their VIP club for free and print out those coupons to get members-only extra discounts! Isn’t that exciting?!
Now that you have overcome the first day of jetlag, the following days would be up to your own determination to stay awake in day light. This method works for me every time. It might or might not work for you, but good luck trying! :p
