THE RESOURCEFUL TRAVELER | Chicago Tribune

Language guides

Bottles in Translation

(Bottles in Translation; $15.99)

Here's a different take on language guides: more than 100 words and phrases translated from English and printed on a Nalgene plastic water bottle. The clear bottles come in a choice of colors--I'm looking at a pink one--and languages: Spanish, French or Italian. The size of the bottle, 32 ounces, may be too cumbersome for many travelers, and it doesn't come with a straw. Actually, I see this as being a delightful door prize, rather than something I'd actually pack with me on a trip. But I do have to admit that its screw-off lid is sturdily attached and wide enough so that you can use the empty bottle as a small storage compartment for sunglasses and such while you go for a swim. And here's a surprise: It's made in the U.S.A. (www.bottlesintranslation.com)

Food translation cards

(SelectWisely; $8.50)

Fun as they are, most foreign language guides share a common failing: They teach you how to parrot common phrases, but not how to discern whether your message has been understood. They teach you how to ask the question but not how to "hear" the answer. That's not so bad if the results are merely funny or frustrating. Such goofs can be the source of many fond travel memories. But if you have a life-threatening food allergy or religious convictions that forbid certain ingredients, that's when the food translation cards from SelectWisely.com might make all the difference. These laminated cards, the size of a credit card, address food-related issues in English plus any language you desire. On one card, for example, "I have a life-threatening allergy to nuts and shellfish" is written very small in English. But the translation into Hindi is written large in Hindi. Give the card to your waiter or to the chef, and you need only look at one another to know your message has been understood. Standard cards address the 40 most common food problems, from eggs to onions, and the 15 most common languages, many of the European ones plus Japanese, Thai and two forms of Chinese. For an additional fee you can special order custom cards to address less common allergies or other languages such as Hebrew, Arabic, Khmer and, yes, even Hindi. And really, you don't even have to take a trip to use them; they'll come in handy at local ethnic restaurants. (www.selectwisely.com)

Guidebooks

"Moon Handbooks Montreal & Quebec City"

(Avalon Travel; $17.95)

I've long admired the degree of research and depth of feeling that Moon Handbooks brings to its destination guides. When discipline and passion combine, as they do in this first edition on Montreal and Quebec City authored by Jennifer Edwards, the reader comes away with so much more than just the facts. On the serious side, here unraveled is the region's complicated history of the French, the British, the Iroquois and the Hurons. On the lighthearted side are pieces that focus on, for instance, five special Days for Foodies. And practical? How about the suggested itinerary for a 10-day circle drive between the two cities; and a primer on the nearby regions? Maps throughout are plentiful, clear and easy to read. It's a beautiful book--except for the photos. Grainy, washed out, over-exposed, they're so bad they create a distraction. Moon Handbooks would have done better to have left them out entirely. (ISBN-13: 978-1-56691-779-7)

"Playa del Carmen, Tulum & the Riviera Maya"

(The Countryman Press; $18.95)

Joshua Eden Hinsdale has some advice for you: "If a gecko streaks across the wall of your hotel room, don't call the front desk. Give him a name and consider him your pet." It's one of the nuggets of inspiration to be found in this first-edition title in the Great Destinations: Mexico book series from Countryman Press. Hinsdale is not a gifted writer, but he is a thoughtful one as he tells how the Maya in the Early Classic period (300-600 A.D.) used Playa de Carmen as a staging area for canoe trips to the island of Cozumel. The two destinations have been a logical pairing ever since. Other pertinent facts include a time/date line of all hurricanes since 1951; a distance chart in miles for those who plan to rent a car; legal requirements on how to get married; and, for first-timers to the area, the assurance that things like ATMs, grocery stores, Internet cafes and pharmacies exist here. And although apologies are made for including Cancun, that information is useful--which hotel has the best beach, what restaurants are within walking distance and so forth--because Cancun is, after all, the nearest airport to Playa del Carmen. Unfortunately, there's also a lot of condescending nonsense here: a sample packing list that tells you to bring toothpaste and a baseball cap, as if you can't buy such things in Mexico; a recommendation to take a stroll on the beach, as if you'd come to a beach destination and not do that. (ISBN-13: 978-1-58157-032-8)

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