Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) October 11, 2010–Europ Assistance USA (EA USA), assisting corporate customers and employees when the unexpected happens, and CSA Travel Protection, a Europ Assistance company dedicated to providing affordable travel insurance and emergency assistance services, recently debuted the NetGlobers Dos & Don’ts application for the iPhone. Created specifically to help global travelers avoid societal blunders, the Dos & Don’ts app is available now from iTunes.

With the Dos & Don’ts app, travellers may now avoid cultural blunders that can arise from a simple unfortunate gesture. Nodding one’s head, making certain signs with a hand, and even looking a certain way at people are all key aspects of body language that can quickly lead to a misunderstanding. While at times humorous, these instances can also be offensive to the person on the receiving end. In an educational and instructive manner, the new app explains common gestures, phrases and hand signals to avoid.

The free version of the Dos & Don’ts app offers audio programs, videos and language tips for countries in Europe, while the premium app ($.99) also includes the same for several Asian countries (China, India, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam). Two future editions will include South America and the Middle East, two regions with intensely rooted customs.

In addition to audio programs that help you learn common phrases for each country, you can also look up common “dos & don’ts” by country or theme, such as Body Language, Visiting People, Insults, Table Manners, Bar Culture and Gifts.

The Dos & Don’ts app, designed for the iPhone and iPod touch, is a companion to the Netglobers.com website, Europ Assistance’s real-world travel advice destination providing travelers with country-specific travel, medical and safety information and tips.

Both the free and premium versions of Dos & Don’ts are available for download from the iTunes App Store or the Netglobers website.

About CSA Travel Protection
CSA Travel Protection is dedicated to providing affordable travel insurance and emergency assistance services to protect travelers’ valuable investments and provide the peace of mind one deserves while traveling. Since its inception in 1991, CSA has developed a reputation for standing behind its customers and evolving products and services to meet their needs. Through superior customer service, extensive experience and industry-leading innovation, CSA is with its clients every step of the way, whenever and wherever they are needed. Headquartered in San Diego, CA, CSA is part of the Europe Assistance Group.

About Europ Assistance USA
Europ Assistance USA takes care of corporate customers and employees when the unexpected happens, anywhere in the world, providing immediate support and assistance to individuals in times of emergency and distress. Leveraging its worldwide network of 38 always-open multilingual assistance centers and 410,000 partners in 208 countries and territories, EA USA offers personalized medical travel assistance, identity theft resolution, data breach response and beneficiary assistance services to insurance companies, financial institutions, corporations and government organizations. Headquartered in Bethesda, MD, EA USA is owned by Generali and part of the Europ Assistance Group.

Source: PRWeb

Today’s Q&A is with Round the World traveler Kenneth Kan, who is currently in Europe. Keep up with Ken’s backpacking adventures on his blog, Where is Ken?

What made you decide to do a RTW trip?
I’ve wanted to backpack RTW since high school as I desire to see the world with my own eyes rather than through magazines or TV. When my stars aligned and I was fortunate enough to have both time and money, I took the leap.

How did you prepare for the trip?
I read ‘First Time Around the World’ by Doug Lansky and ‘Vagabonding’ by Rolf Potts. I used Bootsnall (www.bootsnall.com) and http://www.travelindependent.info as my research resources.

How long is your trip? Where have you been?
My plan is to go about a year to a year and a half. I originally wanted to do all continents (except Antarctica) but decided to skip Australia as well. So far, I’m almost done with my Europe leg of the journey (including Egypt and Morocco) and am about to embark to Southern Africa and go from there.

What was the most amazing or inspiring place you visited?
I’ve been asked what my favorite country is. To be honest, I can’t quite make even a top 5 list, they are all so unique in their own way, complete with their pros and cons. But if I had to pick one, I really liked Turkey because it combined Islam and the West. It was beautiful and I found the people to be friendly. And the food was awesome, I ate bureks almost every morning.

Who was the most interesting person you met?
A fellow traveler named Kazuhiro, a Japanese guy who was my roommate in Dubrovnik, Croatia. I was first intrigued by his funky hairstyle. I later found out he makes leather handbags by hand (with designs inspired by nature, which he loves immensely) and sells them boutique to boutique in Florence and now, Vienna. He told me he was riding a bicycle across parts of Europe and I thought that was quite neat. He loves nature so he camps along the way and sometimes, kind strangers he meets would take him in and give him food/shower/a bed. I asked him if he wanted to become the Japanese Versace and he told me that his dream is to grow chemical-free rice and feed his family and friends with it. He’s a very simple guy, who wants to live a simple life. I admire and respect that.

Is there any place you’ve visited that you would never go back to?
No, not really. I had bad experiences here and there with a city or two but it was mainly due to uncontrollable circumstances like bad weather. On a different day, those cities would have been lovely, I’m sure.

What would you say to aspiring Round the World Travelers?
You only have one life. If it’s something you’ve always wanted to do, try to do your best to make it happen. The hardest part is going.

What have you learned about yourself? The world?
I hope this doesn’t sound negative but I’ve learned that traveling solo suits me better. It’s just personal preference. I’ve met and traveled with others along the way, and it was always a relief when we parted ways and I got to travel solo again. Maybe I’m just selfish in that I like to do everything my way and on my own time. It’s not that I can’t compromise, but that’s just what I prefer. But maybe down the road, if I go with a good friend or loved one, things might be different. As for the world, I have learned that most people are inherently friendly and helpful. Never be afraid to approach a total stranger to ask for help. They will more than likely do their best to help you. But always be wary as well, just in case, especially with people who approach you in an over-friendly manner, as they may have hidden motives. I’ve met people who said they were lured into clubs by their “friend” and ended up having to pay a huge bill at the end. Use your common sense.

Where do you plan to go next?
After Europe, the countries in Southern Africa. Then Asia and beyond. Can’t wait.

Everyone knows that if you take your cellular phone out of the country you are setting yourself up for a gargantuan phone bill the following month. Bills can easily climb to hundreds of even thousands of dollars if you are not careful, and that is just on a normal phone that only makes calls.

The features that make the iPhone such an amazing device are the same features that can make the iPhone the most expensive phone to take out of the country. All of the apps that exist on the iPhone are data intensive, and they can eat up hundreds of megabytes without you even noticing. An iPhone owner traveling out of the country could easily find that he or she owes thousands of dollars to AT&T if the correct preparations are not made in advance.

This Associated Press article outlines some of the key preparations iPhone owners should make before traveling abroad.

Some of the suggestions include, setting your iPhone to flight mode, using wireless internet hotspots as often as possible and using skype for phone calls. Check the article for more tips to be sure you don’t overpay next time you leave the country.

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