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Any delays while travelling can cause major hiccups. That’s why it’s important to know the visa requirements before setting out, or else you’ll find yourself donating to the “Uniform Fund” of the guards at the border. Craig Gerard looks inside the confusing world of visas. The first thing you need to remember while applying for a visa is reciprocity. When Country A wants to raise its visa fees for travellers coming from Country B, then Country B will probably turn around and raise its fees for people coming from Country A. This can happen almost at any time, so always be ready with some extra …

To the uninitiated, life inside an embassy is shrouded with mystery and 007 spies lurking in the shadows. Craig Gerard breaks past the fortress walls to find out what your country’s embassy can do for you.It is late on a Saturday night and your tuk tuk is involved in a fairly serious accident. While you wait for emergency services to arrive and contemplate a trip to the hospital, you take out your phone and start to scroll through your programmed numbers. Who do you call? If you are an expat, you may call your embassy first. It is reassuring to hear a familiar accent on the other end of the li…

This month Sok Yeng looks at the pros and cons of buying a Mac.

In October, I bought myself a sexy 13" MacBook Pro. The reason? More and more of my clients are using Mac.  And since I can run Windows on a new Mac laptop with gorgeous graphics, I have decided to make the switch! In the first week, I struggled a little switching between open programs and windows as I’m used to task bar clicks. Switching between programs was ok but confusing when trying to switch between open documents in the same program.  But it turns out you can set up Expose (hot corners) which allows you to display everything at a glance on your screen by just moving your mouse pointer to one of the 4 ‘hot’ corners of the screen.

The new Macintosh laptops are very well designed for mobility, multimedia and great for web browsing.  And Mac is a sexy computer.  It has very cool features that you will love like the multi-sensor touchpad for better cruising and smooth preview and zooming on pictures. For recent converts from PC the great thing about the new Macs is that they enable you to run Microsoft Windows so that you can still use those PC programs that you can’t live without.

Once you get used to the new Mac, it's actually very easy to navigate. The auto screen brightness adjustment is a wonderful break-through technology which helps your eyes avoid confronting a bright screen while in a dark room. Instead, the screen dims when it's dark and brightens up in brighter light. The backlit keyboard is just brilliant. Previewing pictures, PDF files and office documents is fast and makes sense as the program is already built-in with the latest Mac Operating System. Less chance of a virus infection is for sure a big advantage over a Windows machine. You also don't need to worry about accessing your work files on a Windows server anymore. It's fully compatible.

If you are interested in purchasing a Mac, the Geek's tip on buying a Mac in Cambodia is to really investigate online which local shops are authorized resellers and also authorized service providers. Some shops only sell but cannot repair which can lead to a huge headache. I would recommend Uni Young, just north of Central Market near Bank street. They are a registered Apple service provider.

Uni Young, 2D1 Street 53, Tel. 012 866 667

By the time you read this column chances are that you have spent ...and spent...and spent again to cover the cost of your festive season. Here are some tips on how to recover from a severe financial hangover brought about by all that spending.

Even though we live in Asia we are certainly not immune to Christmas. Although there are no official figures for Christmas spending for expats living abroad it stands to reason that if you are if you take part in seasonal festivities you will invariably be spending money. Sometimes you will spend - and borrow - more than you should.

If you are one of these people, do not waste time worrying about it. Instead put a plan in place that will help you get back on financial track. Here are a few pointers to help you do that.

Annual Overview
Start by creating an overall plan for the whole year. Make sure that it is realistic and achievable and monitor it regularly – once a month is a good benchmark – once a week is better!

Budget for Holidays
Instead of just spending haphazardly on travel and holidays as well as big ticket items that take your fancy – cars, stereos, computers – make your budget part of your annual plan.

Manage Your Debt
Pay off the credit cards or loans with the highest interest charges first. By prioritising your debt you will reduce unnecessary interest payments. Try to switch to credit cards that offer you something in return – like points that can save money when you travel etc.

Start Saving
Pay yourself first by putting money aside on a regular monthly basis. One of the best ways to do this is to pay a fixed amount in to a fund.

Keep Your Eye on the Financial Ball
Instead of blindly paying off credit cards, loans and bills, monitor your payments regularly to see that you are getting the best deals.

Spend Less Than You Earn
If you apply Pointers 1-5 you will find that this particular pointer will be easier to achieve. Spending less than you earn is much easier when you have a solid overall plan.

So, if you have overdone it this holiday season and you are nursing a financial hangover don’t fret. Instead just get on and fix it. Due care and attention might be all that is required to get you back on track. Happy New Year!

This month AsiaLIFE celebrates its third birthday, hot from her date with Jackie Chan, Nora Lindstrom has the enviable task of interviewing the boss.How long have you been in Southeast Asia and why did you originally come?I first came to Vietnam as a VSO volunteer in 2003 to lecture at the Institute of International Relations in Hanoi. I thought I was going to be discussing development politics with the nation’s future ambassadors, but ended up teaching general conversation to a bunch of giggly 18-year-old students. That didn’t work out for me so I soon started moonlighting for an expat magazi…