At Bloomberg Pursuits, we love to travel. And we always want to make sure we’re doing it right. So we’re talking to globe-trotters in all of our luxury fields — food, wine, sports, cars, real estate — to learn about their high-end hacks, tips, and off-the-wall experiences. These are the Distinguished Travel Hackers.
Trey Yingst, 29, joined Fox News as a Jerusalem-based foreign correspondent five years ago, and since then he’s earned accolades for reporting everywhere from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip to the front lines of Kyiv. He was a precocious talent even in college, when he founded News2Share, an online media outlet, before landing his job at Fox.
He logged more than 70,000 miles on the road last year, traveling by plane, train and car. “This past year, I’ve logged a lot more miles on the ground, because I’ve been in Ukraine for half the year,” he says. “It’s a massive country, and most of the time we fly to Warsaw, then cross the border into Ukraine for the seven-hour drive to Kyiv.” The eastern front is a further seven to 12 hours. When he flies, Yingst relies on United, because it services several key US hubs from Tel Aviv, where he now lives.
These are his travel tips.
Why you should apply for a second passport.
I have two U.S. passports. I need them because I am based in Tel Aviv. In order to work in Israel, I have to have a work visa. But I often travel to places like Lebanon, Afghanistan or Iraq, countries that do not have friendly relations with Israel or consider it an enemy state. So I use what’s called a clean passport. It’s what my second one serves as. To get one, you have to fill out a special application, the DS-82.
A second also allows you to use one passport to process paperwork, like getting a visa for a country while you’re traveling on the other one. It also gives you flexibility. I had to ship my passport overnight to our bureau in London once, because I needed an Afghanistan visa while Kabul was falling. There’s no embassy there. When I tell people I have two passports, oftentimes they say, “Wow, I wish I could get a second one.” I always tell them, “You can. You just have to apply.” It’s not a secret.
I grew up traveling quite a bit, and I went to some interesting destinations as a child. My grandmother went to Easter Island. My family thought the best way to educate us was to travel. I have a twin sister, and as kids we would do these workbooks that were delivered in the mail about different countries: Highlights Top Secret Adventures. They would have coloring, facts, trivia. I always loved the Egypt one, so when I turned 16, we went there. It’s my favorite country now, because I love the pyramids, and in large part because of those travel books.
Create an ad hoc alarm in any hotel room with easily available items.
If I’m staying somewhere and I’m concerned about the ground security, I place a water bottle from the room next to the door and balance a small item on it—a camera battery, for example, or a TV remote. That way, if someone opens the door while I’m sleeping, I’ll hear the battery getting knocked off the bottle.
I started doing that when I was in Gaza. I was concerned that someone would come into my room even if I had locked the door. It’s not just applicable in war zones, either. Anyone traveling anywhere in the world knows that hotels can be notoriously unsafe. Even if you have a “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door, it doesn’t stop a staff member from entering. This is a makeshift alarm that allows me to sleep better.
Packing this tiny item is like having a second pair of hands.
I used to do rock climbing quite a bit in college. When I first got into journalism, I set off around the world on my own, to learn about the craft. I took a carabiner with me, which my dad suggested. And I’ve always taken one ever since: Clip it to your belt buckle, your backpack, and it’s really like an extra set of hands.
In May 2021, there were protests in Jerusalem between Israeli security forces and Palestinians. Israel and Gaza went to war for about 11 days. We rushed to the scene when there was breaking news, and I was trying to grab my camera, but I also had my gas mask, so I clipped it to my carabiner. During the clashes, the security forces fired tear gas and I needed the mask. It’s also a way of attaching your backpack to your rolling luggage.
Technology is great, but always keep an analog backup, too.
Write your essential numbers down. Don’t just keep them in your phone. Put them on a slip of paper, and put that in your passport, so that if you lose your phone, you have the emergency number to call: a U.S. Embassy, for example.
Pick the right hotel and you might get into a time machine.
My favorite hotel is the Sheraton Grand Doha. It has an early 1980s look — I like to be in places that transport you back in time. If you go to the Willard Intercontinental in Washington, it has a similar feel when you walk into the lobby. It takes you to a different era. To me, that’s a nice addition to a trip.
Remember that there’s more to history than just exhibits in museums.
I wanted to be just like Indiana Jones, so I would dig holes in my backyard. When you go somewhere like Egypt, remember that so much of it is still to be uncovered — they find new things all the time. So if you’re interested in history, go see active archaeological digs. I think that’s really fascinating. You can ask at your hotel or the local museum about digs that are underway.
Why even nonsmokers might want to pack some cigarettes.
I’ve found that when I’m traveling, cigarettes are something that can bridge gaps in communication. People love American cigarettes, especially Marlboro Reds. A carton or a few packs of cigarettes in your bag can serve as an icebreaker, whether you’re at a checkpoint or whether you’re just traveling in a country and you don’t know anyone, and you want to strike up a conversation and you see someone smoking. It’s especially true in the Middle East, where more people still smoke, and in Ukraine, for example — people specifically were asking soldiers about American cigarettes.
And whenever I come across a place that sells American flag patches or pins, I buy them. If I’m in a place where people are not hostile with Americans, I’ll give someone one of them. If you can bring something small from your culture, it’s an icebreaker.
