World Kaleidoscope

Happy Republic Day India!

2009-01-25T11:08:00.001-08:00

Happy 60th Republic Day India!!!

Reality Tour Has a New Destination

2009-01-23T03:47:00.000-08:00

With the release of the much talked about the British film Slumdog Millionaire, a new destination has been added in the list of reality India tour. Travelers coming to visit India are now visiting the Dharavi, Asia’a biggets slum in Mumbai. Westerners are now shunning the splendid beaches of Goa and royal forts and palaces of Rajasthan for the slums of Mumbai.

The Dharavi expedition has now become part of reality tours and is gaining immense popularity among the tourists. Advocates say that the Dharavi excursions help to illuminate the slum’s qualities and benefit their inhabitants. But are we really concerned about the betterment of inhabitants of these slums or just cashing on the new craze.

Think about it…….

India will run super-fast bullet trains

2009-01-19T03:23:00.000-08:00

Enthused by an exhilarating ride on a Japanese high-speed train last week during his visit to Japan, Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Monday said India would soon have similar bullet trains on selective routes and that his ministry would start scouting for global consultants.

"The day is not far off when the bullet train will run in the country," Lalu Prasad told reporters here.

"The railways ministry will be appointing global consultants for introducing the high-speed trains in India," he said, adding that his ministry has begun examining the feasibility of the train and possible routes.

These routes will include the Mumbai-Ahmedabad, Delhi-Chandigarh and Delhi-Patna corridors.

Lalu Prasad, who travelled from Tokyo to Kyoto on Japan's famed Shinkansen high-speed train last week, announced his plans in Singapore on Saturday that he would introduce bullet trains to link major metropolitan cities in India.

"Such bullet trains can link city to city. Very soon we shall be inviting global tenders for pre-feasibility studies and I plan to place the proposal before parliament," Lalu Prasad had said at Singapore's prestigious Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

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Hamas says 48 fighters slain in Israel

2009-01-19T03:16:00.000-08:00

Hamas says it lost 48 fighters during Israel's latest offensive in the Gaza Strip.

The claim in the militant group's first statement on its losses is far below the hundreds of militants that Israel says it killed.

It was impossible to verify the figures released by Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida. The Health Ministry says more than 1,200 Palestinians died in the fighting, more than half of them civilians. But the Hamas-run ministry has not released a full list of the dead.

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Changing travel, one tweet at a time

2009-01-17T03:40:00.000-08:00

Microblogging travelers break news well ahead of mainstream media

"There’s a plane in the Hudson. I’m on the ferry going to pick up the people."

Those words, hastily typed on Janis Krums’ iPhone just after US Airways flight 1549 crashed into the Hudson River on Thursday, marked yet another milestone in the microblogging revolution. Krums, a Sarasota, Fla., entrepreneur, posted his observations and a compelling photo of a half-submerged aircraft to Twitter, where it was seen by hundreds of people before any other media organization knew about the accident.

Twitter and related sites such as BrightKite have been breaking news since they’ve been around. They’ve offered first-hand accounts of events such as the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, the Virginia Tech shootings and California’s wildfires.

Before Krums scooped the New York media on the biggest news story of the year so far, there was Mike Wilson, aka "2drinksbehind", who twittered his observations after his Continental Airlines flight slid off the runway and burst into flames in Denver last month.

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U.S. picks 2 potential World Heritage sites

2009-01-14T03:33:00.000-08:00

Nominees range from the middle of the Pacific Ocean to Mount Vernon

Have you heard about the U.S.’s two new nominations to the World Heritage List?

One is set amid the suburbs of Washington, D.C.; the other encompasses nearly 140,000 square miles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. One gets more than 1 million visitors a year; the other rarely sees more than 16 a day. And while most sixth-graders know the story of the former, I can’t even say the name of the latter without phonetic assistance.

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Kerala Backwater Tour – Simple Majestic

2009-01-14T03:26:00.001-08:00

Kerala, God’s own country, offers numerous attractions to the tourists that are worth visiting and enjoying. Kerala backwaters are one such attraction which forms an integral part of Kerala tour packages. These backwaters are reservoirs of natural beauty and unmatched splendor. Other attractions offered by the state are the exotic beaches, spectacular monuments, beautiful natural creations, landscapes, flora and fauna and the temples.

Kerala has some of the most spectacular beaches in the world such as Kovalam beach and Varkala beach. Kerala backwaters are also very famous and popular and the backwater tours are gaining immense popularity because of the beautiful and scenic water bodies like lakes, lagoons, canals, channels, rivers and inlets. The backwaters of Kerala are very peaceful places. While on a backwater tour, you can enjoy rich flora and fauna of the God’s own country. In fact, backwaters are the perfect example of excellent eco-tourism.

To explore and enjoy your backwater tour in God’s own country, one of the most preferred ways can be houseboats. You can enjoy the breathtakingly beautiful backwater destinations to the fullest with a houseboat tour. These houseboats are traditionally known as Kettuvallams. A well organized and well planned Kerala and India tour package provides wonderful opportunity to see the exceptional beauty and charm of nature by close. This is truly a great feast for your eyes. You can also enjoy several eye-catching attractions like views of lush green paddy fields, daily life at traditional villages, beautiful groves of palm coconut trees, water birds, water flowers etc.

Kerala tour packages for backwater tours are arranged to a number of destinations like Alappuzha, Kamarakom, Kuttanad, Malapuram, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Kollam, Kassarkod, Kochi and Trivendram. Among all, Alappuzha is regarded and believed as the best backwater destinations of India. Tourists can be sure of an unforgettable experience taking back memories to be cherished for the whole life, when they undertake a Kerala backwater tour.
To enjoy a Kerala backwater tour, visit site to get more information on Kerala tour packages , flights to Kerala and hotels in Kerala

Obama's 'Hope' portrait goes to Smithsonian

2009-01-08T02:27:00.000-08:00

Even before he takes office, President-elect Barack Obama's image will become part of the permanent collection at the National Portrait Gallery, the museum announced Wednesday.

The gallery acquired the iconic red, white and blue collage by Los Angeles street artist Shepard Fairey, depicting Obama with the word "Hope." The image — later modified with the messages of "Change" and "Vote" for the Obama campaign — became one of the most memorable images from the 2008 election. The curators at the Smithsonian Institution museum plan to hang it by Inauguration day.

"What I think is so fascinating is the ubiquitous nature," said Carolyn Carr, deputy director of the Portrait Gallery. "When people think of a portrait of Obama, they think of this image."

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Man allegedly threatens to bomb L.A.-bound jet

2009-01-08T02:25:00.000-08:00

A man who claimed to have a bomb aboard a Los Angeles-bound jetliner and was then tackled and bound by other passengers will not face federal charges, the FBI said Wednesday.

No bomb was found aboard the Delta Air Lines Flight 110 from Atlanta, and after questioning by the FBI and airport police, federal investigators had decided not to pursue charges, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said.

She said they also concluded the man should undergo a psychological evaluation.

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FAA reaches settlement with whistle-blower

2009-01-04T21:03:00.000-08:00

The Federal Aviation Administration has reached a settlement with an air traffic controller who said he was retaliated against for warning that a takeoff and landing procedure in Memphis, Tennessee, had led to near midair collisions.

The FAA agreed Dec. 4 to return Peter Nesbitt to air traffic control duties and transfer him to Austin, Texas, at the same salary, and to pay his relocation and legal expenses, said Leslie Williamson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Special Counsel, a federal agency that investigates whistle-blower complaints.

Nesbitt, who has more than 20 years experience as a controller, had asked to return to the control tower at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, where he worked prior to the Memphis International Airport control tower.

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Heavenly Ski Resort: Powder and pines

2009-01-04T20:59:00.000-08:00

The wind was howling, the temperature plunging and snow was coming down so fast that a four-minute ride on a high-speed chairlift at Lake Tahoe's resort left me and a friend looking like abominable snowmen.

As we neared the top of the lift, I asked, "Trees?"

"Yeah," he replied.

On a day like that, trees are the best place to go. Giant pines can shield the skier from the wind and snow.

With about two feet of fresh powder, it was hard to go fast, but if we did fall, we'd have a soft landing. Plus, the open trails were whiteout conditions with visibility extending maybe 15 feet.

I wouldn't suggest that a beginner try skiing amid the trees, but if you're an intermediate, Heavenly resort offers great tree runs plus plenty of other challenges — from moguls to steeps and manageable off-piste runs. It's the kind of place where you can have something to brag about at the end of the day, no matter what level your skill.

At its heart, Heavenly is the best resort I've ever seen for the intermediate skier. Many mountains offer a bunch of easy slopes and a few intermediate ones to bridge the gap to the hair-raising advanced and expert runs. But I've found that mountains with a lot of intermediate terrain often drop the ball on providing varied terrain that will challenge you without pushing too far.

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Down, not out: encouraging signs for ‘09

2009-01-02T23:00:00.000-08:00

Gas at $1.65 per gallon. Cruises for $50 a day (or less). And hotels that are throwing in everything from complimentary breakfast to discount massages. Will 2009 turn out to be the best travel year ever — or will the miserable economy have us all hiding beneath our beds with what little money we managed to get under the mattress before it all went to hell?

Beats me, although after talking to industry analysts and other observers, I’m taking my cues from those economists who see a possible recovery starting by the middle of the year. If that’s the case, a rebound in consumer confidence — and, by extension, people’s willingness to travel — is bound to follow.

In the meantime, those who do travel will find both bargains and bumps along the way. If you’re among them, the following will likely determine whether you experience more of the former or the latter.

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29 places to go in 2009

2009-01-02T22:52:00.000-08:00

When our editors got into a room to hash out our top 29 travel picks for 2009, we realized just how much the economic, social, and political changes of 2008 have sculpted the travel landscape for the coming year.

The rising cost of air travel, the global economic crisis, and the fluctuating dollar made once-popular destinations in Europe out of reach for many of us. New hotspots, like South America, emerged, as their exchange rates offered visitors more bang for their buck. Heightened interest in “going green” meant more focus on eco-friendly tourism and great-outdoors vacations than ever before. And let’s not forget the historic presidential election of Barack Obama, which has sparked Washington, D.C.’s massive resurgence as a tourism destination.

Underpinning all of this, however, is a renewed emphasis on great-value vacations — something we at ShermansTravel know all about. Our editors brought their dollar-savvy expertise and collective travel mileage to the office globe to cast a wide net of 29 places to go in 2009, nearly all of which offer a good degree of affordability in addition to unique, memorable travel experiences.

While we haven’t left a worldwide stone unturned in our quest for the best of 2009, we’ve also devoted more coverage than usual to close-to-home getaways right here in the United States, so that you can forego airfare altogether in favor of quick road trips or hitting the rails instead. Indeed, one of the best deals going these days is Amtrak’s great-value USA Rail Pass, whose benefits have only recently been made available to U.S. citizens.

So remember: While you may have less travel budget in 2009, there are still plenty of places to discover that won’t break the bank. Get out and explore these 29 places before the crowds do ... in 2010.

United States & Canada

1. Atlanta

A modern, cosmopolitan destination with well-maintained historical roots (M.L.K. was born here), this Southern belle of a city can charm even the most jaded of visitors with its grade-A Southern hospitality, impressive arts and music scene, and plethora of attractions. Catch a sporting event, tour historical landmarks dating from the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, visit the world’s largest aquarium, get behind the scenes at the Coca-Cola factory or CNN Studios, or kick up your adrenaline a notch at an area theme park.

Why go in 2009: Atlanta’s art and hotel scenes are getting ready to explode. Plan a visit for two blockbuster exhibitions on King Tut and the Terracotta Army, on display well into spring —it’s the first time these two exhibits have simultaneously showed in one city. Even the French are taking notice of Atlanta: The High Museum of Art’s “The Louvre and the Masterpiece” exhibit is set to showcase on-loan Louvre masterpieces until early September.

On the hotel front, two more W hotels are joining the cityscape, crowning Atlanta as the city with the most W Hotels after New York, while a new Hotel Palomar (www.hotelpalomar-atlanta.com) and St. Regis (www.starwoodhotels.com/stregis/index.html) are on the radar for the coming calendar year.

2. Austin

Austin’s superlative live music scene may have made the city famous, but this hip Texas capital city’s quirky charm extends far beyond its melodic beats. Largely enriched by the dynamic energy of the homegrown University of Texas, Austin boasts the Lone Star State’s best cultural offerings, with numerous galleries, museums, and music venues (more than 100 in all!) alongside some more unexpected attractions — like the summer congregation of some million bats by the Congress Avenue Bridge — without sacrificing its appealing small-town feel. Combine that with more than 300 sunshine-filled days a year, and it’s little wonder that Austin’s consistently ranked as one of the most livable cities in the U.S.

Why go in 2009: Sure, traveling abroad can be a pricey venture in these trying economic times, but who says you need to leave America to escape it? Austin, whose unofficial motto is “Keep Austin Weird,” offers the American traveler a rare U.S. city vacation destination that’s devoid of the cookie-cutter commercial strips found nearly everywhere else — in fact, all chain and big-box stores (think McDonald's and Walmart) are pleasantly absent from the downtown area, giving way to hundreds of sensational local businesses that can only be experienced in Austin. What's more, some exciting new music festivals are slated for autumn 2009: Look for the Texas Wine & Song Festival (www.texaswineandsong.com) in October and the punk and indie rock Fun Fun Fun Fest (www.funfunfunfest.com) in November.

3. Bucks County
Immediately north of Philadelphia and across the Delaware River from New Jersey, rustic Bucks County, Pennsylvania, is a quaint countryside retreat known for charming B&Bs, country inns, covered bridges, serene vineyards, and beautiful colonial estates.

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In times of economic meltdown, tourists pack into Mount Abu

2009-01-02T22:47:00.000-08:00

In times of global meltdown, when the tourism industry in the country has been badly hit, here is some good news - the hill station of Mount Abu in Rajasthan is choc-a-bloc, with more than 45,000 tourists camping there to usher in the New Year, officials said Wednesday.

Though the administration admits that there are no rooms available in the hill town, they have been wooing tourists with a three-day festival which began Monday.

"The festival was to attract tourists with events like skating, mehndi and rangoli competitions, with majority of tourists coming from Gujarat," Sumita Saroj, deputy director of Rajasthan Tourism, told IANS on phone.

However, even before the administration launched the festival, hotels in the hill station were already packed, officials sources said.

According to J. Alamgir, chairman of the muncipality, more than 44,000 tourists have already arrived in Mount Abu.

"From Dec 25 there has been heavy influx of tourists that touched nearly 45,000," said Sanjay Singhal, secretary, Hotel Owners Association (HOA), Mount Abu.

The general manager of Hotel Hillock Vijay S. Khanna told IANS Wednesday that since the last 10 days his hotel, like others in Mount Abu, has been packed.

"This mammoth crowd is usual every year. After Jan 1 everything will be normal as most of the New Year party-goers would have left," Khanna said.

"The HOA has 6,000 rooms and all of them are occupied. There is not a single paying guest facility available," Singhal said.

"Tomorrow (Thursday) I expect a drop of 50 percent in tourist traffic," Singhal added.

He said that 1.6 million tourists visited Mount Abu in 2008.

With heavy influx of tourists, this highest point in the Aravali range, at 5,742 feet, has also seen unprecedented security.

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Collapse at Whistler ski resort blamed on ice

2008-12-19T01:50:00.000-08:00

A rare type of ice build has been blamed for the partial collapse of a gondola tower at Canada's Whistler ski resort.

Thirteen people were slightly injured and dozens were trapped for hours in unheated gondola cabins when a tower on the Excalibur gondola buckled Tuesday afternoon, bouncing two of the cars off the ground.

The resort, which will host the alpine events of the 2010 Winter Olympics, released a statement Wednesday indicating the tower failure occurred when water somehow seeped into a splice on a section of a tower.

An extreme deep freeze turned that water to ice, rupturing the splice in what the resort says is an extremely uncommon phenomenon known as "ice-jacking."

Those findings must still be confirmed by the British Columbia Safety Authority, but a spokesman for Whistler was confident a safety authority inspection would find no similar risk on any other lifts at the resort.

Doug Forseth expected all lifts on Whistler Mountain would be operating by Wednesday morning following the inspection, while operations on Blackcomb Mountain were expected to be back to normal by midday.

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Versace Mansion in South Beach begins tours

2008-12-19T01:48:00.000-08:00

For years, the iconic South Beach mansion best known as the place Gianni Versace lived and died was open only to the privileged few.

Before the designer's death more than a decade ago, his celebrity friends stayed so often, rooms were outfitted with them in mind. After Versace's murder and the house's sale, it become home to another mogul with A-list friends.

But, slowly, 1116 Ocean Drive has opened its doors, first as an invitation-only private club, then allowing non-members to stay in its ornate rooms, and now to the masses — or at least anyone willing to plunk down $65 for a tour.

"It was just kind of a domino effect," said Elisa Brinkworth, a spokeswoman for Casa Casuarina, as the 26,000-square-foot estate is called. "The more people you let in the more that wanted to come in."

The possibility of touring the villa and enjoying a meal there afterward — or if you're lucky enough, to stay in one of its 10 suites — doesn't come cheap. But it offers visitors a glimpse of a truly special place long kept from the public.

Outside, tourists flock to the cast-iron gates, taking pictures all hours of the day. It is not until you enter, though, that you truly sense its magnificence.

Pass through the limestone arch, into the courtyard of Casa Casuarina, and the fuss all makes sense. The trickle of water from a fountain, the shift of clouds above, the tickle of Atlantic breezes — the simple beauty of each is enhanced by the home's lavishness.

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The Incredible India

2008-12-19T01:42:00.000-08:00

Welcome to incredible India. To experience the real charm of the country, one needs to visit the fascinating land of India and explore its amazing landscapes & attractions. India is really incredible and awesome with unique and diverse geographical locations, beautiful landscapes, diverse cultural and traditional features.

The country has various spectacular travel destinations and has something for every tourist and each kind of tourist. If you want to spend fun filled beach holidays then Indian states like Goa and Kerala are the perfect destination. For wildlife adventure tour Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Uttarakhand are the preferred ones. Ranthambhore, Kanha, Sariska, Gir, Bharatpur, etc are the most sought after wildlife safari destinations in india.

If you love to visit places with beautiful natural landscapes then Himanchal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir makes the ideal holiday destination. Religious places like Rishikesh, Haridwar, Pushkar, Ajmer, Varanasi, Badrinath, etc are well known destinations for travelers who want to observe rich culture and spirituality of country. With so many attractions, India is really unique and unmatched in world. The country has so much to offer that it becomes really difficult to feel the complete essence in a single visit. To make it simple and comfortable, there are various India tour operators who offer many tailor-made India travel deals to suit the individual needs and requirements of the travelers coming to visit india.

India is also famous for its rich cultural heritage and architectural monuments. Rajasthan, Konark, Agra, Khajuraho are some of the places where tourists can find lots of heritage monuments attractions.

So if you want to have a travel experience of your lifetime, book a room in one of your preferred hotels in India and take flights to India to visit this incredible, unique, amazing, unmatched wonderland called India.

Author:

Aparajita Shankar

London's cool new celebrity hot spot

2008-12-17T02:31:00.000-08:00

SITTING in my hotel room, I swear I could hear singing in the corridor.

It wasn't the off-key tunes you might hear from a cleaner, but beautiful, soft melodies.

I was staying at K West Hotel and Spa in London, a popular hotel with visiting musicians, and it turned out the singing was coming from two American artists in town for the iTunes Festival.

Later I went to the internet room and met another US musician from an up-and-coming hip hop band called Kenna.

While such encounters might sound bizarre, apparently they are relatively commonplace at this funky and modern hotel.

Minimalistic in design, with sleek and unusual furniture, it is in complete contrast to traditional English hotels.

The rooms are modern, spacious and comfortable, with the basic deluxe rooms featuring hand-made mattresses, desks, wireless internet and a fully stocked mini-bar.

The executive rooms have a separate living area featuring a TV, CD/DVD player and MP3 player connectivity, plus a work desk with wireless internet and a gorgeously designed bathroom and bath products.

The hotel also has one of the most amazing spas in London, and maybe even the UK. It offers a full range of treatments – one of the few dry flotation tanks in London plus other unusual therapies such as Crystal Clear Micro Dermabrasion and Ytsara.

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Vegas fireworks to be on ground, not casino roofs

2008-12-17T02:21:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas tourism officials say they're adopting a "Taking It to the Streets" theme for their revamped New Year's Eve fireworks display on the Las Vegas Strip.

Convention authority officials said Tuesday that fireworks won't be shot this year from rooftops of Strip casinos.

Instead, the 8 minute and 8 second show will be set in resort parking lots, with rockets and streamers shot at different angles and at lower heights than in previous years.

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Coolest underground travel spots

2008-12-15T03:53:00.000-08:00

While walking in the West Virginia woods in 1978, Dr. Robert Conte saw something that made him stop in his tracks: an aluminum door between green cement walls. With an ominous feeling, he quickly turned around and walked straight back to The Greenbrier, where he had just been hired as the hotel’s historian.

Dr. Conte had heard the rumors—everyone working at the luxury resort had—about an underground bunker built by the government during the Cold War that was said to exist somewhere on the property. “It didn’t take long around here to figure out that you didn’t want to bring the subject of the bunker up—it wasn’t a good career move,” says Conte.

Exposed in a Washington Post story that broke in 1992, the long-standing secret of the 120,000-square-foot “Government Relocation Facility” built for members of the U.S. Congress was out. Hidden in plain sight, part of it was even in continual use as a convention center and theater for Greenbrier guests. Gaudy wallpaper hid iron doors that could withstand a 30-ton blast. “I walk in and out of that space all of the time,” says Dr. Conte. “Now it’s obvious it was there.” Today, more than 33,000 people visit annually.

Underground exploration is part adventure, part history, and part plain curiosity. “Often, it’s like discovering something that’s slipped through time to the present day. It brings history to life,” says Steve Duncan, an urban explorer whose work takes him underground to the abandoned subway tunnels, empty tombs, and unused aqueducts in New York City, and who was part of the Discovery Channel’s short-lived television series “Urban Explorers.” Over the past decade, Duncan says he’s seen a real growth in the public’s desire to investigate what’s below the surface. “Part of what makes it exciting is that there’s always more to dig up.”

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Best places to celebrate Christmas

2008-12-15T03:49:00.000-08:00

Elves in Hawaiian shirts? Reindeer rodeo? Whale sashimi? From the Arctic Circle to the Aloha State, we celebrate the multicultural mania inspired by the president-elect to bring you global Christmas traditions. Yes, Virginia. It’s holiday party time around the world.

The Scandinavians have the perfect excuse for hard Christmas partying: It’s dark by 3 p.m. In December, our Nordic friends start distracting themselves from the never-ending twilight by placing candles in their windows and breaking out the Acquavit (a liquor so strong that it was once thought to raise the dead).

The Danish Christmas Eve is called “Julaften,” and the parties go on all night. Yuletide hospitality features roast goose, rice pudding, red cabbage, and our personal favorite: pickled tongue. Look for horse-drawn Carlsberg wagons delivering the year’s specially brewed Christmas beer, with staff in Santa hats giving away free samples. Danes also like their “glögg”—a potent variety of mulled wine jazzed up with raisins, nuts and cloves steeped in pure Aquavit. Travel advisory: A Danish elf named Nisse in gray trousers and a red cap likes to play pranks during Christmas. On Julaften, many families put out a bowl of rice pudding for him so that he doesn’t take his mischief too far.

In Sweden, the Christmas season launches with Santa Lucia Day, when young women wear white robes and candle wreaths to wake their family with songs and saffron buns. This charming ritual completed, the Swedes get down to drinking “snaps,” a flavored form of Aquavit. Across the country, revelers enjoy the splendid Christmas Smorgasbord, complete with ham, “lutfisk” (dried white fish), rice porridge, and succulent little jellied pig’s feet. Yum. Not to be outdone, the Finns kick things off at Christmas dinner with ice-cold vodka to accompany cold fish hors d’oeuvres.

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Holiday idea: Take a photo tour with a pro

2008-12-15T03:42:00.000-08:00

Australian photographer trains aspiring shooters on trips across Asia

You've been there, seen that and probably have the photos too, but for holidaymakers keen to add a professional edge to their snaps, an Australian travel journalist offering Asia Pacific tours may be just the ticket.

Melbourne-based Ewen Bell runs and designs photography tours in the region, offering technical advice, as well as fun, for small groups of up to 8 people.

Bell, who has hosted trips to destinations including China, Malaysia and India, says the tours are aimed at adding a creative touch to holidays, and no photo experience is necessary.

The tours have themes that include the "Silk Road" and "Ancient Kingdoms," as well as indigenous cultures and wildlife.

"We give passengers a 110-page photography manual, but this is more about helping people be more creative," Bell, who was named 2007's Travel Photographer of the Year by the Australian Society of Travel Writers, told Reuters.

"We tell them to treat the camera like a paintbrush, and like a brush, the results are unique to the hand that holds it."

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Good to go: Travel gifts for tight budgets

2008-12-12T04:13:00.000-08:00

Size-wise or price-wise, small is beautiful

Hold the Louis Vuitton luggage set and the Christian Louboutin Travel Slippers. Unless you’re the sort who regularly shops Neiman Marcus’ Christmas Book — $160,000 2009 BMW 7 Series, anyone? — this is probably not the year to go hog wild on the holiday shopping.

Instead, this may be a good time to think small when shopping for the travelers on your Christmas list. Smaller items, after all, mean less hassle when packing (not to mention fewer fees when flying), while slightly older, less feature-laden models can provide excellent quality at lower prices than their next-generation replacements. Your giftees will still be grateful, and you may still have enough money left to get yourself something, as well.

In an era when airline blankets are either nasty or non-existent, the Comfort Travel Blanket ($20) from Eagle Creek will shield your favorite flier from both germs and frigid conditions. At 10 ounces and 59 x 36 inches, it’s compact, made of comfortable micro fleece and packs into itself to make a pillow. Best part: It features a zippered pocket that will hold an eyeshade, iPod and other small necessities of modern-day air travel.

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Officials find monkey carcasses in luggage

2008-12-12T04:10:00.000-08:00

U.S. Customs officials at Dulles International Airport discovered the charred carcasses of three monkeys in the luggage of a traveler arriving from Central Africa. The monkeys have been confiscated are being examined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Customs spokesman Steve Sapp said a trained dog alerted authorities to the man's bag on Friday. The luggage also contained deer meat and dried beef, which has been destroyed.

Sapp said it's not unusual for foreign visitors to bring exotic foods to the U.S., but he says the discoveries were "a first." After the confiscations, the man was allowed to enter the U.S.

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Follow the snowbirds to Las Cruces, NM

2008-12-12T03:57:00.000-08:00

It's become a favorite winter destination for many "snowbird" refugees from winter-locked northern states, so why not visit Las Cruces, N.M., for yourself and enjoy some of the scenery and culture of the southcentral part of the state they call the Land of Enchantment.

Las Cruces is south of Albuquerque on Interstate 25, and less than an hour north of El Paso, Texas. In winter, while your neighbors are digging out the driveway and scraping ice off the windshield, the temperature here is usually in the 50s and 60s.

Check out the photo gallery and listen to some of their podcasts, or just click on "Attractions" to see what you can find for entertainment, from browsing in a busy art community to exploring ghost towns and visiting wineries (yes, New Mexico has wineries). If you plan to take your hardware, there are several golf courses in and around Las Cruces. And if the kids are going along, the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum can give them a taste of ranch life.

Just south of the city, the town of Mesillahas some of the flavor of the old Southwest, including the flavors found in its restaurants. When you're ready to go out and about in this part of New Mexico, the tourism promotion organization Old West Country has information on towns including Truth or Consequences (honest, that's its name), Socorro and Silver City, the old mining town in the Pinos Altos Mountains. Take a challenging hike along the Catwalk National Scenic Trail through Whitewater Canyon.

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The Taj - Rebuilding the glory of India

2008-12-03T23:13:00.001-08:00

The Taj Mahal Palace hotel is renowned worldwide as a premier landmark hotel of India’s business capital Mumbai. It stands tall on the sea shores of Mumbai overlooking the Gateway of India. About a century back, The Taj resort was commissioned by Jamshedji Tata and welcomed its guests first on December 16th 1903. Jamshedji Tata decided to build the glorious hotel after he was refused entry to one of the city's grand hotels of the time because it was restricted to ‘whites only’. The immaculate structure and magnificent interiors stand witness to a century of gracious Indian hospitality and warmth to heads of states, celebrities and industrial giants.

The Taj is not just another hotel but it’s the heritage of the city and was one of the first icons of independent India. On November 26, 2008 the hotel was damaged in a series of attacks. Taj was attacked as a part of a terrorist attacks in Mumbai, during which the hotel was burnt and damaged.

The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower lost 11 employees in the attacks, many of whom died saving guests after terrorists sprayed them with bullets. The whole incident and terror attack has left parts of the 105-year-old icon ablaze.

But this is not the end. Nothing can dampen the enduring spirit and dignity of Mumbai and to restore the glory of Taj, Vice-chairman of Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Co R.K. Krishnakumar has said that Tatas are committed to rebuild the hotel again and the company would construct the hotel brick-by-brick.

In a statement on its website, the hotel declared: "We will rebuild every inch that has been damaged in this attack and bring back the Taj to its full glory."

Mr. Ratan Tata, owner of the Taj, said: "We must show that we cannot be disabled or destroyed but that such heinous acts will only make us stronger."

Good to go: Travel gifts for tight budgets

2008-12-03T03:49:00.000-08:00

In an era when airline blankets are either nasty or non-existent, the Comort Travel Blanket ($20) from Eagle Creek will shield your favorite flier from both germs and frigid conditions. At 10 ounces and 59 x 36 inches, it’s compact, made of comfortable micro fleece and packs into itself to make a pillow. Best part: It features a zippered pocket that will hold an eyeshade, iPod and other small necessities of modern-day air travel.

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Mumbai's Taj or London's Trafalgar - tourist attractions both

2008-12-03T03:40:00.000-08:00

For years, the imposing Gateway of India and the Taj Mahal Hotel opposite it have been Mumbai's prime tourist attractions. And so it was Monday with cameras clicking away as the curious gathered to see the ravages terrorism had wrought on the city's most enduring landmarks.

Score of tourists, passers-by and even families sauntered across to see where India's worst terror attack had begun and where it ended -- the terrorists' 60-hour siege began at the Gateway of India Wednesday night and ended Saturday morning after commandos felled the last of them in the 105-year-old Taj hotel.

The cobbled area seemed to have become as popular as London's Trafalgar Square, but the pigeons here were still flapping around in a panic instead of perching confidently to peck grain from tourists. The three days of shooting and grenade blasts had taken their toll not just on the city and its people but also on the birds that were on edge.

In the crowd was a Parsi gentleman from Houston who was not at the Taj but was trapped behind the hotel for three days. He had come all the way from the US to get his knee operated upon and stepepd out Monday, hobbling around: "I was stuck for three days and am happy to get around. Now I will go to my doctor."

As the area like the rest of the city strove to get on with its life after three nights and three days of a terror grip, children packed into their classrooms and commuters into trains to go to office, open up their shops and basically move on.

Though cinema theatres stayed closed, the effort to get back to normalcy was visible in the usual Monday rush.

"What will I do sitting at home?" was the comment from a suburban train commuter eager to get back to work - typical of a Mumbai that has learnt to move on after each calamity, both natural and manmade.

Beneath the surface calm, anger surged. Against politicians, whether of the Congress or the Shiv Sena or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Posters paying tribute to the three top officers of the Mumbai Police who died - Hemant Karkare, Ashok Kamte and Vijay Salaskar - were appreciated and read. But angry young men in certain parts of the city tore off portions which named the party sponsoring it.

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Winter in America’s national parks

2008-12-02T01:16:00.000-08:00

Most vacationers visit America’s national parks during the summer months—when the roads are crowded, restaurants are packed and prices are at their peak. But think outside of the season, and you can reduce headaches and pare down expenses. Although lodging options can be limited, many visitors are surprised to learn that quite a few national park lodges remain open during the winter months.

But not all national parks—some are closed during the winter; others offer reduced services. Still, others attract large numbers of wintertime visitors because they're located in regions that enjoy their best sunny weather when it’s frigid up North. A winter trip to the Virgin Islands National Park, will present the same problems that you'd find on summer excursion to Yosemite: high prices, long lines and a trail of “no vacancy” signs.

The best wintertime national park trips combine unique and surprising activities and fewer visitors. At Yellowstone, for example, just five percent of the three million annual guests come during the winter months. One January morning we were two of only a handful of people watching an eruption of Yellowstone’s Old Faithful geyser. The regular eruptions of this famous geyser during the summer months typically attract hundreds of people who jostle for position along the surrounding boardwalk.

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An expensive surprise: Life at sea takes a visa

2008-12-02T01:09:00.000-08:00

Cruising couple dinged $420, all for a few hours in Brazil

Aaron and Shelly Belams of Wisconsin looked forward to their Princess Cruises vacation from Rome to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The couple found a deal through an online travel agency that priced the 21-day cruise at $2,200 per person — a good value. Or so the Belams thought.

Expensive surprise

About six weeks before sailing, Princess notified the Belams’ travel agent stating the couple would need a Brazilian visa. The cruise line noted that it was the passenger’s responsibility to get them and any passenger who did not have a visa would be denied boarding.

The visas would cost $210 per person (actual visa cost, plus expedited service) — an unwelcome $420 surprise. It gets worse — the cruise ship was only stopping at one Brazilian port, Fortaleza, for only nine hours! “If we’ve known that it will cost us that much for a few hours in Brazil, we would have looked for cruises that do not go to Brazil at all,” says Aaron Belams.

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Chocolate-lover's paradises around the world

2008-12-01T04:36:00.000-08:00

It’s just like any other addiction. You start slowly, gradually acquire a taste for the stuff and then ramp things up into a full-blown habit. But you can’t help yourself—you love the subtle buzz, the lingering aftertaste, the euphoric feeling that seems to follow every delicious encounter, to the point where you can no longer live without your daily dose. That’s when you know you’re a full-blown chocoholic.

But who offers the best chocolate high? That depends on what sort of chocolate you crave and how far you’re willing to travel for your buzz.

With more than a dozen factories and some 2,000 chocolate shops, Belgium is the undisputed kingpin of the chocolate world. From nut-filled nougats and pralines to truffles and white chocolate seashells, the little European nation produces more than 170,000 tons of chocolate each year—an amount equivalent to the weight of 850 Boeing 747s.

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Air India cuts fares on all domestic routes

2008-12-01T04:33:00.000-08:00

India's flagship carrier, state-owned Air India slashed fares across the board Monday by reducing its fuel surcharge by Rs.400 for all routes. The cut will come into effect from midnight, an airline official said.

According to an official here, domestic carriers presently charge fuel surcharge of Rs.2,350 per passenger flying up to 750 kms and Rs.3,100 for those flying beyond 750 kms in India. The airline had in June increased the surcharge by Rs.300 for sectors less than 750 kilometres and Rs.550 for longer flights.

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Getting Chai in India

2008-12-01T04:32:00.000-08:00

"You don't 'make' chai, you 'cook' it." Raju didn't raise his deep-set eyes from the blackened, milk-stained pot. He was explaining the major difference between tea in India and elsewhere. The viscous mixture bubbled and threatened to boil over. "Everyday I sit and cook chai. I start when the sun comes up and finish when it goes down." Raju knows almost all of his customers by name.

A cloud of dark, acrid smoke from a passing diesel-choked engine floated down Deeg's dusty lane, locally known as a road. A few minutes passed and the cloud settled. The dark outline of the massive fortifications from the town's 18th-century palace reappeared across the way. The serene demeanor of the Indian winter morning reassumed its gentle pace unchanged from years, possibly centuries before.

"Chai, chai, chai…" Raju's low, deep voice resonated a rhythmic chant to let passersby know the tea is on the boil. His equipment, a small hand-primed kerosene stove and aluminum pot, project an air of antiquity. They could have been discovered in a nearby archeological dig. Fresh cow's milk, water, plenty of sugar and any number of spices provide the essential mix. It sells for 2 rupee ($0.05) a glass and earns enough for Raju to support his wife and two children.

In India everyone drinks chai. It is essentially milk tea with sugar. As sociable as sharing a coffee or beer with a friend, so too is chai in India but more so. To reject an offer is a grave insult. You will never enter someone's home or place without being given at least one cup.

Deeg lies 85miles south of India's capital of New Delhi, and Raju has been a part of the 40,000-strong population for 48 years, tending his chai stall for 18 of those. His family has been serving chai to the locals as long as Raju can remember. He is not sure which of his forefathers started the tradition.

Life is sweet in the quiet town. It is not an opulent existence--far from it. But it is a simple life for a simple man with simple needs. Deeg is home to the Maharaja of Bharatpur's Monsoon Palace. Bharatpur was the princely state before the departure of the British in 1947, when Deeg came under the principality of the State of Rajasthan. Besides the Monsoon palace of the Maharaja with its hundreds of fountains, well-maintained gardens, and original furnishings, there are few reasons for travelers to visit Deeg,--except for the tea.

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NYC's unique stores, Christmas markets

2008-11-26T22:18:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK - Some 11 million people visited New York City last year between October and December, according to NYC & Company, the city's marketing and tourism organization. Even if that number drops this year due to the economy, you're likely to find Manhattan plenty crowded over the holidays.

"The busiest time for visitation to NYC is typically the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas," said NYC & Company spokesman Chris Heywood.

In addition to seeing the Rockefeller Center tree and decorated windows, many December visitors come to shop. Naturally chain retailers — especially the Manhattan flagships for stores like Macy's — are a big draw. But New York is also full of one-of-a-kind shops and ethnic neighborhoods where you can find unique merchandise in all price ranges.

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The World’s Strangest Museums

2008-11-26T22:15:00.000-08:00

Bunnies, bunnies everywhere, and in all forms: stuffed, ceramic, painted—even a few real ones. Not only does the onslaught of bunny paraphernalia in Pasadena, California’s aptly named Bunny Museum overwhelm the senses, but the 23,000-item collection has grown so large as to require relocation to a larger space. In fact, so passionate are owners Candace Frazee and Steve Lubanski about bunnies that their hare-filled shrine isn’t just a museum—it’s also their home.

While the Bunny Museum may very well be a one-of-a-kind museum, it most certainly isn’t the only place showcasing items that are, well, a bit out there. People’s fascination with the strange, the quirky, and the perverse has inspired an array of outlandish museums that dot the globe.

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The world’s top aerial tours

2008-11-26T22:11:00.000-08:00

The hum of the single-engine Cessna fills your ears as you ascend above the Peruvian high desert. Below you, flat expanses of dry, brown earth extend in every direction, punctuated only by twisting dry riverbeds ... a lifeless landscape. Then the plane banks, and over the intercom the pilot directs you to look at what appear to be just another set of curving, squiggly lines. But then, as you watch, the lines start to come to life, to form a definitive shape ... with a spread-finned tail at one end, a gaping mouth at the other, and an eye in the middle, staring up at you: it’s a giant line drawing of a whale, carved right into the landscape.

An aerial tour is the only way to fully appreciate Peru’s mysterious geoglyphs, known as the Nazca lines; the 2,000-year-old depictions of animals and geometric figures can be miles long—much too immense to be seen from the ground. But though these earth-etchings are some of the most dramatic sights you’ll ever see from the air, there’s plenty of other scenery around the world best viewed from on high.

Most anyone who’s spent an hour playing with Google Earth already knows the fascination of observing places from above. When seen from a bird’s-eye perspective, even familiar land- and cityscapes become completely new, with colors, patterns, and geographical features you’d never known existed until you hovered above them.

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Britain's Queen Elizabeth 2 arrives in Dubai

2008-11-26T22:06:00.000-08:00

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Britain's most famous luxury cruise ship, the Queen Elizabeth 2, arrived in Dubai on Wednesday where it will turn into a floating hotel moored off an artificial palm-shaped island.

More than 60 naval vessels and private boats, led by a mega-yacht owned by Dubai's ruler, met the 70,000 ton ship in the Persian Gulf on Wednesday. In the city's Rashid port, the legendary cruise ship was greeted by a police marching band and fireworks.

In 40 years at sea, the luxury liner has traveled 6 million miles, carried 2.5 million passengers and crossed the Atlantic more than 800 times.

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Geek out at these top tech destinations

2008-11-21T04:08:00.000-08:00

Remember that movie "Weird Science", where two geeks conspired to make a real-live girl that would love them for who they really are? Well, a short two decades later, geek is chic and tech types are at the top of their game. They lord over the all-important venture funds, smirk with arms akimbo on the cover of Fortune, and chatter blithely about 10X returns and paradigm-shifting inventions. And even in the dot-com world's shaky economic climate, geek culture isn't going anywhere. So you may as well join them in their native habitat. Don't worry. It's safe. Just bring your coffee, your iPhone, and a USB drive.

A founding tenet of geek culture is the blurry distinction between high and low—the rumpled schmo waiting in line for a half-caff skim latte could easily be a billionaire—or your company's incomprehensible IT guy. With that in mind, we've collected a list of the hotels where titans dwell; the scruffier places where younger geeks hash out business plans on cocktail napkins; and the big events that have them dusting off their light sabers and brushing up on their Klingon.

1. San Francisco + Silicon Valley

Plugged in: The Bay Area is still tech Olympus, where a pantheon of heroes (that is, venture capitalists) sip ambrosia (artisanal coffee) upon winged chariots (shiny electric hybrids). The city basically invented the concept of the tech entrepreneur: young, dressed down, and brash, but unassuming. A full 35 percent of all venture capitalist (VC) dollars invested in the United States comes to the Bay Area—some $9.5 billion in 2006. Today, alternative-energy start-ups own the VC buzz.

Homeport: The restaurant and patio of the Hotel Vitale are known to draw the VC crowd. But if you want to sleep like a tech king, there's the sleek and serene St. Regis, where Al Gore crashes when he's in town and Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page keep pieds-à-terre. Squint, and the place is as good as home (it costs $500,000 per room, after all), with a 42-inch plasma TV, a fax/scanner/printer on request, and a bedside "digital assistant" that controls the lights, shades, TV, and alarm clock. Even the art has a touch of tech: Wooden sculptures are laser-cut instead of hand-carved.

Social networking: Buck's in Woodside is the closest thing Silicon Valley venture capitalists have to a clubhouse. eBay was first pitched at this kitschy diner; Hotmail and Netscape were conceived here as well. Those lower on the Web 2.0 food chain subsist on caffeinated beverages from Ritual Coffee Roasters, in the Mission District. You're likely to see excitable types huddling over business plans at just about any hour of the day or night (and the notice pictured above keeps Twitter-happy customers from holding up the line). Other less publicized places win high-tech workers by virtue of their coffee rep; Piccino, the Hat Factory in Dogpatch, is a stylish group work space for freelancers.

When to interface: In San Francisco, it's easy to find fellow techies who share your love for rocketry or steampunk. This is, after all, the city that goes crazy during geek events such as Dorkbot, a boozy party held regularly in rotating venues; it's headlined by techno artists, presenting their latest projects—one recently taught a crowd how to stitch robotics into stuffed animals. Meanwhile, start-up types are easy to meet at events like January's annual "Crunchies," which have become the Oscars for the tech crowd, andTechCrunch50, a mass launch of the year's most anticipated start-ups held in September.

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Best and worst airlines 2008

2008-11-21T04:03:00.000-08:00

Feel like you’re spending more and more time at the gate or on the tarmac? It’s not just your imagination. Delays are bedeviling air travel these days; the carriers with the poorest records averaged nearly one-hour delays on their latest flights, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

That’s just some of the data we uncovered researching on-time percentages from September 1, 2007, to August 31, 2008. Mining that data, we put together a list of the best and worst airlines for delays. This list has changed quite a bit from 2007, even more so than our list of the Best and Worst Airports—there are newcomers in both categories, and some airlines have changed dramatically. How come?

While there are industry-wide efforts to improve on-time performance, perhaps more effective are the steps that individual airlines are taking. US Airways, which had the lowest on-time performance in 2007, with just 68 percent of domestic flights taking off on schedule, began offering its employees bonuses for improving conditions. In 2008, its punctuality record ranked near the top. And the worst offender, American Airlines (running last during the first eight months of 2008), is also changing its ways. The carrier has scheduled longer periods between flights to give staff more time to prepare planes, and it’s building up its spare-parts inventory so that repairs can be made more quickly.

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Ski the real Montana: Big Sky or Big Mountain?

2008-11-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

BIG SKY, Mont. - There are two big destination ski resorts in Montana. Big Sky, near Bozeman, is expensive and polished. Big Mountain, near Whitefish, is not.

You can go as big as you want in Big Sky Country. But which is the real Montana?

I grew up there and can tell you with authority, they both are. Here are some observations from recent visits to both resorts:

Big Mountain: They just renamed this "Whitefish Mountain Resort at Big Mountain," but it's just Big Mountain to Montanans. It has fewer runs and a more rustic village than Big Sky, but many of the condos are nice and affordable, and usually come with access to a pool or hot tub.

The restaurants tend toward ski bum chic: dark, woody, places with lots of burgers, pizza and beer. Prices aren't a lot higher than in the charming town of Whitefish at the bottom of the hill. Kids are welcome most everyplace, and the beer tends to come in pitchers.

Whitefish is near the western edge of Glacier National Park, and the scenery and tourist amenities are spectacular.

The town is served by Amtrak's Empire Builder. On our recent trip, we rode the train from Spokane, Wash., to Whitefish, a five-hour trip in the middle of the night. Cost was $50 per person.

We stayed in town at a golf resort. The hotel sent a van to pick us up at Whitefish's charming old train station. After we checked in, they shuttled us up the mountain, to the hotel's private lodge in the village.

We skied all day, had dinner, then got shuttled back to our hotel in town.

This area nestled between Glacier and giant Flathead Lake has long been one of the most popular parts of Montana, and is awash in out-of-staters buying second and third homes.

But it also remains popular with Montanans, and has maintained much of the state's casual attitude. The blue jeans tend more toward Levi's or Haggar than Ralph Lauren. The people wearing cowboy hats may actually work on a ranch, and many of the customers come from places like Great Falls and Missoula.

Celebrities do appear. I once rode up the lift with former NFL quarterback Bobby Hebert, the Cajun Cannon. We had a nice chat, but when we got to the top our skis crossed, Hebert fell to the ground and the chair hit him in the helmet.

It's my one and only quarterback sack.

Big Sky: If Big Mountain is burgers, Big Sky is steak. It was founded by a group that included former television anchorman Chet Huntley (the main bar in the Huntley Lodge is called Chet's Place), and is located in the posh Paradise Valley near Yellowstone National Park.

Luxury is the order of business here. The hotels and condos are decorated right out of lifestyle magazines, with prices to match. While there are some generic ski hill restaurants, the dinner places tend be fancy and pricey, including one that can be reached by horse-drawn sleigh. We considered going to a Japanese restaurant with a large family group, but a glance at the menu posted in the window sent us elsewhere.

The staff all wear black cowboy hats, giving a theme park feel.

Big Sky has lots and lots of ski runs and high-speed lifts, so the mountain feels uncrowded. There's a shopping mall where one can buy furs. The celebrity count is often relatively high.

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Your turn! Go to the Ends of the Earth

2008-11-19T20:47:00.000-08:00

Matt, Meredith, Ann and Al went to the Ends of the Earth with full crews so they could share their experiences with you. But if their trips have inspired you to do some globe-trotting of your own, you can follow in their footsteps: Mark Orwoll, senior consulting editor of Travel + Leisure magazine, offers tip on how to plan your own vacation to Belize, Iceland, Australia and Mount Kilimanjaro.

BELIZE

Getting there
There are nonstop flights from Dallas, Houston and Miami to Belize City Airport, where you can rent a car (Budget, National, etc.). From New York, airfare now is just under $600. From Chicago, just under $700.

When to go
From November to April, the weather is perfect. You’ll probably want to avoid the wet season, from June to October.

Know before you go
No special vaccinations are required, but be sure your routine shots are up-to-date. Malaria is a slight risk. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention suggests travelers take the anti-malarial chloroquine. Or you can choose to use a bug repellent containing DEET, and in the jungle wear lightweight pants and long-sleeved shirts.

There are few public telephones along the highways, so be sure to pack an international phone or rent a cell phone at the airport in Belize City.

What to see and do
You’ll want to stay in Ambergris Caye, a laid-back island just off the coast from Belize City, with a nice selection of hotels. The Victoria House, a luxury resort there and part of the T+L 500, has rates as low as $155 a night and close to the island’s main town, San Pedro, where you’ll find dive operators to take you to the area’s top attractions: the Blue Hole and Shark-Ray Alley.

The Blue Hole: Experienced divers shouldn’t miss a day trip to the famous Blue Hole, a nearly perfectly round sinkhole that's 1,000 feet in diameter and some 400 feet deep. You can do a day trip for around $250, including breakfast and lunch and scuba equipment.

Hol Chan and Shark-Ray Alley Marine Reserve: A little closer to Ambergris Cay is a marine reserve called Hol Chan. Its highlight is a cut through the barrier reef, just 25 yards wide and 30 feet deep. As such it attracts an abundance of sea life traveling from the oceanside to the landside of the reef. That in turn has brought divers to this spot, making it one of the most popular dive sites in Belize. You will see an incredible amount of sea life, including nurse sharks and sting rays. Dive trips from Ambergris Cay cost as little as U.S. $50, including your equipment

ICELAND

Getting there
Icelandair is offering a great deal now that includes airfare and two nights at a Reykjavik hotel for just $479 per person. Extra hotel nights are only about $50 per person. And Reykjavik is the perfect base for your excursion around this island-nation. Iceland is a year-round destination, but you have more hours of daylight in the summer.

What to see and do
Icelandtouristboard.com has a list of tour operators who can schedule day trips from Reykjavik to all the main attractions of Iceland, but it’s also easy to rent a car and drive yourself. Some top destinations are:

The Blue Lagoon: One of the top tourist destinations in Iceland, about a 45-minute drive from Reykjavik, the Blue Lagoon is an outdoor pool of geothermal seawater, naturally heated to 100 degrees F, 12 months a year. Bring a bathing suit and spend all day soaking away your cares. About $20 for adults.
Gullfloss Waterfall: Gullfloss (Golden Waterfall) is one of the most popular attractions in the country, an awe-inspiring waterfall of enormous beauty. There had been plans to use the waterfall as part of a hydroelectric project, which would have required changing the flow of the waterfall and perhaps ruining its scenic beauty forever. However, that move failed, and the waterfall is now preserved in its natural state.

If you really want to go over the top, Butterfield & Robinson offers an eight-day guided tour that starts and ends in the country's capital, Reykjavík, for about $8,000 per person.

AUSTRALIA

Getting there
You can fly nonstop from L.A. to Sydney on Qantas, United or American for around $3,000. If you don’t mind changing planes, you can take a one-stop flight on Air New Zealand for under $2,000. In the past, Qantas has offered a $999 Aussie Airpass deal, so keep an eye out for air specials in the future.

When to go
Australia is in the Southern Hemisphere, so our winter is their summer. Although you may not want to time your visit to the Outback in the heat of their summer, or go to Manly Beach in the depths of winter, Australia is generally a year-round destination.

Know before you go
You should always see your doctor before embarking on a major trip, but most visitors to Australia don’t need any special vaccinations. And a visit to Australia is not an arduous trip, so there aren’t any particular health requirements.

One of the most difficult parts of a trip to Australia is the flight time: 14 1/2 hours on average from L.A.

You can easily plan your own vacation to Australia by booking your airfare and hotels online or with a travel agent. Hotels are pretty affordable, especially now that the U.S. dollar has strengthened against the Australian dollar. If you want to stay by the beach in Sydney, stay at the Ravesis hotel; rooms start at about U.S. $157 a night. If you want to stay in the city, rooms at the Altamont start at about U.S. $78 a night

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Konark Temple - The Black Pagoda

2008-11-19T20:30:00.000-08:00

India is a country with many shades on a single canvas. The diversity can be seen in every sphere like culture, landscape, natural beauty, geography, climate, culture, religion and tradition. Yet, all of these are woven so closely and beautifully that the complete picture is amazing that is India. The saying Unity in Diversity perfectly suits with India. When you travel to India, you will have wonderful opportunity to observe and experience its beauty. In whatever part of the country you will travel you will find everywhere different charm and specialty.

India travel offers several attractions including beaches, hill stations, cultural heritage, historical monuments, deserts, wildlife, landscape beauty, fairs and festivals and lots more.

Tourists also come to India to visit its cultural heritage. If you want to see the cultural heritage of the country, Taj Mahal India, Khajuraho Temples, Red Fort Delhi, Golden Fort Jaisalmer, Konark Temple, Caves of Ajanta & Ellora, and several magnificent monuments in Rajasthan are must visit attractions. Visiting these historical monuments, temples and architectural landmarks of the country will be a unique experience of heritage India travel.

There are hundreds and thousands of temples thriving in India, but only few have stood through out the history as the example of great architecture and religious significance. Konark Sun Temple, also known as the Black Pagoda, is one such temple situated on the shores of Orissa which is an example of undying history.

There are many legends attached with Konark temple which was built by Narashima Deva I in 1278 AD.

The architectural grandeur of the temple can be known from the fact that the entire temple is made in the form of a chariot of the sun god, with 24 wheels, having 10 feet long diameter, decorated by spokes and beautiful carvings. The architecture grandeur has seven horses dragging the temple and two lions standing in front of the entrance.

Every year, many festivals are organized which adds glory to the place. The major festivals which take place at the temple are Konark Dance festival and Chandrabhaga Mela.
Konark dance festival takes place in the beginning of the month of December where some beautiful dance recitals are performed.

Chandrabhaga Mela takes place in the month of February where deities from all over the world come to celebrate the birth of Sun God and take dip in the holy waters of the river Chandrabhaga.

Konark Temple is the spot which should not be missed at any cost by tourists coming to India.

Goa is where Bollywood loves to holiday

2008-11-19T01:49:00.000-08:00

Goa is definitely the favourite holiday spot for most Bollywood celebrities. From Esha Deol and Arshad Warsi to Imtiaz Ali and Malaika Arora Khan - they all prefer to hit the golden beaches to unwind.

Esha Deol: Since I'm a total beach bum, Goa is one of the best spots India has to offer me. Lately, however, it's become too commercialised and not so safe. But I'll always have fond memories of my Goan holidays.

Chitrangda Singh: Goa is the Indian Europe. It has great energy.

Raima Sen: I go at least four times a year. I love the seafood, beaches and shacks. I love the chilled-out life there and the friendly vibes of the place. I can comfortably let my hair down.

Minissha Lamba: Goa is among the most easily accessible holiday spots, and one of those places where the beaches are swimmable.

Arbaaz Khan: Goa is definitely my favourite holiday spot. It's chilled out, not much hustle bustle. I love the place, people and food. Being close to Mumbai, it is an ideal vacation spot.

Tusshar Kapoor: I've only been to Goa for shootings. I love the place. The ambience is excellent. I love the water and the warmth of the people. It's the ultimate place to get out of the rat race.

Imtiaz Ali: Goa is big in my life. I go there very often, but still not as often as I'd like. I'd like to live the life of a hippy or a nomad on one of the beaches there. I'd like to just travel around the beaches and villages. Life is not possible for me without Goa. It takes the traffic and the noise out of my blood system.

Rohit Roy: Goa has been my favourite Indian holiday destination from the time I was in college. Earlier I'd go with a bunch of friends. But now it's become a hotspot for family holidays. My wife Manasi and daughter Kiara are as much beach persons as I am! I absolutely adore its chilled-out pace. I love Goan food, prawn curry and rice being my favourites. Oh I love everything about Goa!

Arshad Warsi: I love Goa. The place slows me down. I go there as often as I can.

Malaika Arora: I don't think there's any better place to holiday than Goa. I love it! My husband Arbaaz and I always dreamt of owning a home there. And now our dream is coming true.

Sammir Dattani: Since I am total water person, Goa is the place for me. At least twice a year I take off with a bunch of friends and we never get out of the water.

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Top 10 Unusual Holiday Spots

2008-11-19T01:36:00.000-08:00

10. Antarctica

Antarctica is Earth’s southernmost continent, overlying the South Pole. Be prepared to have your breath taken away by the spectacular sight of the Antarctic Peninsula as you follow in the footsteps of some of the world’s greatest explorers - Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen. Penguins and albatrosses are the birds most associated with Antarctica, but it is petrels, prions, fulmars and shearwaters that make up most of the species inhabiting the Great White Continent. Sea life include whales, seals, squid and fish. This is an ideal holiday for lovers of nature and the cold!

9. The Amazon

You might think that an immense rainforest would be a bulwark against extinction, but several species of turtles in the Amazon Basin are facing severe threats from development, hunting, and habitat loss. The Amazon turtle (Podocnemis expansa), a huge creature reaching 60 kilograms, and the smaller Tracajá turtle (Podocnemis unifilis) are hunted for their eggs, meat, oil, and shells. What’s more, these endangered species also depend on the river beaches to nest, and hydroelectric dams and river navigation projects threaten to flood critical nesting sites. If conservation is your thing, this is the holiday of a lifetime. What a great opportunity to see beautiful rainforests and the Amazon River - just be careful if you go swimming - there are some rather nasty creatures in that water.

8. Siberia

A truly cultural experience with a North Pole touch! Tour the Polar museum in St. Petersburg, visit with reindeer herders in the Siberian village of Khatanga, excursion to Taymur Nature Reserve, barbecue at the taiga border in the picturesque valley of Kotuy River and of course…stand on the North Pole! If you are lucky, you might even get to see Santa having a wee break after the Christmas rush. Oh - and maybe next year you can do Antarctica so you can tell your friends you have stood on both poles.

7. Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands (the western portion of the island is occupied by the Indonesian provinces of Papua and West Papua). Papua New Guinea is probably the most undiscovered country in the world. Some of the many things you can do in Papua New Guinea are visit markets, festivals, diving, surfing, hiking, fishing and see amazing unique flora and fauna. The markets are a definite must-see: along with local foods, arts and crafts are often on display and can be purchased for reasonable prices. Some of the items on display are traditional carvings and beadwork, traditional and contemporary paintings on canvas and traditionally woven baskets and serving trays. If you do decide to travel to Papua New Guinea, you would be well advised that there is a great deal of violence and crime there, and women should not travel unaccompanied.

6. Tibet

Tibet is becoming a much more popular tourist destination now that the Communist government of China are promoting tourism; nevertheless, it is still a place worth visiting because of the fascinating history of turmoil that has best the nation. This is the home of the unique form of Buddhism known as Tibetan Buddhism (headed by the Dalai Lama). If you are lucky, you may even have the opportunity to see an authentic Tibetan sky burial- keep away from those vultures though!

5. Mongolia

Mongolia contains very little arable land as much of its area is covered by arid and unproductive steppes with mountains to the north and west and the Gobi Desert to the south. Approximately thirty percent of the country’s 2.8 million people are nomadic or semi-nomadic. This is where the holiday comes in - you can take a horse trek across the steppes following the same paths that generations of nomadic tribes have taken, or across the desert. The Gobi Steppe Ride is supported by camel carts and ventures south through treeless steppes and semi arid areas towards the desert. Both rides take you into areas where there are no fences, no tracks and no telegraph poles; the only sign of human activity are the nomadic herders you meet along the way. This is a truly unspoilt land and it is almost unbeatable as a holiday destination for those who love the great outdoors.

4. Tangiers

This city in Morocco is not the most unusual on the list as it is a fairly popular holiday destination, but it is overlooked by so many people that it deserves a place here. Tangiers is a city with a brilliantly colorful past. From the 1920s it was an International Zone which made it virtually lawless, and in this climate many great writers (namely William Burroughs, Jack Kerouac, Tennessee Williams, and Paul Bowles) lived there. After the Second World War the city was reunited with Morocco. The city is a multicultural mecca and is situated across the strait from Gibraltar. Tangier has been reputed as a safe house for international spying activities and is home to one of the worlds largest private investigations company in the world. A railroad line connects the city with Rabat, Casablanca and Marrakech in the south and Fès and Oujda in the east.

3. South Korea

South Korea is not a particularly common holiday destination, but in my own experience, it is a great country to visit. If you stay in Seoul you can visit the DMZ (The Demilitarized Zone) - a section of land between North and South Korea which is a no-mans land. You can visit the tunnels that were built by the North Koreans in the hopes that they could be used for a sneak invasion of Korea (this happened after the Korean war incidentally), and you can use binoculars to look across the DMZ to see North Korean soldiers manning their side of the region - it is very eerie but amazingly cool. South Korea also has some incredible food - such as their famous Korean Barbeque, and be sure to try out kimchi (a fermented side-dish) - loved by all Koreans and many non-Koreans. Did you know that when Koreans have their photographs taken they often say “Kimchi!” in much the same way as Westerners say “Cheese!”?

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How to save money on holiday travel

2008-11-19T01:26:00.001-08:00

This holiday season, there's good news and bad news for travelers. The bad news is that fares are high, capacity is down and last-minute deals are likely to be few and far between. The good news is that if you're the type to do research and plan ahead, you're likely to save — or have already saved — as much money as is possible in times of high fuel prices and a struggling economy.

Last month, the cost of travel rose by 8.7 percent, according to the Travel Industry Association. Families, however pinched, are not likely to abandon holiday trips. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics says visiting friends and family is the single-biggest reason for travel, so to keep from breaking the bank, families have to become more creative in their travel planning.

"Really, it's about what's most important to you when you travel," says Elizabeth Sanberg, co-founder of gogreentravelgreen.com, a site that focuses on sustainable travel. "By figuring out what things you care about most that can't be changed, and what's flexible and can change, you can really cut expenses."

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World's 10 best places of final rest

2008-11-18T00:14:00.000-08:00

Above ground, or six feet under, "Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2009" guide lists the world's top 10 cemeteries, which are prime spots for both the living and the dead.

1. Taj Mahal, India

The Taj Mahal in Agra is surely the world's most beautiful place in which to push up daisies. The 17th century Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the mausoleum in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, using white marble from Rajathan, crystal from China, turquoise from Tibet and sapphire from Sri Lanka.

2. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt

These pyramids on the outskirts of Cairo may date back to around 3,200 B.C. but they're as space age as tombs get. They pierce the sky, unperturbed by crowds of hustlers, camels and camcorder-toting tourists. An estimated 20,000-30,000 workers built the pyramids, the largest of which is constructed from over two million blocks.

3. Dogon Tombs, Mali

A craggy mass rears up from the sun-bleached plan, one of West Africa's most stunning sights. This is where the remote Dogon tribe lives. Most extraordinary in this extraordinary place are the tombs. These are tiny buildings set into cliffs, often halfway up, with no discernible method of approach.

4. The Non-Catholic Cemetery, Italy

This overgrown garden is a surprise in a busy corner of Rome. Romantic poets Keats, who died at the unripe age of 26, and Shelley are buried here. The garden is dominated by a sharp-tipped pyramid: the fanciful tomb of a Roman general with a penchant for Egyptology.

5. Hollywood Forever Cemetery, United States.

These immaculate lawns and stately memorials are the final picture for much of Hollywood royalty. The glamorous graves at the back of Paramount studios are a veritable Milky Way of departed glitterati, including Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks and Mel Blancs, the voice of Bugs Bunny whose tombstone reads: "That's all folks."

6. The Catacombs of Rome, Italy

Ancient Roman law forbade burial within Rome city limits. Most Romans were cremated, but early Christians were buried in a series of endless, echoing underground tunnels, out near the old Roman road, the Via Appia. This underground death complex is Rome's most haunting sight - now empty of bodies but retaining early Christian frescoes, altars and icons.

7. Pere Lachaise Cemetery, France

The world's most visited cemetery has a star-studded afterlife gathering, with residents as diverse as Edith Piaf, Marcel Proust, Oscar Wilde, Honore de Balzac and Isadora Duncan. It was founded in 1804, but languished until the management had the bright marketing plan of moving here the remains of famous people, such as Moliere, to attract business.

8. Tomb of Pacal, Mexico

In the foothills of the Chiapas mountains, lie the remains of the ancient Mayan city of Palenque, set in a tangle of jungle. it's a place of cinematic splendor, complete with rolling mist and thick undergrowth. The city's most famous monument is the Tomb of Pacal (Pacal was the city's 7th century founder-king), which is located within the glorious Temple of Inscriptions, a steep, stepped pyramid.

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Kalka-Shimla railway line - World Heritage site

2008-11-18T00:11:00.000-08:00

Accepting inscription certificate from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for Kalka-Shimla rail section, Minister of State for Railways R Velu and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal on Sunday jointly dedicated the track as world heritage site to the nation.

The century-old rail route was accorded the World Heritage status by the UNESCO in July this year.

Velu unveiled the inscription plaque at Kalka Railway Station (KRS) today and a postal cover was also released on the occasion.

The Minister laid the foundation stone of a rail museum to be built in the memory of Baba Bhalku who guided the then British engineer to survey the rail route which became operational in 1903.

The World Heritage status to the KSR and releasing of postal cover in this regard will give fillip to the tourism and the railways, Velu said.

The 96-km-long rail line passes through 102 tunnels, 988 bridges and 917 curves, many of them are as sharp as 48 degrees.

The longest tunnel near Barog is 1143 metre. The four storey stone arch Gallery Bridge No 541 near Kanoh is an engineering marvel and a photographer's delight.

Talking about other rail projects in the state, the Minister said that Rs 700 crore has already been approved for the 33-km-long Chandigarh-Baddi rail line.

He also announced that the Bilaspur-Banupalli-Beri rail project would soon be taken up which would be beneficial for not only the tourists but to reduce the road traffic on this route.

Velu said that for strategic point of view the Pathankot-Jogindernagar-Mandi-Kullu-Manali-Leh rail line could be taken up as a national project for which survey has already been started.

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Top 10 places to sky watch

2008-11-18T00:09:00.000-08:00

Wondering where are the world's starriest skies? "Lonely Planet's Best in Travel 2009" guide lists the best places to eye the heavens.

This list is not endorsed by Reuters.

1. McDonald Observatory, United States

For a night-time even like no other, head 2,040 meters (6,700 ft) above sea level to the top of Mount Locke. The McDonald Observatory, at the Davis Mountains in Texas, enjoys some of the best dark skies in the continental United States, ensuring jaw dropping views of celestial splendor. It also holds regular star parties, allowing you to look through the kind of massive telescopes that make astronomers rub their hands with glee.

2. Stonehenge, Britain

Thought by some to be a giant, primitive observatory, Stonehenge suggests that going "wow" at the heavens' twinkling bits is nothing new -- they began building this monumental circle of standing stones around 5,000 years ago. It's still a good place to stargaze today -- out in Salisbury Plain, in Wiltshire there aren't many lights around interfering with nature's display.

3. Abu Simbel, Egypt

Even in a country crammed full of awesome ancient sites, Abu Simbel, one of the most important ancient observatories in the world, inspires. Its four 20 meter (66 ft) statues of Ramses II and the monumental main hall were laid out to honor sun gods. The whole structure was moved, lock, stock and statuary during the construction of the Aswan High Dam, and rebuilt, still precisely aligned.

4. Caribbean Islands

Where better to gaze at a bejeweled blanket of stars than the islands where the breeze is warm, the night air is fragrant with franipani and the rum is sweet. Find a romantic beachside, palm-fringed spot, lie back and star into the velvety darkness.

5. Pisac, Peru

For the Incas gazing at the heavens was about much more than horoscopes and romantic views. Instead, the firmament features a celestial roadway -- the Milky Way. Priests possibly used this wide band of diffuse light as a route map for parallel terrestrial pilgrimages.

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World's ugliest buildings

2008-11-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

Travel can open your eyes to some of the world's most beautiful sights and buildings -- and to some of the ugliest.

Web site (VirtualTourist.com www.virtualtourist.com) has come up with a list of "The World's Top 10 Ugliest Buildings and Monuments" according to their editors and readers. Reuters has not endorsed this list.

"Some of these picks have all the charm of a bag of nails while others are just jaw-dropping in their complexity. Love them or hate them, the list is certainly entertaining," said General manager Giampiero Ambrosi.

1. Boston City Hall; Boston, Massachusetts

While it was hip for it's time, this concrete structure now gets routinely criticized for its dreary facade and incongruity with the rest of the city's more genteel architecture. Luckily, it's very close to more aesthetically pleasing attractions. 2. Montparnasse Tower; Paris, France

While it's almost universally agreed that this ominous stick is a blight on the landscape of the world's most stunning city, its detractors admit that there is one very good reason to take in the view from the building's observation deck: it's the only place you can go to get a view of the city without it.

2. LuckyShoe Monument; Tuuri, Finland

It may be over-the-top, but there is something to be said for the giant, golden horseshoe that looms over Finland's second-largest shopping center. The shoe, and, in fact, the entire town in which it is situated, is said to bring good luck.

3. Metropolitan Cathedral; Liverpool, England

The people who work here must be sick of the space capsule jokes. Even those who find the building's shell a bit "spacey," have to admit the circular interior is pretty spectacular. 5. Port Authority Bus Terminal; New York City, New York

Those who pass by this iron monstrosity might be tempted to ask about a completion date, but alas, this is the finished product.

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Carnival Cruises augments cruise education among travel agents

2008-11-17T23:50:00.000-08:00

Carnival Cruises, in order to augment cruise holidaying among Indian travellers, has made available its entire fleet consisting of 22 ships for FAM trips for Indian agents. The agents can select any ship of the company for a FAM trip at reduced rates. The initiative started in September this year will continue till year end. Travel agents who have successfully completed the online cruise education course on Carnival University Online or the contracted agents are qualified for the FAM trip.

“Travel agents will be allowed to go on FAM trips at reduced rates and study the offerings of Carnival Cruises,” informed Mark Mendes, Managing Director, Discover the World Marketing India – representatives for Carnival Cruises in India. Carnival University Online is a joint initiative of Discover the World Marketing India and Carnival Cruises, focusing on cruise education. The University, which was launched late last year, currently has about 100 agents going through the course. “There is a dire need to educate travel agents about cruise destinations as they are a very different from regular destination one covers on land,” said Mendes. The online university cruise education is based on six different modules covering ship facilities, different vessels of the company, various destinations covered by Carnival Cruises, accommodation, identifying potential clients, deposit, payment and cancellation policy, customised cruise packages etc.

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Austrian Airlines to pull out of Mumbai by March 2009

2008-11-17T23:48:00.000-08:00

In a recent development, Austrian Airlines – the flag carrier of Austria is planning to cease its Mumbai operations by March next year. A source in Mumbai close to the development said, “The carrier has been holding internal meetings since last month and I think by next week it will confirm the decision. If Austrian confirms the cancellation of Mumbai service, it will implement it by March next year.” Internationally, Austrian has announced the decision of ceasing Mumbai operations, but there is no official confirmation from the airline authorities in India. Currently, the carrier operates from Mumbai and Delhi to Austria. However, there is no talk about pulling out of Delhi.

In 2004, the airline announced daily service on Mumbai – Vienna route, which was reduced to five times a week earlier this year. The current economic slowdown is being cited as the reason for the planned withdrawal of services, similar to other airlines around the world that have been forced to discontinue operations on some routes. According to sources in the carrier, this is a result of overcapacity on the India – Europe route. Other carriers offering indirect flights to Austria are Swiss International Air Lines, British Airways, Lufthansa, Emirates, Aeroflot, Air India, Air France, Iran Air, KLM Royal Dutch, Qatar Airways, Northwest Airlines, Thai Airways and United Airlines.

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Jet Airways obtains regulatory approval for the use of RNAV1

2008-11-17T23:46:00.000-08:00

According to a release from Jet Airways yesterday, the airline has become the first one in India to have obtained regulatory approval for the use of RNAV1 (Area Navigation) for its fleet of jet aircraft. The approval has been granted subsequent to the Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures being introduced in the country recently. Additionally, the carrier, according to the release has also become the first airline in India to have obtained regulatory approval for the conduct of RNP 0.3 approaches at applicable airfields.

With this advanced technology, a very high level of navigational accuracy can be achieved enabling better airspace utilisation through stringent accuracy requirements. This method allows aircraft to operate on any station referenced navigation aids or self-contained aids or both, thus enabling optimisation of airspace, reducing dependency on routes based on ground navigation aids and permitting reduced separation between two airborne aircraft without compromising on safety standards. Jet Airways has accordingly trained its pilots operating jet aircraft for these procedures.

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Fleeting visit to Taj Mahal

2008-11-17T23:27:00.000-08:00

In my capacity as the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours Limited, I am often asked about the destinations I have been to and how it all began in the first place. 10 years ago I embarked on my second trip around the world and I suppose you could say that this is where it truly all began. Here is my first experience of India.

I thought that visiting the Seven Wonders of the world in eight days would be a fun and challenging thing to do. Having decided with my sponsors the airlines and a chain of leading world-wide hotels it was decided that the Seven Wonders of the World were the Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the Golden Gate Bridge, The Empire State Building, Sydney Opera House and the Pyramids of Egypt. This would notch up a staggering 42,000 miles in 8 just days.

The first of my many flights was on schedule and I left Heathrow at around 10.25pm on the 17th of February. I was handed my overnight package by the stewardess and given a meal. It didn’t take long before I drifted off to sleep; I had deliberately got myself up early that morning to ensure that I would be able to sleep on the first flight. I awoke half way through the flight feeling incredibly nauseous but that was down to the anti- malaria tablets more than anything else.

It wasn’t long before I arrived at Delhi airport and in order to continue on to the next stage of the journey I had to find out how much a taxi would cost to take me to Agra and back. There were plenty of transport kiosks whose occupants frantically beckoned to me in order to persuade me to use their services. The first one that caught my attention offered me his “top of the range car”, which included air- conditioning. I gladly accepted this as it worked out at half the price I had expected to pay. I was then told apologetically that this car was not available and was offered the next best thing at a cheaper rate, still with air conditioning. Apparently this car was not available either and this went on until I was finally offered their cheapest car of all, which by this time I would have agreed to anything. The driver of this particular vehicle was summoned and flatly refused to take me saying that it would not be possible to get to Agra and back in time to get me to my next flight. It was beginning to look like I was not going to get to visit the very first Wonder on the list! The taxi drivers of this particular kiosk told me that I should try a different kiosk, which is exactly what ended up doing. I was told that there was a driver willing to attempt to take me the 300 miles in about 8 ½ hours for the price of £130 (GBP). I did not really have choice and was still £70 better off than I thought. We were whisked off to meet our driver for the day and the man that would hopefully make it possible for us to reach our first Wonder of the trip.

It soon became very apparent that if anyone was going to get me there and back in time it would most certainly be Ashok, the driver. I was barely three minutes from the airport when he started honking his horn like crazy. At first I thought this was a sign of aggression as is customary in our native country. I truly believed at one point that I was going to die in this foreign country due to manic way that Ashok handled the car. Where ever possible he drove like a man possessed reaching speeds of up to 120mph in some cases. This of course made me very apprehensive for the first hour or so of the journey, my underpants taking the full impact of my lack of faith!

There did not appear to be any rules and regulations where driving in India was concerned, Ashok seemed to make up his own rules as he went along. Hitting bumps in the road at speed saw me bashing my head on the roof on more than one occasion. I remember commenting aloud on the effects this was having on my backside and Ashok laughed saying that it was good exercise.

Well it soon became apparent that honking on the horn was a way of life and a way of getting people to pull out of your way. It didn’t seem to matter if a road similar to our own dual carriageways were full we merely pulled over to drive at speed toward the oncoming traffic, cars, bicycles camels etc, it was awesome and will always be the most memorable car drive that I have ever experienced. Most of the lorries had “horn please” painted on the back of them. Ashok weaved in and out of the traffic, his hand never far from the hooter. It was like having a police escort only without the police.

After the initial excitement of the taxi ride of a lifetime had subsided, I took time to absorb the scenery from the window of the cab. There was poverty in abundance wherever you looked. Hundreds of people lined the streets. Cattle wandered about like jaywalkers and now and again you would come across a dead, half- eaten dog, infested with flies lying in the road. Victims of Ashok’s previous drives one assumes! I have never seen so many people crammed into windowless buses, lorries or trailers being pulled by tractors. Donkeys pulled or carried loads that took up one entire side of the road, while camels took even bigger ones. Everywhere that you looked there were hundreds of people not doing anything in particular.

The fume filled air was brutal on your lungs. Diesel fumes choked out of vehicles in big black puffs. The humidity and the fumes made your eyes, throat and nose sting. I am surprised that I managed to remain conscious! I was not fairing very well at all. Apart from suffering from the effects mentioned above I was also dehydrating, sweating out more liquid than I could replace. I am sure there are people out there who would find the whole thing rather amusing as I being an intrepid professional world traveller (I had actually visited 108 countries on my previous trip!) who was feeling sick. I asked Ashok to pull over so that I could get a drink of water, he agreed but it was a good 30 or 40 miles before he actually did. The reason he had waited so long was so that we could purchase sealed water from a reputable source rather than risk drinking something that might make me suffer later.

I was surprised to see raw meat being displayed on the roadside, uncovered, soaking up the dirt and fumes of the surroundings.

What I noticed more than anything else was the overall calmness of everyone around us. There were no signs of stress or urgency to be somewhere at a certain time (apart from us of course!) so many people tolerating one another it was incredible.

I had recovered a little after having something to drink and was as excited to see eagles flying around in the sky. I watched as people threw bananas to the wild monkeys in the same way as we feed the ducks back home.

Everywhere you looked people were making good use of all the resources around them. Once we had broken free from the towns I had a chance to take notice of the countryside. It was fascinating to see the Indian ladies with huge loads balanced on their heads whilst carrying their babies in their arms. It was a wonderful thing to experience and would have been perfect if only it wasn’t so difficult to breathe. Seeing the way that life was lived in India made me realise what a bunch of whingers we are in the west!

We were only 11 kilometres from reaching the Taj Mahal when we experienced a huge traffic jam that even the psychopathic driver could not get me through! He had a few frantic words with one of the locals and informed me that the road was blocked due to the fact that two ministers were visiting the area.

Ashok did a sharp U- turn and tried to find an alternative route. Unfortunately there wasn’t one and we had to wait patiently in the queue like everyone else. The driver had driven his socks off to get me to within an 11-kilometre radius of the Taj with time to spare, and for one horrible moment it looked as if I was not going to get any closer. It was an awful shame because he had risked our lives along with those of the others we passed along the way, including the animals! He must have felt the same but wasn’t that easily defeated. Not long after I finally arrived at the first major landmark of the trip! Ashok dropped me off and said that he would find somewhere to park and allowed just 15 minutes to take photos etc. I paid the entrance fee; the equivalent of 75 pence, received a free key ring and made my way to the Taj, ande had my bags searched by the guards.

I was very impressed by the stunning creation of love that stood before me, definitely the stuff that fairytales are made of! I was aware that I did not have too much time so quickly set about taking photographs of the beauty before me in order to satisfy the publicity requirements for my sponsors.

I had designed a banner, which was to be photographed at each of the locations. When I unfolded it in the grounds of the Taj Mahal I was told very abruptly that banners were not acceptable and that the guards at the front gate should have taken it away from me. Someone did show me somewhere that I could hold the banner up in order to take a quick photograph but I declined agreeing that I should respect their wishes, as I was a visitor of their country. The banner gave a brief outline of the trip and advertised the sponsor’s names but they weren’t to know that it could have been a political statement for all they knew. I also couldn’t risk getting into trouble so early on in the trip!

I took enough photographs to prove that we had been there, along with a duplicate set in case the first ones did not come out and then one more lot for luck! The sun was beginning to set and it gave everything around that wonderful orange glow, a fitting end to a brief but memorable experience.

As promised Ashok was waiting for me and guided me back to the cab. A throng of brown -faced children begged me to purchase their wares. They surrounded me, I found it a little overwhelming to say the least. I was not sure if we had enough money to complete the trip at this moment in time so I couldn’t afford to give away one penny of what I did have so I kept having to refuse them. Their prices dropped with every step that took me closer to the car until I was being offered beautifully printed T-shirts for around 70p each. They flocked around the car hoping for a few pence that I really didn’t have, until Ashok drove off. It was very humbling.

Did I mention that the journey to Agra was an experience never to be forgotten? Well it was nothing compared to the journey back! We did the whole thing over but in the dark. It appears that you then use your headlights to get people out of the way instead of the car horn! So we were driving at speed in the dark with no headlights for 150 miles. Pedestrians and animals still littered the roads and I didn’t see them until we had passed them, so I can’t imagine how Ashok avoided them!

It was wonderful to see the culture by night. Little street fires lit the faces of their owners with a yellow hue. The moon which was also yellow was lit from underneath.

On a few occasions I saw hundreds of white lights adorning trees and buildings, pulsing music accompanied these scenes; Ashok told me that this represented “better off,” people getting married. Fireworks announced the success of the weddings. About half a dozen ceremonies were happening that I had witnessed that evening so goodness knows how many more were going on! We also saw a less grand wedding happening on the roadside; the grandest thing about this one was the flower garland around the young bride’s head! It was truly breath taking to observe the way of life for these people by night.

Ashok got me back to Delhi in good time. We even had a chance to stop at the roadside cafe for a cup of tea on the way. Well it wasn’t a café, as we know it back home; it was more like a large marquee at a craft fair. I was more than a little dubious about drinking anything that I hadn’t prepared myself.
I had grown quite used to Ashok during the course of the day and was sorry to have to say goodbye to him. He had looked after me incredibly well and I tipped him accordingly.

It was 10.10pm (Indian time) when we arrived at Delhi. The flight to Bombay was delayed for an hour. I have to say that of all the planes that we used throughout the trip, air India was the only one I felt really nervous about. There was quite a lot of turbulence during the whole flight. I remember forcing myself to try and sleep, reckoning that if I was going to die I would rather be asleep when it happened! I forgot to look and see if Ashok was the pilot when we departed from the plane. Thank you Ashok for making it happen.

By:

Stuart Cheese

Stuart Cheese is the UK Director of Operations for One World Tours and, having visited over 110 countries, has a wealth of travel experience. One World Tours / The Holidays in India Specialists

Nine great jazz joints

2008-11-17T02:23:00.000-08:00

They've played in some of the coolest clubs around. So it goes without saying that these six jazz greats know a thing or two about where they like to chill out between gigs.

New York City

When it comes to jazz joints in Manhattan, the question for baritone saxophonist Claire Daly is not where to go, but how many places she can pack into one night.

Three of her favorite spots downtown are within blocks of each other. "They're friendly, local haunts," Daly says. "You could spend the whole evening at any of them, or club-hop from place to place."

Daly usually starts her night at the Prohibition-era 55 Bar, where luminaries like Miles Davis alum Mike Stern often jam (55 Christopher St. ). Then it's off to Sweet Rhythm, a hangout formerly home to Sweet Basil that attracts the best of the upstarts and such veteran players as drummer Lewis Nash (88 Seventh Ave.).

By 1 A.M., Daly needs some sustenance, so she heads to the Garage Restaurant & Cafe, a swanky jazz supper club that serves steak frites and fresh Malpeque oysters during big-band shows (99 Seventh Ave.). BudgetTravel.com: New York hotels at a price that's right

New Orleans, Louisiana

Double bass player Ben Jaffe came into this world to the beat of New Orleans' famed music. "My parents arranged for a band to play at the hospital the day I was born," Jaffe says. He ultimately followed in the footsteps of his late father, tuba player Allan Jaffe, and joined his dad's New Orleans-based ensemble, the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.

When the group isn't on tour, Jaffe often checks out two of his favorite acts, the New Orleans Jazz Vipers and trumpeter Shamarr Allen, at The Spotted Cat (623 Frenchmen St., 504/943-3887), in the Faubourg Marigny district adjacent to the French Quarter.

"It's where locals go to hear acoustic jazz," he says. "The place is set up like a living room, so you can sit on a plush old couch and listen to music while watching passersby through the club's big bay windows."

St. Louis, Missouri

Whenever he visits St. Louis, reed player and bandleader J. D. Parran of Spirit Stage checks out Jazz at the Bistro in the stylish Grand Center arts district. The main room has family-style seating, so you can meet and mingle with such living legends as pianist Cedar Walton (3536 Washington Blvd., 314/289-4030).

Parran's other local haunt is the Scott Joplin House State Historic Site. Ragtime notables, including Donald Ryan and Richard Zimmerman, play several shows a year at the house, still furnished as it was when ragtime legend Joplin wrote "The Entertainer" there in 1902 (2658 Delmar Blvd., 314/340-5790).

Read the complete story here

Disneyland on a Budget

2008-11-17T02:07:00.000-08:00

Disneyland is a magical place that most children dream of going to visit. Your little one may dream of seeing the castle or the Pirates of the Caribbean or Mickey and all his friends, but I bet the dream is in their heart from a very young age. If you are dreaming of taking your family to Disneyland but wondering how to stretch your budget, I'd like to offer some tips that are sure to make your pocketbook happy, and help you take a trip that will create memories that will last a lifetime.

The first tip I have is, never buy your ticket once you get to the park. Do some research in advance and find out about available discounts. Check through any travel memberships that you have or look on the internet for discounted tickets. You can find deals for buying one or two tickets and getting one or two for free. Even Disneyland offers a savings for buying you ticket in advance.

When it comes to eating, your most pocketbook friendly option is to eat outside the park. There are many family friendly restaurants within walking distance from the park gates. Another good trick is to stay at a hotel that offers breakfast with your room rate. If you eat a good breakfast, you may only need a snack at lunch time. You can take granola bars in your bag for everyone. If you hotel has a refrigerator, you can stock up and go back to the hotel for a midday break and have your lunch. Always check ahead of time to find the closest grocery store to you hotel so you can go get some necessities once you arrive.

For savings on your hotel make sure you compare prices. Call the hotel direct, check with your travel agent, and look at the rates online. In regard to the online rates, you want to check at the hotels website plus a few of you discounted travel websites. You can find these just by typing cheap hotels in the search field. Of course I'm wary of the sites that make you pay upfront. They usually have strict penalties for canceling. Because of the way hotel rates are structured, the rates you find could vary significantly. Go ahead and put each one on hold and then you can go back and cancel the higher quotes. This way the best rate will be locked in. Just make sure that you pick a hotel that is not too far away from the park. The savings in the end won't be worth the cost it takes to get your family to the park.

A few other tips are to try to travel during off-peak seasons if your schedule will allow. Also, if this is a once in a lifetime trip for your family, make sure your children are old enough to enjoy the rides and remember the trip.

Happy planning!

By:

Veronica Rapp

Make sure to visit my blog Kid Friendly Travel for advice on traveling with young children. Disneyland - Kid Friendly Tips,and much more!

Doing a Photographic Tour of London

2008-11-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

For those who have visited London or are thinking of doing so, then taking London photographs may be one of the top activities you would like to engage in. Taking London photos can be a great way of remembering your visit. There are a lot of places, images and things to see that will fill any space your camera has available. It is advised that when doing a photo tour of London that you take along with you a good 35mm camera with a wide-angle perspective-correction lens.

A good place to start taking London pictures is along the banks of the River Thames where many of the sights of London can be seen. Sights such as the Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, St Pauls Cathedral, The Tower Bridge and many others can be seen and the view is good enough for some breathtaking photographs. You can get on a boat and visit Kew Gardens, which is a great place to take London photos.

If you love architecture then your next stop should be the works of Christopher Wren arguably one the greatest architects the city has ever seen. St. Paul’s cathedral is one of the more famed restoration works of Wren’s and is also one of the major locations for London photographs to be taken. Take a climb to the top of the cathedral and there you will find a good location to take London pictures of the Thames and the rooftops of the surrounding buildings. Wren also has about thirty other buildings located all over the city that are also great architectural pieces.

One location you should visit is the zoo located in Regent’s park. Here you can take London pictures of people looking at the animals and petting some of them. You can visit the many art museums around the city but many of them have banned or placed restrictions on photography. At the British Museum you can take pictures of the people interacting with the art, tripods are not allowed.

London photographs can never be complete without pictures of lawyers walking around in wigs to and from the Royal Courts of Justice. There are quite a bit of older builds around the courts that will make ideal London photos. Arguably the main place for London photos is Buckingham Palace. Here you can take pictures of the palace and the famous changing of guard. This palace is world famous which means it receives many visitors each day so be prepared to see a lot of people when you go there.
Another must for London photos is the London underground railway. Here you can take picture on the trains or take the trains as the pull in to the station. The trains travel to different parts of the city so you will have a lot of views of it to take many photographs. There many other areas and neighbourhoods in London where you can take London pictures, and to do a good job will take a couple of days. Make sure you carry enough film as there will a lot of London photographs to be taken.

By:
Mark Anderson
London Photography Studio

Backpacking Survival Kit - Some New Ideas

2008-11-15T02:40:00.000-08:00

There are the usual backpacking survival kit ideas that have stood the test of time. Almost everyone agrees that some way to start a fire, some medical supplies and some kind of blade are necessary. Other items, ranging from saws to signal whistles can be very useful, but their necessity in a basic kit are argued.

The following are the usual things that survival kits may have. After that you'll find a few new ideas. The usual survival kit items: Fire starter (like a magnesium stick), waterproof matches, signal mirror, sewing kit, foil blanket, water purification tablets, fishing line and hooks, compass
, fire tinder, plastic bags, duct tape, knife, bandana, nylon cord, paper, pencil or pen, dental floss, and a condom (the latter for carrying water in a wilderness emergency).

First aid items usually include bandages , aspirin or other pain killers, gauze pads, tweezers, and antibiotic ointment. More extensive first aid kits might also have splints, medical tape, sun block, safety pins, and a snake bite kit. Of course, any crucial medications you need are a good addition as well.

New Survival Kit Ideas

Here are some ideas you may not have heard of. First, why not have two survival kits? Make one for all-around use on easy hikes and when using a vehicle (ATV) or bicycle. These are the times when it is easier to carry a little extra weight. Of course, the problem is that we tend to leave a kit behind - or even leave a whole backpack behind - when we want to avoid the weight, like when you see a summit you want to climb up to. That is where the second kit comes in.

The second survival kit can be kept inside the first, so there is no unnecessary repetition of items. The point of this one is to have the most crucial items in the smallest lightest package. It can include bandages, a razor blade or small knife, aspirin, water purification, duct tape, pencil stub and paper. It should comfortably fit in the pocket of your pants or jacket. An altoids container can hold all of this, and has a mirrored surface inside as well, for signaling rescuers in the case of getting lost.

Another good idea for a survival kit is a couple small photos of those who are important to you. Survivors of wilderness disasters often report that thinking of their loved ones kept them alive. A photo or two to look at makes this even more of an inspiration.

Notes are a good survival kit idea too. First aid kits have tiny guides to help you in medical situations, but you might also want a reminder of survival techniques. My own notes have the most common edible and useful wild plants listed, so I'll remember what to look for and why. You can fit a lot of information on one piece of paper.

Then there is your "mental survival kit," meaning the knowledge and practiced attitudes of your mind. Practice thinking of how to survive, for example, rather than about how bad a situation is. Read and recall a few good true survival stories, too. You'll feel more confident in your abilities and chancesFree Articles, and telling such stories to others in your group might lift everyone's spirits.

Apply these new survival kit ideas - they're cheap wilderness emergency insurance for your next backpacking trip.

By:
Steven Gillman
http://www.The-Ultralight-Site.com/wilderness-survival-guide.html

Tips for Travelling in the Desert

2008-11-15T02:35:00.000-08:00

Nearly of the scenic goal profiles and photos you'll look on my Scenic Treasures site will be in the Southern region of the United States. And just like any other arena of the world where weather can be main, there are things you should know before starting out on your venture. Even if you're just preparation a day trip up, these are very important:

1.Take supplemental water. Both for your vehicle and the people travel with you. A great rule of thumb is to have at least 1 gallon per somebody, plus 1 or more gallons for your car.

2.Get snacks or dry food items. This should be something that can hold up to a lot of heat up. The desert gets extremely hot at confident times of the year, and interior your car it can go well above 150 degrees. So you want food items that can hold up those temperatures without going uneasy.

3.Hold blankets, sheets, towels, or other particulars that can stop the sun. If your car ruins down, you can hang these on the windows to keep most of the strength out, thus keeping out some of the heat, and saving you from becoming hard sunburned.

4.Put On a hat. This is especially main for people with light colored or thin hair, because your scalp will sunburn badly - very rapidly.

5.Observe boxing gloves on hand. This sounds unfamiliar, but if your car is parked in the sun for even a close amount of time, everything in it becomes exceedingly hot. Experiencing back in and just touching the steering wheel for example, or tough to turn the inflammation key, can literally burn your skin. It's like contacting a hot stove.

6.Mind of leather seats. This is critical specially for baby car seats. The leather heats up drastically when the sun is at once on it. But even without the sun, leather takes super hot in the desert during the day and it can burn you very seriously.

By:
AdaDenis
Travel Places Australia Tourists Attractions

Beaches Off the Western Cape of South Africa

2008-11-13T01:15:00.000-08:00

The Western Cape of South Africa Cape Town Beaches are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. There are beaches that are great for couples, individuals, and some that are best for families. The Western Cape of South Africa beaches are popular destinations for residents and tourists alike. The False Bay beaches along the coast of the Western Cape of South Africa are family friendly and warmer than the beaches along the Atlantic Coast. The Atlantic Coast beaches have a multitude of shops and restaurants while the False Bay beaches are more sparsely populated.

Atlantic Ocean Beaches on the Western Cape of South Africa

Along the Western Cape of South Africa are the beaches that have made the area known as the Cape Town Riviera. Te area is positioned along the Atlantic Cost on the western side of the Cape Peninsula. The beaches are more protected from the strong winds and have more time in the summer sun. However, the water does tend to be cooler on these beaches than on the beaches of False Bay.

North of the Atlantic Seaboard are the Table Bay Beaches of the Western Cape of South Africa. These beaches are near Robbin Island and Table Mountain and are perfect for surfing, paddle skiing, wind surfing, and swimming. Some of these breath taking beaches are Milnerton, Big and Little Bay, Blouberg’s, Table View, and Dolphin.

The Western Cape of South Africa beaches people visit if they want to be seen and to people watch are located on the Atlantic Seaboard. While people watching is one of the main activities you can also enjoy a game of volleyball, swim, and bathe in the sun. Some of the favorites in this area are the beaches of Sandy Bay, Hout Bay, Camps Bay, Three Anchor Bay, Seapoint, and Clifton.

False Bay Beaches on the Western Cape of South Africa

The beaches of False Bay are located off the coast of the Indian Ocean on the Western Cape of South Africa. Visitors are drawn to these beaches every year in because of the low key and relaxed atmosphere. These beaches are more family friendly than those on the Atlantic side, yet they can get almost as busy.

The beaches of False Bay on the Western Cape of South Africa are found between Cape Point on the western end of the bay and the Helderberg beaches along the eastern end of the bay. A few of the Helderberg Beaches are Kogel Bay, Strand, Gordon’s Bay, and Bikini Beach. All of these beaches are only about a forty-five minute drive from the city of Cape Town. These beaches are perfect for families who want to enjoy fishing, sun bathing, walks along the beach, surfing, and swimming.

The Western Cape of South Africa Cape Point Beaches are made up of Smitswinkelbaai, Boulders, Diaz Beach, St. James, Glencairn, Muizenberg, and Fish Hoek. These beaches are great for families to swim, surf, body board, and play in the sun.

All of the beaches along the coastline of the Western Cape of South Africa have something unique to offer visitors. The variety of activities ensures that all beach goers will have a fantastic time. If the beach you visit doesn’t have exactly what you are looking for or is too crowded for you, dozens of other beaches are only minutes away. The beaches along the coast of the Western Cape of South Africa are great for all ages.

By: James Camstock

http://www.westerncapeaccommodation.co.za

Mauritius - A Picture Perfect Beach Destination

2008-11-12T23:58:00.000-08:00

Arab traders discovered the then uninhabited island in the 10th century. But they were not charmed sufficiently to consider permanent settlement. The Portuguese early in the sixteenth century landed, but they too passed over the chance to lay claim for their king. But in 1598 the Dutch finally seized the opportunity. The island was grabbed for and named after Maurice, Prince of Orange and Count of Nassau -then ruler of the Netherlands.

In the century that followed, the Dutch established settlements and devised means to live off the land. They introduced sugar and tobacco, which they farmed using African slave labour. Sugar is today still an important part of the economy. The Dutch were insensitive to the extremely fragile ecosystem that makes up an isolated island such as Mauritius. On their watch, most of the islands' indigenous forests were felled, and lost. The bird known as dodo was also shot to extinction. Thus did the trigger-happy Dutch give life to the expression "as dead as a dodo".

The Dutch courage that had made them pioneers was however not to last. They were subjected to many trials by the forces of nature - cyclones, droughts and floods. And also by the forces of man, for pirates were a constant headache. In 1710, they fled to the more hospitable Cape of Good Hope, at Africa's southern tip. A short five years after the Dutch left, the French claimed the island, and renamed it Isle de France.

The French were much more successful than the Dutch in harnessing the potential of the island. They maintained law and order and laid the foundations for administration of society. Under the celebrated French Governor, Mah&eactute; de Labourdonnais, real nation building began. The French brought in more African slaves and expanded further sugar farming. They also laid out some social and economic infrastructure to support the settlers. Port Louis, named after King Louis XV, and today the capital of Mauritius, dates back to this period.

Though the French had introduced systems of law and order, Port Louis turned out to be a favourite of corsairs. Corsairs were mercenary marine who specialised in the plunder of ships on behalf of a client country. The British, a great sea power at the time, had a vested interest in terminating the power of these mercenaries. And that is how Mauritius, so far away from Europe, got involved in the Napoleonic wars. In 1810, the British backed by superior force of arms, persuaded the French to leave the island.

In the 1814 Treaty of Paris, the British - magnanimous victors indeed, allowed the French settlers to remain in Mauritius. They too were allowed to retain their property, language, religion and legal system. The British reverted to the name the Dutch had given the island, but Port Louis retained its name. But in the century and a half that the British ruled, they were never really as grounded as the French had been.

Franco-Mauritians prospered on an agrarian economy based on slave labour. But in 1835, they felt the capricious hand of a great power when slavery was abolished. This is perhaps the single most important measure carried out under British rule, and the consequences had a far-reaching effect on the evolving demographics of the nation. India, a British colony greatly abundant in human resources was the answer to the labour problem that arose. In the years that followed, the descendants of the Indian labourers who came to work the sugar fields greatly multiplied. The Chinese also came -as labourers and traders.

Today, Indo-Mauritians constitute close to 70% of the population. As in other colonies in that historic period, and upto the 1930's in Mauritius, non-whites had very limited say in the running of the country. And that is why Gandhi - that great liberator of men's minds, came to Mauritius in 1901, in particular to give heart to Indo-Mauritians. After years of protracted concessions to democratic rule, the British finally bowed out in 1968, when finally granted independence.

The events we talk about above are however very recent. About eight million years ago, the island emerged from the depths of the sea as result of volcanic activity. Occupying 1860 sq km, it is situated just above the Tropic of Capricorn, 890 km to the east of Madagascar. Rising from the sea, the central plateau formation is about 400 m above sea level. There are mountains scattered in the island, and a few peaks, the highest of which reaches 820 m.

As a country, Mauritius includes the islands of Rodrigues and Agalega, the Cargados Carajos Shoals and a few smaller mostly uninhabited islands. Mauritius is almost wholly ringed by a coral reef that is reputed to be the worlds third largest. Both the Dutch and the French were extremely reckless in allowing the uncontrolled invasion of indigenous forests. Today, less than 2% of these forests remain. Many of the nearly 700 species of indigenous plants are threatened with extinction. Starting from the late 1970's, a belated but systematic effort has been underway to conserve the unique flora of the island.

The wildlife faces similar dangers. In the first place, animal migration to this isolated island was by air or sea only, greatly limiting the diversity of species. The animals the Dutch found included out-of-size reptiles and flightless birds. But except for bats, there were no mammals and no amphibians at all. The animals brought aboard ships by man include monkeys and rats - thanks to the Portuguese, while the Dutch take credit for deer and wild boar. Some of these animals threaten to choke the life out of indigenous species - they eat their eggs, and even their young.

Mauritius is not all bad news for nature lovers' -there are plenty of birds and marine life is abundant. However, some of the endemic bird species, such as Mauritius kestrel, echo parakeet and pink pigeon number not more than a few hundred. Such are now under some form of captive breeding program, with the hope of raising their numbers.

The island's maritime zone boasts more than 1,000 species of marine life- fishes, shells and mollusks, in numbers beyond count. The spectacular way to explore the spectacular underwater world is onboard a submarine. The sub also allows you to see some ship wrecks dating back to the Dutch period.

You can swim at various places at beaches, lagoons and inlets. Swimming beaches are best to the north, though there are other good sites to the southwest and to the west near Flic en Flac. The west coast offers good sites for surfing at Tamarin, and diving at Flic en Flac. At Grand Bay beach, you get good shopping, nightclubs, bars, and restaurants and the chance to interact with locals. In addition, the swimming, surfing, sailing and angling is good. From here, you can also make a boat excursion of the islands to the north.

In the islands' interior, there are good opportunities for hiking and trekking. Black River Gorges National Park has excellent walks, and at the same time you can see some endemic plants and birds. The R&eactute;serve Forrestière Macchab&eactute;e and Rivière Noire National Park are also good for hiking. In addition, captive breeding to raise the numbers of Mauritius endangered endemic birds is underway here. For trekkers, you will do well at the plateau at Curepipe and at the island of Rodrigues.

The Royal Botanical Gardens of Pamplemousses are very popular with visitors. The gardens date back to 1735, during the French period. Here you will see a large collection of exotic and indigenous plants in excellent surroundings. Among the most peculiar specimens are the giant Victoria regia water lilies, whose origins are in the Amazon, and the talipot palm- known to bloom once every 60 years before dying. At the Casela Bird Park, you can see some of its 140 bird species, including the rare Mauritian pink pigeon. Some of these excursions are included in the Mauritius tour packages offered by the various vendors.

Mauritius offers some excellent golf courses, and visitors are increasingly aware of it. There are at least three hotels with 18-hole courses and another five with 9-hole courses. The Ile aux Cerfs course, which sits on its own tiny island is the most spectacular. For honeymooners, the island is very welcoming. Almost all hotels offer a special honeymoon package. As a non-resident, you can easily tie the knot here. But a few formalities must be completed with officialdom; make sure you comply before arrival.

Mauritius is at the cultural cross roads of Europe, Africa and Asia. The Dutch, French, Africans, Indians, Chinese and British came under one guise or another and have today influenced the character and cultural life of the island. Though the island is closest to Africa geographically, culturally it is much closer to Asia.

The biggest racial groups are Indo-Mauritians who constitute about two thirds of the nations 1.2 million peoples, followed by Creoles - Afro- Mauritians who are just over a quarter of the population. Franco- Mauritians and peoples of Chinese origin combined make up about 5% of the population. While English is the official language, French, Creole, Bhojpuri and Urdu are widely spoken. Religion is the other factor defining the people of the island, with Hinduism (51%), Christianity (30%) and Islam (17%) leading.

The cuisine of the island reflects the diversity of its people. French, Creole, Chinese and Indian foods - with local variations are all found here. Wherever you stay, you will most likely be able to watch or even dance the Sega. This energetic and erotic Creole dance has origins in the sugar fields, in the days when African labour was captive. You may also be fortunate to encounter any of the various festivals celebrated in this multicultural country. Only the most widely traveled however, will be prepared for the Cavadi. On this Tamil festival, penitents pierce their bodies, tongues, and cheeks while some march on shoes of nails.

Tourism is one of the main pillars of the economy of Mauritius. The bulk of visitors come from South Africa, Germany, France, Australia and UK. Hotels in Mauritius are plenty, and they range from 5-star luxury to those with just basic amenities. Budget stay comes in the form of bungalows, guesthouses and self-catering apartments. The period June to September and around Christmas is the busy season and if you plan to travel then, you are advised to book your accommodation in advance. Mauritius is still relatively affordable, though there has been talk of turning it into an up market beach destination.

Mauritius is a year-round destination. The best times to visit however, are the periods April-June and September- November. These are the months when it rains least and the temperatures are moderate. January to April is hottest, and daytime temperatures can reach 35°C. Temperatures tend to be lower inland, away from the coast. The main rains come between December and April, though there are light rains year round. November to February is when cyclones are most likely to occur. But do not be deterred; chances of meeting cyclones are not very high, and it is estimated that they hit the island about once every 15 years.

If you are keen on water sports, beware that diving is best December to March, and surfing between June and August. For big game fishing, come between October and April. You should be comfortable with light clothing suitable for the tropical climate. But you need warmer clothing for evenings and the southern winter months between July and September. Whatever time of year you travel, do carry some rainwear. In the summer months between November and April, you are advised to bring along sunglasses, sun hats and sunscreen.

Andrew Muigai is editor of AfricaPoint Insider online newsletter. It is part of Africapoint.com - the Africa travel website that has helped thousands of travelers discover Africa. You can view more info on Mauritius hotels and resorts at the website. http://www.africapoint.com/hotels/mauritius.htm.

California Wine Caves

2008-11-12T23:45:00.000-08:00

What do you picture in your mind when you think of caves? Spelunking or perhaps crawling on all fours to fit through a small space may come to mind. Perhaps the experience of absolute and complete darkness, the degree of darkness so dark you can't see your hand in front of you? Maybe you imagine more sinister things such as spiders, cobwebs or other imaginable things in the dark. Caves evoke different ideas and feelings to many people. One idea is that of an ideal environment to age fine wine in oak barrels or age a sparkling wine in a bottle.

Caves have been used for thousands of years for aging wines in different parts of the world. In Wine Trail Traveler's trip to Sonoma and Napa Valleys in California, we experienced different caves. Chinese workers built some caves in the late 1800's after their work was completed on the railroads. These workers built miles of caves with the use of picks, axes and shovels. In contrast we also experienced caves built with modern technology such as a Welsh mining machine. The walls were then covered with shotcrete, a mixture of sandy cement and pea gravel.

Some of the caves were very clean and lit by electric fixtures whether they were overhead bulbs or elegant electric wall sconces. Other caves were darker and lit by candles or lanterns giving a romantic glow to the oak barrels lining the sidewalls. Some caves showed lichen growth hanging several feet from the ceiling. One wonders why they were never cleaned with a broom or vacuum. We observed thousands of bottles, showing dust resting quietly for years.

Early winemakers who came to the Napa and Sonoma regions in the 1800 's from Europe were familiar with the use of caves. We trekked through two cave systems dating from the late 1800's.

One advantage of caves is temperature control. The cave temperature is often constant yearlong and varies very little. It doesn't matter if the outside temperature is 110 degrees F or 10 degrees F, a cave system can maintain an even temperature often between 57 and 64 degrees F. This cool even temperature provides an ideal aging environment for wine. This constant temperature also provides economic benefits for a winery. Fewer resources are spent on heating or cooling a cave than a building. Often the land above a cave can be planted with grapevines.

A second advantage of caves is darkness. Light can harm wines and caves are dark. This darkness is a particular advantage to sparkling wines undergoing aging in glass bottles.

Humidity control is a third advantage of a cave system. Oak barrels breathe. Some of the wine evaporates. If the humidity is high, less wine will evaporate. In some cases caves have reduced the amount of evaporation from 6% to 1%. This also is an economic bonus for a winery since less wine is needed to top off the barrels.

Although the lichen hanging from the ceiling looked eerie at one winery we visited, it actually helps to filter the air in the cave.

Some wine caves have an area that can be used for special events. The atmosphere can provide a rewarding experience. All of these advantages led to an interest in constructing new caves during the 1980's. Expect to see more wine caves constructed in the future.

By: Terry

Terry Sullivan is a retired educator and wine enthusiast who designed the website Wine Trail Traveler. He looks forward to relating his travels about wineries to the website visitors. He developed instructional modules about wine topics for readers.

Top 5 City Winter Getaways

2008-11-12T23:40:00.000-08:00

Many people suffer from what is commonly called the winter blues. The sunshine and general carefree attitude of society in the summer makes the individual feel light hearted and seems to lift the weight of the world of their shoulders. However, despite the cold chilly weather there are many locations worldwide that could rejuvenate you and lift your spirits to summer heights. Here are the top 10 locations during winter:

1. Sydney: Winter in Sydney is similar to summer periods in colder countries so that temperature is note exactly that cold. Sydney is a beautiful city, with excellent shopping facilities, but even better restaurants and outdoor activities. You can climb the Harbour Bridge, visit the Opera House or enjoy the beach, all in the sunshine and heat of winter! That is why a stay at the Four Points By Sheraton at Darling Harbour can brighten up your winter!

2. Miami: Miami is in a class of its own as far as a vacation destination goes. As it is located in the American South, it is warm all year round, despite having its fair share of rain. The atmosphere is laid back and relaxed, and there are plenty of attractions including Miami Metrozoo and Bayside Marketplace for the extreme shoppers. Staying at a hotel with great facilities, A recommended hotel in Miami would be the San Juan Hotel.

3. Phuket: Although Phuket is now extremely popular with holidaymakers; it is also the perfect destination for a winter break. The weather is beautiful, and the natural environement like the Phi Phi Islands, Phang Nga Bay and Kata Beach are all must visits when touring Phuket. The Allamanda Laguna in Phuket is one of the most luxurious hotels in Thailand and should be one of the first hotels on your list.

4. Montreal: Although Montreal is cold in the winter, its beauty is immense at that time of year. Outdoor ice-skating is extremely fun, as is exploring the historical buildings in the city like the Notre-Dame Basilica. The snow just adds to the atmosphere there. The Days Inn has the perfect location for a base in the downtown area of the city. It is close to everything you would ever want to see and should be considered as accommodation.

5. Dubai: Dubai is generally too hot for Westerners in the summer, but is definitely worth visiting in the winter when it is cooler. The culture is amazing in the city and must be explored via the markets, shops and historical buildings in the centre. You can even hire a boat and sail for a while around the marina. Dubai caters for the tourist trade and looks after its guests well, as is demonstrated by the hospitality. The Ascot Hotel is one of the best in the world for customer service.

A winter break seems to be becoming more popular as the years go by. Winter can be depressing if the sky is grey and your mood begins to mimic the weather. A break can lift your spirits, and these diverse but cultural places can help to give you a new lease of life!

By: E Cho
http://www.ratestogo.com/Hotels-Last-Minute/EN Last Minute Hotel Deals

Travel to ASEAN countries without visa for one month

2008-11-12T03:57:00.000-08:00

People from ASEAN countries can now travel to any of the country in the grouping for one month without visas, except for Myanmar.

Malaysian Immigration director-general Mahmood Adam said Myanmar was excluded for security reasons as the country was still mired in crisis. "Previously, tourists from ASEAN countries are only allowed to travel not more than 17 or 18 days without visas," he told reporters after chairing the ASEAN heads of immigration and heads of consular meeting here yesterday.

Mahmood said the extension was aimed at making travel in the region easy and encouraging them to stay longer.

Read the complete story here

Delhi - A Must Visit for All Travel Freaks

2008-11-11T03:42:00.000-08:00

Delhi, the heart of India is also known as mini India Rome of the East. This historical Indian city is one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. Delhi has been the capital of several empires in ancient India and has grown up to be a cosmopolitan city owing to the immigration of people from across the country.

The legendary city has a mini India feel to it. The culture of Delhi is liberal and tolerable and people from different parts of India have come and made Delhi their home.

New Delhi is third largest city and capital of India and is a combination of the ancient and the modern Indian culture. The city is a major attraction and one of the most important tourist destinations in India. It is a magnificent place to explore and is the ideal holiday option for your tours to India.

The city comprises of two parts - the Old Delhi and the New Delhi and is the business, industrial and travel hub of Northern India. The city is full of historical monuments which tell the saga of a bygone era. Each of them has a history of its own, be it Qutub Minar, Old Fort, Red Fort or the India Gate. These icons are major attractions for the tourists coming for Delhi India travel from all over the world. The warm hospitality of the city will surely steal your heart and you never know when Delhi becomes the most favorite destination of yours in the world.

The bustling markets of Delhi need special mention that make the city a shopping paradise. From the traditional jewelry, handicrafts and garments to modern electronic goods, Delhi markets are the dream destination for the travelers who love shopping. Located at the heart of the city, Connaught Place is the shopper’s delight. Dilli Haat is famous for handicrafts and handloom items. In Delhi you can find virtually everything - from simplest Indian handicrafts to international designer labels.

The city boasts of some of its greatest hotels in the whole country that offer highest-quality services to its guests. Most of the excellent Delhi Hotels are ideally situated thereby making it convenient and comfortable for the tourists to visit the places of Delhi without any hassles. Ranging from the budget hotels to the luxury accommodations, you can find every option to stay in the city.

Most of affordable and budget Delhi hotels are located near the airport and the old Delhi areas. But, if you are looking for a plush and luxurious hotel, you can simply select a great five star, four stars or a three star hotel.

The most popular places to visit in New Delhi are India Gate, Jama Masjid, Jantar Mantar, Bahai Lotus Temple, Dilli Haat, Humayun's Tomb, Lakshmi Narayan Temple, National Science Center, Nehru Planetarium, Parliament House, Old Fort, Qutab Minar, Rajghat, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Red Fort and Safdarjang's Tomb. The list is endless and to get the real feel of Delhi and experience the warmth and hospitality of the city, take Delhi Flights and have an unforgettable holiday experience.

Visit the site to get more information on Delhi India travel, Delhi Hotels and Delhi Flights and other tourist destinations in India.

Innkeepers: Is your Bed and Breakfast Eco-Friendly?

2008-11-11T03:27:00.000-08:00

By Kathy Steinemann

If we intend to leave our planet inhabitable for future generations, we must act now. There are many environmentally friendly changes you can apply. Some are free or relatively inexpensive. Read this article for more details.

If we intend to leave our planet inhabitable for future generations, we must act now. There are many environmentally friendly changes you can apply in your bed and breakfast or inn. Some are free or relatively inexpensive. Read this article for more details.

Free

Turn off or adjust heating and air conditioning in unoccupied guestrooms. About an hour before guests are scheduled to arrive, readjust to comfortable levels.

Older toilets waste water. Place a brick into the tank to reduce the amount of water needed for every flush.

Decrease the temperature of your hot water tank to 130°F (55°C). Water will be hot enough for showering and washing dishes, but the cost for heating will be reduced. If your bed and breakfast allows children, consider reducing the temperature even further: 120°F (49°C). A child's skin burns in 1/4 the time that it takes to burn an adult.

Use environmentally friendly cleaning products. In many cases, you can utilize vinegar and water, pure orange oil, and other natural alternatives.

Learn to cook with your microwave. Many standard recipes have microwave alternatives - which prepare more quickly and require less energy.

Use the air dry setting on your dryer when feasible.

Disposable duster cloths (like 'Swiffer') can be reused several times. Wash in plain cold water, then use the air dry cycle in your dryer. The cloths will not come out white - but they will be dust free. Once their useful dusting life has been depleted, launder them with bleach and air dry one final time. They make good stuffing for toy animals and other handmade items.

Relatively Inexpensive

Microfiber cleaning cloths are little miracle workers for cleaning and dusting. You can buy different types for dusting, window washing, and greasy messes. In many cases you do not need to use cleaning fluids - they work dry or with a little bit of water. When they get really dirty, launder and reuse them.

Exchange incandescent light bulbs for energy-saving alternatives - or replace with fluorescent fixtures.

Double check the insulation in your inn's attic. Adding more insulation can make appreciable differences in heating and cooling costs.

Install indoor motion-sensing light receptacles in places like guest bathrooms, hallways, and other areas where guests (or you) may leave the lights on by accident. Check the range of the sensors, and do not place too close to sleeping quarters.

If you must replace appliances, choose Energy Star alternatives - which use 10% to 50% less electricity to operate.

If your rooms have coffee makers, make sure that they turn off automatically when not being used. Not only does this save energy, but it helps to prevent fires.

More Expensive

Increase climate control efficiency by modernizing windows. Speak to a professional about the various options available, and choose the most energy-efficient window treatments that you can afford. The initial expense may seem high - especially for a large inn - but the windows will ultimately pay for themselves as your heating and air conditioning bills are reduced.

Is it time to repaint your bed and breakfast? Consider switching to vinyl or aluminum siding. An extra layer of insulation can be added between your old exterior and the new siding. Climate control costs will be lower, and you won't have to repaint every few years.

If you are designing a new bed and breakfast, plan for extra insulation (and soundproofing) in the walls between rooms. Investigate other ways of building eco responsibility into the inn's design as well.

Ask your Guests to Participate

Prepare a brochure outlining what your inn is doing to protect the environment. Let guests know that any eco-friendly measures will ultimately translate into a safer planet. Include a suggestion section. Most guests will be happy to participate, and some may have valuable ideas that you can implement in the future.

Use your Imagination

Be on the lookout for more ideas as you browse the internet, read the newspaper, and watch television. Let's help to give our world the gift of a positive future!

(c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann:

About the Author:

Searching for a bed and breakfast, hotel, or hostel? Visit 111 Travel Directory. Trying to find some great travel tips? Surf over to 1000 Tips 4 Trips. Article source: 111 Travel Directory: Triple1.com (triple one dot com)

Seven Practical Travel Gadgets for Your Next Road Trip

2008-11-11T03:24:00.000-08:00

By Kathy Steinemann

Do you like to travel by car? Are you annoyed because your electronic gadgets aren't travel-friendly? Do you need a way to heat your baby's bottle between stops? Are you always running out of rechargeable batteries? Help is here - read these tips!

This article provides information about a few gadgets that are extremely useful and practical while you travel by car. Following the descriptions of these gadgets are Internet searches that you can use to find them in your favorite search engines.

1. Universal USB Charger

Do you own an MP3 player, iPod, or other electronic device that recharges in a computer USB port? Many companies now manufacture a unit that operates on household current, a cigarette lighter, or your vehicle's power point. These devices have a small USB-compatible port. Simply plug the USB charging cable into your hardware, put the other end into the device, and you can recharge without a computer. Once you own a USB charger, you'll wonder how you ever traveled without it!

Internet search: universal USB car charger

You can even create your own portable USB charger by splicing a USB female plug to a regular car charger with a 5-volt output.

Internet search: make your own USB car charger

2. Car Charger for Rechargeable Batteries

Do you use rechargeable batteries for your digital camera or GPS? Rechargeables are better for the environment than regular one-use disposables; but how do you keep them charged on a long road trip? Buy a car charger! These compact units plug into a cigarette lighter or power point. Travel with one in your glove compartment, and you'll always have a way to recharge when you need it.

Internet search: car charger rechargeable batteries

3. Solar Panel Battery Charger

These devices combine everything. You can recharge via household current, cigarette lighter adapter, power point, OR an ingenious solar panel system that works whenever the sun is shining. Some manufacturers even include special adapters for powering your cell phone or PDA. Travel will never be the same once you become accustomed to the convenience of a solar charger!

Internet search: solar panel battery charger

4. Portable Car Water Heater

You can purchase a water heater that draws power from your vehicle's power point - complete with cups. These heaters look like small kettles.

Internet search: portable car water heater

You can also acquire a gadget that immerses in a cup to heat soup, coffee, tea, other beverages, or water for baby bottles.

Internet search: immersible beverage heater car

5. Portable Ultraviolet Water Purifier

Frequent travelers are well aware of the problems associated with drinking water from unknown sources. Even little bits of water left on lettuce in a salad can quickly cause a bad case of travelers' diarrhea. You can easily sterilize your drinking water with a portable ultraviolet water purifier that destroys bacteria, viruses, and protozoa. These pen-sized units are small enough to fit into a glove compartment, pocket, backpack, or purse.

Internet search: traveler ultraviolet portable water purifier

6. Multi-Tool

A multi-tool is indispensable for all the little things that can go wrong on your road trip. Many different multi-tools are available online - containing a combination of pliers, screwdriver, scissors, knife, awl, and other tools that can save you in a pinch.

Internet search: multi tool kit travel

7. Eyeglass Repair Kit

Even if you don't use prescription eyeglasses, you should always wear sunglasses outdoors. Losing a small hinge screw or nose pad can quickly render your glasses useless. Eyeglass repair kits are cheap. Carry one with you wherever you travel. You can buy kits that are pen-size or even smaller.

Internet search: eyeglass repair kit

These are just a few of the gadgets that are available for travel. Every time you go on a road trip, take note of the exasperating moments and inconveniences. As soon as you can, get on the Net and look for a solution. If you can't find one, maybe you can invent something and become the next Thomas Edison!

(c) Copyright Kathy Steinemann:
About the Author:

This page of internet search engines will help you find the travel gadgets mentioned in this article. Looking for a bed and breakfast to stay in on your next road trip? Check 111 Travel Directory. Need more travel tips? 1000 Tips 4 Trips can help! Article source: 111 Travel Directory: Triple1.com (triple one dot com)

Car Hire Companies, How To Choose The Best

2008-11-11T03:17:00.000-08:00

The car hire process often befuddles travellers and with such a large amount of paperwork to be completed this is totally understandable. Of vital importance for the consumer is to find a great price and a service that is efficient and practical. The first step however is to assess your own needs, once an idea of these needs is gained it is simple to find the right car hire company that can provide the best service.

As with anything in life cost is always a consideration. Care however should be taken; the cheapest company does not always bear a direct correlation to the most effective service. The type of car being hired is normally the largest determining factor in the calculation of costs. Whether this car has air conditioning, a roof rack or even an automatic transmission are all factors that will contribute to the cost.

When looking for the best deal a multi-directional approach should always be taken. The quoted price is not always a representation of the eventual price, many companies will add on mileage costs as well as fines for late returns or damage. Hence it is important as a consumer to make a detailed inspection of the small print, and any charges that may be added to the rental agreement.

When booking the hire car it is usually important to consider exactly who will be using the vehicle. If there is more than one driver it is advisable to add this person to the agreement, if you do not the insurance that comes with the package will undoubtedly be invalidated. This will normally cost a little extra although some companies will put additional drivers onto the agreement without charging extra, as always it is worth investigating.

It is vitally important to recognise your own needs when hiring a vehicle. If you require a larger vehicle research a number of different companies to see which will have a suitable range. Additionally for those who are travelling with children it is often advisable to see if the company will hire child seats to customers, in many parts of Europe it is a legal obligation to ensure all small children have appropriate seating arrangements.

When booking a hire car the consumer is often given numerous insurance options with the vehicle. While insurance is a necessity it is important to study your own insurance cover before paying for any extras. In some cases the credit card used to purchase the hire car will have insurance included although it is worth reading the small print to ensure that cover is obtained before heading out on an onward journey.

As previously stated fines and penalties can make a cheap car hire experience far more expensive. Hence as a customer it is important not to give the car hire company any reason to add fines. This can easily be done by ensuring the car is returned on time and with a full tank. In terms of damage, by making a detailed check of the vehicle for any dents or scratches before departure and giving this report to the representative it is possible to gain an assurance that no damage penalties will be applied on the vehicle 's return.

It is hoped that this article has given consumers some essential information on the car hire process. It is through the heeding of this advice that an enjoyable experience can be secured. Ultimately it is about balancing the costs and services when considering companies, through a careful and conscientious approach this should be possible.

About the Author

Travel expert Thomas Pretty gives consumer advice so customers can have the greatest car hire experience at a excellent price.

Article Source: Content for Reprint

What Everybody Ought to Know About Vacation Rentals

2008-11-11T03:13:00.000-08:00

Finding a terrific vacation rental property has never been simpler with the internet. Vacation property owners can post their homes online and you have a wide variety of choices at your fingertips. The hard part is finding the right home for that if right for your next trip. Here is what you should know about renting your next vacation home.

Going direct to the owner of the rental property can give you more choices and better prices, but that also means that you may be exposed to more risk should something to awry. Here are some things you need to consider :

1. Decide where you want to go

Do your research. Talk to work colleagues, watch travel shows, read guidebooks and drop by visitor bureaus and ask your friends for recommendations. There are half a million vacation rentals around the globe to choose from so the more you narrow your focus the better.

2. Make sure your timing is right

Start your research at least six month in advance. There are a peak tourist times for every destination such as the Songkran festival in Thailand (their version of April Fool 's Day), Octoberfest in Germany, and the running of the bulls in Pamplona. Be in the know of the major tourist events at your destination as that could significantly change your experience. At popular tourist spots you may want to consider traveling in the off season to save costs and have a wider selection to choose from. Many owners will negotiate with you and knock 10 and even 50 percent off from the non-peak times so ask for a discount even if they are not advertised.
At the very least, give yourself at least a month to negotiate your best deal even during the off-season.

3. Be open to options

Look at rental listings from four or five sites to get a feel for your options at the destination you desire. See what is available, what you get for the price and the rental policies such as cancellation penalties and minimum night requirements. Look at what you are getting compared to what the nearby hotels offer and are charging, and weigh the options. Ask yourself if you are getting a good deal considering you won't be getting daily maid service, room service, an onsite restaurant and bar or other hotel amenities. Then decide what is best for you. A condo on the beach that is twice the size of a beachfront hotel for the same money, but when you realize you can't order a mai tai by the pool when you get there, you may have regrets.

4. Once you decide on your rental options, call them directly

Find out if your desired dates are free with a real person, despite the fact that the dates appear vacant on the website. Also, when you get a live person on the phone, ask more questions about the property that is not available on the website like what 's located next to the property, what the layout of the property, can we get more photos, is it quite, how is it furnished and any other details you are curious about. You can weed out a lot of choices by email first. If you ask a question and don't get a response back for a couple of days, assume that that responsiveness is what you will get when you rent the property and look for another option.

5. Conduct your own research

Log into the Google and check out the address of the rental property on Google satellite. You may find that there are unpleasant natural barriers and although you may be a few yards in distance from the ocean you thought you could walk to, but find that you need to cross a busy highway with no cross walk and have to take an taxi. Also, by typing in the exact address of the property in Google, you can where the owner is listing his site and how he is describing it as well as see any negative reviews that may be posted on blogs or review sites.

6. Call our final choices again and ask more questions

Once you narrow down your list to a few contenders, call them live on the phone again. Tell them what your situation is, how many people in your party, how many kids you have, what ages there are, what you plan to do and anything else on your mind. The more questions you ask the less surprised you will be later. You will also pick up subtle things in the answers you receive like the tone of voice, confidence, and excitement that will help you to drill down to more detailed questions. In conversation you may find out that the property is located on a very busy street or in an unsafe neighborhood, for example.

Key Questions to ask are:

a. What is included in the price? Breakfast, linens, stereo?
b. Are there going to be any additional charges or fees?
c. Can you clarify what walking distance to shops, the pool, attractions mean?
d. Are there going to be other renters on the property or am I the only one there?
e. Is the rental unit safe for children and child proof?
f. Can I get my deposit back on checkout?
g. Can you clarify the sleeping arrangements?
h. Does the cost of the rental change by number of guests?
i. Is the kitchen stocked with appliances and dishes?
j. Where are the nearest shops, restaurants, attractions, malls, hospitals?
k. Is there air conditioning?
l. If there is a problem, who do I call and what is the response time?

7. Get references

Even though the reviews on websites may be biased or even written by the vacation rental owners it 's in your best interest to check them out. Call them on the phone verses email as you will get a much better feel for the rental talking to someone rather than writing them. Plus you may get more information on things to see and do as well as potential red flags.

8. Bargain with the Price

Rental home owners are always willing to bargain if they can still make money on the rental. Even if its during a busy season, there may be a last minute cancellation and the owner would be happy to rent the property at a discount verses not renting it out at all. Especially if you have a couple of options at your disposal, it can't hurt to ask.

9. Look at the your payment options

If you don't like the payment options that are proposed for the property ask for an alternative. A credit card payment would be the easiest and give some protection to you if something should go wrong. If actual money exchanges hand before you arrive and something goes wrong. You may never get back your money even though you are entitled to it. Most foreign countries prefer a wire transfer and if you are not comfortable with that there are other options you can negotiate. Do not pay with Western Union or a money order as they do not offer a record of the transaction and are the choice of method for scam artists.

10. Carefully read your contract

Make sure you read the contract word for word. Mistakes happen and things that are discussed are forgotten so make sure everything that you wanted in your vacation rental is documented on the contract for your protection and clarification. Simple things like finding out breakfast is not included even thought that was discussed and was written on the website a couple of months ago could throw a damper on things.

11. Vacation Insurance

Because the cancellation policy on some vacation rentals, especially in foreign countries are very stiff you may want to consider vacation insurance. The cost of insurance is a percentage of the cost of your package so this may be especially important on large cost vacation splurges.

12. Look at the log when you check in

When you check in take a look at the comments from past guests, you may see some comments that you want to address with the owner immediately as well as give you some good suggestion and tips for your stay.

13. If you see any problems, contact the owner immediately

Big or small, if you seen any issues or problems with your rental call the owner immediately. If a chair is broken, or there is a stain on the rug, or a mirror is cracked, even if it 's not going to ruin your trip you need to let them know not only to help make your stay more enjoyable, but to make sure that you won't be blamed or charged for these items.

These points should help make your vacation rental vacation as good an experience as possible. However, it is important to keep an open mind with realistic expectations. Even though you do all of the research mentioned above, you will still come across things that you did not expect like the color of the furniture, the ugly wall paper and so on. Assume the best intentions and don't let minor issues ruin what could be the best vacation you've ever had.

By: By Rich Sootkoos

Top 10 tips for booking holiday flights

2008-11-11T02:50:00.000-08:00

The holidays are just around the corner, and if you're anything like us, you’re probably hoping you won’t have to pay an arm and a turkey leg to get home to celebrate. Indeed, there's good reason to say "bah humbug" this holiday season, as the current economic crisis hit the airlines even earlier this year (thanks to rising fuel costs), and their response — hiking ticket prices, adding new in-flight fees, and cutting the number of flights servicing various routes — pretty much guarantees we'll pay more for our holiday trip than we're all used to this year. But there is some good news: While you'll need something of a miracle to find a decent Thanksgiving deal this late in the game (Tip: Our editors found some great deals by comparing rates online), our money-saving tips for booking holiday flights will definitely help you get away for less than you'd expect over the December holidays. Here's to a merry money-saving holiday!

1. Expect (and accept) to pay more this year
The airfare tracking experts at Farecast.com have projected that holiday fares for 2008 are up more than 30 percent on average over those from 2007, and our editorial staff contends from our own searches that this is indeed one of the highest year-to-year increases we can recall. So, take a deep breath and make peace with the fact that unless you manage to nab the deal of the year, you’re going to have to dish out more to fly home for the holidays this year. Expect it, accept it, and (if, fingers crossed, you can still afford it!) buckle down to book your tickets just as soon as you possibly can.

2. Book now: Last minute fares won’t happen
Prices for flights will only increase the closer you get to the holidays, as inventory tightens. If you see a good deal, don’t dilly-dally — snatch it up on the spot, especially if you intend to fly at peak travel times, like the day after Christmas. Airlines have little incentive to discount this year, thanks to the old law of supply and demand: Passenger demand remains extremely high, while airlines’ capacity cuts have trimmed down available seats. Leave procrastination to the gamblers, or to those who are thinking of heading out on spur-of-the-moment vacation for the holidays and don’t have any particular destination in mind. While you just might find a great late-breaking sale to Timbuktu, chances are that any digestible airfares to get to Turkey Day at Grandma’s house in Boston will have been long gobbled up. In short, it’s never too early to book your holiday travel — as soon as you know your loose dates and destination, book your flight.

3. Be flexible: Avoid peak travel days
If you have flexibility with your travel days, you're pretty much guaranteed savings. By all means, know — and avoid — peak holiday travel dates, especially the Wednesday before and the Sunday after Thanksgiving, December 23, December 26, and January 2. With Christmas, like Thanksgiving, falling on a Thursday this year, delaying your return trip to the following Tuesday or Wednesday, as opposed to the weekend, can translate to huge savings. Do use fare search engines that feature a “flexible dates” search, like Kayak’s, Travelocity’s, and Orbitz’s, among others, which will allow you to search the cheapest fares available over a range of dates. Additionally, if you have any remaining vacation days, the holidays are the perfect time to cash them in — the lengthier your trip, the further away you can travel from the holiday itself, when there is the most demand and highest costs for flights. And don’t shy away from those off-peak early morning or red-eye flights, which are typically priced lower, and have the added bonus of boasting fewer delays (especially the crack-of-dawn morning flights), as the airports are less congested with both people and planes taking off.

4. Fly on the holiday itself
While it may not be the most ideal option for maximizing your holiday time, fares for flights on the holidays themselves can be exceptionally discounted. Most people are home or where they need to be on these days, so jetting off Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve (particularly later in the evening, closer to celebration time), or New Year’s Day (when most folks are nursing New Year’s Eve hangovers) can translate to big savings and less hassle due to fewer travelers competing for seats. However, keep in mind that there is some degree of risk here, as delays or cancellations could mean foregoing the planned festivities altogether. As a workaround, some families opt to celebrate on alternative days in order to take advantage of these discounted fares.

5. Consider alternate airports
If the city you’re leaving from (or headed to) is serviced by several airports, include them all in your search. For Chicago, you’ll want to check out smaller Midway in addition to O’Hare; in San Francisco, don’t overlook Oakland, San Jose, or Sacramento airports on top of SFO; in New York, you’ll have the biggies at JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark, but Westchester County and Macarthur Airports are viable alternatives, as well. It might even be worthwhile to drive an hour or two to a neighboring city's airport when factoring in the savings (Chicago-area travelers have turned up great deals at Milwaukee’s General Mitchell Airport, for instance). These secondary airports, which often host smaller budget airlines, can offer additional perks aside from savings, too, like fewer crowds, cheaper parking, and less frequent delays — just don’t factor out the cost of gas to get there. Similarly, if a smaller regional airport is the closest one to you or to your destination, keep in mind that larger airports may offer more airlines that service your route — and therefore, more competitive pricing. Always keep all of your options on the table.

Read the complete story here

Cheaper vacations can be found for Americans traveling abroad

2008-11-11T02:46:00.000-08:00

Americans who vacationed in Stockholm this past June were lucky enough to catch the Swedish city's midsummer festival, which takes place the last week of the month. However, they were not so lucky when it came to the lousy exchange rate.

One dollar bought six Sweden kronor, meaning a café latte for 30 kronor set you back $5. Today, that same latte costs only $3.79, a drop of 32 percent. Imagine how much less a day trip or a full night on the town in Stockholm costs.

Why the discrepancy? The dollar is stronger than it has been in months and, against some currencies, years. The strength of the dollar is largely related to risk aversion, explains Kathleen Stephansen, director of global economics at Credit Suisse in New York. Right now, there is so much uncertainty in the global markets that countries would rather have a lower value against the dollar than no value at all.

The Australia dollar, for example, has dipped: 1.6 AUD now equals $1, a 52 percent jump from June. And there are similar situations across Eastern and Western Europe, Asia and South America.

In fact, the dollar—when compared with a weighted average of major foreign currencies' values—is the strongest it's been since June 2007, according to a current Federal Reserve Index. This is good news for American jet-setters. Suddenly, an "expensive" trip may not be considered so expensive.

"Now that we're seeing these other currencies suffering, there's been a bit of an increase in traffic going to certain countries," says Diane Clarkson, a San Francisco-based travel analyst for market-research firm Forrester.

Courting the currency
To encourage that traffic, hotels in several different travel hot spots are offering guests special prices; all of a sudden, they want American dollars, just like the old days.

There are even deals in notoriously expensive Ireland. Guests of the Ritz Carlton Hotel at Powerscourt Estate, near Dublin, will pay the euro rate in dollars for most of Spring 2009. That means a room for 195 euros will only cost you $195 (the actual exchange rate would make the room cost $245).

And as the Canadian dollar has returned to a deflated state, ski holidays up north have never seemed more reasonable. Those heading to Quebec for some skiing this winter should consider stopping in metropolitan Montreal for a night or two. At Le Meridien Versailles, the "birthday" package offers guests one night's stay for 169 CAD, with a second and third night priced at your birth year (1958 equals 58 CAD, for example). That's under $300 for three nights.

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The Taste of India

2008-11-08T23:39:00.000-08:00

Unity in Diversity is not just another phrase but is highly prudent to a country like India that is rich in both culture and heritage. A few quotes or statements can not describe the position that India holds in the global map because of its colourful and unique culture. Various cuisines, festivals, music, literature, art forms, dance, traditions, costumes, everything is very special in the land of Gods.

As India's rods strengthens with the establishment of the Mughal Empire that brought in fresh ideas and practices in the realm of architecture which continued for six centuries. The Red Fort, Old Fort, Bahai Temple popularly known as Lotus temple, Qutub Minar, Jantar Mantar, Humanyu's Tomb all show variations in their constructions. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal which is a beautiful piece of vision in marble. In its entire splendor and beauty, the Taj Mahal is regarded as the greatest symbol of love and is one of the seven wonders of world.

The food habits are differentiated across regions and religions. The Hindu and Muslim cuisines have played an important role in the development of Indian cuisines and food habits. The vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies are prepared by using variety of spices and herbs that make them so different in taste yet so delicious. From the wide array of exotic dishes, some of the lip smacking Indian delicacies are:

1. Sarson Da Saag: It is a spicy preparation of mustard leaves with onion. This is a typical Punjabi (North Indian) dish and tastes really nice with Makki Ki Roti (maize flatbread) and a dollop of fresh butter.

2. Hyderabadi Biryani: It is a traditional meal made using mutton and rice and is a staple of Hyderabadi cuisine.

3. Chicken Tikka: Chicken tikka is a traditional Indian dish and is prepared by marinating pieces of chicken in a blend of spices and cooking it tandoori style in charcoal fired oven.

4. Goan Fish Curry: Goan fish curry is tangy and spicy and is the staple food of Goa along with rice.

5. Kheer: Kheer is a rice pudding typically made by boiling rice with milk and sugar. It is often flavored with cardamoms, saffron and dry fruits.

These and other tastes can be experienced by traveling to various places in India. Every Indian state offers a different taste and style in food that is unique in itself. Each dish gives a whole new experience and a new flavor is tasted every-time. Its like a mid summer carnival is taking place in your mouth.

Indian food is divine as it satisfies not only your taste buds but also your soul. It fulfills your inner desire to experiment with something new. The local herbs and spices enhance the aroma of these delicious palettes of cuisines. Even the various sweets give a unique taste. Each one has something different to offer and enlightens your soul, putting you in a dilemma with so many choices and so much variation. But to really understand it, you will have to experience it yourself. So come, taste it and relive magic.

Visit India travel guide to get more information on India travel, cheap flights to India and hotels in India.

Author: Aparajita Shankar

Maui, Hawaii with teenagers

2008-11-08T23:16:00.000-08:00

Growing up, your mother always told you, "Someday, you will have a child that will drive you nuts for all horrible things you have done." Apparently, you were a horrendous child. You have been sentenced to the most romantic island in the world, with teenagers. Your poor mother.

Maui, Hawaii has more swimmable beaches than any other Hawaiian Island, some of the world's best golf courses, and home to the largest dormant volcano in the world. Forced to spend your time in paradise with teenagers can be one of two very memorable experiences. It can be a pleasure or a very painful event.

Sitting pool side with a tropical beverage topped with an umbrella, you get to watch your teenager bake in the sun in a very inappropriate bathing suit. You try to relax in the glorious atmosphere of salty air and palm trees, while your teenager listens to music on their MP3 player loud enough to be heard at the neighboring resort two miles away. Walks on the white, black, green, or gold sand beaches rake up $2,368 in cell phone charges by your child. The sight seeing whale boat ride is spent holding their hand, as they get sea sick during the entire two hour trip. You spend a thousand dollars on surfboard rental, gear, and lessons for your teenager to announce, "It just isn't my thing." after four days of begging for the board. The conclusion of your vacation is the famous Luau. You try to enjoy the delicious food, entertainment, and dancing. Your teenager smacks their gum through the meal, rolls their eyes at the entertainment, and storms off to the room when you dance in public.

May I suggest a sunset bike ride from the top of Haleakala to the sugar fields near the ocean. Twelve miles of down hill pedaling with your family can be a life long memory of sights and sounds. The ocean views, pineapple groves, whales, and glorious colors as the sun sets on the water should be shared with the ones you love. Explore the second tallest waterfall in the United States. Discover a few of the ten state parks, 39 community beaches, and one National Park with gusto and energy. Some of the parks even have skateboard parks, craft fairs, and community activities that will lure your youth into a good time. Take in a round of golf on some of the most lavishly laid courses around, as your mini me takes a scuba diving lesson.

If all else fails, ask a local for directions to Slaughter House 5. It is a secret cove surrounded by two reefs. Wear comfortable shoes, take food, water, and bathroom supplies for the afternoon. After scaling the side of a wooded cliff, you will experience something that few people have. World class professional surfers practice here. It is a place of wonderment and dreams. The beauty is undeniable.

You decide if you want to press the floral lei from your Hawaiian adventure as a keepsake, or wrap it tightly around your teenagers neck. Pleasure or pain is up to you. Just don't forget to send your mother a postcard. Aloha!

Author: Murray Musser

Source: ArticlesGratuits.com - Free Articles

Chandigarh- City Beautiful

2008-11-08T23:14:00.000-08:00

Chandigarh is a well- planned modern city of India designed by the French architect Le Corbusier. It was constituted as a Union Territory on 1st November, 1966. It serves as the joint capital of both, Punjab and Haryana states. Being the capital of two states, it has developed a fusion of culture incorporating the best from both states. This fusion is what makes Chandigarh an attractive tourist place. This treasure should be on every visitor's “must see list” in India.

This beautiful city also synonymous for 'City Of Roses' is divided into well-knit sectors. It has well-laid roads lined with rows of trees and beautifully planned buildings. The word ‘Chandigarh’ has a meaning attached to it. While ‘Chandi’ is the name of Mother Goddess of power, the word 'garh' implies a fort.

The city looks charming against the backdrop of the Shivalik Mountains. Chandigarh experiences extreme climate. The best time to visit this place is October to March. During this period, the main attraction is the Festival of Gardens/ The Rose Festival. This is a three-day celebration organized in the last week of February. The festival includes flower shows, performances of music and dance; both classical and folk, events for children, exhibitions by local artists, photographers and craftsmen. Companies put stalls to exhibit their products. Several competitions are also held during this festival.
Another very attractive feature of the city is The Chandigarh Carnival.

This three-day carnival is celebrated in the second week of November every year. The carnival opens with a colorful procession followed by a number of competitions. The carnival gives an opportunity for children as well as elders to exhibit their talents.
Chandigarh is as much cosmopolitan in nature as any other Indian town with numerous temples, mosques, shrines and bhawans located throughout the city. The traditions followed in the city are a mixture of many traditions followed throughout the country. One can see and participate in almost all of the religious activities of every religion in the country- Hinduism, Sikhism, Islam and Christianity.

Within the city, one can find young and educated people. Most people can speak in English, Punjabi or Hindi or even a combination of all the three. Chandigarh differs from many other cities of the region in that it has attracted people from throughout India. Most of the people in Chandigarh are service people. Still people in Chandigarh enjoy every moment of their lives.

Chandigarh has the distinction of having world acclaimed Rock Garden, adorned with artistic figures and things created by Shri Nek Chand. These ranges from broken pieces of items like crockery, bangles, pots, stones to electric switches and boards. Also, Asia's largest Rose Garden is a very popular spot of tourist attraction. Some of the other famous gardens of North India in and around Chandigarh are Cactus Garden, Pinjore Gardens (has great historical significance), Leisure Valley, Terrace Garden etc.

Chandigarh has the latest of everything: be it fashion, technology, education or IT. It has a fairly good infrastructure, a great university, a good engineering college, some fine schools and other educational institutions. But besides all these modern amenities and buildings, it is the people of Chandigarh which makes the city beautiful. They are warm, hospitable and welcome all visitors with open arms.

Author: Manju Behl

About the author or the publisher

I love to write on diverse topics. I like to spend as much time as is necessary to ensure that each article that is prepared is as detailed and precise as possible. Many a times, my articles have appeared in the newspapers. As I keep writing, I believe that my jotting-down skills keep on sharpening further. I would like to thank you for giving me an opportunity like this.

Source: ArticlesGratuits.com - Free Articles

Go Goa

2008-11-08T22:18:00.000-08:00

So much has been said about the wonderful beaches of Goa, that the only thing that I expected to see, on my vacation, was bikinis. However, I was in for a big surprise!

After my flight landed in Goa, I set off for North Goa. Panaji, or Panjim, the capital city, was my first haunt. Since Goa has remained as a Portuguese colony for nearly 450 years, the Portugal influence can be felt everywhere – from the churches and houses to the culture and cuisine.

Biking To The Fontainhas

Panjim is a cocktail city – a mixture of old with new. “ The best way to move around Goa is through hired motorbikes,” the friendly Goan hotel- keeper advised, “but, beware, only bikes with yellow number plates are approved by the Goa Government for hiring purposes”, he said. I heeded his words and set out on a hired Activa to the Fontainhas District.

Fontainhas is Panjim’s Latin Quarter. The 19th century red-tile-roofed houses with window panes of flat oyster shells and large verandahs carry an old world charm. The intricately designed railings in wood, stone and wrought iron mesmerized me. I entered one of the quaint restaurants here and sipped on some fenny, that wonder drink of Goa.

As the evening wore on, I went to the Dona Paulo beach, equipped with a fishing rod. I found a quiet corner and started fishing. Catching catfish and watching the sunset did wonders to my stressed nerves. Only Goa can provide such a relaxing experience.

The Basilica of Bom Jesus

The next day, I set off for Old Goa. This UNESCO world heritage site is famous for it’s 16th century churches. The Basilica Church of Bom Jesus is one such architectural marvel. ‘Bom Jesus’ means ‘good Jesus’ or ‘infant Jesus’, to whom the church is dedicated. The church is a fusion of gilt and silver with fading paint and crumbling plaster. The awe-inspiring interior of the church is 55.77 m. long, 16.76 m. broad and 18.59 m high. It has a main altar, four side altars, two chapels, a sacristy and a choir.

The main altar dominates the whole church and in the middle, stands a giant statue of St. Ignatius in priestly vestments. His face is turned upwards in a state of ecstasy. His face is fixed immediately on the medallion containing the Greek letters ‘IHS’ which are the first three letters of the Holy Name of Jesus – IHSUS. Above the monogram, there sits the Holy Trinity in glory. This Goan church is a fine example of the unity of all cultures, languages and religions of India. The mass at this church takes place in various languages like English, Malayalam, Tamil, etc. Hindus and Muslims also flock to this church and revere and respect it.

The Sacred Relics of St. Francis Xavier

The sacred relics of St. Francis Xavier (1506 – 1552), the founder of the Jesuit order, is also within this church. The tomb is carved in jasper and decorated by fine bronze plaques depicting the saint’s life. The rich silver casket containing his embalmed body, was wrought by Goan silver smith. The body of St. Francis Xavier has undergone several mutilations. One of the toes was bitten off by a Portuguese lady in 1554. It is said that the body bled when this took place which had stunned and shocked all around. In 1890, another toe fell off which is kept in a separate crystal case. Some portions of the body were removed and distributed as relics of the saint to various places.

The art gallery within the premises of this church is also a feast for all art lovers. This art gallery also houses life-size wax statues depicting ‘The Last Supper’ which is a must-see for everyone visiting this church. A museum is also situated near the art gallery which has pictures and relics of the St. Augustine Church before it’s ruin. There is also a portrait gallery of all the Viceroys and Governors of Goa at the top floor of the museum. Tourists, who flock to Goa for it’s world famous beaches, should definitely set aside a day to marvel at the splendor of this church.

Fort Aguada and A Jolly Cruise

Next, I decided to set off for Fort Aguada built by the Portuguese in the early 17th century. Just inside the main gateway is Aguada’s famous landmark, the 42ft high lighthouse built in 1864. The Church of St. Lawrence built in 1630 is also near this fort. There is also a prison situated in this fortress.

As the skies turned dusky, I joined a cruise down the River Mandovi. The next one hour passed in dancing and drinking on the ship. The people of Goa are a happy and friendly lot. They keep urging and guiding you to visit and witness all the Goan specialties. Upon hearing their entreaties, I set off next for the ‘Anjuna Saturday night Flea Market’. The vibrant colors, cool music and great bargains are still happy memories in my mind.

It's Shopping Time

next morning, I visited the Shri Baghavati temple dedicated to Parvati. Life-size stone elephants guard the entrance to this temple. A small and charming waterfall is also located near this temple. Next, I decided to visit Margao which is the commercial capital and second largest city of Goa. From Margao onwards, the rural and virgin parts of South Goa begin. The city has huge Portuguese style mansions and the bazaars buzz with activity. Goa’s most important railway station is also here.

I decided to spend the rest of the day in the shops here. The Goan fish curry and Chicken Xacuti had become my favorite delicacies. I bought the masala packets of both so that I don’t miss Goa too much, once I am back home. I also loved browsing through the antiques and handicrafts shops here.

Spice Farms and Elephant Rides

After a good night’s sleep, I decided to visit the Sahakari Spice Farm in the morning. I was welcomed with a tikka, garland and a welcome drink brewed out of lemongrass, cardamom and ginger. As we formed groups, we were taken out on a expedition by a friendly and humorous guide. The guide showed and explained to us, the properties of palm, pepper, cardamom, turmeric, clove, ginger, curry leaves, cinnamon, nutmeg, basil – only to name a few! I learnt that while turmeric cures cough, pepper aids digestion and nutmeg has aphrodisiac properties – I am sure you wouldn’t have guessed that!

Suddenly, huge elephants loomed before me and upon my guide’s urging, I went in for an elephant ride. As my appetite built up, a tempting aroma wafted to me. A sumptuous lunch was waiting for all of us. We washed our hands and sat on the wooden benches to enjoy the simple and tasty food. After the meal, a gift packet of all the spices grown on the plantation was given to all of us. The Spice Farm was refreshing and educational.

Fort Cabo de Rama was next on my must-see list. This fort is named after Lord Rama, who is said to have lived here with Sita during his exile period. The view from this fort is breathtaking. I sat here for sometime and mused about the four wonderful days that I have spent at Goa. Even without stepping near the beaches, my entire four days were cramped with so much to see and do. In fact, there is still so many more forts, churches, temples wild life sanctuaries to see that I can spend the remaining three days too, without stepping on the waves.

The fifth day, however, a strange craving crept over me. I could hear the call of the waters. Nothing could keep me away from the water rides and beach shacks, any longer. I donned on my bikini, hit the seas and parasailed the skies. As I lay on the sands for a beautiful tan, the playful waves and swaying palms lulled me into a beauty sleep. Goa spells B-L-I-S-S.

Author: Archana Sarat

About the author or the publisher
I am a freelance journalist for the last one year. my published pieces are displayed in the Blog page of my site. i am interested in challenging writing work in all fields. i can undertake extensive research. i am a student of the Writer's Bureau, UK. I am also a member of the Association of Freelance Journalists, England. my writing style and vocabulary are my strengths.
www.freewebs.com/freelanceauthor

Source: ArticlesGratuits.com - Free Articles

Indian MICE Travel on an Upbeat Mood

2008-11-08T22:14:00.000-08:00

The tourism industry of India is on the cusp of an upswing. India’s travel and tourism market was valued at US $42 billion in 2005 (Euro Monitor 2006).A robust economy has already caught everyone by surprise and the portion of tourism in GDP is also rising significantly.
Globally the segment of Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Expositions, more popularly known as MICE, contributes to as much as 30% to the overall travel volumes and India is no exception to it. Both as a MICE destination and in MICE outbound, India stands to gain hugely.

Analysing the purposes of outbound travel we find VFR has always held the numero uno slot. However this may be superseded by MICE within a few years time. In order to become globally competitive, the Indian businessmen are now traveling abroad throughout the year and unlike the leisure travel which depends heavily on the season and weather MICE travel is a year-long proposition which translates into good business for the companies associated with it. Outbound MICE can be further segregated into various categories and the sector which is coming up really fast is trade fair travel constituting the ‘E’ of it.
With the country going global, the importance of visiting trade fairs has become imperative and is being considered an integral part of the marketing plan by the India Inc. The renowned events like K, ITMA, CeBIT have become synonymous with the showcasing of latest technological developments. Moreover they provide a global networking platform which can hardly be obtained in any other way. In fact, India’s being chosen as the partner country in reputed fairs viz. Hannover Messe, Frankfurt Book Fair bears testimony to its growing economic clout.

Incentive travel has always been popular with the Indian business community. Keeping a close watch on this vibrant fraternity, many destinations across the globe are vying with each other to woo the corporate traveler be it for an incentive trip or to hold a conference abroad. Countries are even offering world class facilities at a discounted price. As proven by the hosting of ZEE Cine Awards 2006 in Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre in Mauritius or the to be held IIFA 2007 awards in Yorkshire, UK there is hardly any doubt about the way Indians are constantly being lured in this regard.
Back home, the scenario is also fairly exciting. India gets close to 0.96% share of the world’s meetings which although is miniscule but there are ample rooms for growth. According to ICCA (International Congress & Convention Association), India can capture a chunk of the Asian MICE share, since 69% of MICE meetings prefer city hotels and 21% prefer resorts and India has an abundance of both. Countries like Singapore and Malaysia have grown exponentially in the MICE market and India has the potential to emulate them.

The biggest annual exhibition of the country, India International Trade Fair where over 4 million visitors flock in a matter of 14 days with over 7,500 corporate participants is the largest multi-product expo in Asia. The number of international exhibitions is increasing by the day. CPhI, the world’s largest pharmaceutical ingredients fair debuted in India in 2006. This year from 4th-7th Dec, 2007 Hannover Messe is also to be held in India. These are indeed a case in point to prove India’s growing eminence in the MICE segment.

In the domestic incentive travel market, states like Kerala, Karnataka, Maharastra etc. are in the forefront. Their USP lies in offering a subtle mix of business with pleasure offered in the form of pre and post event tours, state-of-the art facilities for the corporates etc. However several other states have also realized the huge potential that this sector holds and are taking rapid strides to come up with their unique products. This healthy competition should raise the bar for the industry at large.

Although problems like infrastructural bottleneck refuse to subside but the reasons of hoping for a brighter tomorrow are also in plenty. Backed by the conviction of major players and laudable initiatives of the government MICE travel is poised to shape the future of travel for days to come.

Published: 2007-06-06

Author: preetam bera

Source: ArticlesGratuits.com - Free Articles

Using Your Credit Card While On Vacation

2008-11-08T22:00:00.000-08:00

Aiming to save money on our credit cards should be something that we all should be doing. This can be done by switching your credit card to one that has a 0% interest free offer on balance transfers and purchases, or simply playing a credit card game such as "stoozing". The term stoozing is used to describe the practice of using the credit limit you receive on a credit card to make money by transferring the balance to high interest savings account.

It can be so much simpler to save money without having to go through all of these games and switching from one credit card issuer to the next. Many people while on holiday use their credit card to either make purchases or to withdraw cash from an ATM. This is one credit card usage you should always avoid.

Your credit card will incur a load of different charges when it is used abroad, which will be adding up on the bill when you return from your trip. Many of these charges you will not even be aware of, as many of us do not even realise that the charges exist.

Every purchase incurs a foreign usage fee

Did you know that you could be charged by up to £2.00 a transaction on your credit card for every transaction that you make or £1.50 if it's a debit card? This is bad enough, but you could also be getting charged interest from the moment that you have made the purchase, even though when you are back home you will not be charged interest from anything up to59 days. So if you have purchased goods or paid for your meals using your credit card when you first arrived, then depending on how long you are away the interest has already built up by the time that you return home.

Every cash withdrawal from an ATM is charged interest immediately…

If you use the card in an ATM, you could be facing further charges, as we already know we are charged for using our credit cards in a hole-in-the-wall here. So it is going to be much more expensive to use the card in an ATM on your vacation in a foreign country and are charged at a higher level than a credit card transaction in a store or restaurant.

For credit card advice please visit here http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk/creditcardadvice.html

The best thing to do is contact your credit card issuer and find out where they stand regarding the charges that they make when using your credit card abroad. When you add up the details, you may very well find that travellers cheques or changing the your cash to the currency of where you are travelling to will be a whole lot cheaper and easier on the finances.

Remember...

• Avoid using your credit card to withdraw cash from an ATM (you are charged interest immediately)

• Every you make with your credit card incurs a foreign usage fee (there are some exceptions)

• Some credit card issuers charge interest on foreign purchases as soon as they are made

By:Peter Kenny
About the Author

Peter Kenny is a writer for creditcards-gb. For additional articles and an extensive resource for everything about credit cards, please visit us at http://www.creditcards-gb.co.uk and http://www.creditcards2go4.com

Trekking India

2008-11-08T21:52:00.000-08:00

An ideal trekking expedition has all the elements of thrill and enthrallment as seekers of the unexplored plunge into a journey along nature's trails. Though a sporting activity, trekking does not require prior training or practice, except that the trekker should be in good physical condition. Further, trekkers must carefully choose treks as per individual stamina as some treks may be more difficult or may involve high elevation trekking. Besides the trek should also not be too rapid, as it will kill the fun with quicker exhaustion.

Indian geographic riches offer many possibilities of trekking expeditions, of which Himalayan foothills are simply ideal for trekking tours. Besides, the majestic Himalayas, Garhwal and Kumaon regions of Uttaranchal, Chamba and Manali in Himachal Pradesh, Ladakh and Zanskar in Jammu and Kashmir, Darjeeling in West Bengal, Yuksam in Sikkim, and Leh in Ladakh are few other prominent trekking expeditions in India. India offers a wholesome variety of trekking trails that promise to leave the trekkers mesmerized with the experience of the unexplored nature trails.

Equipments

A list of the essential equipment you will require for an average India Insight Tours trek is given below. If you plan to do any climbing, you will have to supplement this equipment. Please sort out and divide your trekking equipment into three categories:

1.To wear on the trail

2.To carry in the day pack

3.To pack in the duffel bag

You will not have access to your duffel bag once you leave camp in the morning, as it will be carried by pack ponies or porters. Therefore, you must anticipate all your daytime needs and carry these items in your day pack. Your day pack should be large enough to accommodate your water bottle. personal first aid kit, sun cream, sweater or down jacket, rain parka and lunch box. Your duffel bag should not weigh more than 30 lb. (20 kg). If you have heavy equipment such as special cameras or scientific equipment, additional ponies or porters will have to be hired and you will be charged for this extra service.

Check the equipment list before leaving home. Please bring all your equipment with you as it is not uncommon for unaccompanied gear to get lost en route.

Trekking Equipments List

• Trekking boots - well broken in and waterproofed

• Running or tennis shoes

• Down jacket or equivalent with hood

• One heavy wool shirt or sweater

• Two cotton shirts

• One pair cotton trousers or shorts

• One pair woollen trousers

• One pair shorts or calf-length skirt/culottes for women (skirts are more comfortable and culturally more acceptable)

• Three pairs of regular underwear

• Long underwear - thermal or wool

• Wind- and rain-gear with hood

• Sun hat with brim

• Woollen hat or balaclava

• Woollen mittens or gloves

• Woollen socks to wear with boots

• Cotton socks

• Personal first-aid kit including medication for common ailments such as headaches, dysentery etc., moleskin, antiseptic cream, surgical tape, band aids, sun cream (15% block out advised for Spiti and Ladakh), lip salve and medicines

• Toilet kit - including extra toilet paper, towel and soap

• Flashlight with extra batteries

• Sunglasses or snow goggles (an extra pair is recommended)

• Water bottle, preferably wide mouthed, with at least one liter capacity

• Pocket knife

• Swimsuit

• Note book with pens and pencils

• Plastic bags - small size for books, film etc., larger bags for clothes, sleeping bags and duffel bag liners light

• Weight day pack

• Duffel bag - preferably waterproof

Optional Accessories

1. Camera and film - bring plenty, as film is expensive and not easily available

2. Binoculars

3. Umbrella - available locally

4. Repair kit with needle, thread, tape, glue, scissors, etc.

5. Extra water bottle - recommended for Ladakh wind pants, gaiters and down booties - for high altitude treks small supply of personal energy snacks reading material, playing cars, lightweight chess board, Scrabble, etc.

6. Give-aways such as pens, pencils, books, etc.

Permit For Filming

No permission is required for ordinary photography or video cameras. However, for movie filming in 16 mm/35 mm, a special permit is necessary. The procedures are fairly complex, so please apply at least a year in advance. The application should be made at the Indian Embassy or Mission in your country of residence. The Indian government requires complete details of the synopsis of the film, location, exact period of shooting schedules, bio-data and passport details of the crew members and a complete list of equipment to be imported.

Insurance

Please insure yourself against sickness, accident, helicopter evacuation, hospitalization and the like, as you would normally do before embarking on a wilderness vacation.We do not insure our clients ourselves and we accept no responsibility for damages or expenses which may arise from mishaps to persons on India Insight Tours trips. Reservations are accepted only on this understanding.

By:Vineet Rathi
About the Author

Offering tours for trekking in himalayas including trekking in kumaon, trekking in garhwal, trekking in ladakh, trekking in sikkim, nanda devi trekking, valley of flowers trek, zanskar trek, morkta valley trek, pin parbati trek, shimla trek, trekking in arunachal, gangotri taponvan trekking.

Visit Delhi - the vibrant capital city of India

2008-11-08T21:47:00.000-08:00

One of the biggest metropolis in India, Delhi is home to whopping population of millions of people. The historical, cultural and the political center of the country, Delhi has gradually emerged as the industrial hub of the Northern India. A heady mix of the old and new, Delhi retains the old heritage and glory and is one of the most modern cities in India with skyscrapers and neon lit malls. A city with its antiquity dating back to more than 2,000 years, Delhi is the one of the oldest places in the world. From street bazaars to plush shopping malls and from historic monuments to contemporary buildings, Delhi is full of surprises!

Delhi has witnessed the ascent and descent of several mighty empires, this is why you will find a number of historical monuments in the city, each one representing a different era. Many of the interesting sites found in and around the city are the ruins of the buildings and areas that played a crucial role in the history of India. This is merely a reason why thousands of visitors take flights to delhi. Some of the most popular venues in Delhi include; the Red Fort and Jama Masjid, the quaint streets of Chandni Chowk in Old Delhi, and Lotus temple, Humayun's Tomb, Qutub Minar, and the newly constructed Akshardham temple in New Delhi.

The center for tourists hordes coming to Delhi is Cannaught Place. Here you will find plenty of shops, top class restaurant, and pubs too. Walking through the lanes of Cannaught Place, you will come across the largest collection of art and trade stores, where you can haggle for native crafts. If you have flexible travel plans then do spend some time visiting this place. You will surely have a good time over here. Another such place offering traditional Indian crafts is 'Dilli Haat', a modern craft bazaar resembling the original village market. While you are here, don't forget to enjoy the assortment of culinary delights available at the 'Food Brasserie'.

Whether its shopping or eating out, Delhi offers a plenty of options to its visitors. Wear your shoes, put some cash in your wallet and get ready to shop and haggle as much as you can in Delhi's markets. From the visitors first preference, the street market at Janpath road to the fashionable market at South Extension and from the export market at Sarojini Nagar to expensive boutiques in shopping malls, there is so much for you!

The ideal time to explore Delhi is from October to November and from February to March, when the temperatures are mild. There are numerous tour operators that provide half and full day guided tours for attractions in and around Delhi. Being the National capital, Delhi is conveniently connected to all the major cities of the world, with almost all the major airlines operating out of here. If you are planning a trip to Delhi, then check out the discount delhi india airfare at Onetravelindia.com!

By: Jane
About the Author

Jane S is a travel writer for Onetravelindia and writes articles with special focus on finding cheap airfares, Discount Airlines and discount vacation packages online. Jane finds great pleasures in visiting new places and learning about them.

Kids, curries, Kerala: the perfect recipe

2008-11-06T21:46:00.000-08:00

It would be dark soon, we could tell, because the sun had dipped behind the far ridge of the absurdly picturesque valley, but there didn't seem to be any urgency to return to our bungalow. The tea country of the Western Ghats in southern India, the knuckle of mountains separating lush Kerala from the plains of Tamil Nadu, is tranquil to the point of caricature and the only danger lay in the eyes of our seven-year-old, Esme, who feared we might encounter more tea pickers.

Earlier, walking up from the bungalow which had once belonged to the English manager of the vast Tallayar estate, the last of these to finish work had descended past us. Three women, Tamils wearing saris, had pinched Esme's cheeks so hard her smile had morphed into a grimace. Now the tea pickers had all reached their homes further down the valley, from where later in the dark we would hear Tamil film music drifting up. Instead, we were stopped by the recently installed manager of the estate, having first been alerted to his presence by the growl of his gleaming Enfield motorbike. Elephants, he said, roamed these hillsides; and yes, they could be very dangerous and yes, we'd best hurry back to the bungalow.

Packing for this two-week adventure, we had not counted being savaged by wild pachyderms among the possible dangers. Instead, there had been questions about what would Sam and Esme eat and what sort of malaria pills should we take, or would they be simply overwhelmed by the country itself. Before Zoe and I met we had both travelled around India. The three weeks I'd spent in the south with a gang of teenage mates, rucksacks filled with filthy washing on our backs, had left me with the potentially foolhardy idea of wanting to instil the fascination I'd felt with this part of the world in two under-10s whose weltanschauung had hitherto been bound by Ryanair's flight routes.

Kerala's history is intertwined with that of travellers seduced by its spectacular beauty. In Cochin, to which we flew via Sri Lanka, there is still - just about - one of the oldest Jewish diaspora communities in the world as well as India's oldest European church, St Francis, where the explorer Vasco da Gama was originally buried.

Our own journey had seen Zoe pick up a bug on the flight, and the family's entrance into the country had been heralded by a fellow passenger announcing to the stewardesses, 'she is vomiting', with the sort of hard, percussive 'v' and elongated vowel sound that also announces India. So much for the children's welfare.

But this was a holiday at which we were chucking the savings, and whereas last time it had been trains and buses, now we were met by our own car and driver, the heroic Rajesh, with whom we weaved calmly north for an hour-and-a-half to what we could see, in the warm light of morning, were the Athirapally Falls. This is a popular spot for local tourists, and the view from our adjoining bedrooms at our eco-friendly hotel of the Chalakudy River crashing down 80 feet was spectacular.

The falls had also attracted a film crew shooting a Malayalam movie in the forest when Sam, Esme and I sweated past later in the heat, with a chorus line of extras and a troop of monkeys waiting in the shade. For the children, it immediately felt very different from the school playground on a Friday afternoon, and later, on a drive deeper into the forest, we saw deer and a giant red squirrel, but no elephants here either, despite the promised chance of a sighting.

The deal had been that we would split the trip between wildlife, beach and culture and next morning, with Zoe recovered, we drove back to Cochin. The route was initially through lush countryside, with Rajesh pointing out the banana trees, tapioca, rubber trees and much more, as if this were a botany lesson. This is a fertile land for religion, too, and beside the temples and mosques, there were huge churches with gaudy paint jobs to enable them compete with their Hindu counterparts. Imposing mansions also studded the roadside, evidence of Kerala's growing prosperity.

Long the most literate state in India, it is benefiting from workers at every level, from construction workers to medics, sending money home from newfound jobs in the Gulf. Tourism plays its part, too, and in Cochin the sort of boutique hotel that simply didn't exist in India twenty years ago - backpacker's budget or not -was awaiting us.

Before dinner in the courtyard of the chic Malabar House, there was the inevitable visit to the city's famous Chinese fishing nets and then to a kathakali show. Genuine performances of this ancient form of dance-drama apparently last through the night, but even though this show was thankfully truncated and the protagonists looked spectacular in their lurid make-up, there was still the question of why the children should be subjected to it when I had suffered a similar show that had bored me close to tears 20 years ago. But it proved a surprise hit thanks to the woman who explained the action to the audience and could have passed for Les Dawson in drag; coincidentally, she also shared his comic timing.

'What you will see now is the emotion of anger,' she would mutter. And the dancer would half raise an eyebrow. 'Now you will see the emotion of joy.' The same chap would curl his lip. The subtleties passed us by, and I'm afraid to say that for the next 10 days, kathakali became a running joke in the family.

The cultural trail was leading us to Madurai across the Western Ghats in Tamil Nadu, but to break the nine-hour drive we stopped for the night in tea country, 45 minutes on from the town of Munnar. En route, the children were entertained by the scenery but also by a CD of the Just William stories we'd brought with us to play on the car stereo; it turned out that the sound of Martin Jarvis recounting the adventures of William, Ginger, Douglas et al proved the most apposite soundtrack to our arrival at the Tallayar Estate bungalow - a perfect throwback to the Raj. Delphiniums and forget-me-nots prettified the garden and the strawberries were just coming into season; later, the cook asked the children to identify the veg patch cauliflower they fancied for dinner. We were the only guests, treated to vast bedrooms and chipped ceramic baths, and the cook and housekeeper were there at 4am to see us off.

The early start wasn't in the itinerary (however relentless it seemed), but the stoic Rajesh had been alarmed by news of a hartal - a strike - called to protest against rising fuel prices in Kerala. So we wound through the mountains as dawn crept up - privilege to the most spectacular views - in order to make the state border before angry picket lines could stop us; Rajesh was genuinely relieved when we made it down into the plains without incident.

The ancient city of Madurai with its rubbish-strewn streets served as a sharp contrast to the more genteel charms of Cochin. But to visit its stellar attraction, the Meenakshi temple, we took rickshaws from the hotel and the children loved the mayhem of our race there. If ever any journey made a mockery of the demand that they put their seat belts on when in the car back home, this was it.

The vast temple complex, with its 12 gopurams, beats an Anglican church hands down when it comes to child-friendliness, too: we could pad around barefoot, play hide and seek among the sculptures, visit the temple shops - and gain a keen sense of a religion practised in near-unbroken form for millennia. Sam said later that the temple was - and here he adopted the sort of formulation that would see Rajev tell us that from Madurai to our next destination it was 'near ... and also far' - both 'boring and ... interesting'. Serious praise.

In Madurai we also visited a tailor, who kitted out both children in Indian clothes, which seemed like a further measure of their acclimatisation. The food, too, was proving a breeze - the idea of a curry provoked few fears, with biscuits and bananas coming to the rescue if there really wasn't anything they fancied. Only a ritual of our own cast a pall; advice on whether it was really necessary to take precautions against malaria in southern India was mixed, which meant that the children were bullied into wolfing down their bitter pills every evening before dinner. This, Esme maintains, was, cheek-pinchers included, 'the absolute worst thing about India'.

From Madurai it was a scramble back to the coast, but the journey was broken by two nights at the Periyar Wildlife park, the biggest in south India. The first time I had visited here, if memory serves, there were few buildings and little in the way of hotels and it was in the adjacent town of Thekkady that my friends and I had been approached by a wiry fellow asking, 'sirs, would you be interested in seeing marijuana growing?', followed by his sales pitch. Now it was shop owners inviting us in to look at artefacts from around the country - pashminas from Kashmir and such like. The advantage of Periyar remains that it is easy to visit - a vast artificial lake dominates the park and every hour three or four boats with Indian honeymooners and Western tourists sputter off across the water.

But first we hired a guide to take us walking into the jungle, which meant more monkeys and a raccoon, as well as tiger scratch marks but no tigers and no elephants. Easy to imagine they were scared off by the occasional moan from a child still sweltering in the becalming, relative coolness of the thick interior. But it was still fantastically like The Jungle Book. Later, the boat ride proved restive, apart from the sudden frenzied gesticulation necessary when anyone thought they had spotted a big beast on the shore. Sadly, they were only deer.

Never mind, because next day, finally there were elephants, tame ones that we rode around a patch of jungle in Thekkady. The Madurai rickshaw race was recreated at ambling pace - the danger now in the possibility of Zoe panicking and falling off. This was, Esme later said, 'the best thing we did in India'.

From there, we bumped down towards the sea, entering the part of Kerala famous for its luscious backwaters, where the distinction between land and water threatens to disappear. First we stopped for two nights at an absurdly luxurious hotel called Privacy on the shores of the vast Lake Vembanad and then hit a beach resort.

This stretch of the frenzied journey served as a reward for everyone - lazing by the swimming pool, cycling through country lanes, being buffeted by the warm waves of the Arabian Sea, drifting through backwaters in a modified canoe. By this stage, for the adults, there was little of the sense of adventure that had characterised our earlier trips to India, though we continued to marvel at recent developments in the country that made our lives easier now - such as functioning cash points. But every day brought something new to Sam and Esme.

The only shame was that we had to part company with Rajesh who, like everyone we met, could not have been nicer to the children. Sam gashed his foot in the pool at Privacy but by then Zoe and I were beyond worrying. The junior contingent started moaning, but only that we absolutely had to return to Kerala at the earliest possible opportunity.

Casper Llewellyn Smith and partner Zoe, and children Esme and Sam in Thekkady, Southern India. Photograph: Casper Llewellyn Smith

By: Caspar Llewellyn Smith

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2008/oct/26/india-sri-lanka-children?page=all

50 years later, climbers celebrate scaling El Cap

2008-11-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. – Climbing enthusiasts from around the world will gather here this weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary the first climb up the sheer granite face of iconic El Capitan.

Fresno's George Whitmore will be a part of the celebration, which includes talks and slide shows.

Whitmore, Wayne Merry and Warren Harding climbed the 3,000-foot El Capitan in November 1958, a feat many had considered impossible to that point. It took them 47 days over 16 months to complete the climb now done by some in fewer than three hours. They set fixed lines and rappelled down, then used the ropes to return to the same point later.

The 77-year-old Whitmore said they didn't realize then "how special" their climb would be.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_travel/20081106/ap_tr_ge/travel_brief_el_capitan_anniversary;_ylt=AvTrWudvhluYmkyhuckQFi08sM0F

Revolution in the Air: Non-Aviators to Take Flight

2008-11-06T21:33:00.000-08:00

On January 5th 2009, the United States Air Force will launch perhaps the most ambitious experiment in the annals of air warfare. For the first time in history, officers who have no aviation experience will learn to fly unmanned combat drones into battle without ever setting foot into a real aircraft.

This dramatic shift comes as the USAF ramps up operations in order to meet the surging demand for aerial surveillance assets in Iraq and Afghanistan. In order to meet the challenge head on, the USAF looked at “innovative ways to get the war fighter what he needs to get the job done” said Lt. Col. Tom Marocchini, an A1 air operations officer at USAF headquarters, resulting in a sea-change in Air Force attitudes towards the training of drone operators.

Initially 10 officers, most of whom have no aviation experience, will be selected for what has been termed a “beta test” by senior Air Force officials, said Brigadier General Carlton D. Everhart of the USAF’s Air Education and Training Command (AETC). These officers are to be the pioneers for what is hoped will become a brand new career field for the operators of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Everhart said.

Selection standards for this initial cadre of aviators will be rigorous, Everhart said. While some physiological requirements are relaxed compared to the pilots of manned aircraft, the service is “maintaining the same eye sight requirements, including depth perception and color vision”, said Colonel Curt Sheldon, an A3-OA air operations officer at USAF headquarters. Additionally, many of the same academic requirements have also been maintained, including passing the Test of Basic Aviation Skills (TBAS) and Air Force Officer Qualification Test (AFOQT), as these have been shown to predict success in the air, Sheldon said.

Training for this new class of officers will begin much the same way as those entering the regular USAF Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT) pipeline. As training starts, the class will undergo Initial Flight Screening (IFS) to teach the students “air sense” and the emergency procedures needed to move on to flying more sophisticated machines, Everhart said. “Teaching air sense is the biggest open question. How long does it take to teach air sense? How long does it take for students to grasp the concepts?” are all areas of concern to the USAF, Everhart said.

The next stop is Randolph Air Force Base (AFB) in Oklahoma. Here the students will undergo academic and simulator training for instrument flight, air navigation, holding patterns and most importantly deconflicting with other aircraft traffic, Everhart said. The new aviators will also learn the finer points of how to operate with Air Force Air Tasking Orders (ATO) in order to fly in a combat zone and Crew Resource Management (CRM) in order to coordinate with their sensor operator. The biggest difference between the regular UPT course and the UAS operator course is that the UAS operators will not actually fly the T-6 during their training, Everhart explained- all the flying is done in a simulator.

The final step before entering flight training on a Predator UAS is the Joint Air Ground Operations Group (JAGOG). Here, the students will learn to coordinate with the ground forces that they are to support, Everhart said. The school not only teaches the finer points of the close air support and air interdiction to pilots but also serves as the training unit for the Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTAC) who clear the pilots to unleash their weapons on the enemy during such missions. Everhart explained that this phase of the training will be critical in developing the student’s “air sense”.

The final phase of the new training pipeline will be at the MQ-1 Predator Formal Training Unit (FTU) at Creech AFB, Nevada. At the FTU, the new aviators will attend what is known as the b-course where they will learn to fly and fight with the MQ-1 Predators. The b-course is designed for new pilots who have no experience in any major weapons system to learn the basics of flying an aircraft in combat, Everhart explained.

Once the b-course is completed, the new aviators are basic aircraft qualified. However, the aviators must still complete the mission qualification course at their operational squadron in order to be considered full fledged combat pilots. If the students prove to be successful, the USAF will make a decision on creating a permanent new career field for UAS operators. Additionally, AETC also hopes to eventually create a FTU for every individual UAS type, Everhart said. Sheldon cautions however, that while he expects the new training program to succeed, the “success of the beta testing is not a foregone conclusion.”

While the fate of the dedicated UAS pipeline is decided, the USAF is concurrently embarking on a program to take 100 new graduates from UPT per year and send them directly to a Predator, Global Hawk or Reaper UAS. Unlike the participants of the beta test program who will be initially restricted to the Predator aircraft, the UPT graduates will be allowed to fly any UAS in the inventory to which they are assigned, Sheldon said. Also unlike those graduating from the beta test program, the UPT graduates will not remain in the unmanned drone business permanently.

“The Chief (of Staff) has made the commitment that these pilots will return to flying a manned weapons system” after a three year tour flying a UAS, Everhart said. Similarly, those USAF pilots who were involuntarily reassigned to flying combat drones under the Transformational Aircrew Management Initiative- 21 (TAMI-21) program might also eventually return to flying manned aircraft as circumstances change, Sheldon said.

Sheldon, who is a former F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot, said for those UPT graduates who are assigned to flying drones, the future is bright. Sheldon explains that not only do these pilots “get into the fight” immediately, they gain a breadth and depth of experience which will be of value later on in their careers and that experience will be fully applicable to manned weapons systems. In Iraq or Afghanistan, “when you get a call for a Close Air Support platform, the most requested platform is a UAS,” Everhart said, “with a UAS on station, you can watch, direct troop movements” in addition to attacking the enemy directly. “There is a lot of capability there, the future is very bright” Everhart said. Sheldon added, “Fully half of the aircraft that the Air Force will be buying in the future are going be unmanned. This community is going to be the second largest after the F-16 community. Getting in early is not a bad thing.”

While the ultimate fate of the dedicated UAS operator career field has yet to be decided, Everhart, Sheldon and Marocchini said they are optimistic, pointing out that the USAF only accepts highly qualified personnel into the ranks. While it has yet to be determined if the UAS operators will be “rated” i.e. part of the elite Air Force fraternity of aviators, Everhart said that he personally believes that it will happen, adding that “these guys are real warriors.” Sheldon, meanwhile, would only say that they are in the data-gathering phase, however should the UAS operators eventually be considered rated officers, he said that “it could potentially change the face of the Air Force.”

By Dave Majumdar, Special to Aviation.com

Source: http://www.aviation.com/technology/081015-unmanned-aerial-combat.html

Miss World to unveil World Travel Awards 2009 destinations

2008-11-06T21:30:00.000-08:00

World Travel Awards is announcing its destinations for the 2009 Grand Tour at WTM next week, with reigning Miss World, Zi Lin Zhang of China, assisting with the official unveiling.

The announcement will be made at 15.00 Monday 10 November in the WTA VIP Lounge, South Gallery, 33.

Recognised as the hallmark of travel excellence, the World Travel Awards acknowledges the leading travel products across the globe. The regional award ceremonies recognise winners in their own territory and celebrate both individuals and companies setting new boundaries in travel and tourism.

In 2008, almost 3,600 companies have been nominated from 137 countries around the world. VIP and senior industry figureheads who attended WTA ceremonies also found them excellent forums to access, network and do business with the people who shape the industry and its future.

“World Travel Awards is proud of its impartial nature and the comprehensive process of its voting programme. Votes are cast by an audience of 167,000 travel agents and tourism professionals from 164 participating countries. This level of accountability makes winning an award the greatest form of recognition in the travel business,” said Graham Cooke, President & Founder of the World Travel Awards.

“With a host of exciting new partnership deals and a global media campaign reaching in excess of 270 million in place, our 2009 Tour is set to be our best yet. We are proud of our 15 years rewarding and acknowledging excellence, and are honoured to be recognized as ‘the Oscars of the travel industry’,” adds Cooke.

Source: http://www.breakingtravelnews.com/article/20081105131538363

Top 10 Travel Destinations List

2008-11-06T03:46:00.000-08:00

The Specialty Travel Agents Association (STAA) has its 2008 Best Destinations travel trend destinations selections up. This “Top 10″ type list obviously has to leave out a lot of great vacation spots, and includes none in the United States’ Lower 48. However, there is much to commend about this list of interesting international destinations. Take a look: I’ll give my opinion on the travel spots, and you tell me what you think, too.

In no particular order, the STAA Best Destinations for Travel in 2008:

1. Quebec City, in Canada: July 3rd marks Quebec City’s 400th anniversary, and the celebration will not only be festive, but also will recognize all the outdoor activities, festivals, culture and history that makes Quebec City a top vacation destination. This will be an eight month long celebration (you read that right - what a party!) with genuine French Canadian flavor.

2. Australia: Europeans are increasingly taking their holidays in Australia (the favorable exchange rate may have something to do with this), and resort hotels are correspondingly becoming more luxurious. But it’s not all luxury travel of course - there’s plenty of budget lodgings and eco travel opportunities in the Land Down Under. It ranks as one of my top places I’d like to see, as well.

3. Hawaii: Hawaii, and Maui in particular, is consistently voted the most popular tropical vacation island by those in the know (Conde Naste, Travel & Leisure, etc). It’s also the top honeymoon vacation state in the U.S., with each island offering its own unique take on what it means to be in Hawaii. Another plus: I’ve never had bad weather for more than an hour or two there. The weather is perfect.

4. China: The Specialty Travel Agents Association has chosen China as a best destination largely because of the upcoming Beijing Sumer Olympics games. However, more recently there have been some seriously disturbing issues - those that even make the news - regarding exactly how China is preparing for the games (prettifying a large, polluted urban area seems to mean dislocating a lot of long-time residents), and the country’s sanctioning of murdering monks in Tibet has led at least one country (France) to consider boycotting the Olympics. No country’s politics are perfect, of course, but with all the other great places to visit in the world, I know I have no travel plans for China in the immediate future.

5. The US Virgin Islands: Okay, I’m biased - my honeymoon was in St John, and in as such it remains one of my most favorite tropical vacation isles. St. John is 2/3 National Park land, and is the least developed of the three US Virgin Islands. St. Thomas has the most hotels and resorts, as well as the best shopping, whereas St Croix has tourism opportunities and what is considered the Easternmost part of the United States. The local saying goes, “Vacation on St. John, Shop on St. Thomas, and Live on St. Croix,” and that pretty much holds true.

6. India: It’s a large, geographically diverse country, so it would probably take more than one trip to truly get to know India. STAA recommends India for ecotravel - Bengal tigers are an endangered species, and there’s not much time left to see them in their natural state. And the Taj Mahal, needless to say, is also a huge draw.

7. Argentina: STAA recommends Argentina for those of us travel lovers who have been struggling with the dropping value of the American dollar. Rather than not travel at all, its suggested that Argentina’s bang for the buck combines well with many tourist friendly activities, top-notch restaurants, and boutique hotels.

8. Vietnam: STAA suggests that Vietnam is the Next Best Thing in terms of luxury golf vacations, calling it the “next premier golf destination.” Really? Well, I’m not sure that golf travel packages in Vietnam will ever be on the same level as Scotland or Hawaii, but it has many other tourist friendly attractions. It’s a very affordable country to visit, for one, and two, the Vietnamese people are among the world’s nicest, most optimistic - Buddhism teaches kindness and forgiveness, and most people in Vietnam are Buddhist.

9. France: Ah, France! A Top 10 Travel list just wouldn’t seem legit without La Belle France. It’s the most popular country in the world for travel, and has everything any vacation lover could want. Luxury travel is practically defined by the French Riviera, and those of us who appreciate the fine arts go gaga over the Louvre and Orsay in Paris. 2008 is the 150th anniversary of the appearance of the Virgin Mary to a French peasant girl in Lourdes, and seeing that six million people make a religious pilgrimage there already, Lourdes is sure to be a top travel destination this year.

10. Alaska: Alaska is one of the most popular cruise destinations (with a pit stop in Vancouver, BC). Just as India’s Bengal tiger population is shrinking, so are those glaciers. Environmentally aware tourists are wanting to see the melting ice before it’s too late. The cruise ship vacations to Alaska are, of course, most popular in the spring and summer; it’s too cold for most travelers to come out of their cabins in the winter! The gorgeous scenery, combined with the summer home of many migratory species, makes cruising here an enormous draw.

While I don’t agree with all the destinations on this list being the top 10, shortlists are hard. Winnowing down all the terrific places to see in the world to 10 is never going to please everyone, after all! I give STAA credit for their obviously well thought-out list, but I’d switch out China for a less controversial country, and perhaps replace Argentina with Belize, Costa Rica, or another Latin American country with a stronger emphasis on eco travel and environmentally responsible tourism. But that’s just me - what’s on your Top 10 travel destinations list? I’d really like to know; there’s a comments section below.

By MudslideMama

Source: http://travelingmamas.com/2008/03/20/top-10-travel-destinations-list/

The Wi-Fi skies: Airlines embrace broadband

2008-11-06T03:28:00.000-08:00

Passengers on airliners and business jets may differ in terms of what they pay for their flights, but thanks to the development of airborne broadband technology, they can now access the Internet, e-mail and text message while enroute regardless of whether they fly commercially or privately.

In August, American Airlines became the first U.S. air carrier to offer inflight broadband service. Passengers on the airline's Boeing 767-200 aircraft can access coast-to-coast coverage on nonstop flights between New York and San Francisco, New York and Los Angeles, and New York and Miami.

"We are pleased to provide our customers with the unprecedented ability to stay connected to their family, friends and business associates on the ground via the Internet while traveling at 30,000 feet above the United States," said Dan Garton, American's executive vice president — marketing.

The service offered by American Airlines is based on technology developed by Itasca, Ill.-based Aircell LLC, which calls its airline Wi-Fi broadband service "Gogo Inflight Internet." Delta Air Lines, Aircell's second commercial air carrier client, will offer Gogo in first and economy classes on hundreds of Delta aircraft next year.

"Delta remains committed to providing a travel experience that maximizes the time our customers spend with us onboard by offering them even more productivity options," said Richard Anderson, Delta's Chief Executive Officer. "Our customers asked for in-flight connectivity, and we're responding by rolling out the most extensive Wi-Fi network in the sky."

In addition to airborne Internet access and Wi-Fi-enabled communications, Aircell/Gogo equipment on jetliners allows air carriers to store and offer hundreds of movies, video games and music files to passengers. Greater inflight entertainment holds the promise of increasing airline revenues at a time when profitability could again be threatened by rising fuel prices.

The first international Gogo customer is Air Canada, Canada's largest airline. Aircell has a contract to install broadband technology on Air Canada's Airbus A319 jetliners used for flights to the United States. The Air Canada Gogo service is expected to start in spring 2009.

On all air carriers, Gogo is available to passengers as a fee-based service. American Airlines, for example, is charging $12.95 for Gogo Inflight Internet on flights longer than three hours. Travelers can access Gogo when the aircraft is above 10,000 feet and from any seat.

Devices that communicate with the Gogo system include laptop computers with 802.11 a/b/g Wi-Fi capability, smartphones and other Wi-Fi handheld devices such as BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, Apple, and Nokia Symbian S60. Gogo does not support voice service.

Coast-to-coast Gogo service is possible due to Aircell's national network of 92 transmitter sites. The company plans to enlarge the network to 500 sites and is looking at expanding into Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

Alaska Airlines is also offering Wi-Fi broadband to its customers, but has opted to use a satellite-based system from Row 44, an airborne broadband company headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif. The Row 44 system works over land and water and across international borders, allowing passengers to use the Internet, e-mail and use text messaging regardless of aircraft routing.

Business jet users stay connected too
Like airline passengers, people who fly on corporate jets also want to stay connected to the outside world. To satisfy their requirement, corporate jet manufacturers offer airborne Wi-Fi broadband technology as an equipment option.

Customers of Cessna, Gulfstream, Learjet, Hawker, Bombardier, Dassault Falcon and Embraer have ordered the Aircell Axxess system for their business aircraft. Axxess is comprised of communications hardware and software with a Wi-Fi broadband service add-on.

System installation occurs during aircraft manufacture, or for older airplanes, when temporarily taken out of service for maintenance, typically.

Because many corporate aircraft operators travel beyond the range of transmitters in the lower 48 states, satellite-based Wi-Fi broadband has become increasingly popular with business jet users since 2005.

Aircell's SwiftBroadband service provides global Internet and wireless communications coverage using the Inmarsat constellation of 12 telecommunications satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

SwiftBroadband's voice and data transfer speed is up to 432 kilobytes per second (kbps). High-speed Internet at home and the office is a minimum of 256 kbps.

Another feature of airborne Wi-Fi broadband that appeals to users of business aircraft is VPN — Virtual Private Network. VPN allows for secure communications; e-mails and file attachments are encrypted before transmission.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27559057/

Travel agents boycott top three airlines on commission issue

2008-11-05T03:28:00.000-08:00

New Delhi: The travel agent-airline tiff over withdrawal of 5% commission, paid earlier on sale of tickets, which has now been replaced by a hefty transaction fee has snowballed into a big fight.
On Monday, the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) decided to boycott three airlines — KLM, Air France and NorthWest — for sale of tickets. TAAI also warned Air India and other carriers to get ready for a similar treatment if they did not meet the demands of training agents for the new system and till that happened, defer the zero commission that came into force last Saturday.

"It is a question of our survival. We have demands like, carriers train agents for the new system of transaction charge, and having a remuneration with airlines as well, and not just passengers who'll pay the charge. The three foreign carriers were not agreeing to these points and we have decided to stop sales of their tickets with immediate effect. Other airlines may also suffer a similar fate if they don’t fall in line," said a TAAI official.

Till last Saturday, full service Indian carriers — AI, Jet and Kingfisher — and some foreign carriers used to pay about 5% commission on base fares to agents who account for nearly 85% of all ticket sales in India. Then, as a cost-cutting measure, they stopped this commission from Saturday and agents decided to levy a transaction charge of Rs 350 to Rs 500 for domestic and Rs 1,200 to Rs 10,000 for international tickets.

Source: http://avindia.blogspot.com/2008/11/travel-agents-boycott-top-three.html

7 Pitfalls To Prepare For When Travelling With Your Business

2008-11-05T03:13:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I’ve been traveling for most of 2008, having left my home in Brisbane Australia back in April. As I type this I’m on the European leg of a worldwide journey, sitting in an apartment in Amsterdam.

My European travels have really highlighted some of the unique challenges you face when attempting to run a business and enjoy yourself no matter where you are in the world. The reason why it has been especially unique in Europe is because of how much moving around I am doing. Literally each week I am in a different city, which makes for fun times, but also means I am in a constantly changing environment.

As a result of my experiences I’ve learned quite a lot about traveling with an Internet business, some of which I’d like to share with you now.

Here are seven things you should consider if you decide to travel with your business…

1. Expect The Unexpected When Renting

Renting apartments offers superior accommodation often at rates as affordable or cheaper than hotels, however you don’t always get what you expect.

Whenever I’ve planned to be in a city for at least week, or whenever possible, I’ve looked for apartments to rent short term. Apartments offer more room, a real kitchen and let you live like a normal person in the city you are visiting.

Unfortunately you never know what you are going to get with an apartment. Photos and descriptions offer some insight into where you might be spending a week or two, but until you get there you never really know. I’ve been pleasantly surprised and at times, quite disappointed with how an apartment turns out. Vancouver was awesome but New York was terrible. Both looked excellent on paper and in photos.

What’s critically important when choosing an apartment is you ask for what you need to run your business, as well as your life. Part of why New York was not good was because the Internet was unreliable. When running a business you need good net access.

Right now in Amsterdam I made the mistake of not checking whether the apartment has a landline telephone, which it doesn’t, and I need to do a group teleconference call with my members this week. I’m going to have to try and do it over Skype instead, which can be hit and miss for connectivity.

Make a checklist of things to ask before renting an apartment so you cover your basis and then just cross your fingers and hope for the best, but be prepared to function in less than ideal situations and have contingency plans too.

2. Prepare Where You Will Live In Advance

Continuing the accommodation theme, when traveling through different cities with short time frames prepare your living arrangements in advance.

When I arrived in the UK I only had three days in Glasgow before heading to Edinburgh. Perhaps I was foolish, or maybe just tired because of jetlag (that going east from North America to the UK jetlag is a killer!), but I never got around to planning where I would stay in Edinburgh until the day I actually arrived.

Here I was at 6 PM in the evening, with my luggage, sitting at a net cafe phoning apartments up to see if they were available for immediate occupancy. I managed to find a place that turned out to be okay. It wasn’t the cheapest though.

As always, planning in advance works best and gives you the most flexibility and choice. Now I try and arrange my next destination accommodation during the first few days in the city I’m staying in before I move to the next city, rather than the day before I’m due to leave or the day arriving in the new city.

You can outsource this task too, however I found that apartment shopping is a ridiculously personal thing and deciding what’s good for you is not something that is easy for others to do. This is particularly an issue if you are like me - fussy about certain things like beds and of course business requirements such as Internet access.

If you are not so fussy, creating a list of accommodation requirements and then handing it to a person to do online research for you to come up with a shortlist of apartments for you to choose from, is a very good idea.

3. Have A Computer Back-Up Plan

Have a back-up plan for computer failure. Regardless of what kind of business structure you have, chances are you will be doing everything for your business on a laptop and you don’t want to rely only on that laptop or you will suffer from “all your eggs in one basket” syndrome.

Everything critical to my business is remote from my laptop. This is great because if the laptop dies, you can head to a net cafe and do what you need to do through Gmail and Skype, or whatever tools you need to use to run your business.

A regular back-up routine is a good idea too of course. I have a Macbook Pro and travel with a hard-drive that I use with the “time machine” function in Mac OS, which has to be one of the best backup solutions for local files since it replicates your entire computer.

4. Don’t Be The Main Cog In Your Business

Don’t have anything too time critical in your business that can’t be done by other people. Traveling around means lots of unexpected things happen and when it does, usually the first thing that suffers is the time you have available to work.

I’ve been sick a couple of times this year, the kind of sick that leaves you in bed not really wanting to do anything else but focus on recovery for a day or two (probably due to all the funky things I’ve been exposed to on planes, trains and buses). Thankfully since I’ve been in apartments my surroundings for recovery have been good, but more importantly I haven’t felt stressed that my business will fall apart without me.

You need to know at the very least the critical elements of your business that need attention every day, are dealt with without a dependency on you. In my business customer service is important every day so I have help with that. Other important tasks, like writing new blog posts or email newsletters and email correspondence that only I can deal with, can go for days without my attention, if life dictates time away from the computer.

I’ve structured my business deliberately in this way and made certain choices about how I work in order to create these freedoms. While I choose how much I work for most days of the year, sometimes that choice is made for you by external elements, often unexpected things like illness, or family or personal issues, that must be attended to before work. While traveling you tend to face more unexpected things, so freedom from your business is even more critical.

5. If Your Business Demands Time, Stop Traveling

If you are planning anything major that requires significant commitment of your time, plan your trip so that you stop somewhere for long enough to live a stable life.

In July I relaunched Blog Mastermind. This required creating new video content, preparing a launch strategy, communicating with lots of people and generally doing a lot more than I usually do on a day to day basis. As a result, I planned my trip to have a full two months in Toronto, which allowed me to live like a normal person with a routine, work on my project during the week and travel around acting like a tourist on weekends.

You know you run a truly global business when you can coordinate an entire product launch from any place that you have good net access. We’re lucky today we have all the tools that the World Wide Web provides us, so you can do a lot without being in a certain place at a certain time. Obviously this requires your business structure is something that can travel with you, but that’s a whole other topic already well covered in the archives of this blog.

6. Don’t Say Yes To Every Project or Promotion

This might be the hardest piece of advice for entrepreneurs or those of you addicted to money - take on less than you would usually.

During the past few months I’ve said “no” to more projects and more opportunities than ever before. I’ve also not written about many things on this blog or in my email newsletter. Of course by doing this I’m also forgoing a lot of money and my business is not growing as fast as it could be, but you need to slow down if you want to have the time to enjoy everything you are experiencing while you travel.

Traveling with your business shouldn’t be spent with 10 hours a day in front of your laptop in a different city each week. You may as well stay home and work and save the money you spend on travel and accommodation if that’s how you intend to work while overseas. You can create certain efficiencies within your business structure to free up time, but at some point you need to make a deliberate choice not to do something in order to free up your time and your mind so you can relax and enjoy your new surroundings.

I spend most nights doing “status quo” work on my business, just like I am doing right now writing this blog post. I’ll spend one to three hours each day, maybe write a blog post, respond to some emails, coordinate the one major new thing I’m working on, but that’s it. Sure I’m thinking a lot about what new projects I want to do, but they are in the pre-planning stage, ready for action when I return home to Australia.

7. Don’t Let Money Be An Issue

Watch your cashflow and/or plan to have “nest eggs” to live off as you travel. Europe is expensive. North America can be affordable and most of the rest of the world can be very cheap (maybe not Japan), if you are coming from a country with a strong currency (that’s a seriously subjective matter nowadays!).

You know where you are traveling to and can do research to prepare for how much things cost, but you never really know until you get there. I personally like a bargain, but I’m not a backpacker. I don’t want to spend all my time looking for the absolute cheapest accommodation, food and things to do, and I want to be okay with spending money to avoid any problems and make my trip as comfortable as I can. Of course I don’t want to blow the budget either.

We all have our own self-imposed “limits” when it comes to how much money we spend. Thankfully the Internet provides many tools we can use that makes the search for what we consider affordable easier, but as always with travel, expect to spend more than you plan to.

There’s going to be hidden fees and all those unexpected circumstances that pop up. If that means you spend more on an apartment than you want to because you were poor with your planning (a mistake I’ve made), or food costs more than you expect, or a last minute flight costs five times more than you want to pay - whatever the reason - you don’t want the idea of that or the chunk it takes from your budget to ruin your whole trip. This is a mindset issue and a reality based on how much money you have.

To help deal with this situation you can rely on one or both of two things -

Your business cashflow
Any large savings you have to live off

I had the luxury of both the above benefits. I’ve got savings built up from selling websites during the past two years and cashflow from my current business, which requires minimal effort to maintain beyond the two to three hours of work I do each night.

If you read my blog from start to finish you might have an idea how I’ve managed to do this, but obviously it’s not “simple” but the idea that you need to have money saved up and/or cashflow coming in while you travel in order to enjoy your trip should be obvious.

An Internet business provides a great avenue to create the conditions to travel without needing to think like a backpacker and be comfortable with spending money to enjoy yourself, within your own limitations.

Personally I would never have left on this trip without knowing that if push came to shove I could spend money to help deal with whatever situation came my way. On top of this, when I check my bank balance I’m still making more than I spend, so I know the system is working despite my travels and even though I turn down many opportunities.

In your case you need to look at your own business cashflow, your systems and your savings and decide whether you are ready to travel or determine what needs to happen in order to become ready.

I hope this article has helped to highlight a few of the issues you need to consider and I wish you best of luck with your travels if you manage to pack yourself up, with your business, and see the world.

What Would You Like To Know?

I’d appreciate your feedback on the topic of travel and business. I’m planning a report on this subject and it helps to have a feel for what people really struggle with. Is it the money? Is it creating systems to leave your business? Is it figuring out how to travel and work at the same time?

Let me know what specific concepts you would like discussed as comment replies to this post and I’ll answer in future resources I release from this blog.

Yaro Starak
Business Traveler

Source: http://www.entrepreneurs-journey.com/1005/7-pitfalls-to-prepare-for-when-travelling-with-your-business/

Shirdi

2008-11-04T03:19:00.000-08:00

Abode of the charismatic Shri Saibaba, Shirdi is the mystical town fragrant with the devotional intensity that sees devotees from across the world thronging to this small hamlet. Highly placed on the world map of spirituality, Shirdi is located in Ahmednagar district of Maharashtra and close to the holy city of Nasik.

Such is the devotional strength of the place that even a casual visitor cannot remain unaffected by the faith and conviction of the devotees on Saibaba. Bereft of any religious narrowness, Saibaba was essentially an Indian Guru, a Fakir who was regarded by both Hindu and Muslim communities. He worshipped both at temples and mosques and encouraged tolerance between both the faiths. His life and teachings are wonderful semblance of both faiths.

Saibaba is believed to have arrived at the village of Shirdi when he was about sixteen years old. He took up residence in a Khandoba temple, where a villager (Mahalsapathi) at worship first called him Sai ("saint"). Bearing an extremely simple and ascetic life, Sai Baba lived in the village as a mendicant monk. His inherent charisma soon began attracting followers. He has been attributed numerous miracles which still live expanding the list of his devotees. Today Saibaba temples are all across India and even beyond. Devotees have established Sai temples in countries like Canada and Cuba.

Location: Ahmednagar district, Maharashatra
Climate: Dry Climate
Temperature: Max - 40 C, Min - 70 C
Languages: Marathi, Hindi and English
Best Time to Visit: June to August (Monsoons)
Special Day: Every Thursday
Attractions: Samadhi Mandir, Guru Sthan, Khandoba Temple
Nearest Airport: Aurangabad (144km)
STD Code: 02423

Source: http://www.shirdi.org.uk/