Whether you travel for business or pleasure, go on a leisurely holiday or on an expedition, doing your homework is always key. Experienced travelers know all too well that there is real work to be done long before the bags are packed. Details always matter. Having accurate, reliable information available can make the difference between a dream come true and a nightmare. So don’t leave the quality of your trip to chance, even if you are the spontaneous and adventurous type.
Smart Planning Can Make
Your Trip More Enjoyable and Safe
Despite of all the wonderful things you may have heard from friends, have read in travel magazines or have seen on TV and online, you may still wish to gather some reality-based information on your own.
Perhaps, you have a flexible schedule and want to know which is the best time of the year for your trip. You may seek a fun-filled family vacation or look forward to some peace and quiet in the off-season. There may be a time and place for both – but where?
In this day and age, you also want to know about the political and social realities on the ground before you travel to a particular country or region. Like it or not, safety is becoming an ever more important issue for travelers. For example, would you know what to do in case of an emergency or evacuation in a foreign country? Would you be able to find your embassy or consulate? Do you know what kind of assistance you can expect to receive there?
Most importantly, you must be knowledgeable about potential health hazards. The ”Travel & Health” section of this blog focuses specifically on health issues in connection with travel, such as vaccination/immunization requirements and recommendations, guidelines for dealing with medical emergencies, precautionary measures with regards to food- and water supplies, and much more. While you can’t prepare for all possible mishaps, smart planning can help make your trip more enjoyable and safe.
Travel agencies and travel-related websites can provide you with more (and hopefully better) information than ever before. In this blog, I do not try to create yet another travel magazine. My intention is to offer ideas and inspiration to fellow-travelers around the globe. In this pursuit, I share tips for finding great escapes, extraordinary adventures and unforgettable experiences. I also want you to stay healthy and fit, so you can enjoy your trips without regrets and without spoiling the fun.
I do not advertise any specific locations or establishments, like hotels, resorts, restaurants, etc. All advertisements you find on this blog are paid for and should not be construed as endorsements or recommendations. All my reports are solely based on my own observations and experiences and are not sponsored or financially connected in any way, shape or form with the businesses and individuals I encounter on any given occasion. I travel anonymously and my reporting is completely independent and unbiased. The information I give is obtained first hand, not from TV programs, commercials, magazines or any other publications.
Besides providing useful tips and dispensing good advice, I also aim to entertain through my blog posts, radio programs, photographs and video clips. If you sign up for RSS feed, you can receive regular updates on the best kept travel secrets anywhere.
Making the “Bucket List”
In the movie, “The Bucket List,” Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman play two characters with vastly different social backgrounds who find themselves both diagnosed with cancer. They decide to forego the less than promising medical treatment and, instead, live their last days to the fullest, hoping to go out with a blast. The story is based on the idea that we should make a list of things to do (and/or see) before we inevitably “kick the bucket.” Despite its ultimately dire prospects, the underlying message is supposedly positive and funny. The idea of “get-it-before-it’s-too-late,” of course, is by no means new.
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Modern Day Travel
Travel used to be a simple matter. You traveled for business or pleasure. If you traveled for pleasure, you were on vacation. For most people that meant taking their families on the road and staying at a particular destination until it was time to return home. Locations were mostly chosen because of their accessibility and convenience. Going on vacation was like an annual ritual, often limited to a few favorite spots that became like a home away from home. By contrast, many of today’s travelers are thrill seekers and adventurers. They want experiences. They explore the unknown and seek the exotic. Distances no longer matter.
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Customize Your Travel Plans According to Your Needs
Whether you travel for business or pleasure, short or long distance, by plane, train or car, you have to prepare yourself for any number of surprises, some of which may elevate your blood pressure. Experienced travelers know all too well that careful planning is half the trip.
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How to Travel
For the longest time, I’ve traveled in typical tourist style, cramming into each trip as many sight-seeing opportunities as possible, essentially trying to get the most for my buck. Needless to say, I often found myself more exhausted than refreshed after returning home from one of these so-called “vacations.” I remember some travel experiences that were outright stressful. Staying at home, curling up with a good book or making up for some sleep deprivation would have done much more for my well-being than rushing through entire countries a day at a time. So I am now determined to resist the temptation of overloading my itinerary.
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An Experience of a Lifetime – Make It a Good One
I went on a cruise – Alaska. It wasn’t my first trip up there, but I realized again how deeply in love I am with this part of the world. Of course, the wilderness experience was dramatically tamed by the comfort of being on a cruise ship. These floating cities make you feel like you’re staying at an upscale resort or a mall – while you’re surrounded by breathtaking wonders of the wild. I like being pampered and spoiled as much as the next vacationer, and I can easily understand why so many people call it an experience of a lifetime. Unfortunately, there’s a downside to this as well.
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Travel With Children in Africa
Contrary to the widespread belief that it is not safe to travel with young children to foreign countries, I would encourage parents and grandparents to expose the younger members of their families to the experience of travel as early as possible. That also includes exotic places, like Africa. Many parents who shy away from traveling with their children at a young age are concerned about potential health hazards, and these concerns can be quite justified. However, with careful planning and a few extra precautions, it should be reasonably safe to bring children on a family vacation, even an extended expedition or safari.
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Surviving the Travel Season
If you travel by plane over the holidays, there’s a good chance you’ll come back with an unpleasant souvenir, such as a cough, a runny nose or worse. Research has shown that air travelers suffer higher rates of infections than those using other means of transportation. In times of high volume travel, the likelihood of getting sick increases exponentially.
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Cruise to Lose
It is a common and often lamented phenomenon that people gain weight while on vacation. Especially cruises are known as food traps where travelers tend to quickly lose control over their calorie intake. With all the fantastic culinary displays, all included in the prepaid fare, how could anyone resist overindulging? Well, it depends on your itinerary. Nowadays, you may come home leaner and fitter than you left.
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Travel Tips
An old proverb says that a prudent man learns from his mistakes, but a wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to travel. However, finding truly useful travel tips can be a difficult. What is perfectly good advice for one destination may not at all be applicable for another. Do you stay within the borders of your own country or do you venture abroad? Do you favor civilization or wilderness? What kind of transportation should you choose?
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Destinations
Travel means the world to me – literally! From early childhood on, I have had an almost insatiable appetite for exploration and adventure. Since then, I have traveled every continent and crossed every ocean at least once, but I’m far from done. There is still so much more to see, smell, touch, taste and listen to. The world is truly a place of endless wonder and learning. It is the best classroom anyone can have.
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Foods of the World
Interest in other culinary cultures has greatly increased among travelers in recent years and has become a regular staple of travel itineraries. If you consider yourself to be an adventurous food lover, you will enjoy our tips for international dining.
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Health and Food Safety
Concern for your health and safety should be the first priority on your itinerary. Yet these issues are rarely addressed by travel planners. In truth, you can never pay too much attention to protecting yourself against health- and safety hazards when you are on the road.
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Wild Food
Like most people, I get my animal food products from the supermarket, cleaned and packaged, ready to be cooked in the oven or the frying pan. I’m actually not much of a meat eater, but I like fish and some poultry now and then. I used to go fishing with my kids when they were young, but other than that I had never hunted for my food supply. That changed lately. For the first time in my life I went bird hunting, or as sporting enthusiasts call it, wingshooting. The experience made me appreciate the value of food even more.
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