Away from Routine

16/11/2021

Book taxis online – Avoid using taxis on the street when possible. Instead, book your cab online (or an app if possible) through a reputable company such as Ola (similar to Uber), Uber, Meru, Savaari or Bharat Taxi.
Avoid the touts – You can save money with package holidays and tour deals but book them in advance and online. Avoid the touts in tourist areas as they will overcharge.
Avoid recommendations from guides or drivers – When looking for a place to eat or shop, do not listen to your driver or guide. Often, guides will have a commission with a local restaurant or shop. It is best to ask locals or do your research on blogs before visiting.
Go off-the-beaten track – Cities in India have increased their hotel prices dramatically over the past few years. To save money, choose a rural location or an area outside of the city centre.
Haggle – When shopping in markets and even stores, make sure to haggle for the best price. Many vendors will quote double or triple the market price so offer a quarter of the asking price and haggle from there.

16/11/2021

Take the train – If you do not mind taking a local train, you can save a lot of money by doing so. You can catch an overnight train for cheap prices and save money on a night a t a hotel. Just make sure to avoid buying snacks and drinks on the train.
Eat local – As we always say, eat the local food to save money. India is known for its food so make sure you try as many local delicacies as possible. Make sure to stay hydrated during your trip and carry some Imodium with you.
Carry snacks – When visiting major tourist attractions or exploring the mountains, make sure to bring snacks with you. There are times when the only food options nearby are super expensive, so those snacks will come in handy.

16/11/2021

Travel off-season – Finding out a destinations off-season then travelling at this time is always a great way to save money. The busy season in India is from October to March for the majority fo the country apart from the mountains, where the summer is the busiest time. Visiting in April, May and September can help you save a lot of money on hotels, even 5-star options.
Use a holiday package – If you are looking for an easy, relaxing holiday in India, you can take advantage of the holiday packages available. You can even book holiday deals with multiple destinations, just make sure to compare prices of packages first. If you are a backpacker, you ca choose a tour with G Adventures, who offer small group tours for 18 to 30(ish) year olds.
Check the taxes – In 2017, the government introduces a Goods and Services Tax, which will impact your room rate. Check the tax on your room so you are not surprised by any extra bills.

16/11/2021

Looking to travel without spending too much money? Here are the 32 cheapest travel destinations in the world you can visit on a budget!

We all want to travel the world – well, at least if you’re on this blog then it is likely that you want to travel the world! The biggest problem most of us face is the cost and expense. Yes, you can stay in hostels and eat street food but the trick is knowing what the cheapest travel destinations in the world are! There are also ways to save money on food in these destinations too.

Here are the 32 cheapest destinations – take your pick! If you love backpacking around the world, read these cheapest countries to travel to that are backpack friendly!

It is worth noting that some of the cheaper destinations around the world have not been included because of current safety warnings throughout the country.

15/11/2021

A Unesco Town

While our time in Spain had temporarily come to an end, we were thrilled and excited to be moving on to Portugal. A new country, a river cruise on the Douro River and reuniting with Travel Brendan bvchef. We haven’t traveled with him in some five years and it was long overdue!

As we live in the days of the world-wide pandemic, we first needed to get tested in order to gain entry into Portugal, which we detailed in our previous blog. We left Toledo, Spain under the cover of darkness and headed for the Madrid airport. During this trip, we will arrive and depart from Madrid a few times, both by air and rail…but not long enough for a visit. That will have to wait for a future trip.

The flight was short and fairly uneventful, save for a delay on the tarmac in Spain for seemingly unknown reasons. The length of the flight was perhaps highlighted by the only service provided by the attendants…..a single chocolate candy with an almond inside. That was it….no water, soda or anything else. It was odd giving us one chocolate covered

15/11/2021

Had I not been asked to join a photography trip, I would not have gone to Bayan Olgi, the Western part of Mongolia bordering with Kazakhstan at the end of August last year. Getting the visa was without a drama as the Mongolian Embassy in Jakarta was thinly staffed. After much of persuasion, we managed to get our visa in time and left for Ulaanbataar, transiting in Hong Kong.

It was great to be back at Ulaanbaatar as I could see the development progress in such a short time. I did recall there were not many tall buildings seen during my visit years ago, during which main roads had potholes. This time, the traffic was heavy, tall buildings sprang and roads were nicely paved. It was amazing to see how coal did to the economy. Mongolia is one of the largest coal exporters to China. I forgot how difficult it was to exchange USD to local currency as most foreign exchange stores were closed when we reached the city. Fortunately, restaurants accept USD and agreed to pay our change in local currency.

15/11/2021

We started our trip up in the mountains, in the cloud forest at Monteverde. I had heard I could see nine species of hummingbirds in the cloud forest, and that was enough for me. Mom has never objected to a birding trip. There are a couple different roads up to Monteverde, which I didn’t bother to research. I grew up driving old logging roads in Washington and Idaho. However, I will say that parts of the road from Rancho Grande, labeled 606 on the map, are pretty rough and have some steep drop offs. I wouldn’t recommend it for people not used to unpaved mountain roads. On the way back down, we took 605 through Sarmiento and it was lovely. Mostly paved and with fewer drop offs, it has beautiful views of the Gulf of Nicoya and the Nicoya Peninsula.

15/11/2021

There is no doubt that in our minds, Antarctica makes travel dreams come true. Antarctica is the coldest continent. Antarctica is the driest continent. Antarctica is the windiest continent and we were constantly reminded of that on our trip. Antarctica has a rich history full of brave explorers navigating these waters in days past. Voyages were made by men that seemingly no one in their right mind would attempt. It is the only continent not permanently inhabited. It is all this and so much more....The Antarctic Treaty System was created in 1959 to establish Antarctica as a zone of peace and science. Today, the area is protected, and a great deal of valuable scientific research occurs. People will always question and debate whether visitors should be allowed to visit these areas. Our experience with Quark is that safety and protection of this continent is taken seriously. We appreciate all that they do. We truly felt that the only thing we left behind were our footprints.

15/11/2021

Our bigger trip this winter was coming closer. We were really exhausted from a crazy year. It was a blessed year, but also a difficult one for us. I think, never before we were in such a desperate need of a break.

We had chosen to travel far east this winter. On the search of some cheap flights we came across a complete bargain to Istanbul - and from Istanbul flights to South-East Asia were again a lot cheaper than flying directly from Switzerland. It was a bit complicated to figure out the flight route for this trip. But in the end we had a brilliant plan. And this plan started with a really early morning walk in freezing temperatures to the bus station in our village on Lake Thun followed by a 2 hour train ride to Zurich Airport. From there it was a short 3 hours flight to Istanbul.

12/11/2021

Exploring like a local
Lindblad Expeditions has introduced generations of adventurous travelers to the Galápagos, a scattered group of volcanic islands some 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador. In 1967, explorer and naturalist Lars-Eric Lindblad led the first-ever international tourist expedition to the remote archipelago made famous by Charles Darwin. Following the voyage, Lindblad funded a study assessing the potential impacts of tourism on the Galápagos islands. Based on the findings, Lindblad began advocating for stronger environmental protections and financed the Galápagos’ first two national park rangers.
As a leader in sustainable tourism, conservation, and exploration in the Galápagos for more than a half century, Lindblad Expeditions is uniquely positioned to give you a local’s-eye view of this wondrous UNESCO World Heritage site and Biosphere Reserve. Each Lindblad-National Geographic Galápagos voyage is accompanied by knowledgeable expedition team members, such as naturalists, undersea specialists, and certified photo instructors (CPIs). Most are Galapagueños from the archipelago’s four inhabited islands: Santa Cruz, San Cristobal, Isabela, and Floreana. This local connection opens a window into the lesser-known human story of this famously isolated wild place.

12/11/2021

The surprising history of America’s ‘pick-your-own’ farms
From wartime to the Great Depression, here’s how farmers turned hard times into a billion-dollar agritourism industry.
It’s become something of a tradition. As autumn peaks across the United States, urban Americans head to the countryside to pick through craggy branches for crimson apples or zigzag through corn mazes on frosty mornings.
These short road trips to farms for Instagrammable fun have become more popular in the past 20 years, feeding an agritourism industry that’s grown from pennies to billions of dollars.
Yet snapshots of overflowing apple crates or toddlers clambering on toy tractors don’t capture the complex history of pick-your-own farms. That history stretches from the depths of the Great Depression and illustrates how farmers harvested fortune from hardship.
Friends at the farm
People have long exchanged labor for a cheaper grocery bill, but the proposition of pick-your-own produce appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Soon after, entertainment met economics.

12/11/2021

The Yarra River, known in the local language as Birrarung, runs through what is now the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne. It remains an important cultural site for the Woiwurrung and Boonwurrung people.On the other side of the Yarra is the Koorie Heritage Trust, located within Federation Square, where Rob Hyatt is the manager of education and visitor experience. Through his work, he’s become aware most people aren’t aware of the Aboriginal cultural offerings in the city.
“There’s an appreciation of suddenly understanding Melbourne has an Aboriginal history,” he said of those who take the center’s tours. “But also that the culture is still alive in the Melbourne area, whether it’s through Aboriginal people telling their stories on our tours or at other sites, like the Botanic Gardens, Bunjilaka [Aboriginal Cultural Centre at Melbourne Museum] and those sort of places.”

12/11/2021

Here’s why you see swallows everywhere in Portugal
When André Apolinario was a child, his parents had an argument over a bird’s nest. The swallows' nest was a fixture on the facade of their house in Gaia, Portugal, had to be removed by workers who were making repairs. Once removed, the birds who had visited annually never returned.
Apolinario, who runs Taste Porto food tours, recalls the spring he realized they weren’t coming back.
“I remember crying and saying to my mom, ‘why are there no swallows this year?’ And my mom yelling at my dad, ‘Why did you take that down?’” he says. “I was so sad because I always knew spring was coming with the arrival of the swallows and their babies.”
The swallow (andorinha, in Portuguese) is a symbol of Portugal so subtly synonymous with the culture that travelers may not even notice it. Swallows hang out in Portugal for some of the same reasons humans do: warm weather and great food. When the chill sets in and insects begin to run thin, they head farther south.

12/11/2021

Currently, Hong Kong has seven MPAs, six of which are moderately protected marine parks, the other being a fully protected marine reserve. In total, these comprise approximately 40.5km2, or less than 3%, of Hong Kong’s waters. And, while plans are in place to increase that figure to 5% by 2023, it still leaves the territory lagging way behind international standards, where 30% is the benchmark.Moreover, though fishing is illegal in Hong Kong’s sole marine reserve, and recent legislation will prohibit commercial fishing in all but two of the marine parks by April 2022, there are question marks over whether these measures go far enough to safeguard Hong Kong’s biodiversity, as well as how strictly they are being enforced.

08/11/2021

Holiday destinations 2020: visit before the secret gets out
Discover places that will have their moment in the sun in 2020. Holiday destinations 2020 to visit before the secret gets out and the hordes descend.

Discover places that will have their moment in the sun in 2020. Holiday destinations 2020 to visit before the secret gets out and the hordes descend.

08/11/2021

If you’ve been thinking more and more about sustainable travel recently, and are wondering how you can combine your passions of travel...

If you’ve been thinking more and more about sustainable travel recently, and are wondering how you can combine your passions […]

08/11/2021

The hottest holiday destinations for 2020
It's set to be a year to remember

It's set to be a year to remember

04/11/2021

The 2010s were an interesting decade for globetrotters. Travel apps, social media, increasingly high-tech security and other travel trends completely changed the game.

The 2010s were an interesting decade for globetrotters. Travel apps, social media, increasingly high-tech security and other travel trends completely changed the game. As the new year (and decade) comes around, it’s the perfect time to plan how you’re going to use your vacation days in 2020.

04/11/2021

Where will your travels take you in 2020? Get inspired by this roundup of the top travel destinations for 2020, from bucket-list trips to budget escapes.

04/11/2021

Kuoni’s 2020 Worldwide Travel Report unveils the 25 most popular holiday destinations from around the world

Kuoni’s Worldwide Travel Report unveils the 25 most popular holiday destinations from around the world.

04/11/2021

30 alternative holiday destinations for 2020 I Times Expert Traveller
Looking for somewhere a little different to spend summer? We suggest 24 of the best places, including Georgia, the Uzbekistan and South Korea.

Looking for somewhere a little different to spend some time? We suggest 20 of the best places, including Georgia, Uzbekistan and South Korea.

04/11/2021

These destinations prove you don't have to go far to get away from it all.

03/11/2021

Have you ever arrived at a destination and just knew it’s for you?

Have you ever arrived at a new destination and just knew it was for you? That's how I felt when I arrived in Oaxaca.

03/11/2021

The travel that changed me: Nadine Matheson

From her favourite spots in South London to a fateful trip to Portugal, author Nadine Matheson tells us about the travel that changed her.