Experience The Local Cuisine

The first and most important rule for any traveler is to experience the local cuisine. Wherever in the world you are, there will be something which you haven’t tasted before. For example, in Mongolia, guests are often treated to a dinner of goat’s head. The eyes and tongue are considered a delicacy and refusing is akin to insulting the host. Are you brave enough to eat it? Many westerns find Asian food difficult to digest.

And in places like India the food is extremely varied and it will take a lifetime to try everything. Street food is probably the best reflection of the culinary side of the country and this is something which you must be eating. Places like Bangkok, Morocco and Bombay have some of the safest and best street food around the world.

Every country will also have its own staple drink as well. What’s the point in travelling to Thailand and drinking ‘Carlsberg’? Ask the bar tender to hit you with something a little bit more ‘local’.

Travel On Foot Or Cycle

Whenever you can, you must take the opportunity to investigate new places on foot or by bicycle. This is a great way to actually experience the sights, sounds and smells of the place. Walking through the alleyways is a far cry from taking a taxi to your destination. It will definitely be worth the experience even if your calf muscles are sore at the end of the day.

Most importantly, you need to let yourself go and forget what you read in the travel books. Experiencing everything through your eyes is the best way to travel.

Goa and Gokarna

Goa is one of, if not the most popular tourist destination in India. Expats from all over the world can be seen relaxing in the beaches around the place. Anjuna, Calungute and Palolem are some of the most popular beaches and they are filled with shacks which serve delectable dishes. Goa is known for its excellent sea food and cheap liquor as well.

During the off season, the place is quite deserted and this is a good time to relax without the hustle and bustle of tourism.
Goakrna is located near Goa and some of the beaches are hardly ever visited. Only a handful of expats stay at these beaches and it is one of the most sensual and peaceful places in the country.

Taj Mahal and Agra

The wonders of the TajMahal are often publicized and everyone knows about its tranquil and elegant beauty. However, Agra has much more than just the Taj and people often forget that there so much history has passed before and after the Taj was built. The tomb of Ghias Beg is often touted as the precursor to the Taj and is a must see place. It is quite and devoid of tourism and lets you reflect on the elegance of times gone by. The Mughalai cuisine is unique to this part of the world and the spicy delicacies should be experienced at its birth place.

Darjeeling

And finally, to add some variety to the list, I suggest that you travel to the sprawling tea plantations of Darjeeling. The colonial setting and elegant old cottages and bungalows will transport you to another century.

Emergency situations can occur while travelling and this includes health problems, loss of luggage, theft and so on. You must ensure that you are prepared to meet any such eventuality irrespective of what it may be.

Medicines:

The first thing which you should pack while travelling is medicines, after your passport that is. Remember that the place where you are going might not have the same medicines which you are used to and you could develop allergies. If you are allergic to certain medications then you should ask your doctor to provide a prescription for such eventualities too. Airport security will require prescriptions for your medicines so be sure to get one.

Separate Suitcases:

Do not put all the eggs in one basket. Luggage can quite easily get lost and you might end up being stuck with the same pair of underwear. Spread your luggage evenly in different bags and suitcases. Also ensure that your hand luggage has at least three different sets of clothing. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Money Belts:

These are always a good idea. Having a separate money belt will ensure that at least some part of your money is safe. Even if you lose your wallet, you still have something to fall back on. Also spread your credit cards and keep some in your money belt. Just In case!

Most importantly do not carry anything which you can buy. Many travellers make the mistake of taking common things and this will fill up your suitcase. Pack lightly but effectively. Take what you require and depending on the climatic conditions only.

For example, don’t take ball room dresses and high heels if you are travelling to some amazon forest. Catch my drift? It is always good to carry a light jacket wherever you go. You never know when you might run into some chilly weather.

Check your documents and secure them
Have your passport and other important documents, get them photocopied and now keep them at separate places
(you don’t want them to get lost at the same time).

Take minimum clothes

Remember you are just going for a week! So take out all your favorite dresses and keep what is actually necessary.

Have some plastic bags

You may need them at any point of time.

Don’t forget to have torches or flash lights

You may need them at times of emergency, but remember to turn the batteries upside down (you don’t want to waste the batteries by accidently turning them off!).

Have a comfortable pair of shoes

After all remember your main motive is to explore the places and enjoy, you never know how much you need to walk (Girls at least once in your lifetime you can leave those sexy heels in your cupboard).

Medicines

Don’t forget to have the general use medicines. You may need them at any time (and you don’t want to go searching for a doctor in midst of a desert).

Before leaving don’t forget to consult the local tourism office

They are best option if you want unbiased and correct information. It is always better to know about the place you are visiting beforehand.

Tips which might help

To save space in your bag roll the clothes instead of folding (try it yourself, it will take much lesser space.)

Have minimum toiletries (enough for emergencies).

To some it might sound like extreme voyeurism, in which foreign tourists will get to see how the poor and downtrodden live in narrow lanes of Mumbai. But the fact is that poverty tours are spread all over the world and even the developed nations are not the exceptions.

Tourists will be surprised to know that just like squatter streets of Mumbai, there are shanty South African towns or the slums of Rio de Janeiro. Most of such tours occur without any publicity. You can choose any place around the world to travel whether it is the slums of Dharavi in Mumbai or some other place.  This is a home for some 1 lakh people which is also known as Mumbai’s ‘shadow city’ and is becoming a major attraction for tourists.

It is one of the Asia’s largest sprawling slums. Tours of such kind are becoming extremely popular and even a day’s trip will not be sufficient.  You will feel good by going for such tours than heading towards world’s most sought after destination because most of the profit goes into charity. The only thing is that groups are limited and photography is prohibited.

The main purpose of such tours is to show that slums in India are not only about poverty and hardship. But it is about entrepreneurship, non-stop activities and daily humor of life. The must see places to visit are sheepskin factory, cloth-dyers, friendly bakeries in small sweaty basements and plastic recycle factory.

For this year, you might get something different for making this holiday more impressive. Just visit some historical sites and witness how they are truly wonderful by reflecting their traditions and magical spirits. In this case, where are going to talk about India, the best sites for witnessing beautifully historical sites in India.

Here are top 10 historical sites in India that people ought to know:

Ajanta Ellora caves

Situated in Aurangabad city, it becomes popular for its ancient and traditional Indian architectural heritage. There you will see most of the rocks are shaped manually by ancient mankind.

If you want to see gorgeous sight of U shaped ravine in the middle of charming surroundings, then it is the right place to visit. With 34 caves at Ellora and 19 caves at Ajanta, it would be wonderful experience for eye witnessing.

Taj Mahal

Placed at the near of Yamuna river, this site is one of world heritage site of UNESCO. Constructed with marble, it really invites a great deal of visitors worldwide. As one of Seven Wonders of the World, it is reasonable to get it as one of the best historical sites.

Khajuraho

Located in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatarpur District, it has been popular for erotic and great sculptures. It represents Jain and Hindu temples designed from sandstone with tenon joints and mortise and with no mortar.

Jama Masjid

Located in the old town of Old Delhi, it becomes popular for great appearance of mosque which was constructed by Mughal king and includes four towers, two minarets and three gateways.

Fatehpur Sikri

It was built in 16^th century by King Akbar and has been the capital of Mughal Empire for nearly ten years. A lot of temples and monuments are found with each uniquely architectural style. It is built on rocky flat terrain and becomes inspiration for people who really crave for excellent architecture.

India Gate

Located in the eastern part of Rajpath in New Delhi, it becomes monumental place for those who respect their national soldiers. Their names are written in the walls and an eternal flame to add sacral nuance

Golden Temple

It was initially built by Muslim namely Saint Hazrat Muan Mirji from Lahore then continued by Guru Arjun Dev (son of the 5^th Sikh guru). A Shrine is considered as a sacred and holy place for people all around the world no matter of faith they hold.

Some beautiful reasons can be found there such as gold-plated building walls, The Hari Mandir and so on.

Akshardham temple

Located in New Delhi, it represents beauty of temple which came from thousand years ago. The combination of art, culture, beauty and creativity of mankind attract visitors to admire this site.

Red fort

As one of the biggest monument in Old Delhi, it shows how amazing the architecture of Mughal which firstly built in Shah Jahan’s reign.

Ajmer Sharif

For both Muslims and Hindus, this site is considered as sacred and holy place for them. There is burial chamber where some holy people were buried there. People come here with their own wish to be granted.

]]> http://www.yotravels.com/top-ten-historical-sites-in-india.htm/feed 0 http://www.yotravels.com/wineries-and-vineyards-in-australia.htm http://www.yotravels.com/wineries-and-vineyards-in-australia.htm#comments Sun, 14 Aug 2011 11:50:51 +0000 Admin http://www.yotravels.com/?p=117 Any country in the world cannot compete with Australia in the wine-making energy. At the turn of the century there were almost 150,000 hectares of vineyards, 20% of them are too young to bear fruit. And in 1996, the vine took only 80,000 ha. Within a short period (until 2000) the export of wine has doubled.

Australian wineries colleges annually produce technically savvy professionals who each September (with the calm on the wineries of the Southern Hemisphere) touring the Northern Hemisphere, to get acquainted with the work of the wine cellars and promote super-hygienically, ultra effective Australian method of vilification, in particular the technique of caring for the above-ground part of the bush. Commonwealth Scientific & Industrial Research Organization and the Australian Wine Research Institute have won international recognition. In addition, major Australian and U.S. or European companies continue to conclude mutually beneficial agreements.

One of the most remarkable characteristics of brand Australia this is its constants. Each bottle of Australian wine corresponds to a certain level of quality, to minimal, but perfectly acceptable: it is a wine with abundant, sometimes even annoying fruit, even in cases where it (and statistics show that it happens most often) is obtained from well irrigated vineyards. Almost 67% of the annual crop is grown in one of three major regions, where the water channeled in river turns undeveloped, brushy land in orchards and vineyards. To this we can refer Murray Darling, also known as the Murray Valley, on the border between Victoria and New South Wales; Riverland and Swan Hill, and Riverina (Murrumbidgee).

Australian wine-making industry and its ambitions – to achieve actual dominance in the global wine industry up to 2025 – directly depend on irrigation in general and from the River Murray in particular. The main problem is pollution of rivers and dangerously high levels of salinity of groundwater – the result of two centuries development of land by settlers. Lack of good quality water for irrigation is the main deterrent for those who are going to make this the most arid country in the world into a giant vineyard. Large irrigated areas located in the inner part of the country serve as a convincing proof of strength wine industry.

Australians, who were interested in the idea of mass production, so feverishly established new vineyards at the end of the XX-XXI century, that there is an apparent lack of wineries. This problem is solved in full accordance with the Australian tradition. Grapes and must are transported over long distances to corporate wine cellars, where products from different vineyards are often blended and it is released from one of the many brands that have won international repute. The most common type of wine in Australia it is a Shiraz.

The most intelligent thing to do is to look for London hotels in the off-season. This is because during the off-season the rates tend to come down considerably. By planning your trip in the off-season you will be able to enjoy the best of London luxury hotels at prices reduced up to 70%. In this way a luxury hotel will become as affordable as a conventional hotel during the peak seasons.

The problem however is that people can only travel during their vacations which tends to be either during the winter or the summer holidays. These are the seasons when hotel rates tend to hit the sky during this period of time. What can you do in such circumstances to find budget accommodation in London?

The only viable solution in such cases is to avoid the big hotels in the city center. These tend to be the most expensive during peak seasons. Rather you should search for good hotels on the outskirts of the city. In order to facilitate low income group individuals a number of good hotels have been developed in the sub-districts of London. These hotels are available at a considerably better rate as compared to those located in the city center.

The news is coming from the reputed site “US Magazine”.

There are over 150 islands in the Seychelles- so there is still a confusion that where they will spend their first honeymoon. According to a close source, William had promised Kate to spend quality time on Desroches after their marriage and he is going to fill his promise. The beautiful Seychelles is located in the Indian Ocean off the east coast of Africa. German real estate mogul Farhad Vladi rented the island for Royal guests.

He confirmed media that “I rented the island especially for the duke and duchess.”

Of course, the getaway of the duke and duchess of Cambridge is full of luxury. The North Island consists of 11 enormous villas and each is equipped with full functioning kitchen, broad bathroom, garden and 2 giant bedrooms. There is an attentive staff for each villa who takes care of guests’ needs. One night stays in any of those villas costs approximately $3,000 USD. The famous couple David and Victoria Beckham wedding guests once stayed Viladi private villas.

It is advisable to carry credit or ATM card to make your journey hassle free. It’s good to carry your passport along with you. Foreign tourists should have an international driving license to drive car and should keep all travel relevant documents. Hiring a car is a good option; it will give you comfortable visit to Goa.
If you want to buy a memorable gift from Goa, try to buy from street shops as they are affordable and offer to do bargaining. These tips can make your journey peaceful and full of enjoy in Goa.