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The Simple Way to Find Cheap Hotel Rooms

By
Ahabu Phillip
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Through all of my travels, I’ve experienced vastly different cultures and customs. No matter where I’ve landed, however, I have found that traveling can be expensive. From airfare to souvenirs, visiting other parts of the world puts a ton of pressure on your wallet. That’s why I’m constantly looking for the newest way to be frugal during travel.

Recently, I’ve heard some good things about a new website that offers special discounts on hotel bookings called TravelPony (http://www.travelpony.com/). It’s been receiving quite a bit of buzz from some fellow travel writers, so I decided to check it out myself while shopping for my upcoming vacation in New York.

What is TravelPony?

TravelPony is a hotel booking website that claims to offer special deals on hotels to “social travelers”. By offering discounts on hotel rooms, they believe that they can get enough word-of-mouth buzz on Facebook and Twitter to drive adoption.

This idea is pretty intriguing to me, especially considering some online travel agencies (OTAs) are spending more than $1 Billion a year on ads. I definitely believe that social is a big deal. Just take a look around sometime when you’re in public. More and more people are consumed by their smartphones. However, I wasn’t yet convinced. Let’s see just what kind of deals they’re talking about.

TravelPony in Action

So I visited travelpony.com hoping to score a decent hotel in Manhattan at a reasonable price. I started to search when I encountered a prompt for me to sign up. According to their website, they “offer exclusive pricing that makes other travel sites jealous”. I wasn’t sure what this meant. It looked like a roadblock to me.

Visiting the FAQs, TravelPony explained that their rates are well below market-prices, so they were only allowed to offer them to members. So, I decided to go ahead and sign up. It was pretty quick via the Facebook login, but you can also sign up using just your email address.

Finally, I was able to complete my search.

The search populated a number of options similar to what I would see at Booking.com or any of the other popular sites. However, there was one thing that was much different. At the top of the page, there was a note that said, “Take 10-45% Off Select* Hotels Today! Use promo code TPSAVINGS at checkout”. Also, there was a discount amount next to each hotel in bright red.

I scrolled through the results and was pleasantly surprised to find a ton of good options. I found the Renaissance Hotel 57 (at 30% off) and was told that I would receive $172.20 off my booking at the checkout page. Are you kidding me? That’s a steal.

I noticed that TravelPony offered a price comparison as well, which is a nifty tool when making sure that you got the best deal possible. They showed the prices of many of the big travel companies, including Orbitz, Travelocity and Hotels.com. Cynical me, I decided to double-check these quotes to make sure that they were accurate. They were (it looks like they were all rounded down by less than $1 by TravelPony).

So you’re telling me that I can get a 4-star property for $1? I’m sold! Let’s do this.

Booking

The booking process was pretty straight-forward except for one thing that was new: the social component. TravelPony asks you to connect one of your social networks and write a post to your account in exchange for the discount. This is how they can offer such great discounts. However, if you do not have a social network, there is another option called the “Pony Promise”, which basically says that you’ll tell your friends about your TravelPony deal in person or by some other means of communication. I decided to go with Facebook and Twitter since $170 off is definitely worth a little social love.

Confirmation and Conclusion

After completing my booking, I received a confirmation email within a few minutes. I had just booked a 4-star property in Manhattan for just over $200 a night. I called the hotel a couple days later just to make sure that this was real. The front desk staff was kind enough to confirm my reservation as well. That. Just. Happened.

I have to admit that I was skeptical going into this review. I’m the first one to quote the old adage “if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.” However, in this case, what TravelPony is attempting to do makes a ton of sense. Give your customers great discounts and let them advertise for you. That’s social marketing at its finest. So, next time you’re booking a trip, give TravelPony.com a look. It could save you hundreds.

Gorilla Trekking in Africa

By
Ahabu Phillip
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0
Gorillas of Uganda

Today, gorilla Trekking is one of the most thrilling adventures that travelers seek from the African continent. The magical experience of meeting the endangered gorillas in a few countries in Africa is one of the most talked about “things to do” on various forums such as Trip Advisor, Lonely Planet & Fodors. From these great review sites, many travelers rate the activity as Excellent and you will find very few or no negative reviews. It is from this experience that I have created a complete guide to gorilla trekking for all those planning to take a gorilla safari in Africa;

What is Gorilla Trekking

Gorilla Trekking is an adventure activity that involves hiking or walking on foot within the impenetrable forests of Africa looking for the endangered gorillas. Many people spend sleepless nights thinking of how the one hour encounter with the endangered mountain gorillas will be. It is true the one hour allowed to stay with the rare gorillas is a truly life adventurous experience very difficult to forget. It’s known as the most sensitive, breathtaking, and exciting.

You spend the one hour with mountain gorillas while observing their behaviors as well as taking photograph although a flash camera is not allowed. You will be in a group of eight people who are only allowed to track in each gorilla family and each group is guided by a well experienced ranger guide who is in charge of guiding you during the process of gorilla tracking, and they also help in giving you all necessary information on all forest flora and fauna.

Exchanging eyes with gorillas in a distance of just about 7meters is a life time experience, just don’t wait to book your gorilla tracking safari with us you will never regret and if everyone could do it just ounce, the world would be a better place to live in. without exploring the gorilla wouldn’t be here at all, it’s the only thing that warranty their existence.Gratitude should go to the tourism board, ranger guide who monitor these apes time to time and the local community who live near the parks.

Where to Go

Gorillas are native to the African continent and can be found in only ten countries; Uganda, Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo (Zaire), Congo (aka Brazaville), Cameroon, Gabon, Angola (Cabinda Region), Nigeria, Central African Republic and Equatorial Guinea.

Though the gorillas are found in these ten countries, a few countries have embraced gorilla tourism and here are the top destinations to visit for a gorilla trek.

Places to See Mountain Gorillas

Few countries in the world house these endangers mountain gorillas and they can be safely watched in their natural habitat without any harm caused to human. These three countries are Uganda, Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. About 900 mountain gorillas left worldwide.

Uganda

However among the three Uganda is known for housing the highest population of these apes almost a half of these giants live in Bwindi Forest and Mgahinga national park. Both parks are found in the southwestern part of Uganda. However many travelers to Uganda prefer to go gorilla tracking in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park than Mgahinga national park. The gorillas in Mgahinga are adventurous they always roam to the neighboring countries that’s Rwanda and DRC.

TIP: Before booking your gorilla permit in this area it’s better to first confirm the group availability before going ahead to book your gorilla permit here to avoid missing seeing them.

Rwanda

Rwanda on the other hand is known as the best gorilla safari destination in the world and it’s next to Uganda in housing the biggest number of these apes! There are over 380 mountain gorillas that live in the Volcanoes National Park. Some of the gorilla groups in Rwanda are easy to track as compared to Uganda and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Although this is not a guarantee given that some who intend to track what they refer to as an “easy group” sometimes find out difficulty given that the gorillas move freely and may end up hiking up the hills. Since the gorillas are wild animals they are very difficult to predict.

The Volcanoes National Park’s proximity favors many gorilla trackers. A one day gorilla tracking safari is very possible. The park is located in a distance of a two-three hours’ drive from Kigali, Rwanda’s capital! There it is aeasy to travel to Kinigi, the park headquarters, making it easy for one who is interested in a one day gorilla safari has to be driven very early in the morning and arrive at the park headquarters before 7:00am.

The gorilla trek starts with short briefings about gorilla tracking and then you will be assigned to which group you are to track. After the activity you will be driven back to Kigali (accommodation) or to the airport to meet your departure flight back home. According to testimonies given by those who have got chances of tracking in both countries, many prefer tracking the gorillas of Rwanda.

Democratic Republic of Congo

In the Democratic Republic of Congo these apes are tracked in the Virunga National Park. However due to political instability, few trackers visit DRC for gorilla tracking, but the country is recovering steadily and gorilla tracking can be organized in this area can be organised through very few tour operators. However either tracking in Uganda, Rwanda or DRC, gorilla tracking experience remains the same.

The Gorilla Trekking Experience

During tracking, you may be surprised with sightings of some other forest dwellers like monkeys, birds, mammal species including buffaloes, warthogs, antelopes among others. These great tropical rain forests are rich in flora and fauna – with many plants and butter fly species. Whatever species is found in the forest, mountain gorillas remains the star attraction in Uganda, Rwanda and Congo.

Get Prepared:
Gorilla tracking is considered as a tough activity as meeting these apes is unpredictable! It can go from a half to full day while searching them, so a reasonable degree of fitness is required.

Do not forget the essential tracking gears that you will need to use during the hike. You should not forget a sturdy pair of walking shoes, long sleeved shirts or blouses, walking stick, bottled water and sometimes packed lunch is given at the lodge.

Meeting the gorillas may sometimes involve passing through muddy and steep slopes. However once these apes are met you will forget all the troubles you’ve gone through and utilize the one hour you are allowed to stay with these animals. Your perfect hour the maximum time allowed with gorillas goes so fast. But life will never be quite the same again.

Oktoberfest – All You Need to Know

By
Ahabu Phillip
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0
Oktoberfest

Travel to the world’s most popular Oktoberfest celebrations in Munich, where September 21 marks the start of the sixteen-day festival of the year. This colorful event is more than just a festival; it is a Bavarian tradition of gaiety held late September, early October, ever since 12 October 1810.

Each year during July, beer tents begin erecting on Theresienwiese (Theresa’s fields) in preparation for the millions of visitors that travel to Munich not only from Germany. About 6 million people travel from all corners of the world, to join in the celebrations, drink beer in steins, eat sausage, and link arms, singing along with lederhosen clad musicians playing oompah bands.

The origin of the Oktoberfest

Prince Ludwig, who later became the Bavarian King, invited the citizens of Munich to celebrate the marriage of his daughter, Princess Therese of Saxony Hildburghausen. A horse race was held for the occasion, with 40,000 people on the guest list. Gallons of beer were consumed with so much fun, that it was decided to hold the horse race again the following year, together with an agricultural show.

The festival continued annually and now is a Munich highlight for travellers; but eventually the horse race ended.

Two other popular German festivals

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is another German town to travel to for the Cannstatter Volksfest. Celebrating the second largest beer festival at the same time as Munich does.

It runs from 24 September – 10 October.

Frankfurt

The last weekend in August travel to the Museums Ufer Fest held next to a river in Frankfurt. There are 600 stands that offer beer, wine, food, as well as art, dragon boat races and firework displays to add to the fun.

Things to Do on a Weekend: Canal Boat Trips

By
Ahabu Phillip
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0
Wandering Duck

If you have a bad day or week stuck in the office with deadlines moved forward, new tasks piling up and just a general ‘mare’ you will want to make something of your weekend to blow that stress away. There are loads of things to do on a weekend in the UK but I had the chance to try something new.

And it was epic!

What is Wandering Duck?

I met Mark at one of the Travel Massive Manchester events I organise.

Alongside his wife Ruth, they built a business with the sole purpose of showing the great British countryside to the world.

Ruth and I love to travel.  Seeing the world has been a real passion of ours.  Whilst in New Zealand we managed a backpackers hostel and we loved it.  It was great to meet all sorts of people from all over the world.  When we came back to the UK we wanted to find a way to continue meeting travellers whilst also showing off what the UK has to offer.  We’ve always preferred real life authentic experiences rather than doing the usual tourist stuff, so the canals appealed to us they show people a very different side to our country.” – Mark, Wandering Duck

So they got a barge and now are on their way exploring Britain one canal at a time, with everyone that is looking for an alternative weekend in or around the North of England.

Row, row, row the boat…

At one of the events I was telling Mark about this horrible week above mentioned.

Mia: Had a horrible week basically managing crisis after crisis, meetings, deadlines brought forward and simply need to do something good this weekend.

Mark: Why not come along to one of our tours?

Mia: Me? On a boat? Hmm

Mark: You’ll love it, promise.

Mia: Can I steer the boat?

Mark: Sure!

Mia: OK, I’m in.

Not sure he made the best decision letting me steer the boat, but he definitely kept up his end of the deal.

I loved it.

I wanted to try something different to do that will still allow me to travel but on a smaller budget in the UK when I have no holidays left.

And that’s what the canal boat tour did.

The Escape Weekender from Congleton to Marple

The experience takes only a weekend which means I didn’t need to book holidays off work. WIN!

From Friday night to Sunday afternoon you can enjoy the trip in all its glory. Food and refreshments are included in the price (£145) and you only really need to spend money if you want to have a cheeky pint or two…or ten depending on how bad your week was J

Trip started on Friday at 6pm from Congleton train station (the barge is a 5 min walk from there). Once you get to the boat, Mark and Ruth explain all the safety procedures, show you around the boat and then off you go whilst Ruth starts cooking dinner.

They’re both super knowledgeable about the canals, the routes and the British countryside. It’s a pleasure listening to their stories whilst cruising and having a nice pint of British ale.

“The canals are a way of life for many people.  There are around 15,000 people who live full-time on the canals.  We love the fact that this hidden away world is so unknown by most people” – Mark, Wandering Duck

Even though the weather was a bit crappy Friday night with thunderstorm and lightning, we got lucky on Saturday.

Sunny and warm, even got a bit of a tan going on now.

Saturday is when you do most of your cruising and work: 12 locks to open!

“There’s also the heritage link to it; the canals were an important cargo carrying network 200 years ago, and it’s amazing that we get to work the locks just like the original boatmen did.  I think people don’t expect it to be such a hands on experience; I love the look on a guests face when I help them steer perfectly in to a lock that’s only 2 or 3 inches wider than our 70ft boat!” – Mark, Wandering Duck

Got to steer the boat in one of the locks, through tunnels and simply down the canal.

Can safely say I can change careers to experienced boat steerer at any point if this doesn’t work out 🙂

The Marco Polo of the 21st Century

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admin
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LeeAbbamonte with Gorillas

Among world travelers, there is one man who has explored every country in the world and still has yet to celebrate his 40th birthday. Not only has he traveled to 318 countries, islands and cities around the world, Lee Abbamonte has visited all 50 states in the US, attended numerous sporting events around the world, conducted interviews with a variety of news stations, and created his own business as a travel brand ambassador. In 2008, Lee quit his job on Wall Street and decided to follow his dream. Since then, he has traveled an average of nine months out of the year. Lee has also spearheaded a book project about world travelers called Chasing 193: The Quest to Visit Every Country in the World (set to release May 1st).

You would think that a man like Lee wouldn’t have extra time in his schedule, but he managed to book a weekend just for the New York Travel Festival. We were also able to snag a few minutes of Lee’s time and learn about what he has in store for the festival as well as a few nuggets of travel wisdom.

How did the NY Trav Fest find a place on your schedule?

This will be my third year going to Trav Fest, and it is always fun. I live in New York and I travel a lot, so it is the perfect outlet for me to share some knowledge and meet new people.

Is there anything in particular you are looking forward to with this year’s festival?

I’m doing three different speaking gigs that will be a lot of fun and I am interested to see who all shows up. It’s always fun to talk travel with like-minded people.

What inspired you to take on the challenge of visiting every country in the world?

It was just a love of travel and a competitive spirit that made me want to challenge myself. I’m really goal oriented and I often set goals higher than most people do for themselves and I work really hard to achieve them. This goal really evolved over time; I never thought I would have seen so many places when I started traveling 15 years ago. I didn’t even think it was possible – less than 100 people in history have done it. But it was just one of those things, I was traveling a lot and realized that I had already traveled to over 100 countries and the list of world countries at the time was 193, so I just decided that I would shoot to break the world record of the youngest person to travel to every country. And I did.

Lee Abbamonte South Pole Globe
Caption: Lee looking into the globe on top of the south pole in Antarctica

 

How many passports have you filled?

It’s hard to say how many, but if you stacked them up on top of each other it would be about 8 inches. There are 144 pages in my current passport, which is four years old, and it is nearly full. All the stamps are fun to look at but the South Pole stamp is one of my all time favorites.

How has your background in finance helped you with your travels?

My background has helped me with the business aspect of my current situation for sure. That’s why I’m able to basically run a business that encompasses several brands instead of working for just one brand. I really focus on the business aspect of everything first and then travel comes second as a perk, which has been great. Almost every business trip has allowed me to explore and take a little extra time to see more of the destination.

What kind of research do you conduct before you travel to a new place?

I try to do as much as possible mainly by asking fellow travelers and people that I know have been there. I always ask them what they enjoyed doing and what they would recommend. I’m not big on Tripadvisor or reading blogs. I will use some travel guides as a reference, but I don’t think of them as omniscient sources of information. I have gotten the best advice from friends and other travelers who have actually been there.

Lee Abbamonte in Sydney
Caption: Overlooking the Opera House in Sydney, Australia

What are your strategies for combating jet lag and other travel stressors?

Just fight through it. I get asked that question a lot and I always tell people to fight through it. I drink water and do things to take my mind off of it. One things to think about is don’t take late night flights that get you in early in the morning; take a midnight flight that gets you in around noon, then you only have to stay awake for half a day instead of a whole day.

“In order to be a great traveler you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. There’s nothing more true than that, because if you never go outside your comfort zone, then you will never experience anything truly amazing.” – Lee Abbamonte

Tell us about some of the people you have met in your travels?

People always want to hear about my travel adventures and I could tell them about how cool the pyramids are or how crazy Machu Picchu is, but it’s the experiences I have along the way and the people that I meet that have really stuck out in my mind – usually good, sometimes bad, but those are the experiences that are different from everyone else’. Some of my best memories are of places like Libya, Armenia and South Africa, where I met incredible people who made an impression on me through their kind acts and friendship.

How many war zones have you visited?

I was in the Iraq war, the Afghanistan war and the Libyan civil war, so I was actually in three wars. I’ve also been in Somalia during times of tumultuousness. And then places like Iran, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, and Pakistan, are never like going to Hawaii; traveling to those places is very different and can be tricky. But I have had some amazing experiences in those countries and have met incredible people. I have realized that it isn’t the people who are making the decisions to go to war, they are just trying to survive and live life as best they can, just like the rest of us.

Is there a question you wish travelers would ask more often before traveling?

Too many people go to a place and don’t actually do anything. I wish people would be more experiential as opposed to just staying in their rooms and showing off on social media the two pictures they took from their balcony. One of my favorite sayings is: In order to be a great traveler you have to get comfortable being uncomfortable. There’s nothing more true than that, because if you never go outside your comfort zone, then you will never experience anything truly amazing.

Lee’s current travel goal is to visit a total of 324 world destinations. He has six more islands to visit before he achieves this dream. He also has plans to host a sports travel show and to be the youngest person to visit every country in the world twice.

Lee Abbamonte will be at the New York Travel Festival on April 18th and 19th. Don’t miss the chance to bounce your questions and ideas off of one of the most travel literate people in the world.

City Marque London Apartments – Review

By
Ahabu Phillip
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0

Finding a place to stay in London when travelling is difficult and more than often expensive. The City Marque London apartment was a nice surprise though. Here’s my review….

Over the course of a year I tend to go to about five to 10 travel conferences all around Europe. From ITB Berlin, TBEX Europe and Traverse to WTM London and Travel Massive events I am constantly networking.

It’s a great way to meet new people in the industry, build relationships and explore different cities all in one. I LOVE IT! I am a networking addict.

But that also means I need to find a place to stay for all of these events.

And it’s not easy.

You always need to keep in mind the location of the conference, location of the late night networking parties and where the other people are staying as you don’t want to be in a taxi on your own (not very budget friendly in all places) or having to walk by yourself everywhere when all your friends are in a different hostel/hotel/apartment.

I used to stay in hostels for budget reasons but last year for WTM London I had the opportunity to group with a few other bloggers and get an apartment in London. And oh what an apartment it was!

City Marque London Apartments

It makes a massive difference to stay in an apartment compared to a hostel. MASSIVE! Just look at this view:

Coming back from Excel after a full day of walking from stand to stand, pitching and networking you need a chilled, quiet place to pull yourself together and do some work. Which in a hostel is sometimes impossible. City Marque’s apartments were perfect for that. And we ended up staying in two due to availability.

First apartment: Clerkenwell 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom Deluxe Apartment – Bliss!

Barbican or Farringdon are the nearest tube stations about 10 minutes walking distance.

Its location is quite easy to get to from Euston and doesn’t take more than 40 minutes to get to Excel London which for me it was perfect. This allowed for easy movement throughout London on the tube and it’s located in quite a safe area. Rooms were huge, beds amazing and the pillows made me feel in heaven.

You can have a look yourself at their video of the apartment if you don’t believe me.

Second apartment: The Thames View Apartment: This one was pretty special

Modern, chic and very centrally located with fabulous transport, dining and entertainment options nearby. Felt like a diva. Location was a bit trickier being in Vauxhall. But it’s less than 50 metres from Vauxhall Underground Station and the building has excellent transport links to Victoria, Buckingham Palace, Green Park, Westminster and Oxford Street.

You can check the Thames View Apartments walk and tell me if you wouldn’t stay there. I would seriously recommend this as an alternative to a hotel stay. It’s fully equipped with a cooker, fridge, freezer, flat screen TV, telephone, free WiFi internet and even an iPod Dock. Plus it had a dishwashers and washing machine.

We had an issue with the check in in the second apartment – they take security very seriously. It was close to 10 pm and we had no way of getting into the apartment. I thought this was it. But fortunately they do have a nonstop customer service. Really! I tweeted them and then got through to an advisor who solved our problem in minutes.

So would I stay with them again? DEFINITELY!

 

PS: this post was written due to a partnership with City Marque. They offered the accommodation in these two apartments but my view on them wasn’t influenced by it. I truly freaking loved them. Seriously relaxing and luxurious located perfectly for WTM London. A girl can’t ask for more.

Family Holiday in Bristol

By
Ahabu Phillip
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We spent five jam-packed days in Bristol this summer and had an amazing family holiday. Here are some highlights from the trip that I would especially recommend for children.

The Sightseeing Bus Tour

Bristol is a brilliant city with lots of fascinating history, so the City Sightseeing Bus Tour is a must as long as you are old enough (probably 8+) to appreciate it. Unlike most city tours, which involve plugging in earphones and listening to boring commentary, this has real guides – which made the ride a much nicer and friendlier experience. Another upside to having a guide on board was that if you couldn’t spot something, they could then point it out to you. Our guide cracked jokes and told us extra facts when we were caught in a traffic jam. I learnt so much more than I thought I would and although the full tour is possibly too long for younger children, I really recommend it. Of course you don’t have to listen to it all in one go, as you can get on and off the bus.

Keep the tummy smiling

Near to the first and last stops of the bus ride is AngelBerry, a delicious serve-yourself frozen yoghurt shop with lots of flavours and toppings. I had blueberry, pomegranate and pina-colada, all of which I loved.  You can eat your yoghurt on the water steps across the road from the shop, My brother and I had a fantastic time messing around on these.

Fun times

You should definitely visit At-Bristol, a superb science museum which has lots of things to do for all ages. I preferred it to the Science Museum in London, as it is much more interactive and has extremely engaging activities. I especially liked In The Zone – a game which measures your power, heart rate, stamina, reflexes and speed through different tests. I liked it so much I went on twice!

Another place I enjoyed visiting was Bristol Zoo. My highlight of the day was feeding the Lorikeets – brightly coloured birds who sit on your arm and eat nectar from a little pot. It was a little bit frightening, but still wonderful experience. The zoo is filled with astonishing animals such as meerkats, a pygmy hippo and lions.

As well as looking at these animals, we also went to the Gorilla feeding, where the keepers were throwing fruit and vegetables to the gorillas. They told us all about the gorillas they keep there and my favourite was Jock, the massive grey silverback leader of the group. It was very interesting and – like At Bristol- I enjoyed it more than the zoo in London.

Another great thing to do is a relaxing walk along the harbour. This can be as little or long as you like, but you will almost certainly find something fun to do there. We found a little mini-golf course and passed lots of interesting looking museums. We also came across The Matthew, a replica of John Cabot, the explorer’s ship. There were some posters outside giving information that was very interesting. The last thing we saw was the SS Great Britain, which had been the longest passenger ship in the world when it was first manufactured. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to go onboard but looked amazing.

Walking across the Clifton Suspension Bridge was fantastic too. It boasts breathtaking views, with one side being the busy, bustling city of Bristol while the other side takes you into North Somerset, the home of Weston Super Mare and the Grand Pier. We spent an afternoon in Weston Super Mare and the Pier is massive, with lots to do. I adored the large arcade that was full of great games. The only downside was that many of the machines were broken, meaning that we spent a lot of time waiting for people to come over and help us out.

Nearby are some fabulous shops, such as lots of ice-cream places and a sweet shop. We had supper at Winston’s Fish Bar and I was very pleased with my plaice and chips.

I had a fabulous time in Bristol and if you go to the places we did you will definitely do so too. Have a great time!

Planning an Entire Trip in 3 Easy Steps

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Ahabu Phillip
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Plan Your Trip

Step 1 – Choose Your Destination

There are hundreds of great websites to read all about the best destination to choose for your next trip. To save you some time, here is how we recommend figuring out what kind of trip you would like to go on and how to learn more about the destination. First you will want to head over to Frommers’ Trip Ideas section of their website.

Browse through the very large selection of articles about each idea for each category. Once you decide to on where you want to go, head over to Travel and Leisure’s Travel Guide section for some research on your destination of choice.

Step 2 – Research: Check Reviews

Now that you have all of your preliminary information, it’s time to get some endorsements from other travelers. The best place to do this is TripAdvisor and Yelp. Here you will be able to narrow down which activities you will want to do, where you want to eat and even where you want to stay.

Step 3 – Price Compare: Where to Save Big

Now that you know where you want to go, what you want to do, where you are going to eat and where you want to stay, it’s time to book. Aside from Kayak, here are some other sites that we use that have saved us a considerable amount of money with each booking that we have made:

Goseek
A travel meta search engine like Kayak that adds the human element to finding the absolute best deals. Their slogan: “We’re a group of online travel veterans who happened to be obsessed with getting the very best deal on every trip we (and you) take.” A quick browse of their website will show you that they just might be better than Kayak.

Travel Pony
This Social Sharing OTA offers great deals in exchange for sharing with your friends. On each hotel details page you will find a list of their competitors and their price comparison. All you need to do in order to get the best rate is use the promo code TPSAVINGS at checkout. Here’s an example:

Sky Scanner
They claim to be the best travel search engine in the world and they are not far off with their claims. Their flexible search options allow you to browse prices across a whole month, or even a year. This allows you to get the best deals and find the cheapest times to save big on your trip. You always book direct with the airline or travel agent, so you get the lowest price, with no extra fees added. They also offer extensive search features to find the perfect hotel for your trip.

Where Beauty Meets Bacchus

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admin
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The 101 Cafe in Oceanside, southern California, is a shrine to the Pacific Coast Highway, America’s most beautiful drive, which stretches almost 2,000 miles ahead of us. If you want a Highway 101 coffee mug, baseball cap or bumper sticker, this is the place to buy it. They do a pretty good coffee and ice cream, too. The guy at the next table hears where we are headed.

“When you get to Cambria, you must, must drive inland through Paso Robles wine country. Take the Santa Rosa Creek Road, a back road that goes through the wineries. It’s gorgeous,” he says.

Well, what’s a road trip for if you can’t make diversions? Three hundred miles later we’re in Cambria, on California’s Central Coast, almost midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We’ve checked out Hearst Castle, the overwhelmingly grand former home of William Randolph Hearst, and visited Piedras Blancas Beach, home to 17,000 elephant seals, so we take the stranger’s enthusiastic advice. And that’s when we fall in love with Paso Robles wine country.

Save Sonoma, much further north, for another visit and let the crowds have the more commercialised Napa Valley. A drive through Paso Robles lifts the spirits before you’ve even raised a glass at one of the 220-plus vineyards that combine Bacchus with the region’s natural beauty. Roads with names like Jack Creek Road, Chimney Rock Road and, of course, Vineyard Drive, all weave and wind their way through gently curving hills and fields which, even in spring, are as lushly green as on an English summer’s day. Horses and cattle graze peacefully. We crawl carefully around a zig-zag bend and are plunged into a shady woodland where Spanish moss hangs from the trees and we brake hard to spare the life of a suicidal squirrel that scampers across the road.

We sometimes have to brake hard to find the vineyards too, as the roads can curve suddenly and, if you drive by, it could be another mile before you can turn around. At the Jada Vineyard (www.jadavineyard.com) we drive through their vines to the Tasting Room, where they match each wine with a cheese.

WALNUTS AND ALMONDS

“First,” says the girl with the bottles, “I want you to try this smoked cheddar from France, which we’ve paired with our flagship Rhône-style wine, Hell’s Kitchen. You enjoying your visit?” We say we’re impressed by the scenery as well as the wine. “We have lots of variety here, with walnuts and almond trees, which were planted to take the place of the vines that were ripped out during Prohibition.”

Our next winery, the Adelaida Cellars (www.adelaida.com), is surrounded by 600 acres of those walnut trees. Here we sip our way through chardonnay, pinot noir (which is rare in this region), zinfandel, a syrah, a Rhône-style red, a reserve cabernet and a viognier.

“The vineyard is at 2000ft elevation,” we’re told by the woman doing the pouring, “and the soil type is distinctive. It’s rare in California but they have it in Burgundy and the Rhône. The elevation is the only difference. The cold Pacific air makes it cool in the afternoons, which is good in summer for the grapes.”

“The climate of Paso Robles is peculiar,” we’re told by Brian, our tour guide at the JUSTIN Vineyards (www.justinwine.com), where we’re staying the night. “There are many different micro-climates, which is why you get such variety in the wines. One day we had a record high of 118 degrees, but on the very same day we had a record low of 52 degrees. It can make wine-making challenging.”

MASTER SOMMELIER

One way the JUSTIN Vineyards faces the challenge is by employing a Master Sommelier, one of fewer than 200 in the world. Despite having only four rooms, they also maintain a restaurant, Deborah’s Room, where the food rivalled any Michelin-starred restaurants we’ve eaten at in Europe. It began with an amuse-bouche which combined scallops, pork belly, petite tangerine and micro greens, and soared from there. Each course was matched with one of the distinctive JUSTIN wines, from their crisp sauvignon blanc through to their sweet and fruity, port-like dessert wine, Obtuse.
The meal and wines certainly put a dent in the credit card, but long after the dent has been straightened out, the memories still tingle the taste-buds. And besides, falling in love is never cheap.

Mike Gerrard publishes a website devoted to the Pacific Coast Highway:
www.Pacific-Coast-Highway-Travel.com

WAY TO GO

Stay on the coast in Cambria surrounded by the gorgeous gardens of the Cambria Pines Lodge (www.cambriapineslodge.com) and take a short drive into wine country.

Stay on a vineyard like the exclusive JUST Inn (www. justinwine.com).

In town, stay in the historic Paso Robles Inn (www.pasoroblesinn.com).

Tour operators offering fly-drive tours to California include American Sky (www.americansky.co.uk); Audley Travel (www.audleytravel.com) and Key to America (www.keytoamerica.com).

For more information on Paso Robles, visit www.travelpaso.com.

Weird Fast Food from the UK and Around the World

By
Ahabu Phillip
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0

Whether you’re travelling around the UK or going abroad, I’d always encourage you to try the local cuisine.

But no matter how much of a cultured palette you have, you’ll probably get a hankering for fast food now and again while you’re on your travels.

After all, it’s quick, cheap and even though it’s bad for you, it’s blooming delicious.

But hey, don’t just head for your nearest McDonalds or Burger King.

Fast food can still be a local speciality, so here’s my guide to the weirdest and most wonderful fast food from the UK and around the world.

Read on and you’ll even find out where you can get pizza from a vending machine.

Parmo, North East England

Never heard of a parmo? Well then you’ve never been to a fast food joint in the North East.

It’s chicken topped with Béchamel sauce and melted cheese, served with chippy chips.

I’ll admit, I’ve never had one but I am intrigued.

Pea wet, Wigan

I only live a few miles from Wigan but I was still gobsmacked when my boyfriend told me about one of their local specialities – pea wet.

Apparently, the best way to explain it is ‘mushy peas without the peas.’

It’s the juice from the peas that can be drizzled over your pie or fish and chips.

You may think ‘what’s the point? why not just have mushy peas?’ but don’t knock it til you’ve tried it.

Battered Mars Bar, Scotland

From a humble chocolate bar to the stuff of legend, Scotland has become notorious for this battered treat.

As far as foods go, they’re as divisive as Marmite – you either love them or you hate them – but if you pass a chippy in Scotland you have to try one.

Crunchy on the outside and mouth-wateringly melty and chocolately on the inside, they’ll either be the best thing you’ve ever tasted or the worst.

Turkish pizza (lamahcun), Germany

Forget kebabs, when I lived in Germany for a year Turkish pizza was my fast food of choice.

It’s a pizza cooked with tomato sauce and minced meat on top, and then topped with salad and rolled up like a Swiss roll.

I had one on the very first day I arrived in Germany and I’ve been dreaming about them ever since.

Poutine, Canada

It’s easy to think that North American fast food is all burgers, fries and nachos but if you head to the Great White North, make sure you get your hands on a portion of poutine.

It’s Canada’s pride and joy and a bit like our chips and gravy.

The only difference is it’s topped with cheese curds. It doesn’t look particularly appetising but thousands of Canadians will beg to differ.

Currywurst, Germany

Not many Brits have tried this German fast food staple but if you’re heading to over Deutschland this year, I’d strongly recommend it.

If anything, because it’s as dirt cheap as it is tasty.

This sausage in curry sauce is usually served with a bread roll to lap up the sauce and it’s a lovely way to warm yourself up at a Christmas market.

Pizza from a vending machine, France

Now, I always thought the French prided themselves on their fine cuisine.

Which is why I was so surprised when I came across a vending machine that served pizza.

You simply put in your 8 euro and 10 minutes later your pizza (that has been cooked at a restaurant earlier in the day) is ready to eat.

As far as frozen pizza goes, this one was pretty nice.

The weirdest part was that it had potato on it, but hey, each to their own.

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Journeys Magazine is a travel publication with In-depth features on best destinations to visit, things to see. tips and advice to help you travel around the world.
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