20 posts tagged “travel”

Let’s face it. The year 2009 is one that the travel industry really wants to forget. Most people have canceled their travel plans altogether, or scaled their trip plans way back due to the economy. That all makes sense, but I get the feeling that most of those people don’t realize that if they went to Asia they could have an excellent and even slightly luxurious trip, assuming they went to one of the right places.

Flights are very cheap this year too

For people living on the West Coast of the US, and especially for people living on the East Coast, it’s natural to assume that flying to Asia is incredibly expensive. But it’s really not. You can always find cheap flights to Asia, though perhaps not to every destination in the continent.

If you want to have the cheapest possible vacation having the highest possible standards, just keep your eyes peeled for cheap tickets to India. It’s best to fly to either Mumbai or Delhi, though occasionally there are great deals to other cities as well. Once there just spend a couple days in the big city to get acclimated, and then head out to somewhere less hectic. You can find spas and retreats and historic towns and nearly any kind of accommodation imaginable, and it’ll cost about 75% less than it would back home.

Planning the cheapest possible trip

Even if you don’t go to India you can still find great bargains. Think about Southeast Asia, and especially Thailand. There are plenty of cheap Bangkok hotels if you look around. It’s possible to get a decent hotel there for around US$10 per night, though if you go during the peak wet and humid season (April and May) you’ll want a place with air conditioning, and that will cost a bit more.  Still, for around US$30 you can get a place that looks like it should cost at least $100 if it were anywhere else.

Once in Thailand you can take a cheap bus to Cambodia or Laos or Vietnam, and those countries are a bit cheaper than Thailand, though they also don’t have quite the tourism infrastructure that Thailand has so it’s not quite as easy to visit.

If you circle up to Hanoi, where you can get hotel rooms for around US$10 and you don’t need air conditioning, you are a short flight from Hong Kong and Macau. You can find plenty of cheap hotels in Hong Kong, though not quite as cheap as in Bangkok. You’ll spend at least US$25 per night there, and quite a bit more if you want something really nice. The trick about Hong Kong is you want to stay on the Kowloon Peninsula instead of on Hong Kong Island. There is way more to do on Kowloon and prices are much more reasonable.

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. While I was just starting kindergarten when the wall came down and I have no memories of the event, I have studied enough history to know about and understand the symbolic significance and power of this event. Then, the wall served as the dividing point between East and West and communism versus capitalism. Today, what’s left of the wall has become a tourist attraction.

While many people may be on the quest to get a deal on a flight to Berlin to be a witness to some of the festivities and events that will be happening in order to commemorate the falling of the wall, there are countless travelers who have already made a remaining section of the wall a tourist hotspot.

In an article by Reuters, “Former Iron Curtain oddity now a tourist hotspot,” discusses how a tiny village of about 50 people called Moedlareuth has preserved a 100-meter section of the Iron Curtain—not to give a physical reminder of the days before the wall went down—but as a way to attract tourists to the small hamlet that has been nicknamed “Little Berlin.”

The farming hamlet located about 300 km south of Berlin has become a prime destination for tourists searching for the remnants of the Communist era when East and West Germany were divided. In fact, in 2008, Moedlareuth saw 60,000 visitors and they are expecting a similar number of visitors to come in 2009. For young people like myself who don’t have memories of the wall coming down, like Huw Diprose in the Reuters article, they say that coming to a place where the wall still stands takes them back to the mindset of what it was like back when the Germany was still divided.

However, whether you have been researching cheap flights to Germany and looking to book one of the cheap hotels in Berlin to commemorate the falling of the Berlin Wall or not, fall is actually an idea time to pack your bags and head to Germany.

In fact, Smarter Travel recently rated Germany as one of their Top Five Off-Peak Destinations for Fall 2009. While summer may be the most popular time to visit Germany (along with the rest of Europe) autumn is in many ways a much better time to head to Germany. There are fewer tourists, flights are cheaper and many hotels have lower off-season rates.

In fact, the folks over at Smarter Travel even did a break down about how much cheaper flights to Germany are in the fall compared to the summer months (they cost about half as much). Plus, even if you aren’t headed to Germany for the 20^th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, there is always beautiful fall foliage to enjoy in the Black Mountains and, well, lots of beer.

If huge historical events, cheap flights to Germany, and beautiful fall foliage isn’t enough to get you to hop on a plane, then maybe free flowing beer at Munich’s Oktoberfest will. In fact, my dad still tells stories about drinking out of huge, heavy steins of beer and literally swinging from the rafters of the tents (and spending the following several days hugged to the toilet) during Oktoberfest when he attended almost 25 years ago.

While you will see process climb slightly surrounding the dates of the festival, you can always opt to stay in Berlin hostels to save some dollars before heading to Munich (that way you can save your cash for all the beer drinking and merry-making).

It would seem that summer is not going to come to the Pacific Northwest anytime soon.  It has been sunny and hot a total of two days this year.  I think I can actually count on one hand the number of days that I have not had to wear a sweater at work.  A friend of mine is taking weekend jaunts to Arizona just to get away from the gray and cold weather.  I on the other hand have decided that Florida is what I need.  There are definitely hotels cheap there and some cheap airline tickets to Florida are pretty to easy to come by right now. The hot muggy weather is usually not my favorite, but there is no way I can keep going without some Vitamin D! 

If your travels are taking you places, but only in short spurts and you are the type of traveler that likes to fly by the seat of your pants, then last minute travel deals are your thing.  Typically this type of travel is for the business person that has to be on a red eye flight to close a deal.  More and more though the professional travelers want to have flexibility in case they hear of a great destination and need to get there fast.  Sometimes you can find deals that match this type of lifestyle.  Maybe it is just a weekend getaway and you need last minute hotels to make it happen.  Whatever the reason there is always going to be some good deals out there for last minute travel.  Hotels almost always have bookings that fall through in the last minute or the off season has left many rooms vacant and they just want to get some bodies in there.   Either way as the traveler you win in this situation. 

Going to Italy is a great way to get out of the US this summer.  The options are endless as to the things that one could do there and the food is amazing.  Not to mention that Italy is pretty well known for the vino as well.  So when looking into how you might go about it check out the Italylogue to get some great ideas.  A couple of things that could make things even better about going to Italy is that there are some great Rome airfare deals and some cheap hotels in Rome that would make the trip a little cheaper.  Rome could be a great starting point to the rest of Italy as you wind your way through this country of culinary delights.

My Girlfriend and I are trying to plan our wedding.  We really want to try to be different with this and so we are thinking about Cancun.  I know it is really out there and no one goes to Cancun for this type of event.  In reality Cancun is probably one of the top places in the world to get married.  Maybe it is the plethora of white sandy beaches and warm water or all the cheap hotels in Cancun that draws millions of people there every year.  It is pretty easy to get there from California or really almost anywhere in the US.  I have been finding cheap flights to Mexico lately so that is what has been helping us come to this all important location decision.  Now I know that getting married in the perfect location is so important on this most auspicious occasion. Another great reason is that Cancun is way more reliable for good weather than say Portland, Oregon where we live.  The tough decision is whether or not our friends and family can make it and once there were are they all going to stay.

Hotels and flights can be a daunting thing to try and research for a bunch of people but we really want to make this happen.  It seems reasonable to go to Mexico instead of France or some other awesome destination for instance only to leave everybody behind that we want to participate in our bondage, I mean bonding.  So Cancun is a great choice for us to make this happen.  As this starts to unfold more I am sure we will come to a decision but Cancun seems like a viable warm weather option for the time being.

I have been reading a lot about Amsterdam lately.  Mostly about coffee shops and the Red Light District.  It seems like Amsterdam is a pretty cool place and that Holland in general is not conforming to the same rules that most of the world has set in place for prostitution and Marijuana.  Now I am not planning to go there to "check out" the RLD but the overall mentality of the place is something that has interested me for a very long time.  It would be very cool to be able to explore the city of Amsterdam.  I am not sure if I would stay in hostels or try to find some cheap hotels in Amsterdam to save costs.  I have a feeling that it would cost a lot to get there although I have been finding some really cheap flights to Europe lately which has been surprising.  So hopefully when a friend of mine goes during or after the summer I will hit him up for a place to stay and a good tour of his favorite spots.

One of my favorite things about traveling is getting to fly.  Lately though it is painful to go through the process of flying and the flights are usually very expensive which also makes it less fun.  When you have to be at the Airport at 0400 for a 0600 flight it takes a lot of the coolness factor away.  If say I have found some good airfare to Rome or other cheap flights to Europe it is not as painful.  The cost of flying these days can be scary and I can't say that I have a lot of money.  The thing that I have to keep thinking about is that if I am flying somewhere that means that I am still traveling and that is the important part, right... 

Going to Europe is can be an awesome experience.  It is well traveled and all the infrastructure is in place to make it easy to get around which is nice compared to 12 hour crowded bus rides that are on scary winding dirt roads in the middle of nowhere like some South American and South East Asian countries.  The food is mostly not going to give you the worst bout of diarrhea that you have ever had.  Which is a big plus because that is just a bummer.  All-in-all Europe is a great place to go travel for a bit just figure out how to keep your costs down and it will be a great trip.

Paris is a place that almost everyone wants to see at least once.  The history and culture or the food and wine or the plethora of attractions are what make Paris so amazing and unique.  I remember being there as a small boy and going out to dinner at ten or eleven at night and the city was still bustling.  There is something for everyone in Paris.  If you are into art there are a ton of museums that house some of the most well known works of art in the world.  Gourmet food was practically invented in France.  I can still remember how good the fresh bread is especially when I would carry it under my arm "for extra flavor" my Grandpa would always say.   Paris is a place that makes people want to continue to explore.  There are so many different areas and little nooks around every corner it is impossible to take it all in with one trip.   The places to stay in Paris can be an entire reason to go on a trip themselves.  There are grand hotels, Bed & Breakfasts, and many hostels in Paris that should not be overlooked.  So next time you are looking for a place to go where you will not be bored think about Paris.

About a month ago I saw Mr. Scruff play here in Portland at Holocene.  Now to most people this may not be such a big deal.  Since I thought I would never see him in the United States let alone Portland Oregon it was a great surprise.  Needless to say I would like to see him perform again.  Seeing a DJ "live" can be a mixed bag because they are typically playing someone else's music and creatively putting it together with sound effects or mixing it with someone else's music to create something unique.  Now Mr. Scruff is totally different in this case.  He was building songs right there in front of the crowd and doing it for over five hours in a type of Marathon DJ session.  Needless to say any expectations I had were totally blown away.

I have a feeling that if I am going to get to see him again in the near future I am going to have to go to the UK to do it.  I can't say that really is a struggle seeing as I could kill two pints with one gulp.  One see Mr Scruff and two go back to a country where most of my mother's family is from and saying hi to some of them.  So what is holding me back besides time, cost of airfare, and a place to stay for a few weeks?  Nothing .  I am pretty sure that my girlfriend would go with me and it would be a great time.  Finding Cheap flights to London isn't a problem so really it is just getting in contact with my fam to see if I can crash on their couch for a few days or so and getting the time off.  Hmm,  I think I just figured out what I am going to do with some of my vacation time this year.  Sweet.