Travel

Darjeeling a beautiful hill resort in the state West Bengal lures tourists with its laid back charm and mild climate. The place is presiding over by Mount Kanchenjunga giving a magical aura to the Vast stretches of lush green tea gardens, verdant hills and valleys. Darjeeling is an excellent place to spend any vacation in leisure. The main town of Darjeeling is very small and it is on a climb with houses hugging each other.

Thing to see in Darjeeling:

Chowrasta, a top ridge at the heart of the town dotted with shops and restaurants is a place to enjoy the evening. Similarly, Mall road starting and ending up at Chowrasta is an ideal place for a leisurely stroll with excellent view. Himalayan Mountaineering Institute, a training center for mountaineers is a must visit place here. Padmaja Naidu Himalayan Zoological park houses quite a different types of animals like Siberian tiger, Himalayan black bear, red panda, snow leopard and many other birds and animals.

There is a Observatory Hill which has Hindu and Buddhist shrines. Beautiful monasteries and temples of Darjeeling are also very much attractive. Tibetan Refugee Self-Help Center, is another must visit place here. It is a major center for the production of Tibetan carpets, woodwork and leather goods. Last but the most renowned attraction of Darjeeling is Tiger Hill, which is famous for sun rise view of Kanchenjunga. And the must do activity here is to take the ride of toy train, which takes tourists to the land of fairy tales.

Nearby attractions
If you visit Darjeeling it is always suggested to take tour of the nearby places. Kalimpong is a small calm town, some 50 km to the east of Darjeeling. The main attractions here are different monasteries, confluence of Relli, Riang and Tista rivers and amazing flower nurseries.

Lava – Lolaygaon is another hill station t the height of 7200 ft and very easy to go from Kalimpong. It is a very quiet and romantic place surrounded by dense forests of Berch, Pine and Juniper and the variety of orchids. For adventure lovers this place offers a trek of 12 km to Jelepa and Rachela pass situated on the Trijuntion of Sikkim,Bengal and Bhutan.

Kurseong – About 30 km to the South of Darjeeling it is a quaint little town. The road of the main town is crisscrossed by the railway tracks of the toy train many times. The attractions of the place are -
Eagle’s Crag which has a park and to offer a glorious view of Kanchenjunga. There are forest museum, Deer Park a water reservoir and green meadow to treat your eye sight.

Mirik – A tiny hill resort mainly famous for boating under the serene gaze of Khangchendzonga and two elevated points near the lake, Rameetay Dara and Deosi Dara. Mirik is easily accessible from Kurseon and Darjeeling is also known for its apple orchard and tea garden.

Bus is the most popular transport nowadays. Many people choose bus as the best transport for them because of the many advantages they find in it. Others never get on a bus, thinking only of the disadvantages, which are truly a lot. Here I will tell you the reasons why it is better to choose travelling by bus rather than travelling with your car for example.

The good standpoints for travelling by bus

Many people choose bus transport because it is cheap. This is the main reason why when you get on a bus you will see mainly students and old people. The tickets for long destinations are much cheaper than the flight tickets. You can also by a card for every month and travel at reduced fare. This is also a good advantage to choose bus transport, because it saves you money that you can spend on your next vacation.

Another good advantage of bus transport when going on short travels is that bad weather won’t be a problem for the bus driver. If you are planning to go to the nearest village with your bicycle and it starts raining or snowing, you will get wet for sure. If you choose the bus, you can save yourself this uncomfortable situation and it also can save you money because it won’t get you sick. Also if you choose to take a flight and the weather surprises you and a storm comes out, you may be waiting for hours because of delayed flights.

However, this won’t happen if you choose bus travel. In modern buses, you will have an air conditioner, toilet, the bus-hostess will offer you drinks and snacks to make your trip more enjoyable, and there are also at least two TV sets in new travel buses. So you can enjoy your trip watching a movie and having a snack without worrying when will be the next stop for the toilet. Also if you are travelling on a bus for more hours or even days, you can always make new friends there. So, the new social contacts are the other advantage of the bus. And if you have to choose between a plane or bus, remember that you will see much more if you are travelling with a bus. The bus also stops at many places during the travel and in that time, you can have a coffee or a cigarette if you are a smoker. In the plane this could not be done.

Another good advantage of buses is that they reduce the traffic jams in the rush hour in big cities. Imagine that everyone uses cars. The traffic jams will be a lot bigger than they are now. In some countries like India, a bus can gather more than 150 passengers. Imagine that all these people were using their cars instead of bus transport the cities will be crowded.

A young person can get away with taking a vacation that consists of backpacking through unknown terrain with nothing but a credit card, a passport and a few articles of clothing. People who have children or the elderly cannot say the same as a vacation for either of these two groups of people requires much organization.

Kids can be rather impatient and very hard to manage when they are cranky. To keep this situation at a minimum on vacation, you must have had an organized plan created ahead of time.

When you travel you will need distractions to keep your children happily engaged. Make sure you know what your child’s favorite foods are as children have a specific palate that can keep them from wanting or being able to try foreign foods. Check the internet before you leave for restaurants that offer child-friendly menus.

Its amazing how child have the best timing for very loudly asking to use the restroom. It is important to take the time to understand the culture of the place you are traveling to make sure you avoid these types of embarrassments. If you can, find a forum in which parents discuss the how to’s and wherefore’s about traveling with children. You should know that some countries and even some of the united states have strict policies about being a customer before being able to use a restroom.

Keep your cool and your sense of humor because you’ll need both. It is very easy to ruin your vacation if you lose your temper with your children over the little things that really do not matter. A vacation is supposed to be a time of relaxing and having fun.

The elderly, what with having better control over their emotions, can practice much more patience than the average toddler, however, thorough planning must still be accomplished when thinking about taking them on vacation. They often have health problems that limit the length of walking they can manage. There are also the issues of poor health, joint pain and headaches that must be taken into consideration when planning the vacation.

Make sure you have planned things of interest for the people you’re taking with you. Make sure to book ahead of time to save standing in a long line as elderly people cannot do this. Check the weather before you pack because elderly people cannot stand extreme weather changes.

Take the advice given to heart and your vacation should be everything you wish it to be. Have a happy and save time.

A sprawling metropolis that’s home to some 14 million residents, London can easily becoming an overwhelming experience to first time visitors. A centre of commerce, politics and the arts, there’s certainly plenty to see and do but without an itinerary in place, visitors might find themselves paying through the nose for basics such as accommodation, dinner and transport.

The key to an affordable trip to London is to plan your visit in advance. The first step is to work out the most convenient and cost effective means of transport, both into the city and around it. London boasts four airports, links to the rest of the UK via rail and motorways as well as connections to the continent via Eurostar. While taking a car to London might seem like a flexible method of transport, the nature of stop-start driving in heavy traffic means motorists can end up spending a lot more than they usually do on petrol and parking. It’s therefore investigating rail and air fares before beginning your journey.

With four World Heritage Sites, numerous theatre districts, palaces, cathedrals and markets to explore, visitors to London are never short of things to do. For visitors staying for a long weekend, or less, it’s wise to have a predetermined list of attractions with directions to and from in order to make the most of your stay. Some popular landmarks – such as the London Eye – might feature lengthy queuing times and these should be factored into any itinerary. Furthermore, the make your trip as affordable as possible it’s wise to set yourself a realistic budget for excursions – such as £30 a day – as well as visiting a mixture of ticketed and admission-free sights to save money.

Being one of the world’s biggest and most popular cities means London hotels and restaurants can quite happily charge a higher fee when it comes to bed and board. Opting for London hotels out with the first two tube zones will significantly reduce the cost of your stay. Ensuring your hotel offers a complimentary breakfast also enables you to fill up before a busy day, saving you the cost of buying your first meal of the day elsewhere. Given the number of beautiful parks and sprawling gardens dotted across London, summertime visitors can also take in the sights and line their stomachs at the same time with a picnic courtesy of one of the many supermarkets which are always easy to find.

New Year is a time for all to come together to welcome a new year, and all that comes with it. It is a truly global experience, whether you have travelled to a foreign country or are watching from home on the television.

We are all familiar with the televised broadcasts from around the world, from New York to Europe. The sights of Times Square and the Eiffel Tower at New Year are a stable part of the festive media experience for many, and for those lucky enough to experience the real thing, it would be hard to choose a favourite from the spectacular celebrations which take place in so many different countries.

From the carnival atmosphere of Brazil to the courageous Scottish party-goers, bearing the freezing temperatures to celebrate hogmanay, New Year is celebrated with such excitement across the globe, despite the idiosyncrasies of each nation.

In Mexico, 12 grapes are eaten along with the 12 bell tolls at midnight, each one the embodiment of a wish for the coming year. In Scotland, the collective renditions of Auld Lang Syne encapsulates the spirit of hogmanay, and the desire to forget the past and look ahead to the future.

With such an eclectic mix of traditions and celebrations, it would take a lifetime to experience them all. However, one can always have their own international new years eve celebrations of course, mixing various ingredients form different countries to form a truly multinational party experience. In fact, some edinburgh boutique hotels have organised hogmanay parties which offer a taster of a variety of new year cultures throughout the world.

So, whether you are enticed by the festivities of Russia or Brazil, Mexico or France, you don’t need to be there to create the individual new year experience each country has on offer. Create your own multicultural new year party, or find out where there one is being held, this way you don’t have to miss out on any of the festive fun abroad