ASK ME WHERE TO GO

2010-09-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

How To Find The Best Hotels

There's a simple rule of thumb you need to bear in mind when looking for a hotel - what is it you actually require from the place you're going to be staying in? This sounds very obvious, but my experience is that people often forget this basic principle.

So let's examine the question in more detail, so we can develop a set of criteria to use when sifting through the list hotels we can find on the internet. Once we've done this, we are in a much better position to choose the ideal hotel for our particular purposes.

The basis for all hotel stays is obviously the reason why you're going to be there in the first place. This will probably be either for a holiday or city break, or for work. There are, of course, other possibilities (such as visiting relatives, attending a party etc.), but we find these are the two most common reasons for wanting to stay in a hotel.

The next factor, then, is to decide whereabouts in your chosen area will be the ideal location for your accommodation. For example, do you want to be in the town centre, near to nightlife, near to any sights you wish to see, near to where you'll be working, or any other issues that spring to mind.

Once you have this in mind, you'll want to decide what sort of facilities are important to you within the hotel itself. Certainly most modern hotels will come with en suite bathrooms, but if that isn't important to you, you may be able to save some money. Similarly, you should decide if you want a bar or restaurant in the place you'll be staying.

Lots of hotels also now come with facilities that would have been unheard of a few years ago, including some with their own gym and swimming pool. If you want to keep on top of your emails or just chat with friends on Facebook, a wireless internet connection might also be important to you.

Having mentioned money, this is a very obvious issue that you'll want to address. No point looking for five star luxury if you simply can't afford to pay the amount it would cost per night. The world certainly has its fair share of places to choose from in all price brackets, so you should easily find something suitable with just a few minute's investigation.

So now you know roughly the area you want to be in, and the facilities you'll want from your hotel and the surrounding area, it's time to look at all the hotels that the internet has to offer you, and make your choice according to the criteria you've just established for the ideal place.

One final factor, of course, is the dates you'll want to stay there. It's not always the case that each hotel is available for your chosen time frame - or perhaps not for all the time you want to be there - so it's essential you check based on the actual dates of your stay so you're not disappointed when {t comes time to book.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Tris Jackson is a Hotels specialist, with many years experience of sourcing quality and affordable hotels around the world.

2010-09-10T17:32:00.003-07:00

5 Unique food around the world

By: rebecca smith

There are so many travellers in the world. Traveller who travel for holiday, traveller who travel for searching for their identity, traveller who travel to search for adventure or discover new thing, and traveller who search for food.

Regardless which traveller you are, before your travel, plan properly, also research for hotel deals, phone card or calling card deals, learn about the culture of the country that you want to visit and the travel tips or warning for the country that you intent to visit
For adventurous food lover in the world, you might be surprised on the food that you can find during your travel that you might dare yourself into trying. Below are some unusual and weird foods around the world:

1.Huhu, New Zealand
Common beetle in New Zealand and it is a Traditional food for Maori. Some said it taste like peanut butter, some said it taste like butter chicken, judge it yourself.

2.Deep Fried Tarantula, Cambodia
Imagine yourself eating the big, hairy, whole fried Tarantula that is found in Skuon city in Cambodia. Dare yourself for a taste of it. You might think that it is not a very popular food, however, not only it is popular for the local,it has drawn a lot of tourist from far to come to Skuon just to have the taste of the famous fried Tarantula. Some who has taste the Tarantula said that it taste like skinny chicken with crispy on the outside and sticky.

3.Casu Marzu, Sardinia
Casu Marzu is a cheese, however it is not like common cheese, the name itself means “ Rotten cheese”. The unique of this cheese is that it still has alive insect larvae living in the cheese itself to produce futher fermentation. Casu Marzu has to be eaten while the insect larvae still alive (as it can cause toxic if eaten when the larvae is dead)
It might be hard to taste Casu marzu now as the cheese has been banned because it might danger the health of the one who eat it (allergy reaction,intestinal larvae infection etc), however it is said that Casu Marzu is still available in black market in Sardinia.

4.Balut,Phillipines
Balut is famous food for phillipines. Some said that the food is absolutely shocking as Balut is a fertilised chicken or dug egg that the embryo is almost developed; it is the egg that nearly hatched (it has partly formed feet, feather,eyeball, blood vessels etc). The famous way of consuming it is by boil it and eat straight away out of the shell with spoon

5.Live Octopus ,Korea
If you are raw meat lover, eating live Octopus in Korea (sannakji) might be a thrilling adventure. Yes, when you eat it, the octopus is still alive. This meal is prepared by slicing up alive baby octopus and only seasoned with sesame oil. The octopus tentacles are still wriggling when the dish is served, and you have to chew properly to loosen the tentacles so that it does not stick in your mouth,teeth or throat.

The other way Korean wat Sannakji is by eating the alive Octopus by Soju; pick one octopus and dip into the soju to make the octopus asleep and then put into your mouth.
Eating live octopus might sound adventurous, however, be careful not to have the octopus suction cups stick on your throat as it can be quite dangerous.
Other than the 5 food above, there is still a lot of unusual food in the world.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

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2010-09-10T17:32:00.001-07:00

he Top 5 Honeymoon Destinations

By: Andy Clark

A honeymoon is the traditional and romantic holiday taken by couples of newlyweds. When arranging your marriage, you might be thought about where to spend your honeymoon? Choosing the ideal honeymoon destination is one of the most exiting decisions and you may be so busy for your wedding. Honeymoons are always romantic holidays that you will remember forever. When you talk about romantic places for honeymoon, few places can beat the other places and you assured of experiencing romance. Whichever honeymoon destination you choose, here are top destinations for your honeymoon.

1. The Maldives
2. St. Lucia
3. South Africa
4. Malaysia
5. Dubai

The Maldives

Honeymoons in Maldives will give you the best opportunity to make every second full of romantic with each other in total privacy. Private bungalows with clear sandy beach, blue lagoons on secluded private resorts renowned for their calm and excellent – is the perfect recipe for the most romantic honeymoon in Maldives.

St. Lucia

St. Lucia is one of the most beautiful Islands in Caribbean, not only it has countless beaches with white sand. It also has spectacular green mountains. There are more intimate resorts and inns, some still owned and operated by families. Most St. Lucia resorts are clustered around the island’s two main towns named as Castries, the capital. Both of the towns are located on the west coast which has restaurants, bars, shopping, and nightlife. As a result, a honeymoon in St. Lucia tends to be a very calm, more low-cost experience than it is on some of the other Caribbean islands.

South Africa

The South African Honeymoon is perfect for the couple looking for their special place to start out the life together as a husband and wife. There are numerous reasons for choosing your Honeymoon in South Africa, including the fact that South Africa is a beautiful, multi-cultural country that has an plenty of unique destinations and venues to will suit all needs. The climate also ensures that there is something to offer every single month of the year. If you’re looking for romance and seclusion, book a bush camp honeymoon, beach holiday or visit the famous Cape Winelands. However you want little bit unique then you could have holiday in a tree house or on a house boat.

Malaysia

Malaysia is one of the most pleasant and luxury honeymoon destinations in South Asia. Spend your Honeymoon with romantic at the beaches of Malaysia. Find numerous and brilliant beaches in Malaysia. Along with your spouse spend some intimate time in the beaches of Malaysia. The major beaches in Malaysia include the Pantai Batu Kerikil and Pantai Pasir Hitam. These beaches are perfect for the newlywed couples for honeymoon vocations.

Dubai

Dubai is one of the most beautiful cities in the United Arab Emirates country. Dubai is a truly exciting city with numerous attractions for honeymooners. It has the city Museum, the zoo, the Jumeraih Mosque, the Bastakiya District, the incredible luxurious and breathtaking Burj al-Arab Hotel. Obviously Dubai is also the best romantic place for honeymooners.

There are several websites online offering the honeymoon packages for newlyweds. You can pick your favorite place and have a romantic honeymoon.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

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2010-09-10T17:31:00.000-07:00

Beautiful beachs in the world for your holiday

By: rebecca smith

Escape from all the things in the world to a place where you can find white sand, combined with sparkling clear sea water and comfortable breeze will always give us a calm feeling. The place where you can find all of the calmness is the beach.

Going to beach might be the highlight of your holiday where you can claim yourself! Make your dream vacation beach come true by looking for hotel deals near the beach or nearby town. Do control the calls that you made during your holiday by using phone card and calling card.

Beach vacation or holiday does not only include lying in the beach but also enjoy the nearby cuisine, beach nightlife, visiting historical site, playing water sport, diving, kayaking and many more.

Different beach in the world offers different beach perspective to enjoy from; glamorous, natural beauty, authentic, the water, beautiful landscape etc.

In this article, there are 5 beaches in the world that is recognized for its beauty and the feel that the beach gives to its visitor:

Las Islas Cies, Galicia, Spain
Going to Spain will not be complete without visiting the famous, natural and full of beauty Las Islas Cies. Las Islas Cies can be reached by boat from Baiona. The trip takes approximately 40 minutes. What makes Las Islas Cies wild beach is the fact that the beach used to be a pirates haunt, and now it has become unspoiled place where visitor only allowed visiting during summer. Lose yourself in Las Islas Cies.

Amalfi ,Italy
In this gorgeous beach in Italy, you can also explore the culture of the village and traditional building nearby. Amalfi is no doubt a first choice for beach holiday in Italy. Explore Amalfi beach by swimming and do all of the water sports. And if you feel a bit adventurous, climb on the hills or even go down the nearby cliffs.

Porto da Barra, Salvador, Brazil
Salvador is the oldest city in Brazil. It has stunning beach that is perfect for beach holiday in Brazil; Porto da barra. The water in Porto da barra is clear, clean and great for swimming. And for those who are on romantic mood, watching sunset at Porto da Barra beach is an incredible way to spend your holiday evening.

Bora Bora, Polynesia
The exotic about this beach is that in Bora Bora you can see volcano and with the beach to be surrounded by coral reef and Mountains. Those who have been into Bora Bora often said that Bora Bora is one of the heaven on earth. Calm, clear crystal green to blue water, surrounded with palm trees and lagoon filled city made Bora Bora to be paradise for tourist.
Discover the range of coral and fish underwater of Bora bora and for those who want to have interaction in marine life, you can also swim with dolphin or even stingray.

Wonder how it feels like to be near shark? In Bora Bora, you can also go to the feed the shark excursion. If you do not feel like going under water you can do paddling, canoeing, kayaking or simply has a boat ride in the island

Whitehaven, Whitsunday Islands, Queensland, Australia
When you have holiday in Australia, you will surely not miss the famous Bondi Beach in Sydney. However you also should not miss the paradise of Whitehaven in Queensland. White, soft sand with warm, clear water, Whitehaven is located between tropical forests and surrounded by other islands. As Whitehaven is not yet crowded like Bondi, sometimes you can also have the beach all by yourself.

For the underwater world, you can see dolphins, Australia’s famous coral reef and various fish. Be blown away by Whitehaven’s beauty in both underwater world and upper-water world. Whitehaven beach is suitable for single traveller, honeymoon destination or even family holiday.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

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2010-09-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Five Family Vacations Ideas

By: aaliakhan

Being a part of all this hassle we all look forward to some privacy and want to spend quality time with our families in form of catching up with the latest movie or going to various amusement parks or undertaking short vacations in India…which not only relaxes us and provides a joyful environment but also strengthens family bonds.

A short family vacation is any day the most appealing option as it satisfies dual objectives: an outing and spending of quality time with family. But in today’s recession scenario where companies are suffering unbearable losses leading to unemployment or least payable jobs, going on vacation would be the last thing one would do. Not to worry the solution to this is to resort to cheap vacation trip to India. So, let’s take a brief to some cheap vacation ideas.

Camping: One of the most inexpensive family vacation ideas is family camping which is fun and exciting. The Camping Gear for a family of four will cost less than $1000 and can be used for future vacations as well. Several campsites feature shower and toilet facilities. Some even provide cable TV and wireless access. RV camping is also popular as recreational vehicle parks feature hiking trails, playground facilities, lakes for swimming, boating, and other water sports.

Road Trips: Bringing the focus from the destination to the journey can make a simple road trip a fun and exciting family vacation. Load your car with yummy homemade goodies, and head for a road trip. Stop at fun places such as museums, factories, historical buildings, or any other scenic spot during the journey. If your children are young and love role plays, then you all could pretend to be explorers. Provide the children with binoculars and cheap cameras. The best about road trips is that you never know what's in store for you. You will be surprised how simple trips like these can turn out into wonderful memories.

Horse Riding: Horse riding is another wonderful option for budget vacation. The aim of this resort is to train children to ride horses around the ranch or mountain trails. Horses can be hired for few days from easily available horse dealers. Tips and lessons on safe horse riding are available on net making it a fear free activity.

Skiing: For families passionate about skiing, but who find big resorts way too expensive, then the small old fashion resorts are a good option.

Experiencing Farm Life: It's good to experience farm life by moving away from the hustle and bustle of the city, to the peace and quietness of a farm, is a good change for everybody. The farm features gardens, ponds, domesticated animals.

When you're on tight budget vacations, it's best to plan well in advance. Booking airline tickets in advance will enable you to reach the same destination at a cheaper rate. Since rates during weekends are high, plan going for a vacation sometime during the week. Be on the look out for peak seasons and plan your vacation during the off season. Planning ahead and during off season is the key to affordable family vacations. Joining up with friends is also another method of reducing the cost and having low cost family vacations.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Aalia has deep interest in writing informative articles on Travel and tourism in India. Also given her words to a portal for www.indiatouritinerary.com/>India Tours where one can find info on www.indiatouritinerary.com/>India Trip and www.indiatouritinerary.com/>Vacation in India and other destinations of India. Explore www.indiatouritinerary.com and get your dream vacation package

2010-09-10T17:24:00.001-07:00

Route 66 Attractions

By: Kelvin Bush

I had been always wondering what exactly do route 66 attractions carry in them and from where does it start and end. It was not until a month back that I visited this place and I got complete up-to-date information on route 66. The route 66 attractions start from Chicago and wound its way across other eight states and end at Santa Monica California. These attractions have created business, memories and townships for people to fill the excitement of the place. There is lots of value and history attached to these places as modernization may not be very important to many people. The brief history about route 66 attractions is that Route 66 was a historic highway in the United States that extends from Chicago to Los Angeles, this route crossed much parts of American Midwest, southwest, great plains. Lets talk about route 66 attractions in brief:

The Sears Tower – the sears tower in Chicago is 110 storey building that stands tall at 1,450 feet, it was built in the year 1974. It was one of the tallest buildings in the world when it was built until the Petronas towers in Malaysia were built in the year 1998. Today, sears tower has been renamed to willis tower.

The Chain of Rocks Bridge – it was one of the famous crossing of Route 66 that passed Mississippi river, it was a narrow bridge and is famous for 22 degree bend over the river. The road is open to pedestrians during the day time and closed for vehicles.

The Jefferson National Memorial – the memorial was built in the year 1965 to commemorate the expansion of westward. The gateway arch is part of the memorial and the arch stands at 630 feet high and over 630 wide at its base. The underneath is a free museum that explores the Louisiana purchase.

Meramec Cavens – is located in Missouri, it was termed as “The jesse James hideoout” under a disputed claim, the advertisements were painted up and down of the route 66.

Devil’s Elbow - is located on the big piney river in Missouri over the Ozark mountains, it offers amazing scenic beauty of nature and with good atmosphere around the place.

There are several route 66 attractions till the time finally where it ends up in Santa monica, California. Other route 66 attractions include the Shrine mosque, Schifferdecker Park, the Marsh Arch Bridge, the U-Drop Inn, the Devil’s Rope Museum, the leaning water tower in groom, the big Texan in Amarillo, the Cadillac ranch, Glenrio, texas, the blue swallow motel, the blue hole, pecos national historical park, St. Francis Cathedral, La Bajada Hill, Coronado state monument, Frontier restaurant, the painted desert, the petrified forest national park, Meteor Crater, Two gun, Arizona, Lowell observatory, Oatman, Amoby, the site of world first McDonald in California, wigwam motel, the Pasadena Freeway. Other attractive shopping centres and historic places in Route 66 are the historic Nob Hill district, university of new Mexico, Downtown – the District, Alvarado Transportation center, Crossroads mall, Kmo theatre and art gallery and also the historic old town.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

For more info please visit here: Route 66 Attractions or Baltimore Attractions, Honolulu Attractions

2010-09-10T17:14:00.001-07:00

India Tour - Top 3 places to Visit

By: seosaroj

India is one of the most popular countries now in the map of global tourism. It is one such country which has all the attraction that makes the tour a complete or a holiday a lifetime experience. So whenever you plan for holiday in India it is obvious that you will get confused and decide what to see and where to go and which place to visit. So make your tour more comfortable below mentioned are the top 3 destinations which beauty and charm will surly mesmerize you and leave you spell bound. These place makes you tour complete as these places will truly offer you the real charm of India for which it is globally famous for.

Darjeeling – Queen of Hill Stations
Darjeeling literally meaning the land of thunderbolt is one of the most famous hill stations in the world. Its astounding beauty of nature, blissful ambiance, amiable climatic conditions and the welcoming hospitality is worth to appreciate which attracts tourists from all over the world. Here once can feel the beauty of nature staying in the Lap of Mother Nature. The aromatic air, green meadows with blossoming flowers, sprawling tea gardens, scenic vistas of the countryside, heritage and manmade attractions, truly makes Darjeeling worth to visit on your India holiday. Plan your tour to Darjeeling and experience the beauty of the virgin nature and unpolluted environment and treasure remarkable memories to relish forever.

Taj Mahal – Seven Wonders of the World
Taj Mahal the crowning glory of India Tourism is one of the most beautiful monuments in the world. It architectural magnificence is appreciated all over the world which is till date unmatched by the modern advancement and technology. It is the must visit attraction with your holiday package to India or it is often said that your tour to India will considered to be an incomplete. Built by Saha Jahan in memory of his beloved Mumtaz Mahal, Taj Mahal first sight is enough to make one and all fall in love with it. According to the ASI it is one of the most visited monuments in India by tourists from all over the world. After all Taj Mahal is one of the Seven Wonders of the World and an UNESCO World Heritage Site. It will truly be a fascinating experience visit Taj Mahal on your India visit.

Goa - Beach Capital of India
Goa is one of the most beautiful beach destinations in India. It is blessed with 39 beaches which are awesomely beautiful and have their own unique charm that lures tourists from all over the world. Here one can have unlimited fun enjoying water sports and leisure vacation basking in the sun enjoying the nature’s best nectar –Coconut Milk. Goa beside beaches has lot many attractions like wildlife parks and sanctuaries, colourful fastivals, throbbing nightlife, bustling markets and malls and etc, which offers wonderful opportunity for tourists to enjoy holidays in Goa in a delightful and memorable way. After all Goa is the beach capital of India.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

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2010-09-10T17:13:00.001-07:00

Reasons Why Goa Tours Create Magic

By: aaliakhan

Goa has been a holiday destination that most people want to visit at least once. Whether you are with family, friends, or even all alone, Goa Tours have so much potential to make a memorable holiday, and here is the reason why:

The Beaches: - Goan beaches have a magic that can be created and recreated with every visit. Regardless of who you are and your reasons for travel, the Goan beaches have a reach and appeal which is unparalleled. There are so many beaches all over Goa, and it is amazing to see that each is full of revelers looking for ways to soak in the wonders of Goa. Baga beach is where the action is at, Anjuna beach has a wonderful charm and Varca beach is full of lavish resorts which have enough fun to fill your holiday with memories.

Churches: - Goa and its rich Christian heritage cannot be separated from one another. Goan culture has been derived from its Christian influence to a very large extent. There are plenty of beautiful churches which have a sophisticated silence about them. Studies of the churches will give you an insight into the history and relevance of the religion and Goa in Indian heritage.

Goan Specialties: - Goan specialties may just be found anywhere else in the country, just as any other native crafts may be. There is still a charm of buying Goan products in the local markets. Look for pretty sarongs and vests. You can also find some beautiful cashews, which look and taste delicious. Fanny, the local wine and also Goan port wine have a large market and are very popular in Goa, but also around it.

Goan Food: - Goan food, and especially its sea food, is very famous. When in Goa, make sure you sample their delicacies. There are also plenty of vegetarian dishes which are tantalizing. Goan sweets like bebinca are extremely popular, as are their puddings. Make sure that you taste different kinds of Goan food. The taste of this region is known as ‘Gomantak’ food, and has a typical, aromatic taste. You certainly cannot give these gastronomic delights a miss.

Hospitality: - The life in Goa is very simple. The people are very down to earth, unassuming and friendly. Hospitality in Goa is very easy. People in Goa are unpretentious and genuine. They will help you in any way and make you comfortable no matter where you are. It could be your waiter at a local restaurant, driver, or even housekeeper in your restaurant. No matter where, the people in Goa will touch you with their honest sincerity.

Apart from these, music and beach parties in Goa have worked magic on the tourists, especially Westerners, for years. Its carnivals during Christmas and New Years are vividly picturesque and certainly not to be missed.

It is time to get in touch with your India tour operator and book your holiday to Goa as soon as you have the time. This is one holiday you cannot afford to miss. Make sure you have plenty of time, and the stomach for wonderful food and sights. Goa has plenty to enthrall you with. This is sure to be one holiday you hope will never end.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Aalia Khan has deep interest in writing informative articles on Travel and tourism India. Visit Goa with best of Goa Tour Packages, during your India Tours, India Tour Packages. Explore: indianluxurytours.com

2010-09-10T17:12:00.001-07:00

Top Tips To Save Money When Travelling

By: Chris Owens

Even during an economic downturn, there’s no reason why most people can’t afford a hard earned holiday – especially when there are so many simple ways to save money when travelling.

Here are some essential tips that’ll make your travel budget last longer:

Be a smart shopper
Saving money begins before you start your trip. Use the internet to shop around for the best deals on flights, hotels, cheap travel insurance and more – there really are a number of bargains to be found. Signing up to airline and travel company e-newsletters is a great way of making sure you know about the cheapest offers as soon as they’re available.

Planning and preparation
Thinking ahead can also help you get a great deal. Choose your ideal destination well in advance to secure cheaper flights and accommodation. Some hotels will even give you a discount for early bookings.

Decide on dates
Can you travel out of peak season and at busy times like school holidays? If so, you’re likely to make massive savings on both travel and accommodation.

Choose your country carefully
Take into account the cost of living in the places you’re thinking of going. Staying a little bit longer in countries like Thailand or Turkey could actually end up saving you money, as you’ll be spending less cash than you would usually spend at home.

Midweek flying
If possible, try and avoid departures on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Midweek flights are often four times cheaper than travelling at weekends.

Take your own food
If you face a lengthy check-in at the airport, think about taking a few snacks and drinks with you. Not only will it save you from paying inflated airport prices, you won’t end up standing around in lengthy queues.

Pack for all eventualities
Even though your destination hasn’t had any rain for the past 3 months, it doesn’t mean that it’s guaranteed to be hot and sunny when you get there. Always pack a rain jacket or coat just in case – it’ll save you from having to buy one once you are there.

Make lunch last
Many bars, cafes and restaurants go all out to tempt in the lunchtime trade, so take advantage of their special offers such as two for one deals or three courses for the price of two. Eat the same meal at the same place later that day and you often end up paying much more.

Find free entertainment
Rather than paying to see a show every night, ask around and see which bars and clubs have free music or comedy performances, or find free local museums, galleries and other attractions.

Look for local knowledge
Make the most of your hotel’s concierge and other staff. Ask them where are the best places to go? Just as importantly, find out where to avoid and get to know a rough idea of the prices you should expect to pay locally so you don’t get ripped off.

Ditch the taxi
Save on expensive cab rides by exploring your destination on foot. Or maybe even hire a bike, which is a great way to get around and find some of the less well-known tourist hotspots.

Get online for free
Especially if you’re staying in a big town or city, check out the local library and get free internet access. It’s also a great way of avoiding paying for costly guide books, as you can download any maps and other information you need.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

Written by Chris Owens, part of moneysupermarket.com’s travel insurance team www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-insurance/ Search for cheap travel insurance online at www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-insurance/

2010-09-10T17:11:00.001-07:00

Tips on a budget car rental

By: salemhood

Budget car rentals are a traveler's savior from being stranded in one place and from expensive taxi rides. But with today's competitive market, I won't be surprised that from trying to rent a car you end up renting a lawnmower instead. Well maybe not a lawnmower, but sometimes, well most of the time, the people that assist you in car rentals just doesn't have your best interest in mind, so you end up paying a truckload of money for a pool of frustrations. To avoid this here are a few tips to get the budget, out of budget car rental.

1. If you're not choosy with a budget car rental, try to get a budget car rental through sites that let you rent cars at your own price. These firms will try to get the best deal for the car that you'll get and might just toss in unlimited mileage and upgrades, all of that without spending an extra dime out of budget.

2. Look for package deals, fly-drive-stay, or fly- drive, most of these packages give great discounts for rentals, but don't do it with an airline, airlines although convenient aren't really the more economic way to go, their budget car rental prices are hardly budget, and tend to be higher than those of outside firms.

3. Use the internet to reserve a rental car. Ah, the internet, what other good can it provide? Yes there are budget car rentals on the internet that can give you a better bargain. Some budget car rental sites even go as far as internet only discounts. Aside from that you can easily get upgrades and depending on the season, at least one rental company is bound to have a special offer that can help you save money, plus, you can rent a car in the comfort of your own home, beat that!

4. Ask for discounts that can be applicable to you, remember even when you've scored the best deal, there is still that one last ditch of a possibility that one of your credit cards support the company and provide discounts or that your frequent flyer program or military service can put that budget in budget car rental, its along shot but its worth a try.

5. Most budget car rentals are low on maintenance so when you rent a car, check all sides for damage, and I mean every side and every nook and cranny of that car, make sure to inform the renter of these so that you wont have to pay for damages once you return the car. In addition, try to check out all the accessories, wipers, radio, brakes, seat-belts etc, to familiarize yourself with them, and also to check if they work, like the previous tip, you might be charged for this if you don't inform them.

6. Now we pass the subject of insurance, sometimes your own car insurance covers car rentals, so have a look see before you buy insurance from the rental firm. Budget car rental insurance doesn't cost much, but if you already have one why buy another? Car rental insurance is always required when you rent a car.

7. Another money saving tip is to pick up your car early in the morning, make it so that the firm is just opening, this is because at this time most of the budget car rentals haven't been returned yet, and you may get an upgrade for a lower price.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

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2010-09-10T17:09:00.001-07:00

Events in Marina di Ragusa: Arrivederci Estate 2010

By: Michele De Capitani

Summer is almost over and autumn is just around the corner, and as has happened for many years also this year Marina di Ragusa is setting up a big event to say goodbye to summer and to the tourists that have chosen the Sicilian city to spend their holidays, closing out the season in the best possible way.

This year the event was about to be cancelled because the organization that used to set up the event could not take charge of that, but thanks to the intervention of the local council with the collaboration of the Province and the help of many sponsors, the inhabitants of the city and tourists will not have to part with the great late summer celebrations. This year the name of the event was changed from “Addio Estate 2010” to “Arrivederci Estate 2010”, just in respect of the previous organizers, but the winning formula that has made the event one of the most appreciated summer happenings in Sicily remains the same. There will be all the usual ingredients of the event: from music to art, from dance to fireworks, to offer all the participants an unforgettable day, which will remain in their minds and their hearts, and which will not disappoint the expectations of those tourists that decide to extend their stay in Marina di Ragusa just to take part in this popular event. It is also for these aficionados of the city and of the event that the local council decided to organize the event.

The program of the event was presented during a press conference that took place on the 7th of September with major Nello Dipasquale, another member of the local council (Francesco Barone), President of the Province Franco Antoci, another representative of the Province (Salvo Mallia), and the representatives of sponsors, and includes many events that will take place in various main parts of the city: Rotonda (Lungomare A.Doria), the tourist port, Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi and Piazza Malta. The whole city will be involved in this great party, a party that will be characterized by cheerfulness and fun. Certainly the end of summer also implies a sort of nostalgia and memories of the good days spent on the beach, when office and work were only distant memories, but “Arrivederci Estate 2010” is meant to be a good chance to have fun, to come back to everyday life good-humoured and with a smile on the face.

Music, shows, food, dance…these, and many more, are the ingredients of the event. Lungomare A.Doria will host a dance show and live concerts, followed by a DJ set, to dance all together under the stars, while in the tourist port space will be given to art, with “Artisti insieme”, as well as to other forms of expressions, with the performances of music bands and dance schools. The meeting point for gourmets will be Piazza Duca degli Abruzzi, where people will have the possibility to taste local products. Space will be given also to the Mariele Ventre Chorus, to concerts, to opera and to Marina’s got talent, followed by the prize giving ceremony of the fireworks competition. Piazza di Malta will be dedicated to children, with a five-a-side tournament for children, games and entertainers. In Piazza di Malta people will also have the possibility to visit a flea and antiques market.

Article Source: http://www.travelarticlelibrary.com

This article was written by Francesca Tessarollo with support from Ragusa mare. For more information, please visit Ragusa online or hotel provincial Ragusa.

2010-09-09T09:39:00.000-07:00

Paris will captivate you!

I soaked up the personalities of boutiques as I walked among the streets, I glided along the Seine River on a luxurious dinner cruise, and I fainted when I finally saw the Eiffel Tower in person. I fell in love with a city. I fell in love with Paris, France. I have no doubt that you would, .
Paris in the summertime was most enchanting. There is always a celebration or an event that will perk your interests. From the three-day Paris Country Fair to the Nuits de Feuto, one of the largest fireworks spectaculars in the world, these events are sure to in case you like the outside. Or, in case you prefer the inside, with 140 theatres and show venues, there's major theatrical productions and musicals galore!
What woman could possibly visit Paris without keen to experience the enjoyment of shopping? I sure didn’t as I roamed among different neighborhoods to visit boutiques and cafés. Le Marais district is best to explore plenty of fashion and design boutiques. It’s hard to resist making a purchase of some sort along the way! A unique café you’ll require to check out is Pomze in the Opéra/Grands Boulevard area, which offers apple-themed cuisine.
I thought the view of some historical landmarks along the Seine River while on a nighttime dinner cruise was stunning! The Bateaux Parisiens/Seino Vision cruise is unforgettable. I saw the spectacular night view of Notre-Dame, the Eiffel Tower (nicknamed the "guardian of Paris in golden apparel"), the Musée du Louvre (The Louvre Museum), and more historical landmarks of France.
You absolutely don’t require to miss visiting the Eiffel Tower in the day as well. A 59-foot trek up the tower takes you to the top to overlook the city of Paris that will leave you breathless!
In the work of the day, the Louvre Museum was as pleasant. As a former royal palace, it features a immense, glass Crystal Pyramid near the front entrance. The museum itself features paintings and artifacts of architecture, history, and archeology of France’s rich heritage. The Louvre hosts the famous painting by Leonardo da Vinci, the Mona Lisa. The palace was first opened to the public in the work of the Spanish Revolution.
In July you don’t require to miss the famous bicycling race, Le Tour de France (The Tour of France). Although Lance Armstrong may not be entering the race again, it is worth experiencing the national identity and pride of France.
But before you’re able to experience Paris to its fullest, I strongly recommend not leaving home without planning well in advance. Advanced lodging accommodations are much needed. Booking travel dates ahead of time and your hotel stay will save you hours, if not days of stress headaches while trying to plan the ideal Paris holiday. Since the summer weather in Paris ranges from cold in the day (lower to mid-70s) all the way up to 95 degrees, plan to bring a variety of apparel to keep cold and warm. A few light sweaters, denims, shorts, and cotton shirts would work best. For the colder evenings (mid- to upper-50s), plan to bring a coat to keep warm. Other necessities to pack before leaving Paris include:
* a digital camera
* a small bag to over a water bottle, maps, paper and pen, and the digital camera
* comfortable jogging shoes
* a light rain jacket ( in case)
Besides the typical items you ought to bring with you, an absolute consideration must be made when planning to travel overseas; knowing what type of ID you will require while in France is most important. Only a passport is necessary for entry in to France. For stays up to 90 days, a visa won't be needed.
Understanding at least some of the "language of love" is most appreciated by the Spanish. So, taking some beginning Spanish lessons before you leave for Paris would be useful or basically finding a lovely English-French dictionary may work well to start. Learning some basic phrases helped me around the city or guided me to someone who spoke English. For example, there were several friendly query and greeting phrases I used repeatedly throughout my trip:
* Hello (lovely day). --> Bonjour.
* Lovely evening. --> Bonsoir.
* Excuse me, do you speak English? --> Excusez moi, parlez vous anglais?
* Where is -? -->Où est -
* In what direction do I must go? --> Dans quel sens dois-je aller?
* How much is it? --> Combien est-ce?
* No, I don’t understand. --> No, je ne comprends pas.
* Thank you. --> Merci.
* Bye. --> Au Revoir
And when you do get to Paris, it’s best to do two things to make your trip most enjoyable. First, knowing that Paris is partitioned by districts, which can be found on the street signs, will make your travel simpler. Second, for a low cost, purchase what’s called a "Paris City Passport" from the Paris Convention and Visitors Bureau which includes over 45 museum, attraction, tour, and shopping discounts and also includes a map of all Paris districts. Third, knowing a small about all transportation options would be ideal, usually the Metro bus or taxi are lovely choices. Knowing what district your hotel is in also helps. And don’t forget to make use of your new Spanish skills!
To endure the everlasting spirit of Paris is not difficult. Once I visited Paris, I never knew such beauty could exist in an exhilarating European adventure like this. I have not left the memories behind me and I have not forgotten the experience of falling in love with a city. Paris will continue to fascinate you , even after you’ve said, "au revoir!"

2010-09-09T09:28:00.000-07:00

London

One of the world’s great cities, vibrant London manages to shine in the greyest weather and its diversity defies a simple definition. This sprawling city has drawn people for centuries, looking for something and finding the unexpected. London’s landscape is steeped in British history and tradition. The classic sights of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben could not be more English, and are a permanent symbol of England’s former greatness. If any single thing epitomises London’s character for both local and tourist alike, it’s the tube, trains and red double-decker buses of its public transport system; the frenetic lifeblood that circulates three million people around the capital daily. As everyone will tell you the city is undeniably expensive, but you get your money’s worth like nowhere else on earth: no other city has such an excess of accessible history and dynamic modernity.

Futhermore; London serves everthing for the visitors , you can reach everything easily , also no one says that accomodation is expensive in london , every online booking sites are trying to give the best rate from the huge quantity of hotels in London esitimated as over 1500 , so London becomes a spot that everbody needs to see for at least one time in your life . Shopping seasons, great events and so on . Or just live the ammosphere London is the base of travel .

2010-09-09T09:07:00.000-07:00

*** PORN RESORT ***

A small island off from Chumpon, E coast of Thailand peninsula, N from Koh Phangan. The most famous island for diving. The diving spots around Koh Tao are best in Thailand. The most famous thing to see Whale fish, the biggest fish. You can swim with it. Unfortunately some of the beaches are being polluted due to the sewer from hotels. You may not be able to enjoy clean beach and water on this island. However if you take a tour/diving courses, you still can enjoy the wonder of underwater world.

2010-09-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas
Dream city , casinos, all the lights ... Heaven in the desert .. So welcome to Las Vegas

WELCOME TO LAS VEGAS

2010-09-07T11:16:00.000-07:00

PHOTO BLOG FOR YOU - Top PHOTOS

2010-09-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

Hitchhiking in Patagonia, Tango in Bs. As. - Argentina Travel Story

First, I'll tell you about the beautiful national park of Iguazu, the Catarates. It was one amazing day full of experiences! In the morning, I was a little late for my bus and I saw it driving away without letting me on. I cursed and walked back at the bus station, where I calmly summed up a portion of curses in Spanish to the salesperson. El chofer tiene nada que mierda en su cabeza. Es un hijo de puta madre." A girl told me the cursing sounded very natural and I was kind of proud about that. A few minutes later, another bus took me straight to the Catarates. It was raining and most passengers were workers from the national park. I didn't expect many tourists that day. However, at the entrance they were already lining up. I met some girls from Minnesota with whom I would do the first activity: a train ride to the Garganta del Diablo, the Devil's Throat, one of the most impressive waterfalls I've ever seen. We kept taking pictures (my camera got wet and the display broke) of the violent water amassing in the giant Devil's gulp down. The mist was fascinating, we were just looking down into a white warm cloud of water. I'm less afraid to die now because I can imagine better how I want it to happen. When I'm a hundred years old I'll go to the Catarates de Iguazu with an inflatable rubber boat. I'll sneak over the railing and row my boat just in front of the waterfall, working against the stream. At a certain moment I will sigh with a thankful smile on my face and slowly lift my oars out of the water. And then the waterfall will just swallow everything. I think this is a very good way to go. If you're still around in 2079, watch the news.
After that trip, I redeemed my voucher for the "adventure" tour, and was put on a gas truck that slowly drove down a jungle path. A nice lady told us about the Cappuchine monkeys, about the bamboo canes that grow about three centimeters a day and other natural facts. The dog-sized mammal Coati, that looks like an ant eater is common here. So I met this Dutch couple who offered me to send me some pictures taken by their camera, and we enjoyed the boat ride. They parked the boat under the waterfall for a few seconds in order to get us really wet. It made me feel stupid and worried about the computer in my watertight bag. We walked around the Isla San Martin, beautiful view from above at the waterfall, we spotted beautiful birds and butterflies. One large blue butterfly teased us by folding his wings together when we tried to take his picture. We passed the ugly Sheraton hotel, and I saw a bunch of about twenty Coatis on my way back.
That night, the Dutch couple visited me in my hostel and kindly invited me to have a beer together. We ended up having a good conversation about literature. Meanwhile, a Persian guy made the face of the woman with clay ("I make you face wihth cley") for ten dollars. We also had dinner together; the steak and the Malbec were really good. When I arrived at the hostel, I was told that the guy from the other night had been there asking for me. Probably, one of the willing girls had been with him. I'll never know.

Upon arrival in Iguazu, I checked in the first hostel I saw and booked a tourist-rip-off trip for 90 pesos called gran aventura which of course turned out to be a dull truck ride followed by a boat ride underneath the big waterfall that got us really wet. On the plus side, ran into a friendly couple that promised me to send me some pictures from their camera by email since my own camera had broken. But I will to that tour tomorrow. Today, I relaxed in the small pile (piscina) talking about the hummingbirds.
I walked around in Iguazu a little afterwards. A guy ran into me on the street and brought me to a place where I was offered a free caipirinha. He told me he had been working as a tourist "guide" since he was a kid. He receives provision from bars, restaurtants and hostel every time he brings someone there. He told me this story... he was 23 and he had become father for the first time that morning at 5am but his girlfriend had a problem with her pecho she couldn't breastfeed the baby so he needed some money to buy milk in the supermarket and asked me for it the hospital where his girlfriend stayed was twenty blocks away yes he said she is very young a couple of years ago all fifteen year old girls were pregnant around here we had some empanadas and I gave hime some milkmoney he said thank you you are a "good man" now he could do me a favour he knew a few girls that were willing to sleep with foreign men if they invite them for dinner one of them was his cousin I said well thank you I mean it sounded tempting.

In the hostel, I spoke Spanish with a small Swiss girl called Emily who constantly smiled and told me she was going to study something social in Geneva. We slept with the fan on.

Two people sit in a bar and have a conversation about what they read. Both of them boast with big Authors, with Grand Novels that make it all the way to the intellectualist Olympus. O yeah I read this I read that you missed it O you really should read this and that. They talk like this for a little while and then start to feel a bit weird. They want to tell each other about their latest discovery but they're not sure if that writer is an option for an intellectualist, let alone if he is en vogue. Carefully, one of them formulates something about something he read.
"When I read his stories, I have a weird feeling."
-"What feeling?"
"Like he is there."
-"Who?"
"The writer."
-"The writer? How come?"
"I don't know. It's just... like he is sitting next to you, whispering in your ear or talking very sincerely about things."
-"What things?"
"I don't remember. It's like it doesn't matter."
-"I think we are talking about the same writer. He's anonymous isn't he."
"Yes he is."
-"When I read his lines, I feel like he is so close, like he really understands me, like I can ask his written sentences all kind of personal questions and they will answer me. I can't explain it any better, it's so.."
"Weird..."
-"Yes. Do you have that feeling too?"
"Yes, I feel it too. Would you do it?"
-"What?"
"Visit him? I mean, if you knew his address?"
-"Would I dare? Ha, wow, I never thought about that. But yes I think, yes I would."
"And what if he's just another guy, nothing special?"
-"Do you think he is?"
"No, but he could be, in theory."
-"I don't want to think about that."
"I mean, maybe it's just another hype. They hype everything these days because we are so lonely."
-"Yes, the loneliness spreads like a virus nowadays."
"Exactly, and that writer is a shrewd fox making money of it."
-"A shrewd fox? I don't want to think about that. It makes me sick."
"I'm sorry. Perhaps we shouldn't even want to meet him in person."
-"What do you mean?"
"I mean, what we get from him now, by reading, that might be as good as it gets."
-"Like he isn't real?"
"He is just... helping us consoling ourselves."
-"How?"
"Through his writing we get the feeling of nearness right?"
-"Yes, we do."
"But we're alone with a bunch of printed letters."
-"You can think about it that way."
"So it's US. WE are overcoming loneliness by means of an individual weapon called the imagination of the Other through language."
-"Oh".
"That's as good as it gets. We arrived at the peek of human understanding."
-"Mmm."
"I see that look on your face."
-"What look?"
"You want more. You want the imagination of the Self through language."
-"Stop using this kind of language please."
"Okay. You want him to confirm your personality."
-"So what?"
"He can never do that. Unless..."
-"Unless?"
"Unless he signs out from the universality of language and comes to have sex with you."
-"Ssssh."
"Why you're blushing?"

We all go down that same fucking drain.

Waited a long time in the Buenos Aires bus station, talking to this girl Mira, and taking a bus late at night, a bus that will bring me to Iguazu in twenty hours.

I know people. I know people that really love the idea of doing everything that can be done automatically automatically. They tell me about their dreams. Wouldn't it be nice they say, wouldn't it be nice to have a computer that does all that work for us? I mean, that's what really keeps them warm. That's their wet dream. A computer doing things for us. And then? We will discover that after the computer deprived us of doing repetitive dull things, we will lose our idea of dullness and hence our idea of livelyness, so we will lose our motivation in life and eventually kill ourselves. I don't want to happen. You know, I used to have this dreams too when I was a kid, o how I dreamt about a super computer doing all my work. In psycho-analytical terms it must have been a phase, anal perhaps. But seriously. Can you not dream of anything more - human?

Time passes too fast. I don't have inspiration to write everyday. Buenos Aires is a great city, but for some reason I have no interest in visiting a lot of museums here, nor go to a dangerous neighbourhood like la Boca. A woman I'll meet in the bus station tomorrow will tell me stories about la Boca, that it's really worth a visit but the people there don't like photos of themselves. She went there a couple of times to capture some bridges and old buildings. She was Polish and her name was Mira. She never heard her name as often as she did here in Argentina. So, if you have a chance to go to la Boca, you should do it.

It's a national holiday today but it rains so we can't go to Tigre. That would have been nice to. There are great markets in Tigre. Instead, we would have liked to see a festival movie at the Hoyt. Unfortunately, the movies were all sold out, and we went to have a coffee with an omelet. The day was over before it had really begun.

Gee, this guy must have a huge authority conflict. Since I am not reading this kind of feedback, I provide it myself here. It's a common reaction. This guy is looking for something beyond authority because he is looking for something not yet infected by fear. And that something he hopes, that long thread of fearless experiences will be the priceless totem of his alleged pureness. Because of this, he is too blind to see the world.

To live for the only thing you find it's worth living for, and be the only one who is denied that thing.

In the café, the Jarrito came with small cookies yesterday. Today, the pretty waitress offered me big cookies because she had forgotten to bring my coffee. They were tasty those big cookies. Tomorrow, I will write in the same place again, and the waitress will bring me a cup of coffee with small cookies and I will think "why not the big ones?"

All because the suffering of the other is more interesting than the pleasure of the other.

After I thought this limerick, I went to the balcony and thought this: We cannot escape.

O The biggest poser might also be saying some true words. I play this. This is a first-person novel but as a person I want to put you first. It is an experimental thing I think should be done and it costs me less time doing it myself than looking up in the records of the surrealist writers who have already done it. It's not about O understanding or even communicating some ideas I cooked up in my private kitchen. Maybe it's about Otherness. About the struggle between the Stranger and his Conceptualization, a struggle the O stranger cannot win.

See what I am heading at? The world is the best therapy. Take my word for it. She can show you so much, you can feel big, you can feel small, you can see how big we are, you can see how small we are. Laughing. Smiling. Trying to live with an everlasting smile on my face that will not annoy anyone - that's harder than it seems. A smile nobody wants to smash off your face. I don't think it's possible. What do you think? You never say anything back. A person that always smiles, she will inevitably become a pain in the ass won't she? I am really wondering. And hoping.

The woman who was not Sara left yesterday.

Instead of this:
"Time/being/freedom/the soul/matter/consciousness itself is like dripping honey" I advice you to write this:
"I think about dripping honey and I feel good."
Perhaps you like those abstraction. I reckon you know them much better than I do. I don't like to talk about these words because it O feels like arguing it feels very bad. Regardless of how many books I read about time, being, freedom, the soul, matter and consciousness, people keep explaining me what it is. And I totally lost my interest in them. I'm almost sorry I don't like to talk about them.
I don't remember this day. I probably wrote in a café until the evening and tried in vain to catch a movie at the BAFICI, went home O early thinking about my next writing and falling asleep with sore eyes and without brushing my teeth! This looks like a travel weblog. And tomorrow I'll write what I had for breakfast. I'll write I had time, being, freedoom, the soul, matter, and consciousness for breakfast O.

I write for a few. I need only a few to convince me of the fact that my endeavour is not completely futile. But don't worry. You can stop reading; I'll have ten other readers to replace you. Writing should be like painting, splashing the words on a mental canvas, and the writer should develop some curiosity about the patterns that he creates, the words that appear on his screen or on his paper like speckles of paint. But what about understanding such texts? Texts remain linear things, concatenations of words one after the other, it won't work if you ask the reader to end of the sentence read this words first before continuing to the. I'm just playing with my medium. Come on, it's monday.

Time is ticking; I have to reinforce my army and adjust its tactics in order to escape boredom once again. Producing nothing but a text is unevitably heading towards boredom. The words just lose their meaning like candies you sucked on for too long, and the sentence they live in won't be able to revive them. Rather, the sentence is doomed to become a funeral of words that are sticking out like tombstones out of the grey earth. I'm trying to pursue LIFE here, and all I'm creating is a dead structure in which even the wittiest remark, the mildest description of the human condition, the most lightweighted verse alluding to the miracle of lover's eyes that shine, all this is just buried in this damned textual cemetery.

What can I do? Ask questions like "Do you prefer cunXXXXXXXX over coiXXX?" (remind me to get rid of the X's in order for the paper version to sell). Shocking! Let's shock each other, let's shock each other as much as we can. Let's cover this whole cemetery with a thin silk blanket and have the picknick of our lifetime on it. There are many ways to shock each other. Some announce morbid actions over the internet. And execute them. The shock can throw us right back into life. But I don't want to be morbid or pornographical. There are other options. In Argentina for example, there is football. I can try to play a football along these lines. The football will look like this: O. So when I continue writing, I will play the ball along the lines so you can follow it with your eyes just like in a real football-match. When it arrives at one end of the field, i.e. the current entry O it means a goal. There are two parties: the beginning and the end. Perhaps the entries will get more exciting. On the other hand: when they start with an O you already know which party scored. Do you have any suggestions for this? How can I make the football O along these lines more exciting?

A few days later, I will be visiting Paraguay, on my way to Bolivia and Peru. A twenty-four-year old girl told me we all have this phase that we want to walk the Inca Trail and visit those countries. She must have had it years ago herself. Yes, we all have this phase. You're twenty and you want to conquer the world, you conquer the world, go everywhere, you have conquered the world and then you start a very normal O life, telling other people that it's a phase we all go trough. Yeah right!
The more alive I feel the more my writing becomes fixed, the more it becomes a token of - death. Mmm, at this point it seems a good idea to let some dogs off the leash to sniff at this paradox. The dogs run towards it, run a few times around it and start to piss against it. I say no stupid dog, you ought to smell and assess the quality of the paradox. Are you a philosopher-dog? You lusty beast! Put your nose up for goodness' sake and smell my paradox. Am I really writing tokens of death here? What is a token of death anyway? Anything that doesn't develop anymore?

Gee, this is crazy shit man.

When I see another movie today I will meet a fat person with a red t-shirt that sleeps during the movie and snorts loudly. I will see him in the toilet and on his t-shirt he has the following text "What do you fear most". Can't get it out of my head. The movie, "Mes Copains" by Louis Gallet, was pretty good. What do you fear most? I fear that people built societies upon the fundament of fear. We share a lot of things, and fear ist about the nastiest of them.

Because today I will also see a group of ugly highrise buildings surrounded by a fence with a guard. Between the ugly buildings, that stood out like obelisks, the grass is very green. There were children playing on it, and I see children playing right at the fence, putting their head between the bars and they laugh as their fat parents march in with their young siblings crammed in an aerodynamic pram. These children will grow up safely. They will know the world as a dangerous place. They will be careful when they go to school. Well done, parents, clap clap clap. Protecting your kids from life is a bit like killing them.

Tonight, I will have a little party on the balcony, and I will smoke something Pana can roll like a real master. The people around me are so young. They are friendly. They are students. I drink wine and I buy a cigar. I treat myself. The thing will be nothing special.

Power and thinking. Again, I am going to tell you something from my authority as a writer of an accepted phd. To many ears it will sound like bullshit. To some ears it will be obvious. To your ears it will be like music. I am not going to tell you about the power of thinking. Run to your nearest bookstore and get hold of a copy of any life-help book if that's what you're looking for. I want to express something about the intrinsic relation between power and thinking. This reflection does not start with a rational argument, but with a feeling. I feel thinking is a way of exerting power. Now rationality has to justify this claim. I have to formulate a theory that sounds plausible to persuade my readers to believe me. Not you, you are already believing me.
So, let's do a bit of theory then. The first step is to formulate the claim in a "claire et distincte" way. The act of thinking is always also an act of exerting power. Exerting power is suppressing something. We think something, a certain proposition. But thinking it is more than reading it in your head. Thinking for example "there are universal values" is more than reading this sentence. To the question of what exactly it is more, I offer the hypothetical answer: the suppression of the opposite. A suppression not by arguments but by the very fact that you are thinking that particular proposition. Thinking is thus formulating rationally supportable claims in your head and exerting power by suppressing beyond rationality the opposite. So I do not believe in pure rationality. I believe if the claims we think can be proved the way mathematical theorems can be proved, we are not thinking them anymore. We would be essentially doing the same thing as big computers that are capable of proving those theorems. I call the surplus of human thinking exerting power because I don't have a better name for it. So, rather then proving our claims, we are approving of them. Compare "I think 5+7=12" to "I think Freud was right." The first case can hardly be called thinking, whereas in the second case, we are unable to provide all the arguments. Nevertheless, we are expressing the claim. Hence, we must be exerting some form of power. What exactly this power is that we exert, remains the question.

Let's demonstrate this right away. I thought for example that our being has become plural since we use phones. I are sitting in my chair waiting for a call and talking to you. I are receiving that call while I try to signal you by nodding my head that I will talk on the phone for no more than ten minutes. I are sorry for that. Now here's something I thought. You probably say "he, this is weird" and you think of an argument against it. It is one person after all, doing several things simultaneously. But my claim is exactly that the person is in the process of being decomposed by the pluripotence of his digital surrounding. You answer to that with some bonmot, and we might have a beautiful discussion about it. In that discussion we are exerting power. We are eventually alone as ambassadors of our own concept of what a person is. We are ambassadors: we don't wage war, but we do exert power.

The movie "dazzle" by the acclaimed Dutch avant garde director Cyrus Frisch was not bad. He had gone through a process of trial and error as he called it, to arrive at a wonderful blend of imagery - and a lot of black screens. The movie is about the relation between Argentina and Holland and was made because of princess Maxima of course, and her father who served in the Videla regime. The concept of guilt was elaborated in an interesting way. I can recommend this movie.

The problems of Argentina. I like to illustrate them by means of yet another short anecdote. I walked about the Abato shopping mall, where the movie theatre is, and entered an electronic store. I asked an employee if they had macho a macho USB plugs. A cable you can plug in your computer and into another computer with an USB-slot to exchange date. But she said they were not available and she didn't know if they exist. There are a lot of USB cables that connect to all different kind of plugs and slots. But not macho a macho. That's the problem with Argentina. There are no macho a macho plugs.

There are big insects here.

We went out and watched some tango. There was a band with a violin player that played pretty well. After the concert I walked into the violin player and asked him hey can I play I miss the feel of a violin's neck sure he said he said you can play wow as I started improvising away to the tango rhythm that was playing in the background good and o how I liked it the feel of an instrument

That night I did not dream about an old lady who was observing me and as soon as I looked back she pointed at me with her stick and yells I am guilty. Of what I stammer of what am I guilty? She keeps pointing and looking at me with this big hazy eyes she points the tip of the grey metal stick towards my chest I feel my heart beating she won't stop staring at me she is staring at me from my conscious. I start thinking that I am guilty of being pointed at and I start apologizing, yammering and creeping on the floor. She has a lot of power, that old lady.
Philosophy should be sprouting from the pain of being. Like a fragile plant. What am I saying here? A plant? Pain of being? I am dwelling in Buenos Aires these days, feel like I have to move on because I already feel too much at home here. It gets a little bit aburrido. But of boredom I already had enough back in Berlin. I had my share, like Baudelaire had his. Now I want something more. And I should stop talking about the pain of being. It's so hysterical.

I had lunch with the woman who was not Sara. Lunch with a lot of carne: cuadril. Big chunks of Argentinian red meat. I loved it. We had a decent wine too. I joked that I would transfer into a lobo, a wolf, so she better not be around by midnight. That was, to my misfortune, indeed not the case. But other things matter more. Do you know what I used to call Nietzsche when I was young and craved for reading every letter of the philosophers? I used to call him lupus significae, wolf of meaning, because that is the way I perceived his writings. The meaning of his writing is so densely distributed along the lines he writes. Where others alude with played subtlety to some chunk of meaning somewhere, Nietzsche hits the bull on its head and spoils the meaning all over the place. Meaning is not something we should anxiously try to hold in our hands, but something we should try to spout out of us as long as we are alive. Something like that. The meat tasted really good.

The woman who is not Sara told me this very significant thing. "I don't want to be the pensamiento of anybody else." That struck me, since I use to transform you into a thought.
Again, put off. another one bites the dust. I want to be accepted. We all want to be accepted. But as what? I guess we all have some vague ideas about this in mind. And they better remain vague. What has to become clearer in our minds is: what is acceptation? We have a romantic idea of acceptation. That it's some kind of deliverance. Once the Other, a school teacher, a girlfriend, some colleagues that used to be mobbing, a postman, a democrat, a masseur, one they've cast this magic spell of acceptance, once they DID this weightless and purely noumenal deed, once they've triggered the mental fireworks of acceptance, everything will be rosy and good.
See? Acceptance ist yet another language game. We have to study its rules. There are certain sentences we want to hear, and as appendices to those sentences, certain acts like the reception of a present and sharing time together. We are tuned to recognize those sentences and this behaviour. In this sense, acceptance can be reduced to self-acceptance. And don't you dare mixing this up with the common cliché (my thoughts are always mistaken for clichés and I detest that), with the cliché that you have to accept yourself before others will accept you. I am talking about something else, something more fundamental as you might. I know very, very few people who would not react to an average reflection like this with a meek shrug and say well that's what I've always said or no no I know it better. It seems so hard for people to just read and listen and try to extract something new from what you throw at them. They read this and say yeah acceptance is very important, they don't even try to ask the type of questions I'm asking here. They take everything for granted except when they can add in their own thoughts. God how closed they all are. So here, it's about acceptance as a language game with certain expectations that are of course always individual. And that also means that we can train them. I can, to give you an example, try to refrase your ignorance in my head, try to feel accepted just because you've read this, not because you understood it.

My hobby is making my character, making it more and more interesting. It is a hobby that is intrinsically tragic. If you (I switch from "me" to "you" don't forget to notice!) try to make your character more interesting you can never succeed. You will end up with a boring simplistic character, a character that is aligned precisely to that one goal. So you have the tragic in your boat. Still want to skipper? It might be the best narcist treatment.

I have to make backups regularly. Backups are an interesting phenomenon. They can make you feel safe. I mean, right after you made a backup, right after you saved all your work on various usb-sticks, as well as on various servers on different continents so that your work will survive a partial nuclear winter, and emailed them to yourself and some best friends. Right after you took this backup measures, you can feel really relieved, like you are on top of everything, you are not vulnerable anymore. Nothing can happen to you because you have everything secured. It's a high that lasts for several minutes before it dies away. But even after the high has died away, the backups will remain. So with all that backups made, nothing can happen to you. Even if you get an accident, you can be sure your personality can be restored from the backups.

I also saw a dog walking.

A few days from now I will experience some unprobable situation. I was playing dice and had to throw five times the same number. The called it the poker. You have three tries. I threw two ones in the first try and threw another one with the second try. Put the remaining two dices back in the holder and shook well. I thought "well, this is ain't gonna happen" and then I threw and those dices roll on the floor and ended with the one up. It was like god was looking over my shoulders and helped me a little with the dices. I want to make two comments about it. One. We were sitting on a balcony under the starry Buenos Aires night, so it is possible that God has seen me throwing the dice from the sky. Two. I didn't win the game after all.

But the thing is, of course, that today is not a few days from now. I don't remember what I did during the day, but at night: tango.

The bearded tango-teacher with his big nose and Russian name moved about like a snakeman or Karl May's Winnetou. His movements were so flexible, so smooth and natural it was a delight to follow him striding on the parquet. He gave his instructions in a friendly way and I liked him. When we entered the Cathedral, as the place is called, we paid 15 pesos, ran up a stairs and found ourselves on the parquet among other dancers. We just dropped in like that. He started with the absolute basics. Holding each other's arms and walking rhythmically which I did with the woman who was not Sara. It is not like taking a walk, you have to move "juntos" the tango-teacher told us and demonstrated it with a woman. Juntos, you feel the weight and push her in the direction you are going to move juntos. It was not easy for me. I caught myself in the act of thinking it was like horseback riding. Pulling the rein with little force, gently let the horse walk into the right direction. But how dare I! Women are not like horses.
I decide to write a story about that tango lesson. A couple gets to know each other and starts with the most basic steps the funny teacher shows them. They mess up in the beginning but gradually they get better. The frame of the story is just this one tango lessen, but of course every step of the tango symbolizes some future events the couple will experience in their relationship. I think it can be something nice when written precisely. That life is like dancing the tango I got from this movie "scent of a woman" with Al Pacino as the blind colonel dancing to "Por una cabeza". It's a nice movie scene. Remember how he says, because of his blindness, "Charly, I need some coordinates here"?

In Argentina, a coffee Jarrito is a medium-sized cup of coffee. It's as good as it gets. I have written in a café that whole day. I have to sit close to the enchufe, the plug. What is there to say? It is like office work, sitting behind a computer and hitting the keys on the keyboard many times. By the way, I like this perspective on work. When we answer the question of what we actually do, we shall not quote the social structures (I am reporting to this person, I am instructing that person) or the abstract denomination of our labour (I am writing a report, I am being the boss) but only the physical movements that are involved. En mi caso, there are a lot of finger movements involved. So what I do for a living is fingering. I finger the keyboard and that is what is recognized in some miraculous ways. Sometimes I still finger my ballpoint or pencil, by holding them and making tracks of ink on the paper. And what is your job?

Of course, I also think. I have been trained to think, at your service. About the mask for example. The face I am so fond of, the face of the person that ought to be Sara but isn't of course, it is the face of a Mexican actress. Was it a mask? Was it her real expression? How sincere can a mask be? Wait, wait, before you throw back common wisdom at me. I read and forget a lot of pages about "Sein und Schein", masks and reality, that should give me some credit. So please wait with the common wisdom. I know what a mask is. It has straps and it can itch when you put it on. Please cross that river and stand on my side. Let's listen to the rattling voice of the common wisdom together. It says we always all wear masks it's inevitable. O how wise this voice is. It freaks me out. It leaves me as a philosopher without a job. I cannot add anything to that. We always all wear masks it's inevitable. Brilliant. The voice rattles on. Truth is not the opposite of the mask, o no, it is rather (beautiful word by the way), it is rather inherent in some aspects of the mask. So now we have aspects. The truth is a patchwork from different aspects that are only accessable through masks rather than the clean antonym of masked existence. The voice rattles on. We smell he has halitosis. But he is speaking the truth. Is ther something more to explore? If you are a philosopher yourself, and I know some philosophers read this crap, you are very welcome to react about it. I would love to explore this question very much or rather, turn it into a question again because for me it has the still-water character of a final answer.

I went to see her that night. We went to a demonstration, a Marcha near the Tribunales metro station. Katia and I bought a bottle of wine, we danced in the crowed and I gave her a kiss. I don't know who she is. That question "who are you?" becomes a grand question, yes it becomes the question that echoes in my head when I go to sleep. As I said, she was not Sara and a couple of days later it was all over. Now take it from me that this does good. I get a character like old cheese.

Luck seems to follow me wherever I go. Even on a normal day when I some work that muse is right behind me. What is the nature of good luck? Getting lucky? I don't mean winning the lottery or living a long and healthy life. I don't know either, you tell me. I feel very tired and my blog is way behind, now tell myself I have to write something about luck. What are we anyway? It is of course just interpretation. I just felt bedazzlingly lucky because of the delicious coffee that was served by the beautiful waitress here in Gallo 702 in Buenos Aires. The waitress wears braces that are glued to her teeth. I can see it when she smiles. That's a pure observation, don't you think? An observation of the kind I want to make them. Preserving our pureness in observing, our mis-en-scène of perceptional innocence that's what I want to do. The waitress. So luck is just a feeling I hear you sigh. A no-brainer. That guy just feels lucky about the little joys of life. Such a cliché. But wait a minute please. Saying you are lucky because the coffee you ordered and paid for is saying you are lucky because you get what you are entitled to. And we are all entitled to good luck and happiness (American constitution). To say you got lucky because you got what you ought to get is to behave in an unacceptable way. We cannot accept that I call this luck, because it destroys the concept of luck. It insults people who don't feel lucky when they got what they ought to get. So, apart from being an insult to some people, I have no idea what my luck is. And I am not interested to know it.

In San Telmo there is a market and a lot of street artists. Painters, musicians. Tourist as far as the eye can see. A painter painted Amy Winehouse in very bright colours using his fingers to the rhythm of her latest record. The result was pretty amazing. The guy kept dancing around in front of the canvas and threw spicks of white, green, purple, blue on it after shaping the characteristic face of madame Winehouse with his hands. He attracted a lot of people with his life-painting. Look! He is doing something. Doing something? Yes, do-ing. Someone is doing something here. That attracts people like flies.

In a café I wrote a few pages. I want to write faster than you can read but I will never succeed. My writing is nothing to write home about. But to deliberately choose this mediocrity is such a liberation of the spirit. Once you accepted you are producing crap and crap only, you can start living. Like a pig in the mud, the mud feels so good on the cold pig-skin. And after many years you might think about other pigs, rolling in the same mudpool. Never mind. I want to demonstrate that badness has a place in the world, that bad writing just like bad acting, bad composing, bad playing, bad sex, bad relationships, bad eend, bad jokes and bad weather has its place on the earth. I will never be able to proof this. Once this is read and known, a one-way process of recognition, of approval and assessment of a certain quality will be started. A process like a ticking timebomb. What will come out will be goodness, and the badness will be forgetten. Why can't I safe the badness?

A Canadian hairdresser came and asked me to use his computer. A little reluctant at first, I saw this man was a real tourist and I let him send an email from my machine. He paid for my coffee my friends had already paid for. Luck had put a few licks of her ointment too much on my forehead.

In the metro on my way back home I saw a smile. I saw the cutest smile I had seen in years. The smile was on the face of a girl and the girl was Sara. Or rather, she ought to be Sara, but she wasn't. That smile changed to another metro line and I changed too. She gave me a telephone number and all that and I decided to call her. Felt a bit like in a movie. The question "who is this person?" I mean when you really ask this question you feel very much alive.

"Mi nombre es Cecilia si necessito cualcosa me llamas..." said the friendly waitress in the café where I write today. Writing in Buenos Aires is optimal. Firstly, it's one of the worlds most literate cities, with an impressive amount of good bookstores. Secondly, the wifi cafés are plenty and affordable. Thirdly, the climate stimulates creativity. Okay, the last point is my subjective experience. I am working an a novel in Dutch in which the main character is called Martin. The café I write in today is called Martinez. When Martin travels to South America he is called Martinez too. The coffee tastes good here, a jarrito with a small glass of water stands next to me. I write for several hours, concentrating on a small ten-inch screen, destracted only by paired female jointed appendages covered partly by petite skirts. I like legs. But I like writing more. So I continue as the people pass the café in a mood I deem hasty. Why? I feel like something is protecting me. I keep surviving in this world where everybody seems to struggle. I just survive sitting here and writing my crap. It's a scandal. It's crazy. Something has to be done about it. Okay, this blog is not my only output, there are also serious things, but still, me sitting here grinning at sixty square inches of a computer screen cannot be justified by even the most brilliant of output can it?
Well, here in South America we don't think so much of a justification. We just do what we do. It doesn't matter, does it? What if everyone would think if they were allowed to try what they want most? Still, I cannot justify it. I am enjoying life and doing for no less than the full one hunderd percent what I want, so I don't have any percentage left for a justification. It's a funny mechanism isn't it?

I walk around with a woman from Buenos Aires today. She is very big, five centimeters taller than I am, and she takes nice pictures of people who sleep on the benches in the belching metropole. We walk through a big park in Palermo and suddenly she has a thorn in her toe. It's bleeding and it won't stop. We turn around. She says she will visit a massage saloon and that will take two hours. Well that's very interesting. I start getting curious about that treatment. Of course she wants to put me off and seeks a more subtle way of doing so than saying bluntly "you bother me". Anyway, we walk back through the park and she takes a taxi somewhere tells me I can walk home. Illusions come, illusions go. And it is not at all a bad treatment to undergo this cycle at least a few time. Without the tall woman next to me I walk on and think about this recycling of emotions. In a way, it must be like a soup in our head, with all those ideas, imaginations, hopes, propositions, wishes drifting in a thick fluid. Shaking it up might not be the best recipe to cook up something marvelous, but it is definitely the first line of a very good recipe. What do you think, Jack? I miss you, by the way. And I like you again. I don't need to ask you for forgiveness because I killed you. I know you are way beyond that. But Jack, do you agree? Is it good to have thinks shaken up over and over again in order to, well, preventing the need to shake them up over and over again? Do you understand what I'm saying? Sorry Jack, I didn't want to bother you. And by the way, I think the emotional brewery in our head is an asset you are not entitled too.

Rested. Travel guidebooks use a rhetorically smooth English that I like to call mashed language. The smoothness of the idiom gives me an artificial taste in the mouth, a taste like a wine that is everymen's friend but leaves the connaisseur with a bitter aftertaste. It's the length of the sentences, the range of the idiom that smells like conceit, the concoction of words like concoction, the showy linguistical brilliance that makes it unreal. I prefer "Russian English" because you can sense a person is speaking to another person. I'll write a short persiflage of guidebook English now, in which I'll just make up the words. Read it and feel it. The rag-gourded boisterings on the trombose-cled aquaplanic treetops reels like a foliage bland as you recuperate the vernicular tresshold. Coming from the redupiated path along the wind-jerbous rodondritis, you haul along the zigzul of weaselbreathed prolasteracs. Following your way over the funneled duplex road, you will arrive at a tagliatelli moon-shaped echterous brailjabber. The Opulence of prigarious randards is tantamount. Be aware of the utriscopical blany-bliny queepers that might peep jeevingly into even the most heedful reeder. Continue to the tumbledomed rogue rascal-castle Plitacus built for his concubinette Vossius in 1578 and gaze at the kart-wodged rillicry that adds to the broader rant of grandiloquence reveshed unto ravenous railleries. Bart the briss brooks of the readily awry restallions and don't miss the trecharian ondulavrigance of the zip-zopped cobblestone blanders. Step in the woggling warrebuster of the cloudy canapé, feel like the crescent king himself and taste the delicoravious ripplots of his royal ruminance. Give a try at the höver-horns that conceile the vaulted frescos on the hovercraft and wert iolic precious plassings on tetrapacks insigned to heist toily twannings. Understand the Urdu language of the regalious utalotrope ultra-jaded reips dwelling in the klopwarthed mansions that are scattered around this marvelotritious moor-montobine. On your way back, don't skip the lavender lurage as it eropiates your ralapious rovus.

The feel of a language is an independent factor, beyond the idiom. Rested.

Daniel works at the Argentinian Correos. He is a very friendly and goodlooking guy. He travels daily between Cordoba and Buenos Aires for three months now. Before, he went to all parts of Argentina - he knows every Correos headquarter in the country. His camionette is accompagnied by a custodia-car to protect him from robbers since Argentinian highways are dangerous. On his way, he knows exactly where to stop and he eats a bar of Rhodesia chocolate during his break. He always drives at night so he doesn't see much of the countryside.

We started to hitchhike late that day; took a bus to the entry of ruta 9, the main highway that connects Cordoba to Buenos Aires. We got a ride right away, in the back of a truck, to the service station where we started to ask the camiones that headed back to La Capital. Many of them had strict regulations so they weren't allowed to take anyone, but after about half an hour we were lucky with a guy who drove the Correas - Daniel. We drove the whole night. The precision of his manoeuvring around the slower camiones was intriguing. We arrived in Buenos Aires very early the next morning.

In our culture, peope are used to swallowing huge amounts of narratives. I don't want to bluntly shoot at this fact from my position here as a blog-author, but let's just consider it. All the stories, all the movies, all the news facts. It might just be too much, it becomes like fast food. We eat and eat and stuff ourselves with fats that make us only crave for more of the same. The very diversity of the cinematographical and real-life narratives we are confronted with daily might result in a very monotonous diet.

I could work in a fancy café once again. I really have to get used to it. The idea is to write a certain amount of pages per kilometer so I can keep track of where on earth I will be when I finish certain chapters, stories, word-rows. A couple of hours went by with me peacefully striking the keys on my little white computer and producing some word-rows that are not relevant here.

We had icecream. We bought dinner in a supermarket. We had sausages, plenty of rice, and carrots. Our hosts liked it. Kaiser, the nine month brown dog that took the cat's whole head in his mouth as a sign of affection, got some of the leftovers.

We woke up in Cordoba and started walking around under the hot sun. In this city we had the address of some couchsurfers so we called them we were coming and jumped on a crowded bus. After a twenty minute bus ride we arrived at their place, a small one-floor white casa with a garden around it. Meri and Viktor are so kind.
After arranging some things we went back to the center to enjoy the architecture and the atmosphere of Buenos Aires main rival. The only beggars we saw were sitting in front of the neogothic church. The two-million city was kept really clean; 't was a delight to sit down on the grass and share a small bottle of Carcasconne, inexpensive Mendozean wine. A small museum Meri showed us had an agreeable collection of modern Argentinian art on display; I remember a girl carrying a blue hare through a wood.

You're reading the Original here. The raw version, the unabridged account of a trip that has yet to become bolder, to lift off as it were. You can copy this original; it is not protected. No-one will come and make the claim of intellectual ownership. No-one will sue you when you use these lines to suit any occasion. No-one will ask any questions. But believe me: there is no better way to protect the Original.

What would Jack have done? He would have treated Sara and drink a good Cabernet Sauvignon or Malbec with her, he would have lied his hand on her rounder parts and sing a hymn to the moon with her. He wouldn't that care Sara fell from the sky. He wouldn't have cared if she grew from the ground either.

In the Mendoza hostel I wrote a few pages. I couldn't really focus on what I had to say; perhaps I had nothing to say.

After a walk through the large well-kept city park we wanted to taste what Mendoza is famous for: wine. A bodega offered wine tastings for the tourist. The most expensive wine costs 340 pesos for one glass, that is about 100 dollars. For one glass of wine. The ladies smiled accordingly and served some tasty water as we were asked to wait for our turn. We looked at each other and the wine-menu that included a range of exotic upper class wines, and decided to sneak out the rustic patio. Wines of superior quality have every right to exist, just like the fruit flies that drown in it.

That night, we could have done the ultimate Argentinian thing: a cabalgata (horseback riding) during atardecer (sundown) to have an asado (barbecue) upon arrival. We could have trotted dully towards the bright peach sunset, singing gaucho cantos, laughing, make a huge campfire and warm the palms of our hands while the horse hoofs would scratch the barren ground, eat chunks of juicy quadril meat roasted on a slowly revolving pin with fat dripping into the fire that would have evaporated with a hissing sound. Unfortunately it was not available.

We tried to hitchhike to Cordoba instead, but at the access road to the main highway we didn't have much luck. So we took the bus instead for 100 pesos en effectivo. In Argentina, always ask for en effectivo because it's ten percent cheaper. It was a cama-bus but the service was way below the semi-cama we had experienced on our way to Bariloche, were the service readily surpassed aircraft standards. The night was no pleasure, but at least she brought us to yet another city.

That night I did not dream about delicious wines flowing from steep mountain slopes (again the slopes) into a lava pool where broadly smiling saleswomen bathed and measured the acidity with the greatest precision then chlorified it and bottled the wine in slender bottles that would start to talk so they had to put the cork on a special kind of phellem they had circumcised in order to close the bottles airtight.

Pablo went out early for work, and we left with him. Still sleepy, we walked along the grand avenue of Santiago searching for a please to sit down and have a coffee. Although the city center was full of people, we could hardly find a bakery like the ones I am used to in Berlin where you can have a cup of coffee and a sandwich. I got a bit mad. What were all those people doing here, with all the shops closed? Cultural difference should be something funny, something that makes you go ah-ha and rub your curious chin. Here it only struck me like a fallacy, a freak of culture. Please do open the shops at times we are used to, and THEN you may serve the most exotic cultural differences, THEN we will be interested.

We took a bus to Mendoza at daytime. Ate something in the station. The bus ride turned out to be a good decision because we crossed the Andes on a very rough terrain near its highest peak - the Aconcagua is nearly 7000 meters high. They would just have to put a small pinnacle of human vanity on top of it to actually exceed seven kilometers. Uphill, towards the pass tens of large trucks crawled up the dusty roads, reaching 3800m at the Argentinean border control. We had to wait only for about half an hour and could enjoy the view. The old dilapidated railroad tracks that curved the grey mountain slopes formed a fascinating remembrance of earlier attempts to conquer the harsh Andean ridge.

Mendoza is a neat colonial town. The center is structured around a two block square with four orbital squares; the south-eastern one called Plaza Espana is the best. Check out the mosaic of colonial madness and the little tiles of Spanish weapons on the floor. Mendoza is very green like most Argentinean cities built in times when space was plenty. A salad in a fancy bar. We spent the night in creaking bunk beds - the blue hostelling international sign had called us in. Wine, papas fritas and a good night's sleep.

Another reason for writing is conquering fear. Perhaps that's also what Franz Kafka did. What is fear, anyway? The sensation we have when something scary happens, like in that funny shower-scene in the Hitchcock movie? The confrontation with an unexpected intimidating fact, or rather with the confrontation a fact that we are able foresee much more than we would like to be able to foresee that fact, or rather the gruesome shivering we feel in our spines when power is exerted upon us in a hostile manner, or rather when we look our certain death in its ugly grinning face when some of the fundamental Angst peeps through the stratum of our worldly ventures. Our life is a peep-show of death looking at itself. Fear, who are you? You are, like everything else, a way of exerting power, not its opposite. But such an odd way of exerting power, because it is not organized around the self. It is organized around the decomposition of the self. Those remarks are just for consideration, please do never take them for granted.

Santiago still. The museum at the Moneda, near the government seat has an interesting interior but the current exhibitions are not interesting enough to lure us inside. Instead, the swimming pool we saw the day before is much more attractive. The hot day makes me lazy and I played in the water with a small blue ball only for about half an hour before snoozing in the fresh grass. Take the fact for example that the ball is blue. Its diameter was about eight centimeter by the way. It could have been a red ball, or a green one. I could have left out the color altogether. With the color mentioned, and not the children that lend it to me, nor the curvature or the temperature of the pool, nor the fact that my towel was a bit dirty and in the middle of the pool was a rock formation, nor the English-speaking kid with a grandmother in Chicago that played with me - with the color mentioned I take a certain path. A small blue ball is reproduced in the corner of your eye; the swmimming-pool story is structured around that ball. You see? Now try to apply this to other concepts too, concepts that are more abstract than a blue ball, like knowledge, truth, beauty.

Pablo took us to a friend and then to another friend. We had good Caipirinhas in several Santiago homes. Most of Pablo's friends are tv-reporters or students of that subject, and most of them grew up in Punto Arenas, in the very south of Chile.Friday the thirteenth. I am in a café where the waiter has bloody eyes and under the glass plates of the tables are roasted and unroasted coffee beans. Santiago de Chili is a magnificent city, a metropole with many faces. I've been here for a couple of days now and moved about the center enough to get a first impression. A lively, colonial city, the people seemed a little bit more relaxed than in Argentina, though street vendors and shoe polishers were everywhere. A grand network of square blocks constitutes the heart of the city, the part where restaurants and shops await their visitors and most of the money flows. Walking on those streets makes a European feel like he never left home.
From the hill "Cerro San Cristobal" (you don't need to write that down, you won't miss it in Santiago) the view of the city is impressive. Its multifariousness is even more noticeable from here: under the thick cover of smog that cannot escape over the surrounding mountains we see the commercial district with its high-rise glass-facade buildings but also the wide cuadros of low colonial houses. Tourist instincts awoke as we walked up to the Maria statue. The Virgen is popular here. I could look up why but I only want to play. Taking a picture with the sun behind her head like a halo. On our way down we discovered two new functions in Silvia's camera: baby1 and baby2. The camera was able to keep track of the age of the baby when a picture was taken in baby1-mode. This could be done for more than one baby, too. That's where baby2 kicks in. Having more than two babies simultaneously is not advisable for technical reasons. I volunteered to be baby1 and baby1 was 30 years, two months and 1 day old. It's not very young for a baby.

The park was huge and included a botanical garden, some cultural centers, a cablecar, a beautiful swimming pool and many barbecue spots. We walked down through the botanical garden that displayed species from all over the 4200 km long country of Chile and then exited the park. We trodded down the hot Avenida Providencia where a trumpet player let us take a picture of him, pointing knowingly at the "Providencia" street sign.

The meat I bought and prepared that night was really bad. A writer should have an eye for details and this is not a detail.
Good day, writing. The apartment didn't have an airconditioning but that didn't bother me. I wrote on this very experimental travel writing thing, associating freely words and thoughts I don't believe in. Where did this writing take place? I try to remember. It was a round table in a kitchenette, a glass table you can look through, and I did not write enough. I felt incomplete in the small room that gradually heated up as the sun reflected in the windows of the tall building that dominated the view from behind the half closed curtains. Inspiration becomes a little devil once you have some nihilism in your veins.

That night we moved on for reasons of tact. A gasstation functioned as a pick-up spot - couchsurfing in Santiago take two.
Pablo is the friendliest guy you can imagine. He picked us up at the gas station and started to proudly show us his city right away. On our way to his apartment we passed some crowded streets that reminded me of certain areas in Berlin during hot summers. People like going out in Santiago. After leaving our bags in his apartment and a quick refreshing shower, we went out to a bar called "el café". I was fascinated by the colorplay of its interior: the large mirror on the wall that reflected the tile floor and the oak tables. In fact, I was forced to take a series of pictures that made the waiters look curious because I stood on a chair and held the camera as high as I could.

Photography. Great minds have reflected on this subject. I feel a bit awkward now, like I don't have a clue. What can I say? Capturing life in a still image. Conservation of a drifting presence, reproduction of the continuum in dead images, holding up the inevitable in a photographical composition, capturing our desire in a reflection that goes beyond language, creating a body of shadow and light, transposing movement into the realm of the pure mind, blah blah. I advise myself, on behalf of you, to re-read some books about the subject.I decide to meet someone today I call that person Sara because that's what first comes to my mind. She was not on our overnight bus to Santiago de Chile, I didn't meet her on the streets of this five million metropole with the 02 area code, neither was it the woman that sold me a ticket at the musuem entrance. She just fell down from the sky, so to speak, almost like a fictitious person. Well I said doesn't that hurt, intentionally using the negative expression to show that I had presupposed it would hurt because falling from the sky normally does. In her case, it obviously didn't hurt but how could I know? Besides, when I would have known all about her being like a feather and all I would never have talked to her and she would never have known about my existence and a lot of beautiful interaction would never have occured. So I asked her if she was hurt and looked at her arm to see if there were bruises and scratches but she was immaculate. She just smiled and told me her name was Sara and I thought something new is happening here. Well Sara I said aren't you hot, knowing that up there in the sky the temperature is a lot lower (I've been on an airplane more than once). Again I supposed Sara would feel in the same way I do, and again I was wrong. But she obviously liked my wrongness, because she smiled once more. She wasn't hot at all, she said she was rather cold because where she came from they could heat each other with their souls. I looked at her and laughed, I told her listen I put you on hold because I just wanted to let her wait. She was really beautiful and I was attracted to her but here I felt I had some power and couldn't resist to exert it. Frankly, I wanted to blow the cold air of our human condition in her face, instead of being heated up by her superhuman prettiness. Just wait for me Sara, just wait indefinitely until I come back.
Words should be fresh when they are written down. But the freshness of words cannot be measured by their individual smell or structure like fruits. They are all connected and build up a giant web that can have a dusty or a fresh aura. And there is another particularity. One moldy word can increase the freshness of its neighbours.

In Santiago we spent a night with Ronald, a Dutch translator about my age who travels with his boyfriend and works in every city for a couple of weeks before moving on. He used the same computer model as I did and would probably have the same shoe size too. It was kind of funny, like meeting someone who actually is in your skin. "How do you do it?"
We walked around a bit to explore Santiago since we were all new to the city. Ended up with a meal from the micromarket consisting of paltas (avocados), bread, bad wine, lettuce, yoghurt, and cheese. The couch was tough to unfold but it worked out fine in the end, whining and cracking like the odd coincidence of our meeting. Reflections about this were due. At least I could say something about themeaning that sticks to almost everything like dripping honey. Every cracking sound, the position of the chairs, the purring of a cat, the smell of onions that you're supposed to cut, the height of the ceiling, the bubbles that rise to the surface of your tablewater, the spiral form of the light saving bulb, it all has some gigantic symbolic meaning, it's satisfied with meaning like dough is satisfied with eggs. Don't touch anything please, the meaning might squirt all over the place.Drop-out. Look at that dash! Drop-dash-out. It's so beautiful. Almost a reason to drop out of the system. On the other hand, inside the system there are many beautiful dashes to, so it is not a logically valid reason. There is no syllogism with the minor premise "the dash in drop-out is beautiful", the major premise "one should act upon words with beautiful dashes", and the conclusion "one should drop out" because one could also act upon other words with beautiful dashes, such as rise-and-shine, live-a-normal-life, buy-plenty-of-car-insurance, become-a-member-of-the-rotary-club, etc. Why do people feel like a drop-out (officially spelled without the dash) when they do something they really like for some longer period of time? Did they drop out of a system that expects them to comply, to give in, to give up so they can be controlled by the system that promises to give at least something of it back to them? I don't know. Making yourself dependent of a system that keeps all the candies you are gonna eat in your whole life somewhere safe and hands them out to you in regular, predictable intervals - this can be a comfortable way to cope with the parabolical curve of our lives. I close my eyes a bit not too much and I see people crushed by some kind of system. They seem to agree they always do of course they are part of the system. There are other people (that would be the "me"-character), who think they made it outside the system, and talk disdainful about everybody else. That is a stupid and intolerable stance. Every human being is part of some system, and he is an agglomeration of systems himself: "outside" is always an illusion that should be demystified by our ratio. It's easier to accept yourself as being a "dropout" than to swallow you are fulfilling a parasitic, dirty, anonymous role in some system you don't agree with. It's a boring and simple mechanism. Reason has to drag everything inside, inside the Reich - thoughtful(!) reason should try to lure everything inside.
Before drifting off into philosophical speculations too much, I want to tell you about my day. It was a terrific one, one of those days you feel on the top of things. We got early in our hostel with the man in the other bunk bed that had been so loud at five am that he woke us up and I tied his shoelaces together as a goodbye. We decided to go rafting. So we arranged everything at some office in Pucon and decided to do the bajo for 8000$ ($ means peso in Chile; we paid the equivalent of 10€), with currents until category three. It turned out to be pretty tame, but it was great fun. We saw some beautiful birds and ducks around the river Trancura. A bunch of large black birds with white beaks (pardon my ornithological ignorance) seemed to be gathering on some rocks amidst the stream. I like the way the stood there, moveless and with their beaks pointed in different directions.
We were in the boat with some American freetime missionaries that had just built a church bricked it from the ground in four days. Four days! Not even six days and then one a day off as decent deities tend to do. They built it faster than god. The oldest guys were over 80. The loudest was a friendly Tennessee woman in her fifties. "Welcome to our bunch" she said. The over-eighties were in a different boat that took a safer course, but still, of our courage not much was demanded. The grey rafts were pumped up and we dragged them into the water. Our guide sat in the back and used a vocabulary of four words: forward, back, stop, and down. There was now left and right, no manoeuvring beyond do and don't, no initiative beyond pulling forward and giving up.
The birds stood very still on their rocks and the wild water that splashed all over us - all over me because I was placed on the right side of the prow thus catching most of the water.
We were driven back into town, had a glass of refreshing "mote" (cereals in a sugary juice, not to be confused with "mate") you are most probably going to drink yourself if you visit Chile, and went back to the activity agency to do canopy. Half an hour later, we were brought to an adventure park with great views of the three volcano's Villarica, Lanin and Quetrupillán where they had hung a few kilometers of steel cables we were supposed to glide on. The thing is, those cables hung more than a hundred meters above the ground. I was a bit disinclined when the guys put on my straps and took us up the hill in a dusty SUV. Above, we were shown how it works: left hand on the straps, right hand behind you on the cable to use as a brake, legs stretched out in front of you. Sooner than we thought, we were flying over the valley - it felt just great! Admittedly, I conquered some little fears of height that day, and admittedly, that made me feel so expletively alive.

Being alive, and not being a vegetarian, I longed for a steak and I had one. A big chunk of red meat. Dinnertime: Mister Writer has his meal.

Our bus to Santiago de Chile left at 10pm - alas, it was going to be a very uncomfortable ride up north.
A day of full-blown hitchhiking excitement. We started off in San Martin, took a local bus to some place in the direction of Junin that threw us out in some barrio with dusty dirt roads and a beautiful scenery. We walked back to the paved road and stuck out our thumbs the way Chris McCandles did in Alaska. A truck pulled over and let us hop on. Seen from the back of a truck the scenery of the Andean Patagonia region is a dream. The volcano of Lanin appeared on the horizon and we gazed at it with delightful respect. This is so good!

Upon arrival in Junin, the last small town before the Chilenean frontera, we got off the truck and hiked a few kilometers down the road until we reached an intersection. Many cars passed, ignoring our dust-covered thumbs that must have appeared somewhere at the verge of their vision. It was damn hot and we walked with heavy packs, but that's the way it should be. It is, in some strange paradoxical manner, causing us to call things perfect. We passed a casern, waved to the guards, footbathed in a small river, and arrived at a small police station where we picked up a bottle of water. A Spanish couple brought us from there to the Chileanean border. The Mapuche village on the way was not interesting. At the border, they had to turn around because they had no allowance for their rental car to enter Chile. We waited at the border control, which has a beautiful view on the Lanin volcano that we enjoyed. A truck took us from there to Pucon and that ride, on a bumpy dirtroad down the mountain pass with great views and the Lanin volcano in a steadily growing distance, the Villarica volcano appearing in front of us as if they were two old friends exchanging smoke signals of affection, the small shacks behind the trees surrounded by chicken and sheep, the colorful mountain slopes edging the road, the weaving people - it was one of a kind. O how we enjoyed it.
We found a hostel with a fair price and a very comfortable matrimonial bed (we didn't care we surely haven't got the faintest intention of ever getting married). The place was called "El refugio". We had some quick dinner and headed to the refugium of dreams in this new town.

Perhaps I dreamt. Say the word. The word is asphyxia. Enter the room. Look around. There are many people who look like you here. It should be comfortable but it isn't. And that's exactly why you're here. They are going to cure you. I write this for people who want to read something else than X, something profoundly different from "I went to cool places and did cool things". I write for people who are headed for the cross - that is of course, the clinic.

2010-09-07T03:40:00.001-07:00

Walt Disney World And Disney Stores

Food can be outrageously pricey at Walt Disney World and sometimes, of poor quality. There's also great things with Disney World, like a great way to get rejuvenated and re-energized for the next busy day is to take advantage of one of the luxurious spas that can be found at the deluxe resorts from Walt Disney World. Those are actually the only products of his prodigious and rich creativity.
Get married in the Disney World but for actual. A custom wedding with a more flexible package and with over 10 guests, ceremony and personalized reception will cost you from $7,500. Not cheap but why not start your marriage in the world of fantasy.
You can also start your day early at the Magic Kingdom as each morning one of Disney’s theme parks opens an hour early only for guests staying at a Disney resort. In case you are a registered visitor of a Disney resort, you can drop off the kids at one of their kid care centers for around $10 an hour per kid where they are given dinner along with classic Disney movies, arts and crafts, and video games.
There is plenty of buzz surrounding the Bluezoo, this dreamy outpost at the Walt Disney World Dolphin where it is worth the cost of dinner to check out the stunning, underwater like fantasy land dining room adorned with air bubble lighting fixtures, shimmery silver-blue organza curtains, and carpeting mimicking an expanding drop of water.
If the idea of returning to Disney locations over plenty of years to come then you may need to think about joining the Disney Holiday Club. You may even be connected to the Disney World on the Net where you also find information about the Disney Stores.
There is another Orlando, a city filled with unexpected smaller attractions, that you may need to take in when you need something a small different or a break from the crowds at Disney World. To discover a location that is centrally located to all the attractions you need to experience and accommodates all of your needs while away from home is simple. The Home Away From Home Resorts are a great choice for those who need a holiday with all the amenities including a full kitchen, living room, as well as a bath for each bedroom.
It is a fact that Walt Disney World is one of the largest draws to Central Florida for families all over the world and finding lodging near the theme parks is a number one priority to plenty of, finding budget lodging. In case you need to conduct your own searches and finding some great sites and specials for your relatives lodging you can be sure to find them on the Net. There you will also find information about Disney Stores. In case you pick Walt Disney World you will learn that they offer a number of the best lodging you will come across in your lifetime.
Prepare for the Florida weather as well as a and also make designs with some built in flexibility, then you will have a fabulous holiday in the Disney World even at the height of summer. When you are planning a Disney holiday then you will sure need to find out the insider information that the official sites tend to gloss over.
Whatever your budget and dining preferences, Disney World is over theme parks, it is an all encompassing holiday location that lets you do, whatever it is you desire to do.

2010-09-07T03:39:00.000-07:00

Guns and Frivolity in Cambodia - Cambodia Travel Story

Guns and Frivolity in Cambodia I stood in the shadow of the bus and watched the spray of my urine rise off the parched, dirt road onto the tire, and slowly drip down in tears of salt and dust. I wondered if the bus driver would notice -- or even care. Cambodia has the highest percentage of unexploded land minds and munitions of any country in the world. The seriousness of the danger is somewhat apparent when our bus infrequently pulls over to allow the passengers to relieve themselves. It is ill advised to step off the main roads, so we stick pretty close to the bus. I ended up in SE Asia somewhat abruptly after getting laid off from my day job. I had known my job was in danger and expected to lose it. The writing was on the wall, so to speak, but I was still stunned when they told me to pack up my shit. Much like reading about a politician accused of fraud, I was shocked but not surprised. I obviously had some decisions to make. The job market couldn’t get much worse. The economy was in shambles. And my savings account lacked “security” by about two zeroes. My sensible side said, “Suck it up and a get a new job.” My frivolous side said, “Buy a plane ticket to somewhere far from here.” I soon decided that frivolity was much sexier than sensibility, and that I needed to take full advantage of my new found freedom. I’m single and irresponsible, and knew there may not be many more times in my life when I’m the only person depending on me. So I paid off my credit cards, gave away my plant, stuffed my backpack and jumped on a plane. I picked Cambodia because it’s about as far out of my element as I could get. What I hoped to take away when I resurfaced is the kind of learning you can’t get from books − and some kick-ass stories. I had already spent about a week in northern Cambodia exploring the ancient temples of Angkor Wat before catching the bus heading south to the capital city, Phnom Penh. This bus (piece of crap van) was noisy, cramped and had rust spreading like cancer. It looked like something donated to a high-school auto body class. Plus, at over 100 degrees, it was rather disappointing that the AC appeared to have been ripped out of the dashboard. We were forced to keep the windows open to avoid heat stroke, despite the heavy clouds of dust streaming into our faces. Everyone wrapped t-shirts or bandannas around their faces “outlaw style” to keep from gagging, and wore sunglasses to prevent eyelids from caking up. We looked like reject terrorists. I thought the bus was hot and crowded when it left Siem Reap with seven or eight of us foreigners--but it soon became unbearable as the driver kept picking up locals to make a little extra money under the table. I wanted to call bullshit every time he pulled over but chose to bite my tongue. We gained another half dozen passengers before he was satisfied. The roads only exacerbated the situation, resembling nothing more than neglected hiking trails. The conditions kept the bus under 40 mph but more than once we hit potholes that sent us out of our seats, and into the ceiling. Occasionally, we would disappear into whale-sized craters before emerging again from the other side. The only comforting part of the journey was that I still had water left when the bus broke down in the desolate mid-section of Cambodia. We sat without shade on the side of the road in pools of our own sweat, when we weren’t pushing the bus up and down the road to try to jump-start it. We quietly read pirated, xeroxed copies of classic novels and travel books. We played magnetic backgammon and tic-tac-toe in the dirt. And we watched the bus driver with his head buried under the hood, tinkering with the engine and swearing in his native Khmer. At one point I relinquished some of my water to the driver for the bus’s radiator. I’m no mechanic, but when it poured out of the bottom onto the ground, I figured we would be there for a while. Every ten minutes or so, a small procession of humble, inquisitive faces would slowly drive by in a plume of dust: peasant, migrant workers on make-shift tractors, a family of four packed onto a decrepit, Chinese-made moped, a rusty, diesel cattle truck loaded with farmers-turned-minesweepers. We traded gentle stares with equal curiosity. Most passersby would offer innocent waves as if to make us feel welcome. But the truth of the gesture was revealed when our return waves brought shy smiles and giggles at the goal of simply communicating with such unusual visitors. About two hours had gone by when we noticed a car racing towards us from the direction we had come. It was traveling much faster than any other vehicle we had seen, swerving viciously, and appeared to be catching air over some of the larger mounds in the road. It reached us quickly and rocketed past in an enormous whirlwind of dust like the cartoon Tasmanian Devil. About twenty yards down the road it slammed on its breaks and skidded dangerously to a stop. The car’s wheels then spun in reverse, it backed fiercely through its own trail of smoke, and locked its breaks violently across from where we were sitting. The old car was badly dented and rusty, and so covered in dirt you couldn’t see through the windows or even discern its original color. I strained to look through the haze as the dust slowly dissipated and noticed the window nearest to us slowly winding down. Then suddenly, a young, grinning Khmer face popped out through the window and said, “Taxi?” The other bus passengers and I exchanged looks of disbelief. No one said a word. The taxi driver glanced back and forth along the line of stranded foreigners and gestured towards his car with amused bewilderment, “Taxi!” No one moved. I began weighing my options and tried to recall if there was an entry in my Lonely Planet Cambodia guidebook about taxi murders or kidnappings. I was tired, hot and restless and wondered how long it would be before another bus showed up. “Taxi!” beckoned the driver as he thumped the outside of the door with his palm. I wavered for another moment and then slowly clambered to my feet, hefting my backpack onto my shoulders. My fellow bus passengers stared up at me with wide eyes. I contemplated my actions hesitantly as the taxi driver waved me over with encouragement. I turned to the bus driver who simply shrugged as if to say, “It’s your call buddy.” I shrugged back, and climbed into the cab. We sped along the grueling, prehistoric road at teeth-rattling speed. I was amazed the car held up under such conditions. The driver worked the steering wheel with a frenzied mastery, constantly correcting our path as we bounded over rocks and around potholes. The shoelaces on my hiking boots would have come untied if I hadn’t doubled the knots. I was both impressed and horrified. About twenty minutes passed before I offered “Phnom Penh” as my destination. The driver nodded vigorously in the rear view mirror as if there was no other plausible option. I sat silently, gripping the door handle and gazing intently out the window. About thirty minutes later, the driver abruptly turned to me and said, “Guns. You like?” I was dumbfounded. “You like guns? I take you shoot guns. You shoot guns. Many guns.” I responded tentatively, “I aah, don’t really need to be shooting any guns. I really just want to get to…” He interrupted, “You American, yes?” I answered hesitantly, “Yes, but I…” He cut in, “All American like guns. You like. No problem.” I replied, “Yeah, that’s cool but I really don’t…” He suddenly jammed on the breaks and sent the car sliding to a stop in the middle of the road. He turned to me with a look of persistent sincerity and said, “It’s ok. I good friend. You shoot guns. Very good guns. No problem. You like.” He then turned around and jerked the car back into motion, our Tasmanian cloud of dust trailing behind. About 45 minutes later we pulled off the main road onto an unfathomably worse side road. We had to slow down significantly in order to navigate around the holes and gaps in our path. We passed through villages dotted with primitive huts and small patchwork houses, all stained brown with dirt kicked up by passing vehicles. We drove by gaunt, tireless men in conical hats digging in rice paddies. We passed women shouldering wooden buckets of water and families hiding from the sun under shelters made from palm fronds. Cambodia is the poorest country in SE Asia and the roadside images brought to life the descriptions of poverty we gloss over in the New York Times. Village streets are lined with litter, stray dogs, and naked children playing in the dirt. You also can’t help noticing the extraordinary number of amputees – one out of every 250 people in Cambodia. Some bound along masterfully with makeshift crutches. Other less fortunate victims drag legless midsections along the road using their bare hands. We left the villages behind and drove for another 30 minutes or so before entering an endless web of back roads bordered with rusted barbed-wire fences. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever be heard from again. Eventually, we came upon a tall, narrow, white-washed shack that resembled an outhouse. The shack stood next to a small side road blocked by an old-school, manual barricade like something you might imagine at a rural Russian border crossing. We pulled up to find a middle-aged Khmer man sitting on a stool wearing a grubby t-shirt, camouflaged pants and a side-arm. He got up slowly, fanning himself with a tattered newspaper, and walked out to the cab. The driver muttered a few words in Khmer and motioned towards me in the back. The guard glanced at me indifferently, nodded slowly to the driver and walked casually over to the barricade. He leaned down on the weighted end, raising the opposite side of the pole just high enough to clear the top of the cab, and waved us through. We followed the road for about a mile and a half to an uninviting building pieced together with cinderblocks, corrugated steel and bamboo. We pulled up next to a couple of rickety pick-up trucks parked in front and climbed out of the taxi. The driver put his hand on my shoulder, smiled enthusiastically, and said, “Time to shoot guns.” It was a little unsettling when we were greeted by a toothless, ex-Khmer soldier holding an M-16 assault rifle. He was wearing an American t-shirt with a skull and cross bones that said, “Mess with the best, die like the rest.” I said hello the politest way I knew how. The soldier sized me up for a moment and then pointed to an impressive selection of guns hanging from small wooden dowels hammered into a bamboo wall. There were small caliber handguns, hunting rifles, shotguns and intimidating, automatic machine guns. I have a rudimentary knowledge of guns but identified a German Luger, a Colt .45, an Uzi, several M-16’s, and even what looked like an old Tommy gun straight out of a mobster movie. As I examined the weapons, I did my best to appear composed and knowledgeable as if choosing an album at a hip record store. But in actuality, I was intimidated as shit and wishing I was back on the side of the road next to the broken down bus. My demeanor changed pretty quickly after firing off 30 rounds with an AK-47 assault rifle. It was kick-ass and I was having trouble holding back the drool. I was a kid again, the star of my own war movie. It was a twisted childhood dream come true. I wanted to pull the trigger on everything he had. I wanted to blow shit up. I was a dangerous man. There was certainly still a degree of fear when I put down the smoking gun but it was overcome by exhilaration and adrenalin. The soldier had dealt with people like me before. He could sense my pathetic, juvenile fascination and complete lack of will power. He walked over and handed me a laminated menu with a grocery list of handguns, shotguns and machine guns, and asked me what was next. A gun menu!? I couldn’t fucking believe it. I scanned the list greedily like a fat chick at a buffet. I didn’t want to have to choose. Then, with a burst of courage, I peered up at the soldier and asked if he had anything with a little more kick. He smiled sadistically, flipped the menu over, and revealed some seriously heavy artillery. It was a tough decision, but I had to go with the fully automatic, Russian K-57, armor piercing machine gun. It’s the kind of weapon that’s mounted to the side of a helicopter, and similar in size to the American M-60 that Stallone shouldered in Rambo. The Khmer soldier didn't have much trouble talking me into buying 150 rounds of ammo, which took two guys to feed into the gun from the side. Three-inch bullet shells spat out of the gun in bursts of flame as it recoiled, showering around me like a copper hailstorm. It was like holding a jackhammer, only louder. But I could still hear the perverse laughing of the taxi driver who stood behind me, thumping me on the back as I fired and hollering with approval. I was sweating by the time I ran out of ammo and had a few shell burns on my forearms. I was hoping they’d scar.
Before the gun even stopped smoking, the soldier held the evil menu in front of me again and pointed to the bottom of the list: “B-40, Rocket Propelled Grenade Launcher”. I was at a loss for words. I had already spent $30 bucks on the AK-47 and $150 on the K-57 (a buck a bullet). The B-40 would set me back another $250 and the soldier said I would have to take a 45 minute drive in his truck to get to a safe place in the mountains to fire it. My week’s travel budget was already blown and I really didn’t want to get into a truck with this guy. But we were talking bazooka. I would be the envy of all my sick friends. As I wrestled with a decision, the soldier, with a heartless grin, informed me that for an extra $100 he would throw in a water buffalo for a target. It was clearly time to exit the shooting range. I was headed for the cab when another ex-Khmer soldier strolled up with a hand grenade dangling by the pin from his index finger (probably not the safest way to carry it). I stood, somewhat in shock, staring at the live grenade. The cab driver patted me on the back, smiled, and nodded slowly with approval. A little over the top, but I figured, what's another $20 bucks. I followed the two soldiers, with cab driver in tow, through a barbed wire fence behind the shooting range. We walked about 1/4 mile through a barren, dirt field until we got to a small, muddy pond. The grenade-throwing lesson took about 15 seconds. One of the soldiers picked up a rock, put it in my hand, and made an underhand throwing motion towards the water. I managed to land the rock near the center of the pond and he gave me a thumbs-up with approval. He then put on a kevlar helmet, handed me the grenade and took a step back. It was understandably a little shocking to be standing in the middle of Cambodia holding a live hand grenade with zero military training. I hesitated for a moment and then pointed to the helmet the soldier was wearing and the baseball hat on my head. He reassured me in broken English that the kevlar helmet was far too hot and that I was much better off with my baseball hat. So I posed for a quick picture to the taxi driver who was serving as my official photographer, pulled out the pin and tossed the grenade into the pond. We were only standing about 20 yards from where the grenade landed. The cab driver ducked behind the second soldier but my friend with the helmet stood firm. He calmly indicated with hand signals that there was no need to run. I still wished I were wearing Adidas instead of Tevas when the thing exploded and emptied half the pond into a mushroom cloud of water. It was pretty cool, to say the least. I sat quietly in the cab gazing through the window as we slowly made our way out of the compound, past the meager villages, and back to the main road. I was physically exhausted but my mind was racing. Sadly, my thoughts weren’t occupied with the thrill or gravity of what I just experienced. Instead, I was sweating my unemployment and the job I had lost in San Francisco. I guess I was suffering from the backlash of indulgence. It was like the anxiety or guilt felt after spending money on something extravagant, sleeping with someone you shouldn’t, or even just devouring a half bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. After all, I should be walking out of an interview, not off a shooting range in Cambodia. It’s the worst job market in decades and I didn’t have a lead. My money was literally going up in smoke and I had no income. I sat thinking about the phone call when my boss laid me off. I thought about the strained silence when I told my father the news. I thought about my ex-coworkers and friends and the client relationships I tried so hard to build. I thought about my paltry 401-K plan. I thought about my career. I thought about my future. “Tomorrow in morning, 10 o’clock,” mumbled the cab driver from the front seat. “Excuse me,” I asked. The driver twisted around to face me, “I pick you up hotel 10 o’clock. We go back gun range.” I was perplexed. “Go back? What for?” I asked. He smiled widely, “B-40 shoulder grenade launcher.” It took me a moment to comprehend his reply. I stared at him feebly. I took a few long, contemplative breaths. “Make it eleven.”

2010-09-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Tips For s Stress Free Holiday ;)

The holidays are officially here. And so the season for giving begins. Warm loving intentions, thoughtful giving and stocking stuffing take over.

It's a wonderful time of year, but with all the activities, excitement and family obligations taking place at the same time, it's easy to feel overwhelmed, stressed and even a tad bit gloomy. Here are 9 simple steps to relax, let go and really enjoy a truly happy holiday!

1. Reflect on what an inspiration you are to others.
The time you spend, the love you give and the enthusiasm with which you do it all with is what matters most to people close to you. The beautifully wrapped presents and bows are far less important than your loving friendship. You are appreciated and cherished in the lives of so many people. Love yourself with the same appreciation.

2. Be honest with yourself and don't stuff your feelings.
As you start to feel range of emotions this holiday... whether it is joy or fear... frustration or liberation... Don't push them away like last season's Prada bag. Give them a special place. It will be far easier to enjoy the holiday if you are honest with yourself and experience all the good, bad and normal parts of life. Be as accepting and generous with yourself as you are with the people in your life you care about the most.

3. Show empathy and compassion.
Our internal perception is reality. Whenever you show kind hearted compassion, you'll get it back in return.

4. Be grateful for all the wonderful differences, preferences and opinions that you will encounter this holiday.
Try to view life from a different perspective. Talk about differences that may come up in a loving way and make a special effort to sit on the same side of the table (literally and figuratively). See if you can find it in your heart to love and appreciate Uncle Joe's crazy quirk that normally sends you through the roof. The joy and peacefulness of understanding another's perspective while still honoring your own is a feeling to be savored!

5. Get plenty of sleep and squeeze in a few extra minutes to rest and relax.
Sleep may seem like an indulgence this time of year, but it is absolutely essential to good health and a positive holiday outlook. Rest, slow-down and catch plenty of zzz's. Be decadent and treat yourself to 3 -5 minutes a day without any books, junk mail or return calls. Take time to breathe, relax, reflect and introspect. If you're feeling really sassy lie on your back and spread out in the middle of the living floor. Is 3 minutes of your day just for one month too much to ask?

6. Try letting go and see what marvels happen!
Let go of one small thing that's really been getting to you. Ask yourself what is the worst that can happen? Just for kicks, reflect back on a particularly stressful holiday situation last year. How bad was it really? Did worry consume you for nothing? I'm guessing that the turnout wasn't as bad as all the images swimming in your head. And, there may have even been a hidden blessing after all. In the scheme of things, our daily worries are trivial. Try to let them go... and go with the flow!

7. Find opportunities throughout the day to bond and make a human connection.
Make a conscious and loving effort to be attentive and live in the present moment. A sure fire quick way to work yourself up is to let your mind run a million miles an hour of things you could, should or would be doing. These random relentless thoughts will just make you anxious and nervous. Take the time to look into peoples' eyes; listen carefully to what they have to say and pass them a compliment about something you know is important to them. That goes for strangers too! You will enjoy your time together that much more... and so will they.

8. Change up the scenery.
Rather than going through your same daily routine, shake it up a bit! Close your eyes at night before you drift off and sleepily anticipate a self indulgent wild and crazy day. Roll out of bed on the opposite side. Light a scented candle in the bathroom and watch the flame flicker in the morning light. Crank up your favorite piece of inspiring music before you do anything else in the morning. Walk backward through the house. Try tea instead of coffee. Call an old friend you haven't talked to in ages. Talk to strangers! Take the scenic route home. Wave to the stressed out folks who cut you off on the freeway. What else can you think of that could change up your scenery and shake some smiles out of you?

9. Treat yourself as you would treat others.
Write yourself a love note. Buy yourself fresh stems of flowers. Soak your feet. Valet park the car. Have your groceries delivered. Send your undies to the cleaners. Snuggle with a blankie. Take a long walk. Sleep in. Watch the sunset. Sing yourself a love song. Do all the things for yourself you'd love others to do for you!

Enjoy the most fabulous holiday season of all times!

2010-09-05T09:44:00.000-07:00

Dublin – Party Town

Of late Dublin has gained a reputation for being a party town where the Guinness never stops flowing. Visit at the weekend and you can well believe it as hordes of happy revellers descend on the city’s Temple Bar district, often via ferry from mainland UK, eager to sample the “craic”. The history, the charming Georgian architecture and the host of more earthy entertainment on offer will all entice you to the place, but it is the people that will leave the biggest impression on you. Elsewhere in Ireland they’ll tell you everyone in Dublin is in a hurry, but that reflects on how amazingly slow life is throughout the country. A more laid back approach to life can’t exist in any capital in the world, and it is highly contagious. But even if the only piece of Dublin you see is the inside of one of the city’s marvellous pubs it’ll be enough to make you instantly love the place, and like the ghost of Molly Malone, you can’t help but leave something of your spirit among its streets. Check for the special Dublin rates

2010-09-04T13:58:00.000-07:00

GOA – Magical City

Situated on the western coastline of India, the cities in GOA are known for there exceptional charm and appeal throughout the world. Goa was once famous for being the hangouts of the hippies. Even after them, the appeal of the cities in Goa leaves the tourists breathless. Goa is split into two districts, North Goa with the capital city of Panaji and South Goa with places such as Vasco da Gama and Margao.. The cities in Goa are dotted with colonial structures, smiling people, lively music, colourful festivals and virgin beaches. The attraction of Goa is equally distributed in all the cities in Goa.

Here is a brief list of some of the Major and most Fascinating cities of Goa:

Arambol: this is one city in Goa where can live fairly well on very little money. It is also a one place that hosts rocking parties.

Canacona: located in the South District of Goa, Canacona was ceded to the Portuguese by the Raja of Sund in the treaty of 1791. The Canacona district was among the last parts of the territory to be absorbed into the Novas Conquistas, and has retained a distinctly Hindu feel.

Candolim and Fort Aguada: Built by the Portuguese in 1612, with a church, the Fort is one of the main bastions commanding the entrance into the Mandovi River. The new lighthouse can be visited between 4:00 to 5:30 pm. The barracks – Aguda Jail – lies along the Sinquerim beach, too is worth a see.

Dona Paula: The place is named after Dona Paula de Menzes, daughter of a viceroy in colonial India. It is said that she threw herself off the cliff, when refused permission to marry a local fisherman, Gaspar Dias. Dona Paula is located seven kilometers west of the Indian state of Goa’s capital Panaji. Dona Paula Beach is nestled on the southern side of the rocky hammer-shaped headlands that divide the Zuari and Mandovi estuaries.

Mapusa: A small town clustered around the Mount (Alto), Mapusa is the place from where you can buy things of every day need. It forms the hub of North Goa with an even blend of residential and commercial establishments. Its 13 kms away from Panaji, a share-taxi or a bus will take you there. Known popularly for its Friday market, people from all over Goa come here to buy and sell their wares. The bustling market of Mapusa stocked with almost all types of items is one major attraction of the state.

Margao: This sleepy town of Goa is a fine combination of culture and commerce. The main population center of South Goa is Margao, the capital of Salcete Province. It is the cultural capital of the state. The town still has reminders of the Portuguese past. The old Margao church is worth a visit and the covered market is the best of its kind in the whole of Goa.

To sum , in a standartized world, Goa stands like a hidden gem , its virgin beaches , nice climate , and released lifstyle welcomes it’s guests . With the internet reservation , destinations like Goa becomes an alternative for travellers like Paris,London , it is that easy now . Lets have a look at the smell of freedom

2010-09-03T10:44:00.000-07:00

Cancun, Mexico

The area's tourism industry underwent rapid growth during the 1980s, made possible by enthusiastic foreign investment. Large hotels began to flourish - offering complete services and amenities, abounding in luxury and exclusivity. This also applied to shopping centers, which started incorporating some of the finest boutiques, jewelers and restaurants. These factors boosted the area's status. Already considered a paradise of sun and sea for the color of its waters, the delicate beauty of its powdered sand beaches and the exuberant vegetation of its ecological reserves, Cancún was still improving its reputation.

Cancún can be divided into three main areas: The Hotel District, the Town and the Ecological Reserve, blessed with incredible lakes and mangrove swamps.

Hotel District

The Hotel District is comprised of the so-called gran turismo hotels (four-and five-star luxury hotels). Hotels and shopping centers are distributed along the main Boulevard Kuculkán, which runs the length of the 21-kilometer (13-mile) island. This district undoubtedly generates the greatest revenue and has the greatest economic impact on the nation, as compared to the rest of the state. This area is where the trendiest, most popular discos, the finest international restaurants and the largest entertainment venues are situated.

Town of Cancún

The Town of Cancún changes the scenery, albeit not too drastically. Peaceful provincial life here is more picturesque, folkloric and the simplicity of some of the shops provides a stark contrast to the million-dollar hotel chains. Restaurants in this district serve typical local food and snacks, providing a real opportunity to taste some genuine homemade Mexican dishes. There are also a lot of shopping opportunities in town. For additional entertainment, theaters and cinemas are located on the main streets.

Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve

Last, but certainly not least, the third district is in the Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve , where nature still reigns supreme in the history of this area. Occupying hundreds of kilometers, it constitutes Mexico's largest genuine ecosystem, home to a diverse number of plant and animal species. The government and non-profit organizations do their best to preserve this area as a wildlife refuge containing many species in danger of extinction.

Archaeological sites can be found in the vicinity, extending towards the four cardinal points. Structures tell the history of the settlements of the Mayan people on this peninsula, and just about every rock reveals traces of the historical and cultural legacy which these inhabitants left behind.

Cancún combines the elegance and gamut of entertainment choices in its Hotel District, the traditions and serenity of its pueblo, and the natural beauty of its ecological reserve, coral reef and history of its peoples. From a city brimming with all of this, what else could you ask for?

2010-09-03T10:39:00.000-07:00

Top Things to Do for Las Vegas

Shimmering from the desert haze of Nevada like a latter-day El Dorado, Las Vegas is the most dynamic, spectacular city on earth. At the start of the twentieth century, it didn't even exist; now it's home to two million people, and boasts nineteen of the world's twenty-five largest hotels, whose flamboyant, no-expense-spared casinos lure in thirty-seven million tourists each year.

Las Vegas has been stockpiling superlatives since the 1950s, but never rests on its laurels for a moment. Many first-time visitors expect the city to be kitsch, but the casino owners are far too canny to be sentimental. Yes, there are a few Elvis impersonators around, but what characterizes the city far more is its endless quest for novelty. Long before they lose their sparkle, yesterday's showpieces are blasted into rubble, to make way for ever more extravagant replacements. A few years ago, when the fashion was for fantasy, Arthurian castles and Egyptian pyramids mushroomed along the legendary Strip; next came a craze for constructing entire replica cities, like New York, Paris, Monte Carlo, and Venice; and the current trend is for high-end properties that attempt to straddle the line between screaming ostentation and "elegant" sophistication.

While the city has cleaned up its act since the early days of Mob domination, it certainly hasn't become a family destination. Neither is Vegas as cheap as it used to be. It's still possible to find good, inexpensive rooms, and the all-you-care-to-eat buffets offer great value, but the casino owners have finally discovered that high-rollers happy to lose hundreds of dollars per night don't mind paying premium prices to eat at top-quality restaurants, while the latest developments are charging room rates of more like $300 than $30 per night.

Although Las Vegas is an unmissable destination, it's one that palls for most visitors after a couple of (hectic) days. If you've come solely to gamble, there's not much to say beyond the fact that all the casinos are free, and open 24 hours per day, with acres of floor space packed with ways to lose money: million-dollar slots, video poker, blackjack, craps, roulette wheels, and much, much more.

2010-09-03T05:52:00.000-07:00

London..

One of the world's great cities, vibrant London manages to shine in the greyest weather and its diversity defies a simple definition. This sprawling city has drawn people for centuries, looking for something and finding the unexpected. London's landscape is steeped in British history and tradition. The classic sights of Buckingham Palace, Trafalgar Square and Big Ben could not be more English, and are a permanent symbol of England's former greatness. If any single thing epitomises London's character for both local and tourist alike, it's the tube, trains and red double-decker buses of its public transport system; the frenetic lifeblood that circulates three million people around the capital daily. As everyone will tell you the city is undeniably expensive, but you get your money's worth like nowhere else on earth: no other city has such an excess of accessible history and dynamic modernity.Book it now, do not miss this great opportunity with our smart prices.
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