TravelPort

Travel Business Oppurtunity

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:30:00 +0000

Become a World Class Travel Entreprenuer

view presentation (tags: travel buisness glabl india)

Check out this presentation for the best travel buisness oppurtunity .Best of online and offline products

Wander India - Go places differently

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:00:00 +0000

See it with TravelPort and explore the lesser visited spots .

China With TravelPort

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 07:40:00 +0000

TravelPort China - Click here for package details

Incredible India

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 06:45:00 +0000

India- Incredible and Great

From: travelport, 3 months ago

India- Incredible and Great

view presentation (tags: india facts incredible figures)

India - facts every indian must know and be proud about it .

SlideShare Link

Auli - Our very own Switzerland By Ankush /PushPraj

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 06:20:00 +0000

As a Uttaranchal Expert at TravelPort this huge responsibility of escorting the Rotary Club group to Auli, which was very important to my organization. It was a adventure trip for some of the elite people of Mumbai .

I’m really thankful to TravelPort and its management for giving me this great opportunity& believed in me in completing the given task. Auli which is known as Switzerland of India is famous for its skiing & trekking activities.

After receiving the group from Delhi airport we all proceeded to the railway station for our journey to Haridwar. It was 4:00 am in the morning when we reached Haridwar, which was half the distance covered then. After having some early morning refreshments, especially “Cutting Chai”, we started our second league of our journey to Joshimath, which was around 270 kms ( 9-10hrs ). We passed through some beautiful landscapes at Rishikesh ( famous for its White Water Rafting also one of the holiest river in India the Ganges ), Devprayag, Srinagar, Rudraprayag and a number of small villages where life is in a different pace all together. Finally we reached Joshimath, which is one of the stop over in the Chardham Yatra.
Ropeway or Cable Car is the only mode of commuting to Auli.

It is Asia’s 2nd largest ropeway & takes around 25 mins ( one way ) to cover the distance of 4 kms & takes you from an height of 1990 mts to 3100 mts , while you are mesmerized by the picturesque mountains covered with snow. Mom Nature was so happy with us that we were greeted with a snowfall as soon as we landed the place. It was freezing cold, wherein the day temperature was around 7 degrees & in the nights it used to be sub-zero. The one day trek which was the part of the tour was a great experience too, the difficulty level of the trek being moderate to hard, where some sections were as steep as 50 Degrees and it looked as if a thick white wall of ice is staring right back at you. Cutting through the snow made our walking difficult due to the overnight snowfall. The very sight of the mighty Nanda Devi peak in the distance was an jaw-dropping experience. It stood tall & was unperturbed from the rest of its counterparts. The 5 days which we spent in the heart of the Garwhal mountains were full of beauty & bliss at the same time wondering that a place like this would exist in India. When the time came to bid-adue to this wonderful place we thought wish we stay back for much more time ---it was a aura of Auli getting into us in such a short span - A tribute to this amazing destination .

Highlights :
1.If visiting Auli spend one day trekking rather than coolong your heels at the hotel .
2.Best Time to visit : DEC to March to attempt skiing
3.Treacherous but scenic drive all the way .
4.The best place to stay : CliffTop club ,Auli
5. Not to be missed : Joshimath to clifftop auli by cable car

Ankush Guptay adn Pushparaj ,Uttarnchal and Himacahal experts @ TravelPort

North East - Hidden treasure of India - Malaika /Sandy

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 16:50:00 +0000

Pick of lots ,thats how it got decided that we (Malaika and Sandy ) were travelling to North east of India .TravelPort ,our company was sending us as part of a team to explore this new exotic destination .Over excitement followed by after thoughts made us wonder what it would be like to go to a underdeveloped ,in- news- for- wrong- reason- place ,that too ,two city lasses like us .
God ! How wrong we were for we discovered a new heaven on earth (cliched but that is yet the best way to describe our new discovery )
We were lucky to be exploring this hidden - unspoilt - virgin -gem of a destination ,fit for a evolved traveller .(well atleast till we start filling up the place with tourists ).We thought of writing this journal to share our journey highlights .

North East of India is the land of Blue Mountains, Green Valley, Red River, wild life, and colourful people, a blend of all these makes it the most beautiful Eco-Tourism destination in south Asia

Click here For Slide Show - North east

The train journey upto siliguri was a typical indian one - best not described - cos we chose the wrong class to travel in .It was a releif to get to siliguri from where we proceeded to Pelling ,our first stopover .

Pelling: 24/02/08----26/02/08
Pelling is a beautiful hill-station, nestled between the snow-covered peaks of Sikkim. Located at a distance of 10kms from Geyzing, Pelling is renowned for being the nearest site to Mt. Kanchenjunga. The scenic beauty of Pelling cannot be circumscribed in words and really requires a proximate look to feel the quietude. Elevated to the height of 6,800 ft, Pelling is the best place to get a close view of the entire mountain range
Places to visit :Darap Valley, Rimbi waterfalls, the holy Khecheopalri Lake and Pemayangtse Monestry.
The Good: Accommodation/ Sight seeing/ pleasant Climate
The Bad: No Restaurants around so person is compelled to eat his meals at the hotel he is put up in.
The ugly :None at all
Gangtok: 26/02/08-----28-02-08
Gangtok is nestled in lush greenery at 5800 ft, it is a blend of Traditional and modern culture where you will find youngsters in trendy dresses while elderly matrons clad in bakus.
On the way to Gangtok we proceeded to Rinchinpong, it is a picturesque village with Panoramic view of Kan-chen-dzonga range, the next day we visited Tsomgo lake which is 38km from Gangtok and is at 12500 ft, this lake is frozen throughout the year and comes alive during May to August where beautiful flowers blooms on its bank and on the adjoining Hill slopes, from Gangtok
The Good: Accomodation/ Good place to shop
Bad: Sometimes you dont feel welcomed.
Ugly: Not Applicable

Lachung: 28/02/08----29-02-08
Lachung is a divine abode sited in the northern district of Sikkim. Perched at an elevation of 8,800 ft, Lachung is an ideal place to spent beautiful moments in solitude. The way to Lachung passes through quaint villages, scenic spots, and waterfalls. In recent times, Lachung has been made available to the tourists in an organized manner. It would not be embroidered to say that Lachung is actually a Shangri-La on the earth.
We went to Lachung on the way to Lachung we visited Singhik view point, Seven sisters waterfall & most beautiful Bhima waterfall. Lanchung is a diven adode, sited in the Northern District of Sikkim at 8800ft; we felt it is the most ideal place to spend beautiful moments in solitude. Lanchung means “Small Mountains”. In Lachung we saw Monastry, Handicraft center; we had a Bonfire at Lanchung. Next day we proceeded to Yumthang Valley which is also known as Valley of Flowers, Yumthang Valley is a grazing pasture for Yaks and yetis. During the summer the area blooms with the most beautiful flowers, from Yumthang Valley
Good: beautiful Senic Place.
Bad: No basic infrastructure facility available/ Food.
Ugly: Not Applicable.
We proceeded to NJP to take train back to mumbai. After living in a place like mumbai where one leads a very busy life. We think our visit to Sikkim has brought us so close to Mother Nature. It is indeed the most beautiful place on Earth.

Thank You TravelPort ! Thank You Neptune travel ! .....Thank god for this wonderful place

Famous Travel Quotes

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:33:00 +0000

The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.St. Augustine

...travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.Miriam Beard

The traveler was active; he went strenuously in search of people, of adventure, of experience. The tourist is passive; he expects interesting things to happen to him. He goes "sight seeing".Daniel J. Boorstin
There is no happiness for the person who does not travel. For Indra is the friend of the traveler, therefore wander!Brähmann
I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost eveything.Bill Bryson
One of the gladdest moments of human life, methinks, is the departure upon a distant journey into unknown lands. Shaking off with one mighty effort the fetters of habit, the leaden weight of routine, the cloak of many cares and the slavery of home, man feels once more happy.Sir Richard Burton
Embrace the detours.Kevin Charbonneau
The traveler sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one's own country as a foreign land.Gilbert K. Chesterton
The earth belongs to anyone who stops for a moment, gazes and goes on his way.Colette
Travellers never think that they are the foreigners.Mason Cooley
The journey not the arrival matters.T. S. Eliot

Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.Frank Herbert

To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.Aldous Huxley

The wise man travels to discover himself.James Russell Lowell
The sea is dangerous and its storms terrible, but these obstacles have never been sufficient reason to remain ashore ... unlike the mediocre, intrepid spirits seek victory over those things that seem impossible ... it is with an iron will that they embark on the most daring of all endeavors ... to meet the shadowy future without fear and conquer the unknown.Ferdinand Magellan
Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!Fitzhugh Mllan
Don't tell me how educated you are, tell me how much you traveled.Prophet Mohammed
Take only memories, leave only footprints.Chief Seattle
I dislike feeling at home when I am abroad.George Bernard Shaw
For my part, I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. the great affair is to move.Robert Louis Stevenson
He who would travel happily must travel light.Antoine de St. Exupery

I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails.Explore. Dream. Discover.Mark Twain
A good traveller has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.Lao Tzu
Paradise is where I am.Voltaire
A good traveler is one who does not know where he is going to, and a perfect traveler does not know where he came from.No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow.Lin Yutang

Kailash Yatra

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 10:28:00 +0000

Mount Kailash is one of the world’s most sacred spots. To experience its spiritual energy you must go there but with the right intention in mind. This is a pilgrimage and the intent should be to visit it for peace, both within each person and then the world. Tibetans leave an article of clothing or a drop of blood, hair or a stone to symbolize leaving their prejudices behind them. One should leave their ego, anxiety and meanness here.

Before setting of for this journey ,check out some of the unbiased travellers reviews of how to go on this ultimate pilgrimage which promises to be a adventure too .

1.Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar YatraTrip Advice & Travelogue by Unnimaya

2.My experience--Kailash-Manasarovar Yatra By Meghna Bhagat

3.Journey To the Himalayas

Temple stays for Indian travelers in Korea

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 06:39:00 +0000

South Korean tourism is actively promoting the concept of Temple Stays to outbound Indian travellers. A temple stay is designed as a cultural experience programme to help people understand Korean Buddhism better. From meditation to prostration, chanting and unbelievably early morning wake-up calls, if you have always harboured the desire for a sneak peek into the life of a monk, here’s your chance. Carnivores, however, are advised to stay away, as meals consist of rice and vegetables.

The Temple Stay programme was initially conjured up for foreigners visiting Korea during the 2002 FIFA World Cup held in Korea and Japan. The programme was so successful that over 35 temples still offer it. As a word of caution, don’t expect two nights in a temple to be life-transforming. Keep in mind that most programmes are specially designed for tourists, so instead of discreetly fitting into the existing system, most temples will create an environment specially for you, complete with English translators. In return, you leave a “donation”.

Some temple stays in Thailand are a little more austere, and therefore not suitable if you’re going to be bashful about doing the alms rounds in the local village. In some temples you’re “treated” to a single meal a day, often consisting of whatever’s been donated. Temple stays can range from an over-nighter to a few months.

Around the world in 80 vineyards

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:20:00 +0000

Six months after setting out on a tour of some of the world's greatest vineyards, Frenchman Nicolas Beausset has collected 500 bottles of top quality wine and is still thirsty for more.

Beausset and his colleague Geraldine Reinhold Von Essen are attempting to travel "around the world in 80 vineyards".

They are asking wine producers from Chianti to California to give them their best wine for free. When they get back to Spain, where they are based, they will auction it for charity.

So far, their journey has taken them to South Africa, Thailand, China, Australia, New Zealand and Chile.

They will visit Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, Peru and the United States before returning to Europe to tour the vineyards of Portugal, Spain, Italy and France.

As they travel, they are sending their liquid booty back to Spain where it will be stored in a cellar until the auction in Barcelona in early 2008.

"We're interested in quality rather than quantity," Beausset told Reuters by telephone from a vineyard in southern Chile.

"The vineyards are free to give us whatever they want, but we always try to ask for bottles that are a little different, or of high quality."

Their journey has yielded some fine donations, including a magnum of Pinot Noir from New Zealand's Staete Landt vineyard, one of only 30 such bottles in the world.

But perhaps the most fascinating leg of their journey took them to the vineyards of Thailand and China, countries little known in the West for their wines.

"In China, viniculture is growing quickly ... some of the vineyards are very good," said Beausset, 32, who runs a wine import-export business in Barcelona.

"Most of the wine is red because the color red is a symbol of prosperity in China, so it's very good if you can offer someone a red wine."

The Ugly American

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 12:16:00 +0000

Every American knows what traveling to foreign countries is all about: booze, babes, and spring break. Right?

Tanzania travel tips

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 12:45:00 +0000

Currency and Money Matters

The Tanzanian unit of currency is the Tanzanian Shilling (TSh). Bills range from 1 shilling to 10,000 shillings. The exchange rates fluctuate, the latest rates can be found here.

Exchanging Money

The easiest foreign currency to exchange in Tanzania is the US dollar, in either cash or traveler cheque form. While you get better rates at banks and foreign exchange bureaus for the larger bills, keeping a stack of small bills is handy for tips. Most of the high-end hotels and wildlife parks accept US dollars but it can sometimes be a bit cheaper if you pay fees and accommodation in Tanzanian shillings.

ATM's can be found in all the major cities, but my Lonely Planet Guide warns that some machines enjoy eating cards, so use at your own risk. Major credit cards are only accepted at the more expensive restaurants and hotels.

Getting To and From Tanzania

By Air

If you're planning to visit Northern Tanzania, the best airport to arrive at is Kilimanjaro International Airport (KIA). KLM has daily flights from Amsterdam. Ethiopian and Kenya Airways also fly into KIA.

If you're planning to visit Zanzibar, southern and western Tanzania, you'll want to fly to the capital Dar es Salaam. European carriers that fly into Dar es Salaam include British Airways, KLM and Swissair (which codeshares with Delta).

Regional flights to Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar and parts of northern Tanzania regularly fly from Nairobi (Kenya Airways, Air Kenya) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopian Airlines). Air Tanzania has several flights per week from Dar es Salaam to Entebbe (Uganda), the Comoros Islands and Johannesburg.

By Land

To and From Kenya: There are several bus services available between Tanzania and Kenya. Buses regularly go from Mombasa to Dar es Salaam (12 hours), Nairobi to Dar es Salaam (about 13 hours), Nairobi to Arusha (5 hours), and Voi to Moshi. Some bus companies originating in Arusha will drop you off at your hotel in Nairobi and also offer pick-ups at Nairobi's international airport.

To and From Malawi: The border crossing between Tanzania and Malawi is at the Songwe River Bridge. Direct buses between Dar es Salaam and Lilongwe depart several times a week and take around 27 hours. Your other alternative is to get to the border crossing and take minibuses in either direction to the closest towns -- Karonga in Malawi and Mbeya in Tanzania. Spend the night and then continue on the next day. Both towns have regular long-distance bus services.

To and From Mozambique: The main border post is at Kilambo (Tanzania) which you can get to via minibus from Mtwara. To cross the border requires a trip across the Ruvuma River and depending on the tides and the season, this could be a simple quick canoe trip or an hour long ferry ride. The border post in Mozambique is at Namiranga.

To and From Uganda: Daily buses travel from Kampala to Dar es Salaam (via Nairobi -- so make sure you get a visa for Kenya to transit). The bus trip takes at least 25 hours. A more manageable crossing is from Kampala to Bukoba (on the shores of Lake Victoria) which gets you to Tanzania in about 7 hours. You can also take a short 3 hour trip by bus from Bukoba (Tanzania) to the Ugandan border town of Masaka. Scandinavian also runs buses from Moshi to Kampala (via nairobi).

To and From Rwanda: Regional coach services travels from Kigali to Dar es Salaam at least once a week, the trip takes about 36 hours and crosses into Uganda first. Shorter trips between the Tanzania/Rwanda border at Rusumo Falls are possible but the security situation fluctuates so inquire locally in Benako (Rwanda) or Mwanza (Tanzania). Buses also run at least once a day from Mwanza (it will take all day) to the border of Rwanda, and from there you can catch a minibus to Kigali. Catching the bus from Mwanza means a ferry trip to start with so the schedule is fairly fixed.

To and From Zambia: Buses run a couple times a week between Dar es Salaam and Lusaka (about 30 hours) and between Mbeya and Lusaka (about 16 hours). The border that is used most often is at Tunduma and you can get minibuses from Mbeya to Tunduma and then cross into Zambia and take public transport from there.

By Train

To and From Zambia: A train runs from Kapiri Mposhi (Zambia) to Dar es Salaam and takes two nights.

By Boat

There are currently no official passenger-ferry services on Lake Victoria to connect Tanzania with Uganda and Kenya.

To and From Malawi: The only route across the lake from Tanzania is on the Songea ferry from Mbamba Bay (Tanzania) to Nkhata Bay (Malawi) near Mzuzu. The ferry is meant to run twice a month. The Ilala sometimes travels from Lake Malawi to Tanzania but schedules vary.

To and from Burundi: A weekly ferry runs between Kigoma and Bujumbura and takes about 14 hours.

To and From Mozambique: You can try and hire a Dhow to get to Mozambique from Tanzania and vice versa. Find out information locally in Tanzania's dhow ports of Mikindani, Mtwara and Msimbati. In Mozambique check the ports at Mocimboa da Praia and Palma.

To and from Kenya (Mombasa): A ferry runs about once a week from Mombasa, Kenya and Tanga, Tanzania to Unguja and Pemba. Fares are around $40.

To and From Zambia: A regular ferry connects Kigoma (Tanzania) with Mpulungu (Zambia) along the shores of Lake Tanganyika. The ferry was the inspiration for the classic movie, African Queen. You can get off at smaller stops along the way inlcuding Lagosa, to get to Mahale Mountains National Park to enjoy the chimpanzees.

Towns hope to keep Harry Potter magic going

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 06:46:00 +0000

Towns around the country that celebrate the release of each Harry Potter book aren't ready to give up their wizarding wonderlands of Knockturn Alleys and Forbidden Forests even though the final book is about to debut.

About 40 miles north of Cincinnati, Ohio, organizers plan to keep Quidditch tournaments, magic shows and strolls down Diagon Alley continuing in some form in Wilmington, a city of about 12,000.

"This is our largest downtown event currently, and it brings a lot of people and money into downtown," said Steve Brown, executive director of Main Street Wilmington. "We thought the 2005 event would draw quite a few people, but we never expected the 4,000 or more that showed up."

Enthusiasts in small towns such as Poulsbo, Washington, and larger communities such as Oshkosh, Wisconsin, and the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois -- where 10,000 people turned out in 2003 -- are looking to the wildly popular Harry Potter movies, a theme park to open in Orlando, Florida, in 2009 and increasing fan conventions and conferences to keep the Potter energy flowing.

Baraboo, Wisconsin, got a head start, holding its first community Potter celebration July 7 in anticipation of the movie and book releases. Organizer Cindy Doescher says enthusiasm has already been so great that she expects a Potter party annually.

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" -- the seventh and final book in the J.K. Rowling series -- will be released at midnight July 21, accompanied by bookstore parties, community festivals and other Harry hoopla concocted for fervent fans around the world. The books have sold more than 325 million copies worldwide with translations into at least 64 languages, and sparked the movie series.

he latest movie, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," opened in U.S. theaters July 11, leaving two books not yet on the screen.

Communities have reaped economic and other benefits from downtown extravaganzas. Hotels are filled with tourists. Residents turn out in large numbers -- often costumed -- to dine at a Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry or warily creep through a haunting Knockturn Alley amid skeletons and smoking potions. More people means more customers for local businesses.

Princeton, Illinois, a town of about 7,500 residents, drew 5,000 fans in 2005 and expects more than 7,500 this year. Sponsors say the celebrations also have deepened cooperation among businesses, civic groups and volunteers.

The Spa Code of Conduct

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 12:58:00 +0000

When you walk through the doors of your favorite spa, sit down in the massaging pedicure chair and stick your feet into the water that isn't quite the right temperature, do you say anything to your therapist?

What about if you walk into a treatment room for your hot stone massage and the music is too loud? If the stones are too hot, do you just lie on the table and grin and bear it?

You should speak up and communicate your preferences in all these situations, according to A Spa "Code of Conduct" developed by The International SPA Association and Resort Hotel Association.

The Spa Code of Conduct spells our you rights and responsibilities as a spa guest so you have a more satisfying spa experience.

Here is the Spa Code of Conduct:

As a Spa Guest, it is your responsibility to:

Communicate your preferences, expectations and concerns
Communicate complete and accurate health information and reasons for your visit
Treat staff and other guests with courtesy and respect
Use products, equipment and therapies as directed
Engage in efforts to preserve the environment
Adhere to the spa's published policies and procedures

Bollywood or bust

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:41:00 +0000

My sister and I arrived in Mumbai on Boxing Day, stepping out from a 45-hour train ride during which we'd experienced a dismal and depressing Christmas Day sipping on over-stewed chai tea and trying to remember childhood Christmas carols. We were travel weary and dreaming of big city comforts.

We had just spent six months traversing tourist-laden Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, roaming across southwest China, hitchhiking across Tibet and, finally, had slung smaller packs on our backs for three weeks trekking around the Annapurna mountain range in Nepal. Mumbai is a seductress. She is a city of dreams, despair, drama and dazzle; heartbreaking poverty amongst staggering grandness. Our first sight of Mumbai came when we stepped out of the illustrious and overcrowded Victoria Terminus. The city sparkled with promise. The sun shone down on queues of 50s-style black and yellow taxis. The dizzying array of shops, advertising, cinemas and streets in all directions reminded me of the treats ahead – haircuts, pedicures, western food and wine, shopping, cleanliness, English everywhere... From our first meeting I knew Mumbai and me would get on pretty well. And of course, I couldn't forget the idea of Bollywood glamour and the stories I'd heard about the clamour for foreigners to work in the industry. I had no time restraints on my stay there, but did have some pressing money worries, so Bollywood stardom sounded just right for me.

Our first call up to stardom occurred when I met Nasir ordering kebabs outside our guesthouse. He was a 'foreigners coordinator', keenly looking for tourists to work for him. The job: A Coca-Cola advert (or Pepsi? I was never quite sure and I never saw the boxes of free soft drink I was expecting). We were to be part of a foreign paparazzi crowd pretending to take photos of the stunning and ever-so-Bollywood-glam, former Ms. World, Aishwarya Rai.

Mumbai is the city of dreams, and it is also the city of big talkers, false promises, and people that want to pay foreigners to do strange things. It's all the rage to have a foreigner at your event – promoting products, dancing, waitressing, bartending, greeting guests and generally adding an 'international feel'. On New Years Eve we got many of the dancing-type offers, all of which we politely turned down. Then at 7pm, whilst sitting in our hotel room sipping on chardonnay on which the days budget had been blown, Ahmjad came knocking on our door with an offer too good to refuse: waitressing for three hours at the swanky, star-studded Taj Mahal Hotel's New Years Eve private party, with free drinks for us from 1:30am. Of course, all is never as it seems. After two hours with our jandal-trained feet crammed into high heels, and the sight of gorgeous celebrities in bejeweled saris changing from stunning to standard practice, things weren't all that great. But by 5am when the shoes were off, many free drinks consumed and the dance floor ours, we felt ready to call the night a success.

Mumbai street food

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 12:47:00 +0000

Mumbaikers love street food. See what all the fuss is about.

Ranikhet is never out of season

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 14:25:00 +0000

The tag-line of Uttarakhand Tourism claimed that it is "Never Out of Season". And we couldn't agree with it more! In spite of many people warning us that December may not be the best time (read "tourist season") to visit Kumaon due to the cold weather, we had the trip of a lifetime!

After spending a couple of days in Delhi, we took the overnight Ranikhet Express to Kathgodam, which is the gateway to the hill stations in Kumaon. The chill in the air at Kathgodam Station was a sign of things to come! But things soon started heating up as a swarm of taxi drivers rushed towards us shouting the names of all possible destinations the region had on offer. Finally, getting a taxi to the charming military town of Ranikhet at half the rate (as compared to the tourist season) was a pleasent surprise.

It's a lovely drive of about three hours on winding but comfortable roads. We got a glimpse of the snow-capped range just before we entered the town, before the clouds took over... We stayed at the Chevron Rosemount, which a lovely heritage property... In spite of the cold weather, the staff was ever-smiling and efficient. In fact we spent a lot of time in the hotel lawn from where Trishul and Nandadevi peaks could be seen. Having hot tea with chirping birds in the background and a view to die for was sheer luxury for us city dwellers.

Read more.

The fashion of Milan

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:28:00 +0000

Take a tour of Milan's fashion district. Which is pretty much the whole city.

New luxury travel hot spots

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 04:28:00 +0000

Beautiful and unspoiled locales aren't just for backpackers anymore.

Sharon and Michael Young, founders and partners at the investment firm Quadrant Capital Partners, in Dallas, are adventurous travelers who favor unusual destinations. But even they weren’t entirely prepared for how challenging their 2005 visit to Bhutan would be.

“We’d be driving, and the road would just end,” Sharon says. “The laborers were building the next part.”

The Youngs learned of Bhutan while sailing on a friend’s yacht. “One of his other guests was the ambassador from Australia to Bhutan,” Sharon recalls. “She started telling us about this country that modernization had not touched. It was very appealing—to go see what sounded like an unspoiled, deeply traditional country.”

For a growing number of high-end travelers, destination fatigue—been there, done that, paid a big bill—is starting to set in. When your past vacations are identical to the ones portrayed in the pages of every high-end travel brochure (the Youngs count Patagonia, the British Virgin Islands, and the Greek islands among their previous family trips), experiencing the euphoria that comes with discovering a new destination becomes harder.

“People are looking for new places,” says Pallavi Shah, founder of Our Personal Guest, a Manhattan-based luxury travel agency that has coordinated trips for C.E.O.’s of investment banks and for Thomas Freston when he was head of Viacom. “A lot of people have been traveling for many years and are therefore running out of places. By their 50s and 60s, they’ve done Europe, been to Africa and gone on safari, done the Middle East, cruised the Nile and the Yangtze rivers, been around China. Now where to go?”

The answer is places like Bhutan, central India, remote northwest China, and the eastern coast of Vietnam, all of which are coming into favor among Shah’s well-heeled clients. But a thirst for adventure doesn’t mean that C.E.O.’s want to rough it on vacation. To the contrary, they are increasingly attracted to areas that have received little international tourism—places that their parents never heard of, much less fantasized about visiting—but are nonetheless luxurious, complete with secluded swimming pools and high-thread-count sheets.

Take Bhutan. Since 2005, the superluxury Amanresorts chain has opened a series of four elegant lodges in the tiny Himalayan kingdom, and Taj Hotels, Resorts & Palaces, the Indian luxury hotel chain (read “The Hotel Collector”), is opening a Bhutan resort at the end of the summer. The country has succeeded in marketing itself as an exclusive destination for highly selective travelers. And Sharon Young, who ended her Bhutan trip with a “heavenly” stay at the only Amanresort then operating there, says she is more likely to go back now that Amanresorts has expanded in the country.

Obviously, it takes more than the opening of a new resort, even one with rooms lavish enough and a reputation sterling enough to attract wealthy travelers, to turn an obscure village into the luxury travel destination du jour. But, it turns out, not that much more.

“A local culture that is welcoming” is one of the most important factors in sustaining the success of a new travel destination, says Bjorn Hanson, lodging specialist at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Manhattan. An unusual or exotic natural setting also helps a luxury travel spot get off the ground, he says. And access is important too. Shah says the scarcity of flights to and from Bhutan is one of the main impediments preventing her clients from planning trips there. Poor transportation also hampers Central India, which has become another burgeoning high-end travel region thanks to the African-style game lodges that have been planned as a joint venture between Taj and the luxury safari operator CC Africa. “My clients are too damn lazy to sit for eight hours on a back road,” says Shah.

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Packing for an overseas trip

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 12:19:00 +0000

There are those who pack light for a business trip and arrive with the wrong shoes. Others pack heavy and wind up feeling yoked to their bags. Then there's Nancy Novogrod, one of the world's very well-wheeled travelers.

As editor in chief of Travel + Leisure magazine, Ms. Novogrod spends roughly a quarter of the year traveling for her job, often to far-flung places like Egypt and China where she needs to convey the aplomb of a smart executive.

If you think you've got it tough with that four-day conference in Frankfurt, imagine packing for a three-week tour of Asia -- like the one Ms. Novogrod is taking this fall -- that includes daily meetings, speeches, and formal dinners that require a change of shoes, dress and handbag. I've seen her in action on more than one occasion and I'm here to say that she doesn't wrinkle, not as far as I can tell. To attain that level of perfection, she packs a bag full of tricks.

Suiting up for business travel can be tricky for any of us who want to make the right impression. But women, who have more stylistic latitude than men in the U.S., face a bigger risk of being off point.

Overseas travel is particularly complex if it involves a vastly different culture. Another veteran traveler, hotel-industry attorney K.C. McDaniel, on any day may be testifying at a trial in London or negotiating on behalf of clients in Dubai. In the Middle East, she is sometimes the only woman in the room -- and one of the first women her clients' adversaries have been confronted with on a professional basis. "If you walk through the door and your outfit says secretary or file clerk, you have an uphill job to do," she notes.

Ms. Novogrod and Ms. McDaniel say their packing process starts with buying the right clothes -- looking for comfort, fabrics that can travel with minimal care and styles that will bridge cultures. Both women do serious research on the local mode of dress before they begin packing. For a speech in Cairo in April, Ms. Novogrod called the event planner to ask what people would be wearing.

"I buy a lot at Prada because they use a lot of synthetics," says Ms. Novogrod, thinking of wrinkles. "I love cotton shirts, but I rarely wear them on airplanes. ... I rarely travel with jeans because I need to look put-together." Another trick she employs: a closet full of close-fitting cashmere cardigans that add warmth and a put-together edge.

Ms. Novogrod says she takes care to choose clothes that work, rather than those that make a statement. "It's possible with fashion to become so concerned with the surface that you're not approachable," she notes. "I'm conscious of looking appropriate -- to my age, to my profession."

But she is careful not to play it too safe, because there are situations where a distinctive, colorful piece can work. Ms. Novogrod has been very happy with a recent purchase of a cotton Pucci tunic. It has turned out both to be packable and to look great from stages or a dais.

The actual packing process for Ms. Novogrod can take place over several days. She makes notes in advance. When she settles down to pack, with her schedule in hand, she lays out outfits complete with shoes and handbags to be sure she has the right thing for each event -- and not a single extra item. "Otherwise, you end up taking way too much," she says. "What gets me most is coming back with clothing that I've never worn. I hate that."

Ms. Novogrod checks one roll-on suitcase for a shorter trip, say up to a week. For longer trips, like the three weeks in Asia, she takes two roll-ons -- one for clothes and another for shoes and bags.

Portugal's hidden dream places

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 09:12:00 +0000

We were driving south on Route 101 — a two-lane highway that slices diagonally through Portugal — in search of a tiny town called Mesão Frio and the Pousada Solar da Rede, an 18th-century manor house set above the Douro River. I had two maps spread out beside me, and a Spain-Portugal Michelin atlas open to the northern half of Portugal. How hard could it be to find the Douro? And where were we exactly? Lost somewhere, apparently in a nature preserve.

“Don't take the high-speed road,” a confident receptionist at the Pousada de Amares, where we'd stayed the night before, had assured us. “Route 101 is faster.” But one map showed Mesão Frio to the east, and the other to the west. “Just pick a direction!” urged my exasperated traveling companion as we hit what seemed to be our 40th unlabeled roundabout.

And then, suddenly, the pousada appeared — a mansion, Baroque and huge — after switchbacks and turns, looming high above the green Douro (finally!) about two hours upriver from Porto. It was an impressive sight: winged granite dragons guarding the path to the front door and a terraced, formal labyrinthine garden jutting out over a vineyard; bushes carved in circles and squares, flowers blooming everywhere; and the lovely Douro meandering like a Hudson River School painting, hazy in the near distance.

Akin to the state-owned Spanish paradores, the 65-year-old network of Portuguese pousadas (once entirely state-run, but now managed by the Pestana hotel group) range from 18th-century manor houses, like the one we'd been looking for, to former convents, monasteries, castles and palaces, as well as more modern buildings tucked into nature preserves and mountain ranges. They are almost all a challenge to get to — during our four-day trip in May, everyone my partner, Ian, and I spoke to had gotten lost at least once on the narrow roads that wrap around lush mountainsides where auto-routes inexplicably change names.

But any irritation over maps that don't coincide and towns that don't exist melts upon arrival. These buildings are magnificent: the ones we visited were as, if not more, beautifully turned out, we thought, than their Spanish counterparts.

Later that night, comfortably fed and checked in, we were finally able to laugh about our “one-hour” trip to Mesão Frio, which took nearly triple the time promised by Google Maps. We even recounted the story to our new friends and fellow guests, Claudia Dannhorn and Bruno Brawand, as we sat on embroidered damask chairs beneath a big crystal chandelier. Claudia sprinted back to her room and came back with a portable Global Positioning System. “You have to have one,” she said. “In Portugal there are no signs anywhere.” She pulled her legs underneath her, struggling to get comfortable — a real feat on chairs designed for ballerina-straight 18th-century postures.

This had been the formal family sitting room for a noble wine-estate family; their bewigged images adorn the traditional blue-tiled walls of the dining room. As with other manor houses in this region, these wealthy estate owners were producers of Douro wines — whites, reds and Ports — with 62 acres of family vineyards, along with orange and lemon trees.

The next morning we saw the grape vines and the fruit trees clinging to the sheer mountainside, spilling down to the meandering Douro itself. But that night it was stormy and dark, and the room was bright. Casual it is not. The chairs and love seats are the kind only Marie Antoinette might have found comfy: intricately carved, carefully embroidered. Just sitting in such a room — with its original 18th-century tiles on the walls and gilt French mirrors, straight-backed chairs and period silks everywhere — we felt as though we'd stepped over the red-velvet rope and were chilling out at Versailles. On a stand, a crumbling text in Portuguese provided the history of this family estate turned pousada.

In a gorgeously photographed coffee table book on the pousadas called “Moradas de Sonho” (which was translated as “Dream Places”), the pousadas are explained as the “preservation of [Portugal's] architectural and natural heritage, living architecture and the riches of Portuguese cooking.”

Solar da Rede's dining room — where local specialties like cabbage soup and roasted duck with a caramelized cherry reduction are served alongside such recent innovations as vegetarian crepes — was impressive, with Portuguese tiles and period chandeliers. In an environment of relaxed luxury, pousadas provide a glimpse of Portuguese history and landscapes, well off the traditional traveler's path.

Claudia and Bruno are just the type of visitor that Portugal hopes to entice as guests. The couple (she's German, he's Swiss) own and run the Hotel Berghaus Bort in the Swiss Alps town of Grindelwald, and they work without a day's rest, they told us, from November until May. Then, instead of sleeping, they travel for three weeks. One year it was Thailand. This year they were hopping from one pousada to the next, in large part because so many of their employees are Portuguese, and they wanted to get a taste of the country. Claudia and Bruno's journey began at the 12th-century Castelo de Óbidos, the first pousada converted from a historic building. They'd slept in the tower. And then they'd moved on to the medieval city of Guimarães, the entire downtown of which is a Unesco World Heritage site.

IF you drive in any direction from Guimarães — to the northern and eastern borders with Spain, or out to the Atlantic coast — the countryside is rich in pousadas: mostly convents and monasteries, each reflecting the austerity and isolation of this region in the Middle Ages. Many had fallen into terrible disrepair before adoption and rehabilitation by the pousada system. But the state of ruin, rather than complicating the restorations, allowed architects license for artistry, turning these buildings into places of the imagination as much as history.

Perhaps the best example of this is Santa Maria do Bouro, a monastery turned pousada just outside Amares, about 22 miles north of Guimarães. There I ran into J. Kasmin, a London-based retired art dealer, at the Pousada de Amares. Mr. Kasmin and his friend Peter Brock walked to the pousada, literally, at the end of a walking tour with On Foot Holidays— seven days of hiking in the Portuguese countryside. For the two, the effect of seeing the pousada through the mist was similar to that of the pilgrims who visited this monastery in the 14th century — that is, until the latter-day pilgrims stepped inside and found ancient walls transformed by modern art and design.

In the late 1980s Santa Maria do Bouro, a half-destroyed 12th-century monastery, was handed over to the Portuguese architect Eduardo Souto de Moura. He spent eight years on the restoration; the pousada was inaugurated in 1997.

The architect noted as he worked, “I am not restoring a monastery; I am building a pousada from the stones of a monastery.” The internal courtyard was left nearly a ruin, with trees growing from the rock and arches leading nowhere, visible through giant nonreflective glass windows along every corridor. Yet the rooms, once monks' cells, are modern and sleek, with all-white marble bathrooms. In the hallways, an oxidized iron ceiling hides air-conditioning and modern plumbing. Big windows have a view of a chapel attached to the monastery, seamlessly blending the old and new.

Queensland top island holiday destination

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 12:17:00 +0000

Queensland has surged to the top of the ladder for the world's most popular island holiday destinations.

The Great Barrier Reef Islands were named in the top ten islands worldwide and number one in the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific region. The awards came from Travel+Leisure magazine, as the result of its World's Best reader survey.

Fraser Island scored the number two regional island gong. The results were released in the US on Tuesday.

Ranked number 10 in the world, the Great Barrier Islands reclaimed their high standing after slipping out of the top ten in 2006 following their number five rating in 2005.

Queensland beat Tasmania, which slid from last year's number one ranking in the Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific region to number five this year, and also dropped out of the top ten in World's Best Island category after being placed sixth in 2006.

Brisbane did not get a mention in the World's Best City category, however Sydney retained its high standing, claiming fifth place after dropping from fourth last year.

Sydney was also crowned Best City in the region, for the eighth time in the survey's 12 year history.

Melbourne was second with New Zealand's Queenstown, Christchurch and Wellington claiming the other top five places.

Make the most of faulty fares

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 05:50:00 +0000

It happens all the time: An airline or cruise line posts a fare that is clearly in error and consumers seize the opportunity.

Many times, the company honors the faulty fare. Why? Not necessarily because of the written law, but rather the unwritten public relations rule that bad publicity is more expensive than the losses.

But not every situation ends the same way.

USA Today reports Holland America Lines refused to honor a 2006 fare that consumers booked at $849 USD rather than the correct price of $1399. People who had paid and received confirmations were notified that they must pay the difference or be denied boarding.

USA Today also reports the cruise line offered a $100 USD shipboard credit or the opportunity to cancel the reservations without penalty.

Is that adequate? It's likely most budget travelers would say the offer falls short.

As for the cruise line, it faces losses of varying degrees for each decision the consumers make.

n short, no one is happy.

No one can expect to hand out free airfares and survive for very long.

That's why the folks at United Airlines were pretty upset a few years ago when they discovered 143 tickets had sold at fares so low, they were virtually "free".

There was a 55-minute span one day when it paid to be on United's site, surfing for fares.

Among the offerings: San Francisco to Paris round-trip for $24.98 USD!

There were other fares at that same price involving round-trip travel to Hong Kong, too.

United's initial response to all of this angered those lucky buyers. The airline stated the obvious when it claimed the fares were due to "technical errors." It also said the prices would not be honored, and that the buyers should have known the prices were listed in error.

The predictable outrage that followed prompted United to honor the faulty fares for the sake of customer relations. The Associated Press and CNN quoted spokesman Chris Brathwaite: "We've chosen not to make this issue a point of dissatisfaction with our customers." If someone offered you a $24.98 round-trip to Hong Kong, could your schedule be cleared to take advantage of it?.

Spokesman Brathwaite also admonished the lucky buyers to "enjoy this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He's stating the obvious again, but consider that United has been in this position a number of times.

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Jubilation as Taj Mahal is among new 7 wonders

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Mon, 09 Jul 2007 05:46:00 +0000

As soon as Bollywood star Bipasha Basu exclaimed "Oh my god, it's the Taj Mahal!" in Lisbon, millions of eager Indians who had been glued to their TV sets in the early hours on Sunday watching the function jumped in joy as the 17th century monument of love was selected among a list of new Seven Wonders of the World.

There was much hugging and "congratulations", bursting of firecrackers and distribution of sweets after the Taj was named at a star-studded function in Benfica Stadium, Lisbon, Portugal. It was attended by several celebrities including actors Ben Kingsley and Hilary Swank.

The seven wonders list was compiled through a global poll participated in by at least 100 million votes casted through Internet, telephone and SMS campaign.

Apart from the Taj Mahal, the others are, the Great Wall of China, Brazil's Statue of Christ the Redeemer, Peru's Machu Picchu Inca trail, Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid, Jordan's Petra archaeological site and the Colosseum in Rome were declared as winners.

How to gain frequent flyer miles

noreply@blogger.com (TravelPort) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 05:42:00 +0000

Traveler Buzz takes a look at how you can utilize and gain those frequent flyer miles.