Copyright 2006 Martin Pavion
As a frequent traveler I have amassed a small collection of important tips and strategies for making the most of my hotel stays and for saving money.
Avoiding The Queues When Checking-In Or Out
If you are arriving at a peak time, perhaps during a conference and the check-in line is going to take you some time, you can check your bags in with the bellboy immediately and then telephone reception to check-in by phone. State that you want to confirm your reservation. Usually you will need to provide you booking reference and your credit card details and you can then walk immediately over to reception to collect your key without any hassle.
When checking out of a hotel it is often possible to check out early but still have the use of your room until the official checkout time. Hotels will usually allow you to leave your baggage with the bellboy and use your room for relaxing and showering before the official checkout time. This is a great strategy if you expect that a large group of people will want to check-out at the same time as you.
Free Hi-Speed Internet
Take your own RJ-11 ADSL cable with you to your hotel. This is a standard cable that connects your computer to an Internet socket. You will be surprised to learn that many hotels do not have effective controls of their Internet service. Often a hotel only monitors your Internet use by letting your rent the ADSL cable for a period of time. Hotels might tell you that you need to purchase a password and enter it into a webpage but you may find that you can access the Internet without it or that any password is accepted. You may find that there are restrictions on web browsing but none for checking and sending emails through a POP3 account. For the small effort of bringing your own cable you may save a lot of money.
Discounted Business Services
Rather than put up with the high price of a hotel's business services locate a 'convention bureau' near to where you are staying. There are convention bureaus in almost every town and they are designed especially for business travelers who require services such as; photocopying, faxing, photo developing and typing. They will be a lot cheaper and more efficient than in the hotel.
Bluff You Way To A Hotel Discount
Nearly all hotels, which host wedding parties, will have a discounted rate for friends and family. Look for welcome signs at the hotel to see if they are currently hosting a wedding and enquire if friends of the wedding couple receive discounted rates.
This might also work for business conventions but try your best to look like a businessperson if you are going to bluff you way for this.
Before booking your hotel room, check on the Internet for discount rates. Recently I arrived at a hotel in Asia, asked at reception for the walk-in rates, went immediately to the lobby's Internet café and booked my room online for less than half the cost.
Get A Replacement Cellphone Charger
Cellphone chargers are commonly left in hotel rooms and reception should be able to lend you a replacement if you have forgotten yours. The chargers are usually lost property and you may be able to keep it after use.
Make Discounted International Phone Calls From Your Hotel Room
Hotels are notorious for their expensive phone charges. They often bill for toll-free calls that prevents people using traditional calling cards. International calls are often only available via an operator.
Before you travel, register for a free account with a callback provider such as United World Telecom (see the link below). United World Telecom's International Callback service is designed especially to work around hotel restrictions. Their international callback service requires you to set up the hotel room you wish to call from in advance which can be done in just a few seconds online or by telephone. Once set up, you inform United World Telecom's computer that you wish to make your phone call and they will telephone to you. Their service is especially well designed for hotels as you can set the service to work with both automated switchboards and with live telephone operators.
It is completely free to register with United World Telecom's Callback Service without obligations. Whilst international callback is a great way to beat the hotel's high charges it is completely legal and will never present you with a problem using it. You will also save as much as 80% on your telephone costs with this service.
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Martin Pavion is an international business traveler. He owns and operates 'The True Potential Group' which comprises of a number of internet-based companies.
http://www.truepot.com
The International Calback service mentioned in this article which can reduce hotel telephone bills by 80% is provided for free with "United World Telecom for Me"
http://www.uwt4me.com
Please feel free to contact me through my TruePot.com website.
Burlington Ontario
Copyright 2006 Jason Seib
Remember The Sound of Music?
We'd be lying if we said you could catch a glimpse of Austria in Burlington, Ontario but this Canadian city has its own version of the sound of music. The festival is held in the summer and we don't think you'd hear the strains of Edelweiss in the air, but how about popular rock bands like The Trews, Sloan, Out of Options, and David Usher? Your teenager would probably love to go to Burlington just for this festival.
Beautiful Burlington is just an hour's drive from Toronto and Niagara Falls, and it's waiting for you and the rest of the clan, because like most sophisticated cities that don't really want to blow their own horn, it is delightfully cosmopolitan if that's your cup of tea, and it is also country'ish and serene, the way others like it.
Or it can be flowery and shrubbery - for botanical lovers. Burlington is home to the Royal Botanical Gardens, admittedly one of North America's largest. And if the wild beckons your soul, the Bronte Creek Provincial Park should offer a breath of fresh air. If you're a confirmed hiker, Burlington has hiking paths and nature trails.
If you have time to spare on the weekend, drop by Village Square and amber along Artists Walk where about 40 artisans will be displaying their craft from Friday to Sunday all summer. To cool off, the Waterfront in the downtown core will welcome you with its water jet fountain, playground, waterside restaurant and observatory.
Jazz and blues are available, and so are ribs. Just ask for the Rotary Ribfest. If you've come for a culture treat, the Museums of Burlington would hardly disappoint even the most critical of art critics. If you tend to focus on things historical, visit the Joseph Brant museum for bits and pieces of Burlington history and stimulate all five senses with Canadiana costumes and accessories.
Want to know the latest in broadcasting techniques and equipment? The Crossroads Centre is the place to go. It is supposed to house the most refined TV production centres in the world.
A visit to Burlington won't be complete without the usual scenic drive. There are several ways to do it. You can start from East Lakeshore and zig zag your way until Oakville, or start at Beach Drive where ice cream at The Beachway and a lift bridge await you. Another way is to take the "rightly rural" itinerary: watch farmland roll by with occasional glimpses of beautiful golf terrain and then picnic at Lowville to end your day.
The city of Burlington had a population of over 150,000 five years ago, and is a sister city of Itabashi in Japan with whom it has had exchange programs for many years.
There's one Burlington secret not many people know about. It has two of Canada's naturally occurring magnetic hills just north of Bayview Park. This one must make it to your list.
For accommodations and conference facilities, go to the cities offical site www.tourismburlington.com, and as the home page so tauntingly puts it, "elevate your experience…visit Burlington."
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Jason Seib lives five minutes away from Burlington Ontario and visits frequently for business and pleasure, on the side he also runs a local community information and free classified's site.
http://www.myburlington.net
Holidays in Kerala
Kerala or the moniker "God's own country" as it has come to be known by, lies on the south west tip of the Indian peninsula. Kerala is one of four states that comprise the Linguistic-cultural region known as South India. Kerala's culture is mainly Dravidian in origin, but has been enriched with over a thousand years of interaction with overseas Cultures. Kerala spans approximately 39,000 sq. km of rich biodiversity, endless beaches, abundant wildlife and fertile land.
Kerala is sandwiched between the Arabian Sea to the west and the Western ghats to the east (which have been identified by National Geographic as one of the world's twenty-five biodiversity hotspots). It is crisscrossed by a network of interconnected brackish canals, lakes, estuaries, and rivers known as the Kerala Backwaters. The Western ghats ' in Kerala consist of high mountains, gorges and deep-cut valleys. This explains why Holidays in Kerala can be multifaceted. They can include:
1. Beach and backwater vacations
2. Wildlife vacations
3. Ayurveda vacations
1. Beach and Backwater vacations
A good starting point for a backwater vacation in Kerala is Alappuzha. It consists of an intricate maze of backwaters, canals and bridges. You could travel right up to
Cochin on the Backwaters, in a boat. Beautiful Chinese fishing nets dot the journey, and watching them at sunset is a magical experience.
You could also travel up to Kollam from Alappuzha. The route winds up the Pampa river to Champpakkulam, an island hamlet, then into the Karumadi Canal. The accompanying scenery throughout the journey is ravishing.
Good beaches to visit while on a holiday in Kerala include Kovalam Beach, Varkala Beach, and Shankhumugham Beach in Thiruvananthapuram City. The Shankhumugham Beach is a sunset watcher's paradise. While in Kollam, the beaches to visit include Thirumullavaram Beach and Thankassery beach.
Other beautiful beaches in Kerala include Kappad (Kozhikode), Fort Kochi Beach (Ernakulam), and Dharma (Kannur)
2. Wildlife vacations
A number of wildlife sanctuaries are spread across Kerala. The Aralam Sanctuary is situated 35 km from Thalasserry and 60 km from Kannur town. It is spread over 55 sq kms. of forested areas on the slopes of the Western ghats and is famous for bison, leopards, jungle cat, and deer.
The Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary located in the rain shadow of the western ghats is the second habitat for the endangered Giant Grizzled Squirrel in India. Its main attractions include Elephants, gaurs, panthers, and spotted deer.
Other well known wildlife hotspots include the Periyar Wildlife sanctuary and the Muthanga Wildlife Sanctuary.
3. Ayurveda vacations
Kerala Ayurveda offers recreative and therapeutic health options. Some of the therapies available include Navarakizhi (for all types of rheumatism, pain in joints, weakness or wasting of the limbs, blood pressure problems, cholesterol and certain kinds of skin diseases), Sirovasthi (for facial paralysis, dryness of nostrils, mouth and throat, severe headaches, burning sensation to the head), Dhara (for insomnia, vata predominated diseases and mental tension) and Rejuvenation based therapies (which include yoga, meditation, and body massages) .
