SUMMER vacations are round the corner. In about a month’s time, most of the country’s schools will close for the mandatory two months’ holidays. But if you are one of the late planners, then you still have some basic planning to do, like where to go?
If your budget plans allow you to visit the African continent, then A Travel Guide to Africa’s www.africaguide. com/ would probably be the best place to visit.
This vast African tourism portal covers 52 countries of the continent. There are tourist packages ranging from Safari Holidays, Resort Holidays and Events and Festivals. There is also an online shop that may interest your pocket.
A health advisory to the simple facts about the tallest and the smallest factoid link are all here on this site. For example, did you know that Somalia is the only country in the world where all the citizens speak one language, Somali. And the Berbers of North Africa have no written form of their language? The Health link takes you to a fairly-detailed page on the medical problems to expect in Africa.
However, a minor irritant for the first-time visitor is the small pop-up window that really gets on your nerves, whenever you visit the main page repeatedly.
From Africa we travel Down Under. And here we visit the country’s biggest city, Sydney. Australia has always been a fascinating place. So, there is no reason why technology should put an end to all the fun.
The Sydney Harbour and its surroundings are one of Australia’s most happening places. But if you want to enjoy the quiet and peace of the place, then the most thrilling place is the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge!
Yes, you can climb all the way up to the top of the bridge and get a never-before, breath-taking view of the spectacular Sydney Harbour.
Details of this adventure can be found online at www.bridgeclimb.com. It has everything from fares and timings of group tours to fascinating facts and figures, together with stunning photos of what it’s like at the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Away from urban Australia, an interesting website is www.crystalinks. com/australia.html. Here, alternative Australia is explored. Aborigines, the original Australians who were ruthlessly put down by the White settlers, are the highlight. Their art, music, boomerangs and Australia’s very own natural wonder, the Ayers Rock (or as the natives call it, Uluru) are the focus.
Europe is almost but a natural choice for many in the country. And increasingly, Ireland is becoming a popular place to be, specially within the medical fraternity. Entertainment Ireland’s http://entertainment.ie helps you plan a proper visit to the land of St Patrick.
The Irish are known to have a great time and this site proves the fact. From clubbing to theatres and local festivals, Entertainment Ireland provides you with the right information to have a great time in Dublin and numerous other cities around Ireland. Theatre, music, film, clubs, restaurants, festivals, museums and more are likely to catch your click.
Staying in Europe, we go to In Your Pocket’s www.inyourpocket.com and the less-explored world of Eastern Europe. From tips for credit cards in the Czech Republic, to toilet facilities in Romania, this is useful site. Get ready to visit the Eurovision Song Contest due to be held on May 24, in Latvia. Need-to-know travel essentials to the region are provided here.
And if you really dig festivals, then you should check out www.whatsonwhen.com. Searchable entries by theme, place and date, with summaries of pilgrimages, outdoor raves and festivals tempt readers to local and far-flung locations.
So if you want to get to know the Dutch a little more, opt for April 30. That is when they’ll be out on the streets of Amsterdam partying in their thousands.
Moving away from geographic specific locations, National Geographic Online provides us with online maps for the global traveller at www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/maps.
Not satisfied with bringing out just a magazine, or documenting animals at their beastly best, the National Geographic people have set up a spectacular website, that among other things, includes dynamic political, physical and satellite atlases, with the option to zoom in or out of all selected regions. However, the site requires Shockwave.
With air travel being the dominant means to get from one corner of the globe to the other, www.airsafe.com has plenty of links that helps the traveller take the right decision on which airline to take. This it does by keeping track of an airline’s safety record. Other than the scary stuff, there are also links that will help you deal with the fear of flying, top 10 tips to what precautions a passenger should take to ensure a safe flight.
And if this site does not take care of your flying worries, then this one will definitely. The Aviation Health Institute’s www.aviation-health.org has info like socks that can save your life, to exercise, cosmic radiation and pregnancy. There is also a useful newspaper article on the deadly SARS virus and the symptoms to look out for.
Still, for many, all these worries come second only to fear and the headache of flying with kids and www.flyingwithkids. com/ gives tips on baby air travel, a check list of travelling with children and family travel gear for the moms and dads of the world. There is an interesting link as well, Family Tales. Read and see if you can add to this growing list.
Travel With Bikes’ www.bikeaccess.net/default.cfm offers a rather interesting, if not a pretty tiresome alternative to travelling via plane.
This address tells you to have a great time, and go around the world on a bicycle. There’s information on hiring bikes around the world, and plenty of ideas on where to go and what to do on two wheels.
Other than flying fears, there are worries of going to some of the most dangerous places on earth. Fielding’s DangerFinder’s www.comebackalive.com/df/index.htm is an independent attempt at identifying some of the most dangerous places in the world that you should probably avoid. From the list of 31 of the most dangerous places in the world to visit (of course, Pakistan is here), to the mere definition of what is dangerous and things that a visitor should clearly steer clear from during his vacations, like disease, guns and land mines(!), besiege this site. By the way, the US is also in the list of most dangerous places, so we are in good company.
Still, no matter where you go, currency conversion is one thing that has to be taken care of and Universal Currency Converter’s www.xe.net/ucc/full.shtml is an effective currency calculator that carries information on more than 180 currencies. Calculate beforehand how many rupees (or dollars) you should leave home with. This is definitely one site you shouldn’t leave home without.
SUMMER vacations are round the corner. In about a month’s time, most of the country’s schools will close for the mandatory two months’ holidays. But if you are one of the late planners, then you still have some basic planning to do, like where to go?
