Himanshu Nagpal of New Delhi INDIA

35. Featured Traveller 

Himanshu Nagpal

Senior Business Analyst : Traveller 

(New Delhi, INDIA)

                               

“Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” 

― Gustave Flaubert

We are, indeed, lucky to have the opportunity to feature Himanshu from New Delhi. He works in a corporate world and spend Monday to Friday at his desk working to earn enough to live his travel dreams. You won't believe it. It took months for us to finalize this interview and publish his story. Understandably, my invitation came in time for his trip to the United Kingdom.

Flag of India

Being a traveller, he is keen on keeping his travel budget intact. "Budget and planning are the most important part of any trip and plays a very important role", he says. "It is necessary and quite helpful to keep an eye on the travel fares months before so you can capture the best deal. Also, it is best to plan so that money is not wasted on places which you do not want to visit or are over-hyped", he adds. Himanshu still believes that most of the beautiful places are natural and free to visit, so much so that one can reduce travel expenses.

Himanshu has been travelling to cities and towns of his country. Outside of India, he has travelled to Thailand and very recently explored England. It is his first time away from family during the Diwali festival. He spends most of the holiday season, including Christmas in the United Kingdom wandering the beautiful places in England.

Beach Shack in Goa INDIA

Just like most travellers, he believes that the beauty and happiness in travelling is just around his backyard. There are many places in India that is waiting to be discovered. Himanshu invites his fellow travellers and readers of this blog to re-discover India. He can tell you many stories about India in his own travel blog, Being Traveler.

Continue reading his story.....

13 Tips to Help You Save on Airfare

Written by Stephanie Lynch

It's no secret that buying an airline ticket could set you back hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.  If you don't carefully plan your purchasing ahead of time, you could be spending close to 50 percent of your travel budget on airline tickets alone.

Since most of us don't mind saving a dollar or two, let's explore 13 ways you can save a lot of money on your next airline ticket.

13.  Fare Alerts

Many airfare websites and airlines have fare alerts that you can sign up for free.  With these alerts, you can simply insert your itinerary and you will be notified every time the fare prices drop. Fare alert websites include FareWaterPlus, Bing Travel and TripAdvisor.com/flights.

12.  Buy a Package

Since there's a good chance that you're going to get a hotel and maybe even a rental car, consider buying everything in one package.  In the travel industry, the more you purchase, the more you're likely to save.

11.  Watch the Extra Fees

While that $200 airline ticket could look appealing, the price in the end may be a lot more than that.  With airlines charging for checked in bags, assigned seating and other miscellaneous fees, make sure that you closely research the hidden fees before buying an airline ticket.  If possible, try to stick to low fare airlines like Southwest.

The Authentic Traveler: A Voyage on a Wine-Dark Sea

Written by Douglas Arvidson

“Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.” ~ Paul Theroux

                                                                                                             

“Take the long way home.” ~ Supertramp, 1979

Paul Theroux, the novelist and travel writer, is sometimes a curmudgeon, sometimes a cranky realist, and is always impatient with so-called travelers who insist on getting where they are going the easy way. I’m one of those travelers who would rather take that easy way and so Theroux is a dubious hero of mine. I don’t really want to travel as fearlessly as he does: living, somehow, out of one small bag without bathing for days on end, and enduring, without complaint, any of the many varieties of sickness travelers can suffer from. But neither do I want to be a mere tourist; I, too, want to be an authentic traveler.

Final preparations for leaving Guam

So, I will travel Paul Theroux style if I must—if it is worth it. Last year a friend of mine—we had been long-time neighbors living on our sail boats on the island of Guam—invited me to help sail his boat from Guam to Cebu, an island set back deep in the vast Philippine archipelago. We would leave in the middle of April, after the trade winds had died down a bit. It would take maybe ten or eleven days. There would be six of us, so watches would be relatively short and there would long periods to relax—to read, fish, to sleep, to contemplate the sea.

Julio Moreno of California U.S.A.

34.  Featured Traveller 
 Julio Moreno

English Teacher : Traveller

California USA

"Seeing the world, one world heritage site at a time"

It is with great pleasure to introduce a Mexican-American friend from Los Angeles, California who teaches English in South Korea. Julio was born in Mexico. He moved to the United States with his family at a young age of 3.

Flag of the USA

Aside from Mexico, South Korea and the United States which are destinations he has lived in, he explored other countries and has travelled to Canada, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Italy, Vatican City, the Netherlands, Japan, Taiwan, Macao, Hong Kong, Peru and Indonesia and hopes to one day visit his top five of his dream destinations, namely, the Maldives, Palau, North Korea, India and Antarctica.

Julio admits he is a penny pinching accountant when it comes to travel, and according to him, it is not about getting the cheapest thing, it is about the best value. He continues by saying that he knows few people who are as thorough with planning and budgeting as he is. "Let's start with planning. I plan everything, including bus schedules, special activities, quickest routes, best things to see, things to eat, etc. Then, once everything is planned, I keep the plan in my back pocket. It is like my own personal guide book, but I am by no means tied to it. If I find something better, I am definitely willing to change plans", he adds.

As of this writing, Julio is due to be back from his third trip to Japan. It is a week of discovering Tokyo and its neighbouring cities. On his return, I am pretty sure he has many more stories to tell about this country. Meanwhile, let's join him in reminiscing his experiences with the friendly people of Osaka and its neighbouring cities.

Connect with Julio and read more about his Travel World Heritage by following him on Facebook.

* * * * *

My favourite place that I have visited is Japan, so I would like to run you guys through why I think it is such an awesome country.

First and foremost, my idea of a perfect destination is kind of an illusion. I want to find a place that is unique by developing independently of the outside world, but at the same time welcoming of outsiders. Imagine being a traveller in those old medieval movies (minus the bubonic plague and all) where you arrive in a new town and someone offers to show you around, despite being a complete stranger. Japan is the closest to that in my opinion. It is built with its own agenda of weird and unusual trends by our standards, yet it is very much welcoming to visitors.

Downtown Osaka JAPAN

In September of 2012, I took a trip to Osaka with the intent of visiting the World Heritage Sites of Kyoto, Nara, and the Horyu-Ji temple. By my third day, all of the locals I had met had been overly polite and helpful. Maybe it was because I had just come from Italy (yeah I said it), but I was impressed. When I arrived at Nara, a 70-year old woman named Keiko approached me and asked if she could show me around. She insisted that she didn't require any money and just wanted to kill some time. It turned out, her husband was a biologist studying the area, and she had to tag along.

Pahiyas Festival 2020

You don't want to miss the Pahiyas Festival this year, 2020, do you?

Lucban is considered a third class municipality in the province of Quezon, the Philippines. This town is made popular and associated with Pahiyas Festival. It is situated at the foot of Mount Banahaw de Lucban and approximately 26 kilometres from Lucena City and 160 km from Manila via this city.

People of Lucban

They call themselves Lucbanin. They are warm, friendly, and simple life. Most of them are religious and have been visiting the old church that was built since the year 1700s. 

My latest visit became memorable not only because of the festival, the food, and the like but because of the warm reception of a family whom we met for the first time. Their gestures are full of sincerity. The family has a huge house, yet, simple and humble.

If your travelling includes meeting local people, Lucban is the place for you and Lucbanins are the people you have to meet.

A Quick Trip to Nafplio, Greece: The Highlights

Written by Kate Power

Nafplio was once the capital of Greece, way back between 1823 and 1834, but the town’s history dates back much further. Legend says it was built by the god Poseidon’s son Nafplios and the daughter of Danaus, Anymone and soldiers from Nafplio were instrumental in the Trojan War. It was an important town during Byzantine times and the influence of Venetian and Turkish invaders can be seen throughout its architecture. Today Nafplio is popular as a holiday destination for Greeks and visitors from abroad. It’ll impress history buffs who come to discover the historic fortress and anyone looking for a romantic getaway in gorgeous surroundings. Nafplio is sometimes known as the jewel in the crown of the Peloponnese, a landmass south of Athens that sits right on the water.

Nafplio Tilt Shift Photo Credit: Mendhak Flickr

Start your visit to Nafplio holiday with a lazy walk around the Old Town. The twisting cobbled streets and colourful houses are more typical of an Italian city than traditional Greece; there are neoclassical mansions draped by Bougainvillea trees, small iron balconies with sunset views and Turkish fountains.