Our tip for today: TRAVEL LIKE INDIANA JONES!
Need some inspiration for your next adventure? Try following this Hollywood hunk’s footsteps from South America to the Middle East and visit some of the sites from the films! Check out what Gadling writes about these adventure-packed destinations: Peru, Nepal, Egypt, China, India, and Jordan. Don’t forget your passport!
Travel, be it a family vacation, business trip or RTW adventure, has gone digital. Between the internet cafés (which are quickly becoming a thing of the past), 4G and matchbook-sized travel devices, there are plenty of gizmos to keep you constantly connected to the rest of the world on the other side of cyberspace. Mobile apps like Facebook and Instagram are some of the most common – seriously, who doesn’t use them? But have you heard of some of these others? Below is a [truncated] list of the “Ultimate Travel Apps” – a list compiled by CNNGo. I’ve summarized 5 apps that I’d splurge on. To view the whole list, click here.
1) UNESCO World Heritage Location Guide – Over 900 sites all over the world to browse from, this is a great app for those travelers looking for something on the road less traveled. (Don’t worry, all the famous sites are on there, too.)
2) mTrip – Great for big cities in Asia (i.e.: Bangkok, Hong Kong… all my faves). It tells you what places you’d enjoy visiting (based on preferences you enter once downloaded) and even lets you send virtual postcards to friends and family! I am a sucker for postcards – physical or digital – so I think this one is perfect.
3) Trip Advisor – As small business owners, Trip Advisor is some of the best word-of-mouth advertising we could ask for. Whenever we go on trips (even if it’s just a of couple hours away), we’ll hit up this site for activities, things to do and hotel recommendations. NOTE: In my experience, this site has only been beneficial for places in the U.S. (If you want to check out our business on Trip Advisor, just click here!)
4) Tripline – This app lets you document your trip with pictures, notes and a mapped timeline of everywhere you’ve been. You can check in at various places on your journey just by snapping a photo! Then return home and replay your adventures at your next family function.
5) EveryTrail – Perfect for nature freaks and hiking junkies, this app lets you find trips and trails nearest you, allows you to map your route with the phone’s GPS and even find other hikers in your area. You can view stats (like elevation and distance), see pictures of what’s around the bend and search tons of other trips that fellow nature nuts have taken.
Last tip: Make sure you’ll actually be able to use your smartphone or mobile device where you’re traveling. Just because you have lightning-speed service doesn’t mean you’ll be able to catch a signal in all corners of the globe.
Safe travels!
As much as I love exploring local cuisine when traveling, I was excited to hear that McDonald’s is opening an all-vegetarian outlet in India soon! While the conglomerate certainly has more than a few strikes against it (like tons of trans fats, very UNfair trade with farmers, obesity-causing-artery-clogging fries for a mere $1…just to name a few), I was surprised to see it could and would bend its menu to accommodate a vegetarian diet. In India, where the majority of the population is Hindu and does not eat beef for religious reasons (there are also a large number of Muslims in the country who do not eat pork), McDonald’s needed to invent a menu that was 100% veggie-friendly. And they did! According to CNNGo, Micky D’s gave up their McRib and Big Mac burgers for the McAloo Tiki burger and the McVeggie – an delicious vegetable patty made with carrots, potatoes and peas. The sandwich I’m most excited about (who says you can’t be excited for people halfway across the earth?) is the McSpicy Paneer – a spicy burger filled with paneer (Indian) cheese!
The McSpicy Panner sandwich! YUM!
The foodie fun has its downsides, though. McDonald’s wants to build stores that would be practically on top of Temples and holy site property in order to maximize visitor foot traffic. Many locals and officials are upset that the golden arches are invading their space and building too close to sacred sites.
Many Indians are upset that McDonald’s plans to open a location close to the Golden Temple of Amritsar. They say it’s an “attempt to humiliate Hindus”.
As enthusiastic as I am about the spicy panner sandwich (and the jobs that McDonald’s could bring to India), I hope the company has enough compassion to set aside their business plans and respect the Indian culture. Read the whole article on CNNGo.com!
Just when we feel like we’re familiar with where we live and have developed a routine, this great state of Florida shows us what more there is to explore. With an abundance of bays, freshwater streams & rivers, the Gulf of Mexico and even the Atlantic Ocean, water sports here are endless. Kayaking is one of our favorite activities – a cooler of Yuengling, a bright blue sky and miles of quiet mangroves make the perfect retreat. But recently, we’ve discovered the majestic underwater world through snorkeling Florida’s natural springs.
For my 25th birthday, the two of us decided to have an adventure and explore Crystal River, FL – about 2 hours north of St. Petersbug. At 6am, we slithered into wetsuits and hit the water with our Captain.
In the winter, she told us, the manatees congregate in the rivers because the water is warmer than the Gulf. In the winter, there are 500-600 manatees stuffed like sardines in all of the river canals, eating, sleeping, floating, playing…. there are so many manatees, “you could walk across their backs.” We came at the end of the season when the manatees have moved back into the Gulf of Mexico but we still saw 18 of the gentle giants feasting on seagrass and floating lazily through the water!
Swimming face-t0-face with these animals was incredible. They were so focused on eating that we could get just inches from their faces and they would hardly notice we were there. The ones that weren’t eating would just float in the water, resting, sleeping – they are very lazy animals – which made for great photo opportunities.
The last stop on our snorkeling adventure was an area called Three Sisters Springs – 3 natural, underwater springs accessible only by swimming or kayak. The hanging moss and clear, turquoise-green water made this remote spot absolutely breathtaking.
Three Sisters Springs
At first, we snorkeled into the springs. We treaded water in place as we took in the view. This tropical lagoon was one of the most beautiful sites I have seen since snorkeling in Thailand. There were fish everywhere! Underwater, the sand was bright white and seagrass swayed with the currents. The springs looked like giant craters with fish hovering over the openings, relaxing in the warm bubbles. Fallen trees were suspended under the surface and as September swam over the springs to explore, I couldn’t believe how tiny she looked compared to the vast world underwater. Unfortunately, we don’t have a waterproof camera but trust us, it looks just as beautiful under water as it does above.
After our snorkeling tour, we rented kayaks from our hotel and paddled back to the springs to take more pictures. September took a nap on the kayak as I sat quietly and absorbed the scenery, quietly planning a future excursion back to this hidden oasis.
Crystal River made for a wonderful adventure! The manatees were gentle giants, the springs were beautiful and the getaway was relaxing. We’re already planning our next trip and we can’t wait to go back!
We’ve kind of been MIA lately – swamped with work in our “real lives” where we own and operate a shaved ice business on the beach. We moved from Michigan to Florida last June to buy Beach Snoballs – an artisan shaved ice shop across the street from the Gulf of Mexico in Treasure Island, Florida. I know, rough life, right? Spring breakers and tourists have consumed us this month but today, we made it to the FRONT PAGE of the local beach newspaper! The Pinellas Beaches Patch interviewed us and took some great pictures of our storefront and of us shaving/making a customer’s snoball. Click here to read our article!
Photo credit: Rachel Jolley of the Pinellas Beaches Patch
And a little side note: The businesses around Treasure Island are having a contest for Best Customer Service on the Beach. Beach Snoballs has made it to the Elite 8 but we need VOTES to move on to the next round. If you would be willing to take a few seconds to click the link below and vote for BEACH SNOBALLS in the contest, we would greatly appreciate your support.
You don’t have to have visited our shop before to vote – anyone can vote! And you can submit votes from multiple devices (phones, laptops, desktops, iPads, etc.). So the more votes we can accumulate between now and Monday at noon, the better! THANK YOU to all!
Moving to Florida (we bought a beachside business on the Gulf) has been absolutely fantastic. Besides having a great starting location for our travels with easy access to the Caribbean, Mexico, Cuba and Central America, it’s warm even in the winter, we get an abundance of Vitamin D, there are palm trees and grapefruit trees in our back yard and the wildlife is awesome. We’re both from the midwest (Michigan and Pennsylvania), so the tropical flora and fauna are very exotic to us. (How often can you just pull off at a roadside park and see live gators!?). If you have never been to Florida or are looking for great location for a getaway, we highly recommend the Sunshine State. Oh, and stop by our shop – Beach Snoballs - on Treasure Island – we’d love to meet you!
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This is a picture I took while we were moving into our new house – I found this little guy crawling on our mailbox!
Check out this treasury on Etsy called Life’s a Beach! It’s all beach-related art by artists from all over the world! Excited for summer yet??
We’re back! After a brief hiatus to handle a family emergency, we’re back in Florida.
This week’s Travel Tip Tuesday is all about how to save money WHILE TRAVELING. So you’ve already hit the road, you’re on an adventure and you want to be sure you stay within your budget. The tips below will help effectively budget your money and not go broke while traveling.
How to save money while traveling:
Forego fancy restaurants – Utilize the local markets and vendors to make your own food or eat the street food (which is MUCH cheaper than restaurants, usually). That being said, you’ll want to navigate street foods carefully and have anti-diarrhea pills handy.
Save the souvenirs – My first trip to China, I bought 3 tea sets (I’m an impulse buyer) without factoring in that China was only the first stop on my itinerary. The lesson: Buy souvenirs and ship them home or stick to smaller items that you can easily put it your pack and carry with you (jewelry, magnets, etc.)
Tipping – An easy way to save money while you’re traveling is researching local customs to see if tipping is necessary. In the U.S., we tip for everything but in some cities in China, it’s rude to tip. Do the research and you may be able to save a chunk of change.
Taxi Troubles – If you can get around without using a taxi, do it. If you can’t, try to negotiate the fare before getting in. (If you’re a woman, fight hard. There are many countries that will try to take advantage of you if you’re a foreign woman).
Exchanging Money – Exchange money for the currency you want BEFORE you get to that country. Don’t exchange at the airport and if you use a kiosk, don’t forget there are fees. I like to use ATM’s… but watch out… there are international and bank fees that apply to ATM’s, too.
Tours and Tickets – This is my weakness. It’s so tempting to book every boat charter, snorkeling trip, zip line and caving tour out there but these activities will drain your bank. Set a budget and stick to it. Or investigate what the tours do (where they go, how they get there, what’s included) and do some of the same activities on your own.
For more tips and tricks to saving money while overseas, check out AirTreks Travel Blog.
The Chinese are generally known to be frugal and modest, so it’s quite a surprise to hear that a 66-day luxury trip around the world sold out in just 13 SECONDS! The trip costs [a mere] RMB 660,000 – over $100,000 USD. The 11-person tour is organized by Ctrip – a Chinese travel agency conglomerate. (Tip: book airline tickets through them when you’re in China – they’re much cheaper than the usual travel agencies/airlines).
The “world tour”, China claims, is the “ultimate travel experience.” The itinerary looks something like this:
Australia + 24 days in South America + a cruise to Antarctica + North Africa + Europe + a 10-day cruise through the Med + Paris + Finland + Dubai + India + Hong Kong.
They’re flying first-class to all of their destinations, staying at the most high-end and posh hotels, and only participating in luxury-related activities. Read the article at CNN Go here.
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I think this type of “tour” is an embarrassment for China. Not only is it ridiculously expensive given that the price tag is 8-10x that of the average annual Chinese salary, but I think it’s extremely homogenous, limited, and narrow-minded. Don’t get me wrong, people are absolutely free to travel however they please and by whatever means they desire but don’t call this the “ultimate travel experience” globetrotting tour of of the world when you’re only going to a fraction of it. (These are my personal thoughts only and do not reflect those of CNN Go or Ctrip.)
