Leisure Special

To avoid jet lag disturbing the first few days of your holiday as your body acclimatises to a new time zone, you may need to think ahead and synchronise your body clock before you travel. If you’re travelling east, try going to bed earlier for a couple of nights. If you’re travelling west, go to bed later. Here are following suggestions that can also help to reduce the effects of jet lag.

• Drink plenty of water before, during and after the flight to avoid dehydration.
• Don’t drink lots of alcohol or take unnecessary medication while in flight.
• Sleep well before the flight and during long journeys if you can.
• If you’re travelling west over four or more time zones (to New York, for example) make sure you get bright natural light in the early evening. This will help you to adapt to the new time.
• If you’re going east, try to return at around midday to get the brightest light of the day. Wear eyeshades on the plane and try to stay in the dark and quiet. Read the rest of this entry »

It may sound simple, but wearing comfortable shoes is essential when spending hours of vacation time on your feet. Comfortable shoes can help to alleviate the discomfort caused by corns and calluses and help to prevent blisters.

For those travelers with corns and calluses, plan to see your podiatrist before embarking on your trip. You may wish to ease the discomfort by packing over-the-counter cushion treatments to protect feet while on vacation. Blisters are one of the most common travelling foot injuries. Avoid missing out on enjoyable vacation excursions by using over-the-counter treatments such as Dr. Scholl’s® Cushlin® UltraSlim Blister Treatment to help heal and prevent blisters.

In addition, comfortable shoes with proper arch support delay the occurrence of tired, achy feet, a common culprit that hampers the enjoyment of much anticipated travel activities, such as hiking. Many over-the-counter insoles and devices can improve the arch support of a shoe, allowing for more “on your feet” time during a vacation.

The problem facing most families being coerced by the children to go on a trip to park is how to afford it without taking out an extra mortgage! There is however a number of practical steps that can sensibly be taken to limit the financial pain of this sort after holiday and in truth save a lot of money. So, here’s the Crafty way to save money when buying tickets for the parks:

• Buy tickets in advance via the parks’ websites – they will be up to 20 per cent cheaper than if you buy at the gate on the day. But bear in mind that most pre-purchased tickets are for specific dates, so you cannot just switch if it’s raining on your selected day. Legoland is an exception – its tickets are valid any day of the season. You can’t buy tickets online as you’re about to head off to the park – you need to do so at least a day ahead, and in some cases two days.
• Booking a hotel/theme park ticket package can work out good value. For example, Legoland offers a free second day in the park. Though online agents rarely undercut theme parks’ own best ticket prices, they are worth checking out for accommodation/ticket deals. Read the rest of this entry »

The most important rule of the road is to make sure you keep your money, credit and debit cards, passport, and airline tickets on you at all times. We don’t recommend carrying anything valuable in a purse (too easily snatched) or a backpack, which can be opened without your noticing. Even a wallet kept in your front pocket can be taken by an experienced pickpocket.

Instead, we recommend a money pouch that can be concealed under your clothing. Some attach to your belt, while others are worn around the neck, waist or calf. These are particularly important if you’re sleeping on a train, standing on a crowded subway or staying in a hotel that is not very secure. Choose one that is comfortable and practical for where you’re traveling. You can buy money pouches at Magellan’s or other travel stores.

And pouches aren’t the only way to avoid theft – you can find some other really creative methods to hide your money. There are key chains, belts, cases, even a portable closet safe disguised as a padded coat hanger. Try not to carry all of your valuables in the same place. If you’re traveling with a companion, make sure each of you has some cash and a credit card on hand in case you’re split up or one of you is robbed. If you’re alone, keep a backup credit or debit card in a separate pouch from the one you’ll be using most often.

While most valuables should be safely hidden away, you may want to keep a small amount of local currency in a separate dummy wallet where it’s easily accessible; that way you’re not flashing your cash each time you want to make a small purchase, and if it’s stolen it won’t be a huge loss.

Perhaps, you have an urgent visit with your family and you don’t have enough time for planning. So, you have a problem as to what you do with your pet. You can either leave it at your home or bring him with you. Well, traveling with your pet is easier than you think.

You can bring your pet with you by using air travel services. These services fall into two categories, in-cabin and cargo. In-cabin pets must be small enough to fit into a carrier that will slide under the seat in front of you. Pets too large to fit comfortably in a carrier must travel in cargo. Cargo holds are heated, cooled and pressurized, just like the passenger compartment.

It is better for you to check first before you make a reservation, be sure the airline will accommodate your pet. Some airlines do not take pet in-cabin; some discount airlines don’t accept pets at all. So if you purchase your airline tickets through the Internet, make sure your pet will be able to travel with you.

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There is a lot of confusing and misleading information when it comes to what is and what is not culturally acceptable in Dubai. Dubai is a vibrant cosmopolitan city with over 100 nationalities living together in harmony. Millions of tourists flock to Dubai every year and the city is truly a cultural crossroads. The local population is quite small (estimated around 15%), but Emiratis in general are warm, welcoming, and very tolerant of foreign visitors and residents. In return, it is greatly appreciated if those who travel to Dubai take a little time to learn about the local customs and culture.

The UAE is a Muslim country. The culture is based on a deeply rooted belief in Islam and centers on the family. Mosques are dotted throughout the landscape of Dubai and five times a day the melodious prayer call or “adhan” will be heard. The official weekend is Friday, although government offices and certain multinational companies are also closed on Saturday. Mosques on Fridays around noon will be overflowing as worshippers gather to listen to a sermon. On Fridays most stores open around 2PM although certain large retail outlets such as Carrefour and most large grocery stores are open as normal. Arabic is the official language; however English is widely spoken by almost everyone and all the street signs are in both English and Arabic.

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Passport - Make sure that your passport is going to be valid at the time when you are going to be traveling. If you need to get a new passport then always remember to get this sorted out as quickly as possible, else you could end up having booked accommodation and flights without anyway of making use of them.

Insurance - Before going on holiday it is important that you are insured in case the worst case scenario happens. However unlikely it is, failing to be insured is never worth the risk. It is also the case that you will find it harder to enjoy your holiday if you know that any accidents will have very serious consequences indeed.

Travel - If you are going on holiday to a place where you are going to need a car to get around, then it is important that you book this in advance. Failing to do so may result in you not being able to fully enjoy your holiday, especially when it can be hard to rent a car when you are visiting a location at a particularly busy point in the year.

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